For soccer fans around the world, the FIFA World Cup is a big event that can’t     1     (miss). This year, it’s being held in Qatar. At the end of March, its     2     (office) ball was announced.

Called “AI Rihla”,     3     means “the journey” in Arabic, the ball     4     (represent) the culture of Qatar. Its design has been inspired by the county’s architecture, its flag and its iconic (标志性的) boats.

To adapt to the speeds of today’s sport, the ball is designed     5     (be) high tech. The ball has first-rank shape and air retention (气密性). On the outside, it has 20 panels (面).     6     (follow) the laws of aerodynamics (空气动力学), the panels and surface material improve the ball’s     7     (accurate) and fight stability, noted the Qatar Tribune website. On account of this design, the ball     8     (consider) the fastest and most accurate ball to date.

The design of the ball also keeps sustainability (持续性) as     9     top priority (优先) because it’s the first World Cup ball made with water-based inks and glues only.

“This is an excellent, sustainable (耐用的) and high-quality official match ball that will be enjoyed by stars     10     well as grassroots players everywhere,” Jean-Francois Pathy, FIFA’s Director of Marketing, said in a statement.

Cuju was an ancient Chinese    1    (compete) game involving kicking a ball through an opening into a net.

As the ancestor of soccer, it first appeared in    2    well known ancient Chinese historical work Zhan Guo Ce (Strategies of the Warring States), which described cuju as a form of     3    (entertain) among the general public.

Later, cuju was    4    (common) played in the army for military training purposes during the Han Dynasty (206 BC—220 AD).

Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, was a cuju fan    5    liked watching and playing cuju.

Emperor Liu Che would establish a cuju field    6    his army went. He used cuju as a way of training soldiers.

The    7    (early) record of women cuju players can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. We can see paintings of females with their hair    8    (tie) back, waving their long sleeves and looking chic (时髦的) while playing cuju.

Up to the Tang Dynasty (618—907), women players prevailed (盛行) at the royal court, as emperors enjoyed watching soccer games. At that time, various skills were widely used in playing cuju, mainly    9    (serve) as amusement.

As a way of national culture protection, cuju    10    (list) in the first batch of China’s intangible cultural heritages in 2006.