【推荐1】Marco Polo’s tales inspired European explorers to search for sea routes (路线) from west to east. However, businessmen and explorers from the East set sail from east to west many years before Columbus first did.

In ancient times, silk from China found its way over land to India, the Middle East, and Rome, along what became known as the Silk Road. But another trading route across the sea was also formed along the coasts of the Indian Ocean, centered around Ceylon. Here, businessmen from China and many other places met to exchange goods.

Later, the Ming Dynasty further developed relations with these regions. Between 1405 and 1433, seven large fleets (舰队) sailed west on voyages of trade and exploration. Under the command of Zheng He, they set sail from the South China Sea across the Indian Ocean to the mouth of the Red Sea, and then to the east coast of Africa. African royal families sent gifts such as giraffes as gestures of friendship in return for silk, and spices. Although China stopped further expeditions (远征) after 1433, these land and sea routes remained active for centuries.

To reach out across the sea remains a strong desire today. The ancient sea routes travelled by Zheng He are being revisited with the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (一带一路倡议). The aim of this initiative is to encourage cooperation and trade across the historic Silk Road areas, and strengthen the relations between China and the rest of the world. China has poured billions of money in systems and services along these routes, which will help to greatly develop the whole area for the benefit of future trade and cultural exchange.

China has also joined its friends across the sea on other important projects. In recent years, China has joined other nations on several expeditions to explore the Arctic. From a scientific point of view, there is an urgent need to study the Arctic in order to understand climate change and its effects.

【推荐2】A study of art history might be a good way to learn more about a culture than is possible to learn in general history classes. Most typical history courses concentrate on politics, economics, and war. But art history focuses on much more than this because art reflects not only the political values of a people, but also religious beliefs, emotions, and psychology. In addition, information about the daily activities of our ancestors — or of people very different from our own — can be provided by art. In short, art expresses the essential qualities of a time and a place, and a study of it clearly offers us a deeper understanding than can be found in most history books.

In history books, objective information about the political life of a country is presented; that is, facts about politics are given, but opinions are not expressed. Art, on the other hand, is subjective; it reflects emotions and opinions. The great Spanish painter Francisco Goya was perhaps the first truly “political” artist. In his well known painting The Third of May, 1808, he criticized the Spanish government for its misuse of power over people. Over a hundred years later, symbolic images were used in Pablo Picasso’s Guernica to express the horror of war. Meanwhile, on another continent, the powerful paintings of Diego Rivera, and David Alfaro Siqueiros — as well as the works of Alfredo Ramos Martines — depicted these Mexican artists’ deep anger and sadness about social problems.

In the same way, art can reflect a culture’s religious beliefs. For hundreds of years in Europe, religious art was almost the only type of art that existed. Churches and other religious buildings were filled with paintings that depicted people and stories from the Bible. Although most people couldn’t read, they could still understand biblical stories in the pictures on church walls. By contrast, one of the main characteristics of art in the Middle East was and still is its absence of human and animal images. This reflects the Islamic belief that statues are unholy.

【推荐3】Before the invention of hair dryer,vacuum cleaners were being used for the purpose of drying and styling hair. The early vacuum cleaners could draw in air as well as blowing air.So,towards the end of the 19^th century,women used to dry their hair by using a vacuum cleaner.

In 1890,a French salon owner Alexander F.Godefroy invented the first hair dryer.It blew warm air.However,it was not widely used,mainly because of its large size.

The first convenient hand-held hair dryer used at home came up in 1920.It weighed over 2 lbs.However,it only produced 100 watts of power,which was not enough to dry the hair.After almost ten years came the gas-heated dryers that were widely used in barber shops.However,these dryers produced heat that was harmful to hair and the air from them made people sick,so they were soon gone.

Around the 1940s and 1950s,the helmet（头盔）style electric dryers came into being.Curly hairstyles were popular during that time.Therefore,women used curlers and sat under the dryers to set their curls.Later,the curly style began to drop,and so did the popularity of the helmet style electric dryer.

In the late 1950s,the first workable hair dryer was made.It had a hand-held dryer.It used only 300-400 watts. Ever since the 1950s,hand-held dryers have experienced many changes,in order to become quieter,lighter and smaller.However,how it works largely remains the same.The modem technology has made improvements to the hair dryer,reducing the heat damage to a person's hair.For producing shinier,smoother and healthier hair,dryers have been included with negative ion（负离子）technology that dries hair faster and with less heat.

【推荐1】More than 10 million Chinese cultural relics have been lost overseas, most of which were stolen and illegally shipped out (运出) of China during the times of war before 1949. About 1.67 million pieces are housed in more than 200 museums (博物馆) in 47 countries, which accounts for 10 percent of all lost Chinese cultural relics, and the rest are in the hands of private collectors.

Most of these treasures are owned by museums or private collectors in the United States, Europe, Japan and Southeast Asian countries. There are more than 23, 000 pieces in the British Museum, most of which were stolen or bought for pennies more than 100 years ago.

The major method to recover these national treasures was to buy them back. In some cases, private collectors donated the relics to the government. Also the government can turn to official channels (渠道) to demand the return of relics.

In 2003, a priceless (无价的) bronze pig’s head (青铜猪头) dating from the Qing Dynasty (清朝) was returned to its home in Beijing after it was removed by the Anglo­French Allied Army over 140 years ago. Macao entrepreneur (企业家) Stanley Ho (何鸿燊) donated 6 million yuan to buy it back from a US art collector and then donated it to the Poly Art Museum in Beijing.

Although buying­back is the most feasible way to recover the lost treasures, limited funding is always a big headache.

In recent years, the Chinese government has improved efforts to recover the precious cultural relics lost overseas. It has started a national project on the recovery of the treasures and has set up a database (数据库) collecting relevant information.It has signed several international agreements with many countries on this matter, and is also looking for international cooperation to recover the relics by working closely with several international organizations.