Clowns (小丑)are almost everywhere in popular culture. But what they represent     1    (change) a lot over the past 400 years.

Clowns began appearing in     2     form we recognize today in European theaters in the 17th century. With brightly colored clothes, big red noses and colorful faces, clowns tried every means to act foolish or play tricks     3     (make) the audience laugh.

Clowns became popular in the US in the 1960s. A happy clown     4     (choose) by McDonald's to appear in its advertisements. Today, as we know, that company mascot (吉祥物)， Ronald McDonald, is world famous.

However, the image of a happy clown is largely an American creation. In other cultures, the clown character is not     5     (necessary) good. One example is “Mr. Punch”, who was popular in British and French theaters during the 1700s. While Mr. Punch was funny, he was also violent, often     6     (hit) his wife during the show,     7     gave rise to the name of “bad clowns”. Even today, in the eyes of some people, clowns are evil (邪恶的)and     8     (frighten).

Of course, there are different voices. Some people think clowns are positive, creative and imaginative. They bring people     9     (please) and laughter. That's     10     attracts people, especially children, to clowns. They believe that as long as there are children in the world, there will be a future for clowns.

Putting your hand in your pocket to reward good service is a personal choice, but it also depends on     1     you are in the world. What is a common practice in one city is not necessarily in another. In some places a tip is expected； but in others, good service should be expected and ought to     2     (include) in the price.

In the UK, where people tend to be too polite to complain, they might pay the service charge despite quietly     3     (complain) that the service they received was not     4    (satisfy)!

    5     , in the US it's still customary to leave a gratuity because tips often make up     6     large part of a server's income. Restaurant owner William Beckett told the BBC that in New York, for example, Theoretically you could just stand up and walk out. You don't. Everybody     7     (tip) 20%. ”

Maybe we should follow Japan's approach, where tipping under any circumstance may seem rude because good service is standard and expected. Elsewhere, there are     8     (call) for restaurants to replace the tipping system     9     a single payment covering both the meal and the service. This     10     (basic) means, don't tip ——the price you see on the menu reflects the full cost of dining.

Over 400 pieces or sets of Dehua white porcelain (德化白瓷) are     1     display in the National Museum of China in Beijing, with the exhibition running from Aug. 26 for three months.

Dehua white porcelain is famous for     2     (it) pure white color. Dehua white porcelain     3     (extraordinary) pure and white because the kaolin (高岭土) in Dehua county in Fujian has a low percentage of iron, making the porcelain stainless like white jade, earning it the French name “Blanc de Chine”, or “white from China”.

Sitting in Quanzhou city,     4     the ancient Maritime Silk Road started, Dehua white porcelain     5     (sell) like hotcakes at home and abroad since the Song Dynasty (960-1279). In 2006, Dehua white porcelain was listed as     6     national intangible cultural heritage.

Despite the past glories, Dehua craftsmen never stop improving their skills. One     7    (impress) skill is “the eggshell technique(薄胎技艺)”. The eggshell technique in Dehua     8    (date) back to the Ming Dynasty. With the technique     9     (improve) by generations of craftsmen, today’s eggshell porcelain can be made as thin as paper.

By combining traditional Chinese artistic skills with modern disciplines(学科) like material science and humanities, Blanc de Chine will continue to enhance the cultural confidence of the Chinese people as they create even more outstanding     10     (work).

Delicate, lustrous (光亮的), and soft to touch. The ethereal fabric we now call silk has threaded its way throughout China’s history.

One cannot be certain of its origin, but the ancient Chinese people credited their own wisdom to Leizu, wife of the Yellow Emperor (the legendary ancestor of all Chinese people), as     1     inventor of sericulture (养蚕).

Like almost all genres of art on the vast land of China, the style and texture of silk     2    (be) also multifarious. Hangluo satin from Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, is well known     3     its airy and sheer texture, while Yunjin brocade (凸花纹织物) from Nanjing, Jiangsu province, a luxurious fabric often     4    (use) for royal garments, represents China’s silk weaving technique at its prime.

Yunjin brocade     5    (make) by hand on giant looms (织布机), in a complex procedure     6     comprises more than a hundred steps. Even the most skilled artisans can only weave a few centimeters a day. Time, patience and deftness all play necessary roles to its heavenly beauty or as its name suggests, its cloud-like splendor.

In the Western Han Dynasty, with diplomat and explorer Zhang Qian     7    (open) up the routes to the western regions, silk graced many     8    (country) in Central Asia, later extending its reach to other parts of Eurasia and beyond. Fittingly, its name marked China’s major international trade routes, the ancient Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road.

In the hands of Chinese artists, the     9    (thin) threads can weave pictures of immense possibilities, and the softest material can go through thousands of years. As one of the many marvels of ancient China, silk is not     10     (mere) a type of textile. It is a cultural icon, and a symbol of elegance and grace.