Spoken Chinese consisted of a number of Chinese dialects(方言)throughout history. In the Ming Dynasty, standard Mandarin was nationalized. Even so, it was not until the Republic of China era in the 1910s that there were some noticeable results in    1    (promote)a common unified language in China.

The ancient written standard was Classical Chinese and it was used for thousands of years. However, it    2     (reserve)mnostly for scholars and intellectuals. Only after the May 4th Movement did the push for Vernacular Chinese begin. This allowed common    3     (citizen)to read since it was modeled after the linguistics and phonology of a spoken language.

    4    the difficulty in mastering it, Classical Chinese remains    5    (extreme) important in the world heritage of languages. Classical Chinese＇s birth is related to the beginning of astronomy(天文学), the    6     (connect) with higher spirits through divination (占卜) and the formation of several Books of Changes,     7    most famous being the one of the Zhou Dynasty. Therefore, Chinese is packed with great meaning and    8    (wise). It is not only a code or a tool, but a language    9    gives light and guidance when    10    (receive) in a proper way. Classical Chinese has been the cultural backbone of all the great philosophies, spiritualities, and even arts not just in China but all over Asia.

Today we tell about the expression “down to earth”. “Down to earth” means being open and honest.     1     is easy to deal with someone who is down to earth. Such people could be important members of society,     2     they do not consider themselves to be better than those who are     3     (important). They do not let their importance “go to their heads”. Someone     4     (let) something go to his head feels he is better than others. He has     5     “big head”.

A person who     6     (fill) with his own importance and pride is said to have “his nose in the air”. Often the person who has a big head and his nose in the air has no reason to fool better than others.

Americans use another expression that is similar in some ways     7     “down to earth” － “both feet on the ground.” Someone with both feet on the ground is a person with a good understanding of     8     (real). He acts honestly and openly to others. He has     9     is called “common sense” and he does not allow his dreams     10     (block) his understanding of what is real.

China is widely known     1     its ancient civilization which has continued all the way through into modern times. There are many     2    (reason) why this has been possible, but one of the main factors has been the Chinese writing system.

The history of written Chinese as a language     3    (base) on pictures dates back to the use of animal bones and shells several thousand years ago     4     symbols were carved by ancient Chinese people.

By the Shang Dynasty, these symbols had become a well-developed writing system. Over the years, the system     5    (develop) into different forms, as it was time when people were divided geographically,     6    (result) in varieties of dialects and characters. This, however, changed under Emperor Qin Shihuang of the Qin Dynatsty. Emperor Qin Shihuang united the seven major states into one country     7     then the Chinese writing system began to develop in one direction.

The Chinese writing system has also become an important means by which China's present is connected with       8    (it) past. People in modern times can read the classical works by ancient Chinese. And as China plays a     9    (great) role in global affairs than before, Chinese culture is becoming     10    (increasing) popular with international students, who begin to explore Chinese civilization through this amazing language.

As we all know, China has countless     1    (attract). The Great Wall is probably one that is most familiar     2     the Western tourists. The Great Wall is like a giant stone dragon,     3    (wind) across the country from the ocean on the east-to the desert on the west. It     4    (be) the longest wall that has been built ever, 1, 500 miles in    5    (long). Along the wall are watch towers,     6     soldiers were on the watch for threats. The wall was     7    (origin) constructed to prevent invasion of neighboring states, and the majority of the existing wall is from the Ming Dynasty. From the top of the Great Wall, people can enjoy     8     impressive view of continuous mountains, green trees and blooming wild flowers. If we were to build such a wall now, we would use modern machines.     9    , the ancient Chinese had to build the wall by hand. The reason why the Great Wall attracts tourists from all over the world every year is that it     10    (represent) the highest wisdom of ancient China. Just as the saying goes, “He who has never been to the Great Wall is not a true man.”

Peking Opera     1     (consider) as a national treasure in China, which dates back to over 200 years ago. The early Qing Dynasty saw the great     2     (develop) of this opera. It arose in the late 18^th century and became     3     (full) developed and recognized by the mid-19^th century. It is     4     form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime(哑剧), dance and acrobatics(杂技).

Peking Opera comes     5     four local operas, Hui Opera in Anhui, Han Opera in Hubei, Kun Opera in Jiangsu and Qingqiang in Shangxi. It has drawn the merits of these local operas and created its own style.

Speech, song, dance and combat     6     (be) the four classic performing arts in Peking Opera,     7     are also the basic skills for performers and are usually trained since the performers are very young. There are many roles in Peking Opera, mainly Sheng, Dan, Jing, and Chou, each of which has     8     own costume(服装) and mask-paintings.

Many audiences from different     9     (country) think that it is the     10     (large) and most influential kind of opera in China and the influence is incomparable in China.