An epidemic is an infectious disease that     1    (rapid) spreads to a large number of people within a short period of time. Epidemics can be caused by several different     2    (factor), such as a virus or bacteria.

One of the earliest     3    (record) epidemics happened between about 500 and 550 CE. It killed up to 50% of the area’s population,     4    (make) it one of the main reasons of the fall of the Roman Empire. In     5    1330s, the epidemic known as “The Black Death” returned in Asia and spread to Europe. Centuries later in 1918, the Spanish Flu     6    (strike). In 2002, SARS began     7    a case of lung disease in China. It spread to Canada, Vietnam and Singapore and lasted until 2003. Then in West Africa between 2013 and 2016, there was the most widespread outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD),     8    killed over 11,000 people.

Governments worldwide have underlined the fact that they need     9    (far) medical research on epidemics     10    (get) at the causes and come up with cures as soon as possible.

I am Wuhan, a super big modern city with a population of over 11 million. I am home to China’s largest railway transfer center. No other city in the world embraces     1     (many) college students than me. At the beginning of 2020, the Covid-19 outbreak     2     (fall) on me. I locked myself down     3     (quick). It’s believed to stop the epidemic from     4     (spread). The lockdown is never seen in the history of new China. The     5     (decide) was made with huge courage. I am Wuhan. Since I was locked down, I have seen groups of medical workers arrive in the city, one after another. Brothers and sisters     6     different parts of the country have rushed for my rescue(救援). You all have offered     7     best that you have to back me up. A number of     8     (hospital) have been built to make sure every patient is treated. I am greatly     9     (thank) to you all for sending me food and supplies. With the whole country’s joint efforts, I have returned to normal. So far, I     10     (win) the battle! I am Wuhan. We are Wuhan. We are Wuhan, China.

It was not until the 19th century that a few Westerners quietly began noting that the Three Great Inventions were       1    (actual) Chinese. Then in 1925 paper was added to     2    list, so that it became Four Great Inventions instead of just three. However, it was the British scientist Joseph Needham     3    began to popularize the idea of China’s Four Great Inventions in the middle of the 20th century.

Needham     4    (be) a professor at Cambridge in 1937 when three Chinese scientists went there to study. Through one of these scientists, Lu Guizhen, Needham became interested in the history of Chinese science       5    technology. In 1942, Needham    6    (send) to Chongqing, China, as the director of the Sino-British Science Co-operation Office. Needham used his time in China    7    (travel) to remote provinces for research, and to collect Chinese historical documents on science and technology.

When Needham got back to Cambridge in 1948, he began work on Science and Civilization in China. Here, Needham pointed out numerous Chinese    8    (discovery) and inventions, of which the Four Great Inventions were considered     9     the most important. The first book of this series came out in 1954,    10    (result) in a rethinking of China’s role in the development of science and technology around the world. Without this work, the idea of China’s Four Great Inventions might be almost unknown in the West.

Mao Xianglin, Secretary of the CPC Xiazhuang Village Branch in Chongqing, southwest China, won the 2020 Touching China Award for leading the locals     1    （build）a road connecting the village with the outside world. The award     2    （give）to 10 people and a team on February 17.

Xiazhuang is located at the bottom of     3     valley and surrounded by cliffs. It took nearly two days to reach the     4    （near）town in the past.

After Mao headed the CPC village branch in 1997, under     5    （he）, over 100 people started building the road with the most basic implements. It     6    （final）took them seven years to build the new road and six people died in the process. However, thanks to     7     they had done, a motorable road was eventually completed,     8    （shorten）the journey to a one-hour drive.

By the end of 2019, the villagers     9    （rise）out of poverty by growing oranges and watermelons, and the annual average income for each person was 12,000 yuan, more than forty     10    （time）residents' earlier income.