The European Union is     1     organization of European countries. The countries are     2     (depend) and are governed in different     3     (way). In the United Kingdom,     4     example, the head of state is a king or queen. In France, on the other hand, the head of state is a president. But each of them     5     (send) representatives to the European Parliament,     6     has some control over what happens in each of the member countries.

The idea of the European Union     7     (begin) in the 1950s. The first members were France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Italy. Little by little, the number increased during the second half of the     8     (twenty) century. By the year 2000, there were 15 member countries. The new countries were Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

In 2004, the European Union increased to 25 members. The Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia, plus the Mediterranean islands of Cyprus and Malta all became members. The     9     (expand) European Union has a population of more than half a billion people, twice     10     big as the population of the United States.

Chinese jump rope, also known as tiaopijin, is a children’s game resembling hopscotch (跳房子). One reason     1     its popularity is the fact that although the moves can be quite     2     (challenge), the game itself is very simple. There’s no need for players     3     (buy) expensive equipment since what they need is only a rope.

The game     4     (begin) in 7th-century China. In the 1960s, children in the West World adopted the game. The game is     5     (typical) played in a group of at least 3 players with a rope about 16 feet in     6     (long) tied into a circle. Two players face each other standing 9 feet apart, and position the rope around     7     (they) ankles so that it is tightly stretched. The third player stands between the two sides of the rope and tries to perform a series of moves without making     8     error or pausing.

There are many jump patterns, most of     9     are accompanied by a song. This is sometimes called the “first level”. The jumper tries to complete the chosen pattern. If the moves     10     (complete) successfully, then the rope is moved farther up and the series is repeated.

Porcelain, also called fine china,    1    (feature) its delicate texture, pleasing color, and refined sculpture, has been one of the    2     (good) artworks introduced to the Western world through the Silk Road. The earliest one    3     (find) made of Kaolin (高岭土) in the Shang Dynasty (17^th-11^th century BC), and possessed the common aspects of the smoothness and unaffected quality of hard enamel (瓷釉), while pottery wares (陶器) were more widely used among most of the ordinary people. Anyway it was the beginning. In the following dynasties, due    4     its durability and shine, porcelain rapidly became    5    necessity of daily life,     6     (especial) in the middle and upper class. It was made    7    the form of all kinds of items, such as bowls, cups, tea sets, vases, jewel cases, musical instruments and boxes, as well as pillows for traditional doctors to feel one’s pulse.

Through the     8     (develop) of over 4000 years, now it is still a brilliant kind of art that attracts thousands of people. The Porcelain Capital, Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province,     9     has been praised for thousands of years, will be certain     10     (satisfy) your appetite for beauty.