【推荐1】Today, digital devices (设备)     1     (help) prevent the development of disease in the elderly, and often in a surprising manner. For example, research suggests that the devices     2     (use) to treat the     3     (lose) of hearing are also helping the onset of dementia (痴呆).

Fitness trackers such as Fitbit, are helping monitor their users’ activity levels and encouraging     4     to adopt more active and healthier lifestyles, which is having a positive effect on illnesses such as hypertension (高血压).

Devices such as the Amazon Echo, are giving back valuable independence to those suffering from the loss of movement, which,     5     it is taken away, can leave one feeling worthless, and shamed.

This artificial intelligence assistant allows     6     elderly to carry out a large number     7     tasks through voice control e.g. lighting, and heating. Therefore, it enables users not to rely on others for the     8     (small) task and gives back     9     (price) independence and pride.

These devices     10     (prove) to help overcome memory issues, too—a leading causes of independence loss in old age.

For thousands of years, the Chinese     1     (use) acupuncture (针灸) to ease pain and treat illnesses. Evolving from the discovery     2     using stone needles on specific points on the surface of the body could get rid of pain and disease, acupuncture has become an     3     (essence) part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), in line with the philosophy that promotes the harmonious coexistence of humans with nature.

As     4     (document) in Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian about 2,100 years ago, Bian Que,     5     highly skilled physician during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), was famous for having helped a prince to “wake up” after an accident by using needles to stimulate the Baihui acupoint (百会穴) on the prince’s head.

According to TCM, there are a dozen meridians (经络) in the human body,     6     the qi, or life energy, moves about to help keep the organs healthy. Cold, infections or diseases can result     7     the blocking of this energy, so     8     (stimulate) the acupoints can unblock the “stuck” qi, restore normal blood flow and improve health.

In 2010, UNESCO     9     (include) acupuncture and moxibustion (灸法) of TCM on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Yet, the practice is not just cultural and historical — it’s a medical technique     10     (wide) used and researched today.

【推荐3】Phelps, the 31-year-old US swimming star, was seen    1     purple circles dotting his shoulders and back at the Rio Olympics. The circles    2     (cause) by the ancient Chinese treatment, in which he is a great    3     (believe). The Chinese treatment, known as “baguan”, uses heated glass cups     4    (create) a suction (吸气) on the patient’s skin, causing a circular mark.

I remember, some 40 years ago, when I fell sick, my mother always did cupping on me. It scared me. I would cry.     5     my mother would say: “ Be patient! It will hurt just a bit, like an ant bite.” So I would let her, and it     6    (usual) helped. Now when I have fever, flu, or muscular pain I go to a “cupping spa” and get it done. Not that I don’t trust medicines, but I also believe in cupping. I got it done just last month for my fever,     7     wasn’t coming down with medicines and injections. One session of cupping and the fever was     8     (go).

The US National Institute of Health says on     9     (it) website that “cupping” is considered generally safe for     10    (health) people when performed by a trained health professional.

Dujiangyan Dam, 45km north of Chengdu, an ancient technological wonder of the country, was originally constructed around 256 BC by the State of Qin    1    an irrigation(灌溉) and flood control system as well as a remarkable example of ancient engineering skill. Due to the success of the project, the dam    2    (automatic) changes the water flow of the Min River and channels it into irrigation. For more than 2, 000 years, the dam    3    (continue) to make the most of the water protection works.

During the Warring States period,     4    troubled people living along the banks of Min River was the annual flooding.     5    (aid) by thousands of local people,   Qin governor and irrigation engineer Li Bing investigated the problem thoroughly and led a team    6     (construct) a levee (河堤) to redirect a portion of river’s flow. Then they cut a channel through Mount Yulei to discharge the extra water. With the system finished, no more floods    7     (occur). What’s more, it made Sichuan one of the most productive agricultural regions in China     8    the redirected water from the Min River could be used for irrigation. If you visit Dujiangyan, you will see    9    unusual construction that resembles a fish’s mouth. This famous attraction, Yuzui, together with two other important parts, namely, Feishayan and Baopingkou,     10    (be) designed initially to control the water flow throughout the year.

【推荐3】Many pieces of beautiful pottery (陶器) were discovered in Luoyang, Henan Province,     1     there were a few tombs of the Tang Dynasty, when a railway was in the process of being constructed in 1899. The pieces of pottery were either in yellow, green and white colors     2     in yellow, green and brown colors.

Because they were found from tombs of the Tang Dynasty, they were called “Tang tri-colored glazed pottery”.

The production of glassy pottery in China     3     (date) back to ancient times. Colored glaze was usually not applied     4     the head of a pottery figure. After the base was baked, a few touches of Chinese ink     5     (paint) to represent the eyes, eyebrows and beard. The facial expression and inner world of a small statue were portrayed (刻画) most     6     (vivid).

There are a great     7     (various) of Tang tri-colored glazed pottery pieces. With unique shapes, they had the rich flavor of life,    8     (cover) almost every field of life related to the dead, from models of architecture to plates, bowls and from small statues of the heavenly kings with     9     bad temper to those of beautiful noble ladies. They showed the     10     (color) social life and the splendid culture of the Tang Dynasty.

Glasgow University has renamed its engineering school    1    a Scots inventor credited with helping to kick-start the industrial revolution.

The move is part of a year-long    2    (celebrate) of James Watt's life and work,    3    (mark)the 200th anniversary of his death. Watt was renowned for his contribution to steam engine technology. The first working steam engine was patented in 1698 and the by the time of Watt’s birth, Newcomen engines were pumping water from    4    (mine)all over the country. Watt worked    5    an instrument-maker at the university when he made improvements to a Newcomen steam engine in 1765. Greenock-born Watt added    6    separate condenser(冷凝器) to the engine, making it    7    (vast) efficient.

"The importance of Watt's contribution to the field of engineering can't really    8    (overstate), and we're very proud to be associated with the improvements he made to the Newcomen steam engine," said the head of the James Watt School of Engineering, Professor David Cumming."The world       9    (come)a long way over the last 200 years, and much of that distance was covered using technology derived from the principles he established."

It seemed    10    (suit) to mark the start of the third century of a post-Watt world with the renaming of the school."

Albert Einstein,    1     is perhaps the greatest scientist in modern physics, is often considered one of the     2     (smart) men who ever lived. He made enormous     3     (contribute) to the world. He was born in Germany on 14 March 1879, entered university in 1896 and graduated in 1900.

While     4     (work) in the Swiss patent office, out of a strong passion for knowledge, he continued to study,     5    (earn) a doctorate in physics in 1905.    6     (gradual), he became famous throughout the world. In 1922, he    7     (award) the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his explanation of the photoelectric effect.

To the public, he was seen     8     a slightly odd-looking but kind and funny man. He had a thick moustache and long white hair. Despite his peculiarities, he was loved     9     his friends and neighbours. On 18 April 1955, he passed away, and the whole world mourned the great loss of     10     brilliant scientist.