Orville and Wilbur Wright were the two American brothers that invented the first airplane.They started out as bicycle repairmen.Soon，they became interested in different types of machines and began to learn     1    the machines worked.They observed birds flying     2    (get)ideas，as well as read about other inventors' attempts to make aircraft.In 1900，the brothers completed their first design of a kite glider(滑翔机) and tested     3    in North Carolina.They tested kite gliders both with and without     4     pilot.

Finally，in 1903，the first engine­powered Wright Flyer     5    (invent)．The“Wright Flyer I”had a gas engine and wooden propellers(螺旋桨)．After they     6    (continue)improved it upon earlier designs，the brothers successfully received a patent(专利) in 1906     7    their Flying Machine.

Modern airplanes today are very different     8    the first Flying Machine.They fly faster，are much larger, and have television sets built in for passengers'     9    (enjoy)．Some planes have seats     10    lie flat to become beds and on the very newest planes，passengers can even use the Internet!

Frederick William Ⅰ，the King of Prussia, could never have imagined that his     1    (great) gift to the Russian people would have such an     2    (amaze) history. Actually, the Amber Room was designed     3    the palace of Frederick Ⅰ. The room     4     (make) of several tons of amber. But the next King of Prussia decided to give it to the Russian people as a gift of friendship.    5    return, the Czar sent a troop of his best     6    (soldier) to the Prussia. So the Amber Room became part of the Czar's winter palace in St Petersburg. It served as a small     7    (receive) hall for important visitors. Later, Catherine Ⅱ had it     8     (move) to a palace where she spent her summers. Before the Nazis got to the summer palace, the Russians were able to remove some furniture and small art objects from the Amber Room. Some of the Nazis secretly     9     (steal) the room itself. After that,    10    happened to the Amber Room remains a mystery. Recently, the Russians and Germans have built a new Amber Room by studying old photos of the former one.

Over 2,200 years ago, Emperor Qinshihuang, the first Emperor in Chinese history, established ( 建 立 ) the official Chinese writing characters. The new characters made writing calligraphy     1    (little) difficult. It allowed people to use characters with more straight strokes, thus     2    (make) it easier to write with brushes. This     3    (create) the clerical script (隶书). Over time, other changes were also made,     4    eventually led to the formation of the five styles in Chinese calligraphy. As     5    result, calligraphy became     6    (wide) accepted. Calligraphy also had its practical     7    (value) because it was a good way to make friends and was more presentable as a gift rather than jewelry or money. Does calligraphy still have these practical functions now? Yes. Many people practice calligraphy as a way     8    (raise) their cultural achievement. Older people use calligraphy writing as a method to keep fit. They believe that when a person concentrates on writing calligraphy, his inner happiness is inspired. I had thought computer would lead to the     9    (disappear) of Chinese calligraphy. Now I understand that’s not likely to happen. How can you give your boss computer-printed calligraphy as a gift? You don’t,     10    you want him to fire you!

The Dragon-Head-Raising Festival falls on the second day of the second lunar month every year, with the dragon     1     (wake) up from its winter hibernation (冬眠) and after the day, rainfall increases.

Traditionally, the dragon is believed to live in the sky     2     he takes charge of bringing rain, which is an important factor in ancient agriculture society. There is an legend     3     one year a drought     4     (strike) a village. Blue Dragon, having compassion for people, gave them some rain without permission. To punish the Dragon, the Jade Emperor imprisoned it in a mountain and said he would never release it     5     gold beans bloomed.     6     clever villager found that com kernels (玉米) were golden like soy beans and more importantly, they could bloom when     7     (roast). Then the man led all the villagers to worship the Jade Emperor with bloomed corm kernels. To keep his word, the Jade Emperor had to release the Dragon on the second day of the second Chinese lunar month. Since then, the Dragon-Head-Raising Festival     8     (celebrate) in various ways in China to show     9     (admire) for the Dragon. The most famous tradition is getting a haircut,     10     (mean) getting rid of bad luck.