【推荐2】Human Civilization, Progress and Advancement

How did some regions come to be wealthier and more powerful than others? Two historical events have shaped what is known as human civilization, and have ________ vast chasms in prosperity and power among human societies.

The first major cleavage(分裂) among human societies was between hunter-gatherer communities and settled, agriculturally-based communities. The former had ________ few members in a single community, largely because of limited ________ nutrition. The settled societies, on the other hand, enjoyed much ________ populations. Raising livestock in large numbers and harvesting large amounts of plants enabled them to ________ vastly greater nourishment than the hunter-gatherers, and thus they become more ________. The appearance of agriculture also allowed many members of society to engage in activities other than ________ food.

The development of social ________ allowed the products of what we know as civilization to arise: new inventions, art, music, architecture, cities, philosophy, etc. All of these things are possible only if people can ________ their time to something other than obtaining food or physical security, which hunter-gatherer peoples must do more or less full-time, and ________ peoples are able to separate classes and groups. The second major development to ________ certain human societies to advance beyond others was the rise of industry and manufacturing. The Industrial Revolution occurred thousands of years after the development of agriculture, beginning in the 18th century and becoming ________ in the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution was the single most important event in the modern era in allowing some societies to ________ in material wealth far beyond others.

Whether this development is sustainable(持久的) ________to be seen. It is not clear whether a previously agricultural society can fully reap the benefits of high technology and information technology without first ________ the massive social, cultural and political adjustments precipitated(加速) by industrialization.

【推荐3】Mona Lisa, the famous picture _________ by Leonardo Da Vinci in 1505, is getting _________ by the year. Visitors have noticed _________ but repairing the world’s most famous painting is not easy. Nearly 6 million people go to _________ the Mona Lisa every year, many attracted by the mystery of her smile. ”It is very interesting that when you’re not looking at her, she seems to be _________, and then you look at her and she _________," said Professor Livingstone.

_________, the actual history of the Mona Lisa is just as mysterious as the smile.

Da Vinci himself loved it so much that he always _________ it with him, until it was_________ sold to France’s King Francis I in 1519. In 1911, the painting was __________ from the Louvre by a former employee, who took it out of the __________ hidden under his coat. He said he planned to __________ it to Italy. The painting was sent back to__________ two years later. During World WarII, the French __________ the painting in small towns to keep it out of the__________ of German forces.

【推荐1】We find different kinds of animals in the world.Some animals, such as tigers and lions, live in big forest and they are called ______animals. Some others like sheep and dogs are ______by men and they are called domestic animals（家养动物）. These animals are very different from one another, but we can ______them into big groups: those that eat other animals and those that eat grass and leaves. Animals like the ______belong to the first group.

Animals are _____great use to human beings. Men ______animals for their fur and meat. Domestic animals are ______ more important to men. Without them, life will be ______. People make use of animals in many ______.

Cows and pigs are useful to men's ______. They give 80％ of the ______men eat every year. Skin of some animals can be ______into expensive overcoats and shoes, which are warm and comfortable and _______a long time. They are very welcome in ______countries. Wool, which is now one of the most important materials for textile （纺织）______, comes from some certain ______. From cows, we get milk.And we shouldn’t   ______that some domestic animals are kept for transport（运输）. Many people ______ride horses. Arabs ride on camels that travel in deserts for days without ______. In some places animals are still used to plough field. ______is clear that men just can’t live without these animals.

【推荐3】Many Chinese people used to _________ each other with “Have you had your meal?” to show their friendliness. Recently, a new greeting has become _________ in many Chinese cities, namely “Have you _________ weight?”

Chen Xin, a manager of a media company in Hangzhou, has _________ his friends after getting _________ successfully. “Following instructions from my nutritionist, I went on a _________ and lost 10 kg.” Chen said with a _________ smile.

In recent years, food-delivery services have been growing fast and entering every comer of Chinese cities. Also, Chinese people can _________ buy foods from all over the world. But people are paying more and more attention to their _________. More people are becoming __________ with various terms, such as “low calories”, “sugar cut-off” and “light food”.

“I used to eat a lot of unhealthy food, which brought me much __________.” Chen said. “Now my health indicators (指标) are becoming __________, and I can feel that my body is in good   __________ again.”

Chen is not alone. Many Chinese are troubled with “diseases of richness”, including obesity and high blood pressure, as the quality of life has greatly __________over the past decades. Most people need to worry about if they have a healthy diet, __________ if they have enough food.

【推荐2】Last month, Dongxiang County in Gansu Province was officially removed from the “List of Poorest Counties in China”.

Landlocked in China’s northwest, Dongxiang County is_______to 256,828 Dongxiang people, one of China’s 55 ethnic (民族的) minorities. In 2013, nearly a third of its _______ was still living under the absolute poverty line.

So, how did they do it?

Most of Dongxiang people are _______who grow wheat and potatoes. Then it is _______that anti-poverty projects the county often _______ food.

The potatoes here are_______. Dongxiang people have many ways of _______ potatoes for the table, including spicy potato slices, sour potato rolls, whole potatoes _______ under a bed of hot rocks, and even potato noodles. Now these potato _______are sold all over China.

Fan Chenyang, who works in the Dongxiang potato industry, said that one of the ________ways potatoes helped lift the area out of poverty was through education and ________.   It includes topics like latest planting methods and disease________. “These sessions have helped a lot in ________ both the quality and quantity of the potatoes being produced here,” he said.

Dongxiang County is also famous for its ________. Five years ago, Mada Wude, who left at the age of 17 in order to raise sheep in other areas of northwest China, was encouraged to ________ to his county to set up company, which is now taking care of around 1,800 sheep owned by 25 families in his village. Over the five years, he has helped the villagers raise more and better lambs. The profit is distributed to the participating families. The sheep there are given organic food and monitored continuously by AI systems. Therefore, consumers all over China can eat with peace of mind.