Anyone who has an interest in Dunhuang will have heard of Fan Jinshi. The Chinese archaeologist     1     has spent more than half a century researching and preserving the caves at the heart of the ancient Silk Road in Gansu Province     2     (know) as the “Daughter of Dunhuang” in her field, though “protector is probably a more fitting     3     (describe).

Fan has been studying the historical site since the early 1960s, first as an archaeology undergraduate from Peking University, then as a conservationist when she     4     (become) the deputy director of the Dunhunag Research Academy in 1984, which serves to prevent the ancient site from     5     (destroy).

“It is over a thousand years old. It is an old person, an     6     (extreme) weak old person. It has     7     (variety) illness. If you are a little careless, it could be gone. Gone forever,” Fan says.

Today, thanks     8     the work of great archaeologists such as Fan, Dunhuang is proud of the world’s largest and best-reserved collection of Buddhist relics     9     (date) from the fifth to the 13th centuries. The main Mogao site is made up of 735 caves spread across a 1,700.metre-wide cliff face, containing 45,000 square metres of murals (壁画)     10     more than 2,000 colorful sculptures (雕塑).

When the Library Cave, known as Cave 17 from the Mogao Cave Complex at Dunhuang, China, was opened in 1900, several tons of manuscripts (手稿) scrolls, booklets and paintings on silk and paper were found literally stuffed into it. These     1     (extreme) valuable writings were collected between     2     9th and 10th centuries CE, by Tang and Song Dynasty Buddhist monks who carved out the cave and then filled it     3     ancient and current manuscripts on topics ranging from religion and philosophy, history and mathematics, to folk songs and dance.

Cave 17 is only one of the 735 human-made     4     (cave) called Mogao Grottoes,     5     were dug into a loess cliff about 15 miles southeast of the town of Dunhuang in Gansu Province. Dunhuang’s long and glorious history reflects     6     (it) significance as a center of     7     (culture) and religious exchange. These caves     8     (dig) and maintained by Buddhist monks from 366 CE and were sealed and hidden about a thousand years ago. It was not until 1900 that they were rediscovered.

The Dunhuang Academy was set up in China in the 1980s,     9     (aim) to collect and preserve the manuscripts; the International Dunhuang Project (IDP) was formed in 1994 to bring the international scholars together     10     (work) jointly on the collections. The IDP has put many of the documents, images and translations online.

【推荐1】China is the birthplace of silk. Raising silkworms for silk production     1    (have) a history of over 6,000 years. Legend has it that the wife of the Yellow Emperor was having tea under a mulberry tree（桑树）    2     a cocoon（蚕茧）fell into her cup. As she watched, the cocoon spun a strong white thread. She unwound the string onto her finger,     3     (realize) that it could be used as weaving thread. Thus an industry was born. She taught her people how to raise silkworms, and     4     (late) invented the loom(织布机). Silk production reached     5     high level during the Shang Dynasty (1600BC—1046BC).

For more than two thousand years, the Chinese kept the secret of silk to     6     (they). It was one of the most guarded     7     (secret) in history. Anyone found guilty of taking silkworm eggs, cocoons, or mulberry seeds was put to death. Silk clothes were worn by emperors and rich people and became a symbol     8     wealth. Common people were prohibited from wearing silk. With the creases of travels and trading, sericulture     9     (slow)   reached the outside world from Asia to Europe. Now most of silk     10     (produce) in the south of the Yangtze River Delta, such as Suzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, and Shaoxing.

Beijing's Forbidden City is a place full     1    wonder. From its thousands of rooms to its many beautiful artifacts(工艺品), it's one of China's most popular tourist     2    (destination). But even more than 600 years after it was built,  it's still managing to serve up surprises. Since     3    Ming Dynasty, it's estimated that the Forbidden City     4    (survive) more than 200 earthquakes. And while most structures aren't made     5    (resist) natural disasters, it seems that the Forbidden City was built to stand up to anything. According to experts, the answer to the Forbidden City's strength     6    (lie) in Dougong—a centuries-old building method     7    (invent) in China. This is the name for special structures on buildings that are perfect at     8    (keep) structures together     9    the weather gets rough. The Forbidden City draws visitors because of its rich history and     10    (culture) significance, but perhaps it should add one more thing to its list of attractions: earthquake shelter.

For many people, theRenaissancemeans 14th to 16th century Italy, and the developments in art and architecture, music and literature which took place there at that time. But there is oneworkwhich, perhaps more than any other,    1    (express) the spirit of the Renaissance: theMona Lisa.It is believed    2    (be) the best example of a new lifelike style of painting that amazed people when it was first used.    3    (paint) by Leonardo da Vinci in the years 1503-1506, theMona Lisais a mysterious masterpiece. People want to know who Mona Lisa is,    4    why she is smiling. Even if people do not know much about the Renaissance, they have heard    5    this painting.

But the Renaissance is, of course, more than justMona Lisa.Renaissance is a French word    6    means “ rebirth ” and it first appeared in English in    7    19th century. The word    8    (use) to describe a period in European history which began with the arrival of the first Europeans in America, an age of exploration, and the    9    (begin) of the modern world. It was as if Europe was waking up after the long sleep of the Middle Ages. From Italy, the ideas of the Renaissance    10    (rapid) spread northwards to France, Germany, England, and the rest of Europe.