1 . A road is a bridge between two places. The Silk Road has been a bridge between the East and the West for more than 2,000 years. The Silk Road has been s    1     included into the UNESCO World Heritage List(世界遗产名录) at the 38th session of the World Heritage Committee in Doha. But did you know the Silk Road is not a single route(路线)? It is a series of t    2     and culture transmission(传递) routes. It began during the Western Han dynasty. The trade route started from the city of Xi’an in Shaanxi Province and e    3     in Eastern Europe, near today’s Turkey and the Mediterranean Sea. The Silk Road was about 6,500 kilometres long. It went a    4     one-fourth of the planet.

The Silk Road got its name b    5     Chinese silk used to be carried along this road. Apart from silk, tea, ceramics and iron went west to Rome. From the West came glass, gems and food l    6     carrots and sesame(芝麻).

The Silk Road was very i    7     to both China and the rest of the world. Besides trade, knowledge about science, art and literature, as well as crafts and technologies was s    8     across the Silk Road. In this way, languages and cultures developed and i    9     each other.

Today, p    10     along the Silk Road are great travel destinations(目的地), such as the Terracotta Army in Xi’an and Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu.

2 . A road is a path that links two places. The Silk Road is a path that has linked the Eastern and Western worlds for(A) more than 2,000 years.

But did you know: the Silk Road is not a single route! It is actually a series of trade and cultural transmission (传送) routes that started in ancient times. It began during the Western Han Dynasty. The trade route started from the city of Xi’an in Shanxi province and ended in Eastern Europe, near today’s Turkey and the Mediterranean Sea (地中海). The Silk Road was about 6,500 kilometers long.(B) It went across one-fourth of the planet.

The Silk Road got its name(C)________ Chinese silk used to be carried along this road. Apart from silk, jade (玉器), ceramics (陶器) and iron went west to Rome. From the west came glass, gems, and food like carrots and sesame (芝麻).

The Silk Road was very important to both China and the rest of the world. In addition to goods, knowledge of science, arts, literature(D) as well as technology, was shared across the Silk Roads. In this way, languages and cultures developed and influenced each other.

Today, places along the Silk Road are known (E)________ top travel destinations (目的地), such as the Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an and Mogac Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu. Beginning in August, 2014, a train line, the New Orient Express, started to run from Beijing across the Silk Road. (F)人们可以坐火车 and see the sights along the ancient route.

The Forbidden City(紫禁城) is over 600 years old now. It is not only important for Chinese people, but also for the whole world. Over the past six centuries, many cultural exchanges have taken place inside it.

Before the 13^th century, China had little communication with the outside world. Matteo Ricci, the first westerner to make his way to the imperial court(朝廷) during the Ming Dynasty, made contributions(贡献) to the field of science in China. He also brought new knowledge about map-making. He taught people that the earth was round as a ball with the first European-style world map in Chinese.

Many foreigners followed in Ricci’s footsteps. Lang Shining was one of them. He is a talented painter. He was sent to China in 1715. Later, he was invited to the imperial court to paint for the Qing Dynasty’s Emperor Kangxi. Ever since, a new style that combined(结合) western painting styles with traditional Chinese painting styles has appeared in China.

The first westerners also provided reports for Europe through their letters, notes and books about China. It made the westerners know about the country widely.

Their stories are just a small part of the cross-cultural communication between China and the outside world. But they show a clear truth “The Forbidden City had provided a bridge for communication between China and the rest of the world.” How great it is!

Now more and more young people from all around the world come to China for study or work. Alex, a 21-year-old American,     1     to Nanjing to study Chinese last year. Besides learning in class, the young man     2     speaking Chinese a lot by talking with his friends and watching TV.

A Bright World is one of the programs in Jiangsu TV Station. It’s also one of Alex’s favorite Chinese TV     3    . People can watch it on TV or online. Eleven young men have     4     in Chinese on all kinds of things. They come from different countries,     5     they all live in China.

“One of my friends told me about this show, and I started to love it after watching it     6     just five minutes,” said Alex. “Their talks are fun, relaxing and     7     at the same time.

As a beginner of Chinese, Alex sometimes finds     8     a little difficult to follow the talks. However, he says it’s not much of a problem. He is happy to see     9     people have daily talks in Chinese.

“A Bright World is such a great show,” said Alex, “It helps me with my Chinese and also lets me know     10     about cultures of different countries.”

Giving gifts is a way of showing thanks or love, and it helps to build friendship. The rules of accepting gifts are different in China and in the West.

When Lucy, from the UK, gave a gift to her Chinese friend for the first time, she couldn’t understand it. “He refused to accept it twice, and when he finally accepted it, he didn’t open it. He just took it and put it away. After that, I never heard about it again. He never said he liked it or not. ”

In the West, it is polite (有礼貌的，客气的) to open it in front of the giver and say thanks. When you get a gift, the giver hopes that you are excited and really like it. But it is different in China. Usually, people don’t open the gift until the giver leaves. If they open the gift in front of the giver, the giver will think of them as impolite or greedy (贪婪的) . For the same reason, the Chinese will refuse a gift twice or three times before acception it. If you are the giver, give it again until it is accepted after the third time.

Today, more and more young people in China are turning to Western (西方国家的) rules of accepting gifts. That’s OK, but it would be better to follow the Chinese people when it comes to getting gifts from elders.

The idea of pen-friend has been around for years. You might have had a pen-friend when you were at school. It is a popular thing for many young people and students to do, and it has many benefits (好处) as well.

Having a pen-friend is a great way to connect with others b    1     a pen-friend is a connection made by two people, usually from different countries.

People of all ages can take part in this a    2    . Even though we have so many other ways of communicating today, we can chat with others online. Of course, receiving a letter in the post is s    3     we really look forward to.

Many people also keep the letters they received from their pen pals for years and never t    4     them away. Those letters can give us a wonderful look into the past.

Some people would like to find a pen-friend in another country. This is p    5     among language students because it can help them learn the language of the other person. For example, if you are learning to speak and w    6     in German, you might want to find a German pen-friend. Through letters you will not only find out more about each other, but you will also be learning about each other’s languages.

Different people have different ideas about having a friendship between two pen-friends. Some people never do more than j    7     write to each other. Others choose to make regular phone calls, while still more actually meet up at some point.

9 . A road is a path that connects the two places. The Silk Road is a path that has connected the Eastern and Western worlds for more than 2,000 years.

The route is the way from one place to another. But did you know: the Silk Road is not a single route! It is actually a series of trade and cultural exchange(交换) routes that started in very early times. It began during the Western Han Dynasty. The trade route started from the city of Xi’an, Shanxi province and ended in Eastern Europe, near today’s Turkey and Mediterranean Sea. The Silk Road was about 6,500 kilometers long. It went across the one-fourth of the planet.

The Silk Road got its name because Chinese silk used to be carried along this road. Apart from silk, jade(玉器), china and iron went west to Rome. From the west came glass, gems and food like carrots and sesame. The Silk Road was very important to both China and the rest of the world. In addition to goods, knowledge of science, art and literature, as well as technology, was shared across the Silk Road. In this way, languages and cultures developed and influenced each other.

Today, places around the Silk Road are known as top travel destinations(目的地), such as the Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an and Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu. Beijing in August, 2014, a train line, the New Orient Express, started to run from Beijing across the Silk Road. People are able to take the train and see the sights along the route.