The silk industry in Sichuan is one of the original points of Chinese silk culture. Sichuan brocade (蜀锦) originated from the Spring and Autumn period, and     1    (develop) in the Han and Tang dynasties. It     2    (have) a history of more than 2,000 years and has a far-reaching influence     3     traditional Chinese silk production. Sichuan brocade features light shades integrated in an elegant and care free style,     4     shows Han Chinese characteristics and local traditions.

Sichuan brocade is one of China’s four most famous branches of brocade, the others being Yun brocade in Nanjing, Song brocade in Suzhou and Zhuang brocade in Guangxi. With     5     (it) attractive designs and bright, clear colors that follow the style of Chinese-ink paintings, Sichuan brocade     6     (put) on the national intangible cultural heritage list in 2006.

Silk has been produced in Sichuan Province since ancient times and Chengdu was the starting point of the southern Silk Road. Sichuan brocade is made with local silk and colored silk threads, which are the raw     7     (material). Special embroidery (刺绣) skills are used     8     (turn) brocade into quilt covers, pillowcases, clothes and shoes.

    9     subjects of the Sichuan brocade are rich and varied. Some come from legends, myths, historical stories, and others come from landscape, figures, flowers, birds and animals,     10     (especial) the beasts that symbolize fortune and long life.

2 . From its origins in the California hills in the US to its acceptance on urban streets worldwide, the history of skateboarding spans (跨越) seven decades over which it has developed from an unwelcome sport to an Olympic event in 2020. Now, a London exhibition is to show the path from those humble homemade boards of the 1950s to today’s hi-tech professional models.

The exhibition will feature about 90 rare and unique boards along with more than 100 other related objects, including safety equipment and magazines. Half of the skateboards will be on loan from the Skateboarding Hall of Fame Museum in California. A highlight will be a 1967 Bilbo board produced by European Surfing Company, which was set up at Newquay in Cornwall in southwestern England in 1965 and marketed the first skateboards in the UK.

Also on display will be the famous skateboarder Tony Hawk’s first professional model, from 1982, with its adaptations for the vert style of skateboarding which uses vertical ramps (垂直坡面) rather than level ground; early homemade boards from 1950s California modeled on the design of roller-skates and surfboards; and the first two models to feature a kicktail —the raised tail enabling skaters to turn or balance the board on the back wheels.

It will also feature Laura Thornhill’s Logan Earth Ski from the 1970s, the first women’s professional model. Sky Brown, who at 13 won bronze for Team Great Britain at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, is represented through her first professional model, the Sky Brown & Skateistan Almost model.

“Skateboards, often misunderstood as being just toys, are now hi-tech products responding to constantly changing urban environments,” said Jonathan Olivares, the show’s director. “This exhibition is centred around a single question: how did the skateboard get to positioning the skateboard as a truly unique object.”

4 . Losing an eye might be an unthinkable thing, especially for a young woman, but not for Xintong. She chose to become an ocularist (义眼师) who makes artificial eyes for herself and people in the same ________ to help them get back their ________. Xintong is the name that she gave to herself — which she ________ people to call her instead of her real name — because “xintong” in Chinese sounds like “new pupils”.

Nearly 10 years after ________ her right eye in a car accident , 28-year-old Xintong from Beijing transformed the empty of her eye socket (眼眶) into a fashion statement. She ________ a short video online in which she wears a charming artificial eye. As she ________ her hand, the artificial eye begins to ________ with red light. With another wave, the light ________ to green and then purple and white. The video soon became ________ on social media, with many ________ praising her. But that wasn’t the case 10 years ago. “The artificial eye I ________ at that time was suffering,” Xintong said. “It ________ and gave me a red eye socket. I was young and I wanted to look ________.”

She started ________ artificial eyes. Beginning in 2019, she dedicated about two years to mastering the production techniques and skills under the ________ of an ocularist. This journey ________ her own artificial eye studio, providing personalized services for those ________ them.

Now when Xintong hears her ________ say words such as “Finally, I can ________ myself” or “Now I feel free to take photos”, she feels deeply ________.

5 . Music can relax the mind, energize the body, and even help people better manage pain.     1    . Music therapy (疗法) is an intervention sometimes used to promote emotional health. help patients cope with stress, and boost psychological well-being.

Music can improve mental performance.

Research suggests that background music improves mental performance. Playing more positive music leads to improvements in processing speed.     2    , turn on a little music in the background for a boost in your mental performance.

Music can help you eat less.

    3    . To lose weight, listen to soft music and dim the lights. According to one study, people eating at low-lit restaurants where soft music was played consumed less food. Music and lighting help create a more relaxing setting where participants may consume their food more slowly and feel full sooner.

    4    .

Sleeplessness is a problem that affects people of different age groups. While there are many approaches to treating this problem, research has demonstrated that listening to relaxing classical music can be a safe, effective, and affordable therapy.

Music can help you manage pain

Research has shown that music can be very helpful in the management of pain. One study of fibromyalgia (纤维性肌痛) patients found that those who listened to music for one hour a day experienced a significant reduction in pain.     5    .

I flew back to New York from a spring break. My flight landed lately in the evening. I decided to taking an airport bus to the downtown area so that I could find a faster and cheap taxi to get home. It turned out that a bus was full of passengers but I was chatting with a few of them. I told that it was unsafe to be waiting for in the street to catch a taxi at midnight. One of the woman in the bus said that her car was parked near the station. So she offered me a ride to my home, drop me safely and did not accept a penny in return. I was so thankful for his kindness.

This morning I went to my favorite restaurant for breakfast as usually. Touched by an elderly couple next to me, so I offered to pay for them. Knowing their request, the owner there told me one of her unforgettable day. It was a cold morning that she went with her baby to the store. Her baby was screaming and crying, and she said sorry to all the other people try to shop in peace. Then, when she got the bill, she realized that someone else have paid for it. It touched her so much that it brings her to tears. After she saw me doing this, it reminded her that moment which meant so much to her.

10 . Dr. Joseph Dituri also known as “Dr. Deep Sea”, has just finished an amazing adventure. For 100 days, the University of South Florida teacher lived in a small room underwater. He set a new world record, beating the old record of 73 days.

The farther you go below the ocean’s surface the greater the pressure. Dr. Dituri wanted to learn how this pressure would affect the human body over time. In his undersea room. Dr. Dituri was living with pressure that was about 66% greater than the pressure on the surface. Dr. Dituri believes that high pressure could help people live longer and stay healthier as they get older. It could also help doctors treat different medical problems, including brain injuries.

While he was living underwater, Dr. Dituri stayed busy. He often exercised in the morning. He kept teaching his college classes online, and he had chats with over 5,500 students from 15 different countries on social media. Dr. Dituri worked with other marine experts to figure out ways to protect and take care of the ocean. He said what he missed the most when he was underwater was sunshine.

Dr. Dituri was smiling when he returned to the surface. Doctors quickly checked him out to make sure he was OK. Actually, Dr. Dituri went through several big changes. For one thing, he became half an inch (1.3 centimeters) shorter during his time in the higher pressure undersea. He was also able to sleep much better. His health greatly improved in a couple of other ways, too.

Dr. Dituri said his favorite part of the project was talking with young people. “Who knows?” he said, “Maybe one day, one of them will come back and break the record we just set.”