Here, merchants from China and many other places met to    1     trade deals, which also led to more     2     of each other’s cultures. Over the centuries, further     3    allowed more exploration of the regions to the west China, as     4     in Du Huan’s Record of My Travels in the eighth century.

The night of the party arrived. The clock struck eight. The guests would be arriving soon, so Claire     1     Tony for the rest of the night. At that moment, Tony took her in his arms,     2    his face close to hers. She heard him     3    that he did not want to leave her the next day, and     4     he felt more than just the desire to please her.

“Life is precious. ... To a person nothing is more precious than their life, and if they entrust me with that life, how could I refuse that trust, saying I’m cold, hungry, or tired?” These words of Dr Lin Qiaozhi give us a look into the heart of this amazing woman, and     1     carried her through a life of hard choices.

As a five-year-old girl, Lin Qiaozhi was deeply     2     by her mother’s death. At age 18, instead of following the traditional path of marriage like the     3     of girls, she chose to study medicine. “Why should girls learn so much? Finding a good husband should be their final goal!” her brother     4    , thinking of the high tuition     5    . She     6    , “I’d rather stay single to study all my life!”

Customs play a     1     role in festivals, but sometimes they can change over time. With the development of modern society and the spread of new ideas, some traditions may     2     away and others may be established. One example is the     3     Chinese Spring Festival custom of lighting firecrackers to drive away the evil spirits and celebrate the new year. Nowadays, many big cities have given up this custom in order to avoid air pollution. Another example is Halloween, which slowly became an exciting festival for children, in     4     of its religious origins.

Anyone can take part in a virtual choir from anywhere—all you need is a video camera and an Internet connection. You do not even need a     1    . A virtual choir helps connect     2     people together. Many people do not have close friends or contacts     3     have the same interest in music. Many others do not have the chance to join a local choir. A virtual choir     4     them to add their voices to those of other     5     and become part of the global community. It has     6     to be a positive influence on the lives of many people.

The United Kingdom has a long and interesting history to explore, which can help you understand much more about the country and its traditions. Almost everywhere you go in the UK, you will be surrounded by     1     of four different groups of people who took     2     at different times throughout history. The first group, the Romans, came in the first century. Some of their great     3     included building towns and roads. …The Vikings came in the eighth century, left behind lots of new vocabulary, and also the names of many     4     across the UK.

As a five-year-old girl, Lin Qiaozhi was deeply     1     by her mother’s death. At age 18, instead of following the traditional path of     2     like the majority of girls, she chose to study     3    . “Why should girls learn so much? Finding a good husband should be their final goal!” her brother     4    , thinking of the high tuition     5    . She     6    , “I’d rather stay single to study all my life!”

In 2009, Whitacre received a video of a girl who was singing one of his     1    . Inspired, he asked his fans to make videos, which he then    2     together into one     3    . His first virtual choir, “Lux Aurumque”, had 185 singers from 12 different countries. It has received millions of views on the Internet. Since then, the virtual choir has become a worldwide     4    .

Almost everywhere you go in the UK, you will be surrounded by     1     of four different groups of people who took     2     at different times throughout history. The first group, the Romans, came in the first century. Some of their great     3     included building towns and roads.