The Renaissance (from the 14th to the 17th century)

New ideas and values gradually replaced old ones from the Middle Ages. As a result, painters c    1     less on religious themes. They began to a    2     a more humanistic attitude to life. An important b    3     during this period was the use of perspective by Masaccio. I    4     painters such as Leonardo da Vince, Michelangelo, and Raphael built upon Giotto and Masaccio’s innovations to produce some of the greatest art that Europe had ever seen.

Another innovation was the use of oil paints. With their deep colors and realism, some of the best oil paintings look like photographs. While painters as early as Da Vinci had used oil, this technique reached its h    5     with Rembrandt, who gained a r    6     as a master of shadow and light.

In subject matter, the emphasis increasingly s    7     from religious themes to people and the world around us. Kings, n    8    , and people of high rank wanted to p    9     accurate pictures of themselves and the people they loved. Others wanted paintings showing important historical events or stories from mythology. Finally, most c    10     wanted paintings that were beautiful and interesting to look at.

As a player, Lang Ping brought honour and     1     to her country. As a coach, she led the China’s women’s volleyball team to     2     at world championships and the Olympics. As a person, Lang Ping is loved by fans at home and     3     .

Of all the t    1     festivals, the harvest festival can be found in almost every c    2    . This important a    3     festival takes place after all the crops have been gathered in. People celebrate to show that they are g    4     for the year’s supply of food. In a    5     Egypt, the harvest festival was celebrated during the springtime — the Egyptian harvest season. It f    6     a parade and a great feast with music, dancing, and sports. Today, in some European countries, people d    7     churches and town halls with flowers and fruit, and get together to celebrate over a m    8    . During the Mid- Autumn Festival in China, families gather to a    9     the shining moon and enjoy d    10     mooncakes.

Cholera used to be one of the most feared d    1     in the world, until a British doctor, John Snow, showed how it could be o    2    . This illness causes s    3     diarrhoea, dehydration, and even death. In the early 19th century, when an outbreak of cholera hit Europe, millions of people died from the disease. As a young doctor, John Snow became f    4     because no one knew how to prevent or treat cholera. In time, he rose to become a famous doctor, and even attended to Queen Victoria when she gave birth. However, he never lost his d    5     to destroy cholera once and for all.

In general, doctors in those days had two c    6     theories to explain how cholera spread. One theory was that bad air caused the disease. Another was that cholera was caused by an i    7     from germs in food or water. Snow s    8     to the second theory. It was correct, but he still needed p    9    . Consequently, when an outbreak of cholera hit London in 1854, Snow began to investigate. He discovered that in two particular streets the cholera outbreak was so severe that more than 500 people died in ten days. He was d    10     to find out why.

Next week I’m travelling to Australia to visit a friend there over the school holidays, I plan to keep this blog to record my experiences and what I learn. I have already done some research on the country. L    1     to the south of the e    2    , below many other countries on the globe, it’s often informally r    3     to as “down under”.

I have also read about some i    4     sites, such as the Sydney Opera House and the Great Ocean Road, and animals like the cute koalas and kangaroos, I can’t wait to see all of them! However, as I m    5     in social studies, I’m more interested in meeting people in Australia and e    6     their culture, food, and way of life.

I’m here in Sydney! Since I arrived, my friend has brought me to my first open-air b    7     b and has also shared many different but yummy meals with me, so my first impressions of Australia have been all about food! A lot of t    8     Australian food, such as the Sunday roast, is originally British. Bakeries, fast-food joints, butcher shops, cafes, and restaurants everywhere provide some of the p    9     food experiences in the world. The influence of Asian cultures, on the other hand, led to the introduction of bean curd and Asian herbs, along with Australian versions of foods like the Chinese- i    10     dim sim.

By the Shang Dynasty (around L600-1046BCE), these s    1     had become a well-developed writing system. Over the years, the system developed into different f    2    , as it was a time when people were d    3     geographically, leading to many v    4     of dialects and characters. This, however, c    5     under Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BCE).

Emperor Qinshihuang united the seven m    6    states into one unified country where the Chinese writing system began to develop in one d    7    . That writing system was of great importance in uniting the Chinese people and c    8    . Even today, no matter where Chinese people live or what dialect they s    9    they can all still c    10     in writing.

Certainly, in many ways this seems to be true. Chinese c    1    is a case in point. P    2     to coming to China, my only experience with Chinese cooking was in America, with Chinese food that had been changed to suit American t    3    . For example, America’s most popular Chinese dish is General Tso’s chicken, which c    4     of fried chicken covered in a sweet sauce, f    5     with hot red peppers. This is probably not an authentic Chinese r    6    , however, so it cannot tell us much about the Chinese. On the other hand, it does tell us a lot about Americans. It tells us, for example, that Americans love bold, simple flavours.And since the dish was also invented recently, it tells us that American are not afraid to try new foods.

Before starting out, they spent a couple of days in Vancouver, seeing the s    7    . During their first day, as is t    8     of Vancouver, it rained. Despite the weather, they were able to take a boat ride out into the bay, and later visit an island that had wonderful shops selling crafts and a    9    . The next day was clear and mild, and they were pleased to see the beautful mountains looking out over the city. Later they took a p    10    hike in a forest just a short distance away.