The ancient Chinese built two great engineering wonders: the Great Wall and the Grand Canal. Though the Great Wall’s effect in military     1     (defend) has worn off over time, the Grand Canal remains an important channel of cultural communication.

The Grand Canal,     2     is made up of three parts (Suitang Grand Canal, Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal and Zhedong Grand Canal), is a     3     (run) epic (史诗) of transformation. The man-made waterway runs more than 2,000 kilometres from north to south across the large eastern flatland of China. It is about 16 times     4     size of the Suez Canal in Egypt and 33 times     5     (long) than the Panama Canal, the world’s second- and third-largest man-made waterways. “It sees the striking and early development of water engineering,” the UNESCO website says     6     (official).

In ancient times, the Grand Canal served     7     the key waterway for grain transport and every kind of economic and cultural exchange. It also improved the time-consuming journeys of workers     8     materials for the building of the Forbidden City in Beijing, the imperial city of the Yuan (1271-1368), Ming and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.

Years ago, it     9     (inspire) the name of Chenchen, one of the three mascots (吉祥物) of the Hangzhou Asian Games. Chenchen, from the Gongchen Bridge, which goes across the Hangzhou part of the Grand Canal, is coloured blue     10     (suggest) science and technology.

With a history of more than 2,000 years, the Silk Route dates back to Han dynasty. Through this route, the Chinese highly     1     (qualify) silk made its fame to the western countries. The merchants in different regions     2     (seek) the opportunity of trading Chinese silk     3     they indeed made their fortune along this route.

That route functioned     4     the life blood of international trade at that time. Meanwhile, the Chinese civilization was introduced to the Western countries and vice versa. The Silk Route     5     (consider) as a new chapter recording the friendship between the European and Asian peoples.

Throughout all these years, many great figures have made great     6     (contribute) to the development of the Silk Route. Today, the Silk Route has a poetic name     7     (call) One Belt One Road,    8     (aim) to help those connected regions in culture and economy exchange with a more advanced road. The main cities alongside it are becoming     9     (large) and more important in helping trade and culture exchange. Many countries have gained great benefits along the trading process. All in all, the ancient Silk Road is more like     10     historical textbook for everyone to read and to know about what happened during that ancient time. It has been playing a significant role in the development of the civilizations of China.

Hiking the Longii Rice Terraces(梯田)in southern China is something I would recommend for everyone to add to their bucket list. The name     1     (literal) means “Dragon’s Backbone” due to the fact that the rice terraces look just like a dragon’s scales, while the mountain’s summit resembles the backbone.

During my visit to Guilin, I decided     2     (set) out on a three-day hike through the famous Longji Rice Terraces. Known as the “Dragon’s Backbone”, the terraces were a spectacular sight as they stretched across the green hills in complicated patterns     3     (look) like ripples of water.

The hike took me through small villages set     4     the beautiful landscape. Local farmers were busy tending to the terraced rice fields that     5     (farm) for over 1, 000 years. Along the paths, I passed orange groves and met friendly locals     6     offered me fresh lychees.

At night, I stayed in simple home-stays run by farming families. Over multicourse meals- featuring local specialties like sticky rice, I learned     7     (much) about the terraces and village life. The feeling of community spirit and connection to the natural environment was unique.

Reaching the hike’s end after three full days, I felt a profound     8     (appreciate) for these ancient agricultural wonders carefully     9     (build) into the landscape by generations of families. The Dragon’s Backbone terraces provided me with unforgettable mountain views     10     cultural insights into rural China.

Introduction to English as a Second Language Teacher’s Book

One of the earliest-known inventions is the bow and arrow, which is still used throughout the world today, 15,000 years     1     it was first invented. Of course, these days, the bow and arrow     2     (use) mainly in sporting events, but in some places it is still a means of killing animals for food.

In western Asia, another extremely important invention was born — the ability to produce pots. As long as 6500 years ago, people were producing pottery, mostly plain and without designs, but the technique has changed little since.

Some people say that the wheel is the single most important invention. Early examples from about 5000 years ago have been found in the forests of Europe. Around 1500 years later, the Phoenicians used sand, limestone and sodium carbonate to produce     3     else which we would be lost without-glass.

How many things do you lock with a key every day? Doors, cupboards? The car? We really don't think much about them,     4     we? Well, the first example of a lock and key dates back to 2750 years ago, in Assyria. This is a lock on a large wooden door in the palace of Sargon II.

Another amazing invention, which we probably take for granted these days, is the skill of knitting       5     first appeared in the Roman Empire, some 1700 years ago. The     6     (early) examples are knitted socks!

Eye glasses developed from just one lens in a frame, like a simple magnifying glass, way back in the 13th century. In about 1290, the idea to put two lenses in a frame to sit on the nose was developed in Florence. And, believe it or not, the modern contact lens is 120 years old! 

Time flies and we spend a lot of time     7     (check) how much time we have left! This would be impossible     8     clocks and watches,     9     are all around us: on walls, on our wrists, on our PCs, and even on our mobiles and iPod’s. The first pocket watch was invented by Thomas Tompion (1639-1714) in England 330 years ago, and his watch — face design, with two (and sometimes three) hands moving around a single dial,     10     (remain) largely unchanged in all that time.

Delicate strokes (笔画), carved onto wood, with ultimate precision. This is woodblock printing,     1     ancient printing technique that has promoted human civilization.

Certain people are believed     2     (bring) Buddhism into China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), when there was a strong need to produce a large number of Buddhist scriptures (经文), and copying by hand could not meet the     3     (rise) demand. Ancient Chinese craftsmen thus came up with a novel way to create printed works massively. Hence came the     4     (origin) version of woodblock printing.

Traditional woodblock printing can be divided into four major steps: writing, engraving, printing, and binding. With each step then sub-divided into several procedures,     5     takes roughly 30 steps to produce a woodblock print. Characters and images     6     (carve) to produce raised areas or lines, which calls for skilled hands.

The Buddhist scripture Diamond Sutra, the “earliest dated printed book”, can only be seen in the British Library,     7     a lot of Chinese treasures are stored. It is just one example of ancient works of art that not only tells the     8     (wise) of our ancestors, but also is a witness     9     the pursuit of beauty by Chinese craftsmen throughout centuries.

The invention of writing gave life to great thoughts, but it was the invention of printing     10     made knowledge a shareable fruit for all humankind.