Chang’an Tower, also known as the Great Wild Goose Pagoda, is an architectural wonder     1     (locate) in Xi’an, China. With its rich historical significance and stunning beauty, this ancient tower stands as a masterpiece of China’s cultural heritage.

    2     (original) built during the Tang Dynasty in the 7th century, Chang’an Tower served as a Buddhist pagoda, housing Buddhist materials that the monk Xuanzang brought from India. Its construction     3    (order) by Emperor Gaozong to promote Buddhism and facilitate (使……便利) the translation of Buddhist scriptures (佛经)     4     Chinese.

Rising to a     5     (high) of 64 meters, the square-shaped, thirteen-storey tower showcases the splendid craftsmanship of ancient Chinese craftsmen, each storey of     6     exhibits unique architectural features,     7     (reflect) the cultural influences of the time. Visitors can go up the internal staircase to the top for magnificent     8     (view) of the city. Surrounding the pagoda, the serene gardens and the Da Ci’en Temple offer a peaceful retreat as well.

Whether it is for experiencing a piece of history     9     exploring cultural wonders, Chang’an Tower is     10     essential destination for those exploring China’s vast historical landscape.

In the mid-19th century, the world     1     (destroy) by cholera, a disease that killed thousands. In London, the epidemic (流行病) was particularly severe, with bodies piling up and fear running wild. In this chaos, a man name d John Snow rose     2       (challenge) the invisible enemy.

John Snow,     3     medical doctor, had a keen interest in finding the source of cholera. He was not convinced by the then-common belief       4     cholera was spread through bad air. His suspicions were aroused     5     he noticed that most cases were concentrated around a single water pump in Soho. He investigated deeper, mapping the pumps and     6       (associate) them with cholera cases.

With detailed observation and courageous experimentation, John Snow identified the polluted water     7     the “criminal” behind the epidemic. He convinced authorities to remove the handle of the pump,     8     (effective) stopping the spread of cholera. His actions saved     9       (count) lives and marked a significant turning point in public health history.

John Snow’s lasting impact serves as a     10     (remind) of the strength of observation, logical reasoning, and decisive action in the face of challenges.

When you are going to visit Beijing, it’s likely that you’ll want to visit the Tiananmen Square.     1     square is impressively big and is located to the north, separating Beijing from the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City is a breathtaking palace complex (建筑群) that     2    (house) the palace museum and was formally the Chinese royal palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty. Covering 178 acres, the Forbidden City is made up of 980 buildings.

The Temple of Heaven, including Lama Temple (Yonghe Temple), the Beijing Temple of Confucius and Beijing Zoo,     3    (recommend) as well. Lama Temple is one of Beijing’s most attractive and best-preserved     4    (temple). The zoo is one of the oldest in China,     5    (date) back to 1906, and is home to a great variety of animals.

The Great Wall isn’t located in the city itself, but if you have made the trip to Beijing, you can’t leave     6     going to see it. There are many organized tours from Beijing     7     will take you to the Mutianyu Great Wall. If you don’t want     8    (sweep) away by big crowds in summer, visit the wall in winter. It will be     9    (extreme) cold, but you’ll have a better experience. It will be     10    (easy) to shoot nice pictures, too.

I remember that every year in lunar December in my hometown, Xinyang, each family begins to prepare bunches of bacon and sausage hanging from yard to yard     1     (embrace) the upcoming New Year. Walking in such a street view and sniffing the smell of pickled bacon(腊肉), I always have a sense of    2     (happy).

Xinyang, located on the boundary between the north and the south, is rich in rice, wheat and fertile land due to its unique     3     (geography) position and climate. Therefore, it cultivates the characteristics of Xinyang people who have a good appetite     4     delicacies. According to relevant records, the history of Xinyang’s pickled bacon dates back to the Ming Dynasty,     5     the locals learned to keep its special taste by preserving it in a special bean. People in Xinyang love their life so much that even during     6     (tough) times, they still inherited the soul of taste and made delicious pickled bacon. Actually, Xinyang’s pickled bacon is made in     7     seemingly simple way by drying the meat in the shade but it brings out the flavor of the food     8     (it) and stays with our memory for long.

You’ll never become fully conscious of how much you value it until you     9     (tear) apart from it. Such is Xinyang’s pickled bacon, one of my unforgettable memories of my hometown despite time     10    (tick) by.

Japan is a country known for its iconic landmarks, from ancient temples of Kyoto to neon-lit skyscrapers of Tokyo. However,     1     often goes unnoticed is the approach Japan     2    (take) to beautify its manhole covers(窨井盖) since the 1980s. These metal plates, of which there are roughly 6,000, serve not only     3    functional infrastructure but also as canvases showcasing cultural symbols.

Photographer Remo Camerota,     4     documented these unique manhole covers in his book “Drainspotting”, describes the experience of finding them as a treasure hunt. The designs on these manhole covers show Japan’s     5    (commit) to integrating functionality with art and culture. Each cover tells a story, whether it’s representing a local festival, historical event,     6     natural landscape.

The practice of decorating manhole covers has not only added     7     touch of artistic genius to Japan’s streets but has also become a popular tourist attraction. Visitors now     8    (encourage) to seek out and appreciate these often overlooked pieces of urban art, adding a new dimension to their travel experiences.

Japan’s     9    (create) approach to decorating its manhole covers reflects the country’s rich cultural heritage. These unique pieces of urban art are living proof of Japan’s attention to detail and the importance placed on preserving and     10    (celebrate) its cultural identity.

Exciting action, excellent organization and touching stories of athletes made the just finished 4th Asian Para Games in Hangzhou a huge success,     1     will benefit the host city and growth of Chinese para sports.

The whole world was     2     (amaze) by the high standards of the event as well as the improvement in the living conditions of people with     3     (disable) with the help of para sports in China. They     4     (live) better lives now thanks to para sports.

The Hangzhou Asian Para Games attracted over 3, 000 athletes from 44 countries, making it the     5     (large) one in the history of the Asian Para Games.

Organizing such     6     big event that went off smoothly     7     losing quality was not easy at all. The organizers will ensure the future use of all the facilities,     8     will keep building more so that more disabled people can enjoy sports.

At the Games, Team China won 521 medals,     9     (include) 214 gold medals. It’s said that it is the most successful Asian Para Games that     10     (hold) so far.

The Gansu Jiandu (简牍) Museum in northwest China’s Gansu Province on Sunday launched four online exhibitions related to the ancient Jiandu culture.

“Jiandu” refers to the bamboo and wooden slips on which ancient Chinese people wrote     1     (use) ink and brushes before the invention of paper. Since 1907, over 80,000 slips     2     (unearth), in Gansu province,     3     is particularly abundant in bamboo and wooden slips, contributing to our understanding of ancient Chinese culture and knowledge. These artifacts hold significant historical, scientific, and     4     (art) value.

Additionally, the exhibitions feature high-resolution     5     (image) of the museum’s cultural artifacts, accompanied by detailed text and voice explanations     6     (help) audiences gain a deeper understanding of the items     7     display, said Xu Rui, the museum’s deputy curator. The digital exhibitions also include interactive experiences such as riddle challenges and Jiandu-making games, aiming to attract young visitors, Xu said.

Distinguished as China’s only provincial-level museum focusing on bamboo and wooden slips, the Gansu Jiandu Museum boasts     8    collection of nearly 40,000 such slips     9     (date) back to the Qin Dynasty (221-207 B.C.) and Western Jin Dynasty (265-317). In addition, it     10     (house) more than 10,000 other artifacts, including paper, textiles, woodenware, lacquerware (漆器) and ironware.

If you have not heard of Yangshi Lei, the     1    (honour) name of the Lei family responsible for imperial architecture during the Qing Dynasty, then you have missed an important detail about the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace and Yuanmingyuan Garden.

All the above great cultural relics and popular tourist attractions have been included on UNESCO’s World Heritage List,     2     surprisingly enough, they are all designed by the Lei family.     3     (represent) the great achievements of science and technology in ancient China, their architectural practice covered a wide range of city planning, imperial palaces, gardens, temples, princes’ residences and schools.

Yangshi    4     (refer) to architect or architecture in Chinese. Yangshifang, the then government authority similar to the National Architecture Design Institute today, was in charge of site     5     (select), design and construction of imperial architectures.

    6     (amaze), eight generations of the Lei family were appointed director of Yangshifang consecutively from 1662 to 1911.

With so many architectural    7     (work) on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Lei Family is    8     unique phenomenon in the architectural history throughout the world. Apart from the grand architectures, China has another treasure left by the Lei family - design drafts. In the National Library of China alone, there     9     (be) up to 20,000 architectural design drafts, each of     10     plays an important role in the research of the history of the Qing Dynasty and how architecture developed at the time.