Book Restorers Touch History

—Keeping ancient manuscripts in tip-top condition requires expertise and passion—

Whenever Song Jing visits a museum, she makes a point of checking out the section on ancient books. In addition to appreciating the wisdom     1     (hide) in those historical volumes, she focuses on how they are bound and presented.

Song works in the restoration division for ancient books at the National Library of China which is home to about 3 million ancient manuscripts, many of which require restoration before they can see     2     light of day again. Some books have suffered great loss. Take, for example, a 16th-century copy of Yongle Dadian. Only 3.5 percent of the total publication are known to exist.

The process of     3     (repair) ancient books is complex. Day after day, Song and her colleagues are fully immersed in the duty of handling and healing the old books. Thanks     4     cutting-edge technology, restorers can create paper     5     (incredible) similar to the original version. However, the old-fashioned techniques still come in handy sometimes.     6     (fear) the chemicals in commercially produced paste might harm the books, restorers have to make the glues by themselves. The paste needs to be mixed right before the repair,       7     it will go bad because of sitting for too long.

The valuable cultural heritage that restorers have preserved     8     (serve) as the best evidence of Chinese civilization. Recently, the library has sent     9     (it) specialists like Song to deliver speeches in colleges and on TV. “I’m glad to see such     10     (arrange) and I hope to inspire people to find their passion in the preservation of our traditional culture,” Song says.

Before the award ceremony began, several famous actors and actresses graced the red carpet, as fans were     1    (eager) waiting for their arrival. Many wondered who     2     (take) home the big awards. As the night went on, the tension grew, and the audience held their breath as the winners     3     (announce) one by one. All the winners were glorious when they stepped onto the stage where they accepted their awards and thanked their colleagues, families, and fans for their support.

Chinese ballet dancer Chen Zhenwei attracted the audience from all over the world with his     1     (impress) performance.

“It’s unbelievable. I never thought that my dream     2     (realize) some day,” Chen said,     3     (recall) the scene when he got the news that he was promoted to the leading dancer with the New York City Ballet(NYCB).

Founded by George Balanchine, the father of US ballet, NYCB is one of the major ballet companies in the world,     4     only 5 percent of the company’s dancers selected from top dancers around the world.

To stand out from the top dancers, Chen has made every effort. “     5     you can become a principal or not depends on many factors,” he said.

“I am     6     (typical) the kind of person who always wants to challenge myself and learn as much as I can,” said Chen. In order to perform on a bigger stage, he determined     7     (step) out of his comfort zone and was then offered a position at the NYCB as a soloist (独舞者).

When he returned to China, he appeared in the Chinese television show Dance Smash, a talent show     8     dancers of different styles compete (比赛) together.

He made ballet,     9     art originated in the West, easier for the Chinese public to enjoy.     10     is no wonder that many people called him the “prince of ballet” and “living David” in China.

Anna had a car accident when she was a teenager. She lost her arms because of that. What’s     1     (bad), when she was 20 years old, she lost her parents. Her sister,     2     is ten years older than her, told Anna she’d take care of her. However, Anna refused     3     (live) with her. Instead, Anna said she’d take care of     4     (she). She managed to enter college and studied very hard. Four years later, Anna graduated and     5     (offer) work. Once she wrote in her diary, “I am quite lucky.     6     I lost my arms, I still have my legs.”

Anna lost her arms, but she chose to face it in a positive (积极的) way. Instead of feeling sad every day, she decided not to let it hold her back. She has taught us a good lesson.

When something bad happens to us, we have two     7     (choose). One is to complain, and     8     other is to face it bravely. Just choose     9     (wise). If you decide to be brave and strong, new hopes     10     (come).

When the Library Cave, known as Cave 17 from the Mogao Cave Complex at Dunhuang, China, was opened in 1900, several tons of manuscripts (手稿) scrolls, booklets and paintings on silk and paper were found literally stuffed into it. These     1     (extreme) valuable writings were collected between     2     9th and 10th centuries CE, by Tang and Song Dynasty Buddhist monks who carved out the cave and then filled it     3     ancient and current manuscripts on topics ranging from religion and philosophy, history and mathematics, to folk songs and dance.

Cave 17 is only one of the 735 human-made     4     (cave) called Mogao Grottoes,     5     were dug into a loess cliff about 15 miles southeast of the town of Dunhuang in Gansu Province. Dunhuang’s long and glorious history reflects     6     (it) significance as a center of     7     (culture) and religious exchange. These caves     8     (dig) and maintained by Buddhist monks from 366 CE and were sealed and hidden about a thousand years ago. It was not until 1900 that they were rediscovered.

The Dunhuang Academy was set up in China in the 1980s,     9     (aim) to collect and preserve the manuscripts; the International Dunhuang Project (IDP) was formed in 1994 to bring the international scholars together     10     (work) jointly on the collections. The IDP has put many of the documents, images and translations online.

Henry was an American, who worked for a mining company. One day he was sailing when he had     1     accident. He found himself     2     (carry) out to sea by a strong wind. He didn’t know whether he could survive the next morning.     3     (lucky), he was spotted by a ship and arrived in England       4     accident. He had no money and was very hungry. He was     5     (lose) in England and was wandering in the street. To     6     (he) surprise, an unbelievable thing happened. Two rich brothers invited him into their house.

When the two brothers learned that Henry had no money, one of the brothers said it was a luck，    7     made Henry puzzled. He thought they     8     (make) fun of him. He wanted to leave the house, but the two brothers stopped him and gave him a letter. They asked him not     9     (open) it until two o’clock. Henry said he would keep his word and     10     (leave) the house.

Recently a new survey indicates young people in China much prefer     1     (make) fresh food rather than buy prepared food. Mei Lin, for example, a 22-year-old college graduate from Anhui,     2     (stop) ordering take-away food for nearly 3 years. She often goes jogging in the evening as well as playing tennis at the weekend     3     (keep) her fit, in addition to     4     (exercise) for a marathon to be held in Xiamen in the next spring. She believes her fresh food choices help her stay fit and active.

But the trend isn’t one     5     only women are taking up. Su Bo, a 26-year-old employee, has a demanding job in Shenzhen. He says that he has given up eating packaged meals except when he’s travelling for work. As a computer programmer, Su Bo thinks that it’s a matter of wanting to be healthy and     6     (energy). For him having a sharp mind and strong body meant cooking his own vegetables, eating less meat, and carrying fruit to work for lunch. Like Mei Lin, Su Bo recommended that eating healthy food     7     (be) helpful to our fitness routine.

When     8     (ask) whether their eating habits are common among their age group, both Mei Lin and Su Bo say they are.     9    , it’s not clear whether this food trend will     10     (adopt) by other young Chinese people. Are Mei Lin and Su Bo unique or are they setting a new trend? It’s too early to say.