2 . If you think about World Heritage Sites, you probably think of places connected with ancient art and culture, historical buildings and monuments. And of course,many of these are on the World Heritage List (WHL)(世界遗产名录). But the WHL contains a lot of sites that are not so obvious. Let's look at a few of them.

Robben Island in South Africa

This island was used through the centuries as a prison , a hospital and a military base. But it's probably most famous as a maximum-security prison for political prisoners in the twentieth century. Nelson Mandela was one of its most famous residents. The WHL says it represents "the triumph of democracy(民主）and freedom over oppression and racism".

Borders of France and Spain

This is an area of great natural beauty and the mountains have many interesting geological formations. But it is also an area of small farms. People there still use a type of agriculture(农业）that used to be common in mountainous areas of Europe but that has almost completely   disappeared in modern times.

The city of Brasilia, Brazil

Brasilia is a capital city that was created from nothing in 1956. The WHL calls it "a landmark in the history of town planning". The different areas of the city and the buildings themselves were all designed at the same time carefully. Every part of the city shows the ideas of the planner and the architect.

Simien National Park, Ethiopia

Simien National Park was one of the first sites to be listed in 1978. It is one of the highest mountainous areas in Africa, and the WHL calls it "one of the most spectacular landscapes in the world". It is also important for its wildlife. The population of some rare animals is getting smaller and smaller.

Kite flying dated from China and became popular around the country. With a long history, it is considered as the     1     (early) aircraft we have ever known. Kites were used for military purposes in the very beginning, such as measurement and signaling. Later kite flying gradually became     2     outdoor activity for recreation as well as art and     3     (be) warmly welcome for centuries.

In the past, people fastened bamboo-made whistles onto a kite. While     4     (fly) through the wind, it produced sound like the music produced by gu-zheng,     5     is a traditional Chinese instrument. Therefore, kite has     6     (it) modern name as fengzheng.

In the 7^th century, kite     7     (introduce) to neighboring countries including Korea and Japan. Around the 13^th century, Marco Polo introduced it to Europe and Arab countries.

Around the Qingming Festival, usually on early April, many people fly kites in public squares. The sky is dotted with kites of different designs, such as dancing butterflies, bounding dragons, and swimming fish. When people look at those kites, they feel as if they were flying away with the kites     8     (escape) the noisy world and step into the nature with their body and soul. Besides, it is a way for people to pray     9     blessings and fortune.

The traditional Chinese kite expresses harmony(和谐) between human and nature, a long-held       10     (believe)treasured by the Chinese people.

9 . I felt my childhood was left on the plane to the United States when my baby cousins returned home. It was a really _______ moment for me.

During their stay in China, they had not only brought back the happy days of my childhood, but also helped me _______ from an at-times selfish teenager into a reliable grown-up.

Three years ago, my aunt and uncle moved here from Boston with their 1-year-old daughter Yasmeen and _______ an apartment close to our house. We were pretty _______ to have our family, especially a baby girl, so close to us. Yasmeen had close friendships with each of my sisters, but I knew the one that _______ between us was the strongest. As she began to walk on her own and talk in full _______, I realized my great _______ on her. I noticed that she’d _______ some of my unpleasant actions, _______ with her mother as I had done the same. Yasmeen made me realize what a good ________ should be.

When Maya was born, Yasmeen had a hard time ________ her younger sister. She was jealous(忌妒) of the attention we all paid to the little baby, so I did my best to keep her company when she felt ________. Once Yasmeen got over her jealousy, she was able to ________ Maya’s presence, like we all did. I tried my best to change my ________ in order to spend more time with my little cousins.

My ________ with Yasmeen and Maya has taught me the importance of being a good example.________ I helped my little cousins in a way, they have taught me how to be a good sister; and most ________, a better person — a more patient person, who would not be ________ by their endless questions; a(n) ________ person, who would be able to have fun and share with others; a role model, who ________ the babies ideas about right and wrong.

10 . As more and more people speak the global language of English, Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic, other languages are rapidly disappearing. In fact, half of the 6,000-7,000 languages spoken around the world today will be likely to die out by the next century, according the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

In an effort to prevent language loss, scholars from a number of organizations — UNESCO and National Geographic among them — have for many years been documenting dying languages and the cultures they reflect.

Mark Turin, a scientist at the Macmillan Center, Yale University, who specializes in the languages and oral traditions of the Himalayas, is following in that tradition. His recently published book, A Grammar of Thangmi and Their Culture, grows out of his experience living, working, and raising a family in a village in Nepal.

Documenting the Thangmi language and culture is just a starting point for Turin, who seeks to include other languages and oral traditions across the Himalayan reaches of India, Nepal, Bhutan, and China. But he is not content to simply record these voices before they disappear without record.

At the University of Cambridge Turin discovered a wealth of important materials —including photographs, films, tape recordings, and field notes — which had remained unstudied and were badly in need of care and protection. Now, through the two organizations that he has founded — the Digital Himalaya Project and the World Oral Literature Project — Turin has started a campaign to make such documents, found in libraries and stores around the world, available not just to schools but to the younger generations of communities from whom the materials were originally collected. Thanks to digital technology and the widely available Internet, Turin notes, the endangered languages can be saved and reconnected with speech communities.