1 . China’s long history has seen many scientists making great contributions to the development of ancient China and even the world. We have selected several greatest scientists in ancient China and hope to help you learn more about Chinese science and technology.

Zhang Zhongjing (150-219) was a Chinese physician in Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). He founded medication principles and summarized the medicinal experience before his time. His famous work “ Shang Han Za Bing Lun ” had a major influence on the practice of traditional Chinese medicine. Today, this great book was still considered very important in the practice of Chinese medicine.

Li Daoyuan (AD 427 or 469-527) was a great Chinese geographer during the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534). He wrote the famous work “ Commentary to the River Classic ” (Shui Jing Zhu). The book is a great work on the ancient geography of China and it sums up China’s geography and its surrounding areas before Northern Wei Dynasty.

Sun Simiao was an outstanding medical scientist in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). He was called “ China’s King of Medicine ” for his important contributions to Chinese traditional medicine. Sun authored two books — “Qian Jin Yao Fang” and “Qian Jin Yi Fang” that were both landmarks in Chinese medicine history.

Shen Kuo was a great Chinese scientist and politician of the Song Dynasty (960-1279). He compiled (汇编) an scientific work “Dream Pool Essays”, which involves a lot descriptions about the animals and plants in the country. Shen also first described the magnetic needle compass, which would be used for navigation (航行). His discovery of concept of true north towards the north pole was four hundred years earlier than Europe.

A drama series named "Medal of the Republic" has aroused    1    (enthusiasm) discussion on Chinese social media. The series tells heart-warming stories about the first group of eight recipients of the Medal of the Republic, the country's    2    (high) honor for those who have made great contributions     3     the development of the People's Republic of China.

According to the series' chief director Zheng Xiaolong,    4    (compare) to most biopic(传记片) productions that tend to document the whole life of the featured individual, this series focuses    5    (specific) on the individuals' most shining moments.

The episode(集) on Li Yannian(李延年), a soldier of Chinese People's Volunteer Army, focuses on the battlefield during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. With his     6    (brave) and wisdom, Li and his fellow soldiers retook a strategic highland and fulfilled their mission.

In the episode on nuclear physicist Yu Min(于敏),     7     is regarded as the "father of China's hydrogen bomb," viewers can see how he overcamedifficulties     8     made breakthroughs in hydrogen bomb research after several months of undertaking complex calculations.

In the episode on Nobel Prize winner Tu Youyou(屠呦呦), you learn about her efforts to develop a medicine which    9    (use) to treat malaria(疟疾). Her breakthrough has saved millions of lives, especially in developing    10    (country).

Shen Kuo was an excellent scientist of the Northern Song Dynasty. He was an all-round scholar of astronomy, literature, physics, chemistry, calendars, geology, meteorology     1     medical science. He was also an outstanding engineer and excellent military strategist. He even made a great contribution     2     art and literature. So Shen Kuo was well known for being     3    (knowledge) in ancient China.

Meng Xi Bi Tan, Shen Kuo’s famous scientific work,     4    (complete) between 1086 and 1093. In the book, he wrote a lot about the animals and plants he had seen when     5    (travel) through the country, such as giant clams in the South China Sea, crocodiles in Chaozhou, Chinese wolfberries in the northwest of China and jerboas in the desert of northern China. The book also introduced     6    (method) of killing insect pests.

Shen Kuo pointed out in Meng Xi Bi Tan that human beings had pharynxes(咽)and larynxes(喉), with pharynxes for food and larynxes for ventilation (换气). He also     7    (have) great knowledge about fossils(化石). When visiting the Taihang Mountain,     8     is located in Shanxi Province, he discovered fossilized seashells and noted the presence of stones like those often     9    (find) on the seashore, leading him to conclude that Shanxi had been located by the sea in the distant past.

Meng Xi Bi Tan was     10    (wide) regarded as an important scientific work in ancient China.

6 . Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist Frank Wilczek has been honored with this year’s Templeton Prize. The award recognizes individuals whose life’s work brings together science and spirituality.

Wilczek is known for his research into the laws of nature. In a statement, the John Templeton Foundation said his work changes “our understanding of the forces that govern our universe.” It said he used physics to address “the great questions of meaning and purpose pondered by generations of religious thinkers.”

John Templeton created the prize in 1972. It is one of the most highly valued prizes at more than $1.3 million. Past winners include Jane Goodall, Mother Teresa and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Wilczek told The Associated Press, “It’s a company I’m very glad to join in.” He added, “It’s encouragement in a direction that I’ve really only taken up in a big way quite recently… which is thinking about not just what the world is and how it came to be this way but what we should do about it.”

Over a long career, Wilczek had many successes. He won the 2004 Nobel Prize along with David J. Gross, and H. David Politzer for their 1973 research explaining the unusual properties of the strong force. Wilczek is currently a physics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Arizona State University and Stockholm University. He is also the founding director of Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s T. D. Lee Institute. He has also written several books that are informed by science but look into spiritual and philosophical questions.

Heather Dill is the Templeton Foundation president. In a statement, she said, “Like Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein, he is a natural philosopher who unites a curiosity about the behavior of nature with a playful and profound philosophical mind.”

Born in China in 1911, Qian Xuesen majored in railroad engineering at Jiaotong University in Shanghai but switched to aeronautics(航空学)in 1935     1     he came to the United States to pursue graduate studies. He     2     (earn) a master's degree in 1936 from MIT and then a PhD in 1939.

Shortly thereafter, he worked in America and played a contributing role in the American space program. In 1950,     3     (he) request to return to China was denied. Eventually, he left with his family for China in 1955 as a result of diplomatic negotiations in Geneva. Upon his return to China, Qian     4    (appoint) as director of the Institute of Mechanics in the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he helped China conduct the first test of an atomic (原子的)bomb     5    (deliver) by a medium range missile in 1966. He furthermore contributed     6     China launching its first satellite in 1970.

In his later years, Qian was also credited in China for     7     (provide) critical support of the human space flight program when it faced cutbacks. He was     8     (especial) influential in his promotion of systems engineering in aerospace (航天航空)projects and other     9     (area) until his death in 2009. Qian is regarded as     10     pioneering and foundational figure in the history of China's space program.

9 . Westminster Abbey is one of the most famous religious buildings in the world. Here are some of the famous people buried at Westminster Abbey.

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens, who died in 1870, is buried in Poets’ Corner, the resting place and remembrance location for writers of all kinds.

Dickens is known for many of his works, and A Christmas Carol and A Tale of Two Cities are two of his most widely known works. It was popular opinion among the people and his fellow writers that Dickens should be buried in Westminster Abbey.

Stephen Hawking

Hawking was a scientist, physicist, and author, who died in 2018. Carved onto his stone is a series of rings, surrounding a darker central ellipse (椭圆). The ten characters of Hawking’s equation express his idea that black holes in the universe are not entirely black but send out a glow that would become known as Hawking radiation.

His epitaph (墓志铭) reads, “HERE LIES WHAT WAS MORTAL OF STEPHEN HAWKING”.

Laurence Olivier

Famous actor Laurence Olivier is also buried in Westminster Abbey. Born in 1907, his career began on the stage in England, and he eventually became a film legend until his death in 1989.

It’s well known that he had won Academy Awards, while also being honoured with special Oscars. Olivier’s grave is located in the South Transept in Poets’ Corner of the Abbey, in front of Shakespeare’s memorial.

Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton is considered one of the most important scientists of all time. He was a physicist, mathematician, and astronomer. He formulated the Law of Motion as well as the Law of Universal Gravitation.

Artist William Kent designed Newton’s complex funerary monument, and it was sculpted by Michael Rysbrack.

Yuan Longping, China’s “father of hybrid rice” and highly    1    (praise) for his contributions to the country’s food     2     (secure), died on Saturday. He was 91 years old.

Born in Beijing in September 1930, Yuan     3     (begin) his career as an agrarian(土地的) researcher during the 1950s. He often said in interviews that he     4    (drive) to increase rice output in China because of the hunger he had witnessed. “My lifetime pursuit is to ensure all people stay away from hunger,” he once said.

In 1964, Yuan theorized that a male-sterile(雄性不育的) grain could be crossed with other plants to increase production.     5    , it was not until 1973 that he cultivated the first hybrid rice thanks to the     6    (discover) of a wild rice species     7     made the breakthrough possible. Mass cultivation(种植) of the crop began in 1976 and proved key to China’s ability     8    (feed) one-fifth of the world’s population     9     just 9 per cent of its arable(可耕种的) land.

In 1995, he produced a two-line hybrid rice and was tasked by the government to improve production still     10    (far). He later developed a single-line hybrid rice. Yuan was awarded the World Food Prize in 2004, for “pioneering research in his contributions to the fight against food deficiency(缺乏).