1    （see）from outer space, Earth is a blue planet, due to the fact that the ocean covers over 70 percent of its surface. According to a new study published in the journal Science, the ocean plays a great role in     2    （slow）down global warming.     3    The New York Times reported, it is “    4    important buffer（缓冲物）”.

The oceans can absorb 93 percent of the heat trapped by the greenhouse gases     5    humans release into the atmosphere. And the other 7 percent     6    （absorb)by the air, land and ice caps, according to the Guardian.

“If the ocean wasn’t absorbing as much heat, the surface of the land would heat up much     7     （fast） than it is right now,” said professor Malin L. Pinsky at Rutgers University in the US. “In fact, the ocean is saving us from rapid warming right now.”

However, the ocean itself, as Discover Magazine noted, is heating up 40 percent faster on average than the United Nations     8    （believe） five years ago. That means if the ocean temperatures increase     9    this speed, the high water temperatures “will kill off marine ecosystems, raise sea     10     (level) and make hurricanes more destructive （破坏性的）”, the Guardian reported.

Jingdezhen porcelain(瓷器)is Chinese porcelain produced in or near Jingdezhen in southern China. Jingdezhen has produced porcelain     1     (century)ago. And the town     2    was named Jingdezhen by Emperor Zhenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty became a major kiln(窑)site around 1004.During the period, the     3    (produce)of porcelain in this area first became     4    (know).By the 14th century it had become the largest centre of producing Chinese porcelain, which remained in the following times. In the Ming Dynasty, official kilns in Jingdezhen     5    (control)by the emperor, making quality porcelain in large quantities for the emperor to give abroad as gifts. As a result, the town was     6    (close)linked to the world.

Although being a remote town in a hilly area, Jingdezhen is near the quality porcelain stone and forests which can provide plenty of wood for the kilns. It also has     7    river flowing from north to south,     8    (benefit)the transport of the fragile objects.

Jingdezhen has produced a great variety of     9     (value) porcelain. As a result, the town is famous     10     the “Porcelain Capital”. One type of its well-known high quality porcelain object is the blue and white porcelain from the 1330s.

China has countless attractions. The Great Wall is     1     (probable) one that is most familiar     2     the Western tourists. The Great Wall is like a giant stone dragon,     3     (wind) across the country from the ocean on the east to the desert on the west. It is the longest wall that     4     (build) ever, 1500 miles in     5     (long). Along the wall are watch towers,     6     soldiers were on the watch for threats. The wall was initially constructed     7     (prevent) invasion of neighboring states, and the majority of the existing wall is from the Ming Dynasty. From the top of the Great Wall, people can enjoy     8     impressive view of continuous mountains, green trees and blooming wild flowers. If we were to build such a wall now, we would use modern machines.     9    , the ancient Chinese had to build the wall by hand. The reason why the Great Wall attracts tourists from all over the world every year is     10     it represents the highest wisdom of ancient china. Just as the saying goes, “He who has never been to the Great Wall is not a true man.”

The Great Wall of China is more than 6,000 kilometres long. It winds    1    (it) way from west to east, across deserts, over mountains, through valleys until at last it    2    (reach) the sea. The Great Wall has a history of over twenty centuries. The first part of it    3    (build) during the Spring and Autumn period. During the Qin Dynasty,    4    (keep) the enemy out of his empire, Emperor Qin Shi Huang had all the walls    5    (join) up. Thus, the Great Wall came into being. The Great Wall is wide enough at    6    top for live horses or ten men to walk side by side. Along the wall are watchtowers,    7    soldiers used to keep watch. Fire was lit on the towers as a    8    (warn) when the enemy came.

It was    9    (terrible) difficult to build such a wall in ancient days    10    any modern machine. All the work was done by hand. Thousands of men died and were buried under the wall they built. The Great Wall was made not only of stone and earth, but of the flesh and blood of millions of men.

In Hebei Province lies a vast forest called Saihanba. This green Great Wall,     1     at its peak during the Qing Dynasty covered thousands of hectares, had by the 1950s     2    （virtual）disappeared. This allowed sand to blow into Beijing from the northern deserts.

Saihanba is a combination of Chinese and Mongolian,     3    （mean）“beautiful highlands". Until the Qing Dynasty, it was a royal hunting land because of its cool summer weather and beautiful surroundings. However, most of the area had turned into a desert by the end of the Qing Dynasty.

In fact 56 years ago there was only one tree left. But without that tree, there     4    （be）no miracle of Saihanba today. In the early 1960s, over 350 foresters     5    （send）to this area to fight the desert. They were required     6    （rebuild）the forest in Saihanba. Few people, including the foresters themselves, believed they would succeed.

Their doubt disappeared, however, when they found the 200-year-old tree, swaying alone in     7     wind. If one tree could survive here,     8     could millions of trees, they thought.

After decades of hard work, three generations of the foresters have restored almost 80% of the original Saihanba forest. Recently, they were awarded the     9    （high）environmental honor from the United Nations for their great     10    （contribute）to creating a greener world.

The Truth about Whisky

Whisky is probably     1     most famous product of Scotland. Whisky making provides work     2     several thousand people in the Scottish Highlands and islands, and whisky is Scotland's biggest goods     3     (sell) to every corner of the world.

The qualities of whisky come from the water which     4     (use) to make it the rich "peaty"(多泥炭的) water of Scotland. When whisky is first made, it is     5     (actual) clear, not brown in colour. The colour comes from the wooden     6     (container) in which the whisky is stored for several years to allow it     7     (mature) from a little added sugar.

For many years, whisky has been one of the most popular drinks all over the world, and Scotland     8     (produce) more and more of it so far. But whisky sales have not increased as fast, so there are now large reserves of whisky in Scotland, especially the better and     9     (much) expensive whisky. So a lot of the whisky sold today was made several years ago when people thought that whisky would get more and more popular. That is     10    , today, a lot of the whisky in the shops is marked with "Ten years old", or even "Fifteen years old".

The Dujiangyan is the oldest man-made water system in the world, and a wonder in the development of Chinese agriculture.     1     （build）over 2,200 years ago in what is now Sichuan Province in Southwest China, this amazing engineering     2    （achieve）is still used today.

In ancient times, the region where Dujiangyan now stands     3    （suffer）from regular floods from the Minjiang River.     4    （help）the victims of the flooding, Li Bing,     5     region governor, together with his son, decided to find a solution. Li designed a series of channels built at different levels along Mount Yulei that would take away the floodwaters while leaving the river flowing naturally.     6    （good）still, the extra water could be directed to the dry Chengdu Plain, making     7     suitable for farming.

Once the system     8    （finish）, no more floods happened and the people were able to live     9    （peaceful）. Today, Dujiangyan is admired by scientists from around the world because of one feature. Unlike modern dams,     10     the water is blocked with a huge wall, Dujiangyan still lets waterflow through the Minjiang River naturally, making the ecosystem（生态系统）and fish populations exist in peace.

On Aug 13, four Chinese irrigation sites won global     1    (recognize) and were added to the 2018 list of Heritage Irrigation Structures, among     2     Dujiangyan is the oldest and only surviving damless irrigation system in the world.

Built over 2,000 years ago in     3     is now Sichuan Province in Southwest China，this amazing engineering achievement is still playing a crucial role in irrigating farms and providing water resources for more than 50 cities in the province.

In ancient times, the region in which Dujiangyan now stands     4    (threaten) by frequent flooding from the Minjiang River. Li Bing, a local official of Sichuan Province at that time, together with his son, decided to construct an irrigation system on the Minjiang River     5    (prevent) flooding. After many studies, they found the     6     (simple) solution was to build a dam, but this would have ruined the Minjiang River. So instead Li designed a series of     7    (channel) built at different levels along Mount Yulei that would take away the floodwater while leaving the river flowing     8    (natural). Better still, the extra water could be directed to the dry Chengdu Plain,     9    (make) it suitable for farming.

Ever since the great Dujiangyan Irrigation System was completed, the Chengdu Plain has been free     10     flooding and the people there have been living peacefully.

Plovdiv is situated in south-central Bulgaria on the two banks of the Maritsa River. The city has historically developed on seven hills, some of     1     are 250m (820.21 ft) high. Because of these hills, Plovdiv is     2    (typical) referred to in Bulgaria as “The city of the Seven Hills”. Plovdiv’s history     3    (date) back to 6000 BC. Though originally it was     4    Thracian city, Plovidiv has been ruled by many empires over centuries. Later it       5    (conquer) by the Romans. Only in 1885 did the city become part of Bulgaria. Nowadays it’s the second     6    (large) city in Bulgaria and it’s a significant economic, educational and cultural center.

Plovdiv remains a popular     7    (choose) for vacation travel. I have been obsessed with the city     8    years. Last summer I was lucky     9    (spend) a couple of days in this city and I just fell in love with its narrow paved streets and neat beautiful house! The Old Town is definitely worthy     10    (see). It is overwhelmed with restaurants, workshops and museums that were previously famous houses.

Classical Chinese garden design aims to create a natural landscape on a small scale and emphasize the perfect harmony between man and nature.

A Chinese garden     1    (be) like a scroll (卷轴) painting,     2    (show) a series of carefully composed scenes. New views are revealed as one walks along the pathways. In the gardens,     3     most frequently meets the eye is winding paths that seemingly lead to nowhere. There, a path seems to end, but all of     4     sudden, a new world is rolled out before you: pavilions (亭子), rock formations, spring waters—all combined to provide a pleasant surprise! At the     5    (enter) to a Chinese garden, there is usually a huge stone or wall     6    (use) to screen your view so as to later produce unimaginable delight when you turn around the wall. A Chinese garden may have windows on all     7    (it) four walls. And it is     8    (interest) that, through the windows, visitors may see different views at different angles, and thus the composition of the garden becomes enlarged.

A Chinese garden is where culture is both created and enjoyed. All plants mark the shift of the     9    (season). Similarly, water, a symbol of the ever-changing,     10     rocks, a symbol of the eternal (永恒的), create a harmonious balance of nature’s yin and yang.