1 . Once a year in a small mountain village, the Mande people gather to hear the folk stories of their traditions. The man playing an instrument called Sosso-Bala while singing is the storyteller. He holds all the folk knowledge of the Mande people.

Most of us don’t have a musical instrument that ties us together, but we have someone in our lives who’s the keeper of our folk knowledge. Often it’s a grandmother, who keeps all our stories of wisdom ready to tell upon request.    1     .What’s the best way to get a baby to sleep? Where do I come from? What’s my moral compass? The stories provide an answer, and it’s useful to speak with someone who knows how things are done.

    2     Researchers have documented folk knowledge in other species whales returning to parts of the sea that they’d abandoned a generation before; monkeys that communicate hunting skills to their offspring (后代). Folk knowledge is not only culture, it’s also survival.    3    

Traditionally, we share it in small units—families sharing around a dinner table.    4    Look at any social median, and you’ll see folk knowledge at work and at play. It’s exploded as we’re trained to look for information online, rather than from within. In this case, chances are that our questions can be answered with misinformation.

But we don’t gather once a year to reality check our “folk stories” as the Mande people do; nor do we center our folk traditions around a musical instrument. The internet has no reality except its own and, left unchecked, its wisdom has no rhythm(节奏).    5    

It is believed that Chinese knotting, also known as zhongguojie, originated for recording information and exchanging messages     1     writing was invented. Over the past thousands of years, knots     2     (play) an important part in the life of Chinese.    3     (initial), Chinese knots acted as good -luck charms to drive away evil spirits. Today, Chinese knots are widely used to decorate homes during festivities.

A major characteristic of Chinese knots is that they are often tied from a single continuous length of string. The knots are commonly named     4     the shape it takes. Chinese knots are created in a     5     (various) of colors such as gold, green, blue, or black, though the most commonly used color is red,    6     symbolizes good luck and prosperity.

Crafting the Chinese knot is a three-step process     7     (involve) tying knots, tightening them and adding the finishing touches. The knots     8     (pull) tightly together and are strong enough to be used for binding or wrapping, making them very practical.

Today, most of such knots are often mass manufactured in factories. Skilled knot artists weave complex knots that you might see     9     (sell) as souvenirs that you can take back with you. If you have time, why not try your hand at it? Perhaps these age-old charms can add     10     touch of good luck to your daily life?

In May, 2023, the National Museum of China (NMC) launched     1     (it) first original stage play, Joyful Songs In A Flourishing Age, as part of a project seeking to make cultural heritage active again.

Inspired by The Pottery Storyteller Beating A Drum, a piece in the NMC’s collection from the Eastern Han Dynasty,     2     play presented a fantasy “dialogue” between the ancient ceramic (陶瓷的) figures and the audience while     3     (integrate) art forms such as drama, musical and opera.

Dialogues    4     time and space are happening in new ways at the NMC. The bronze (青铜) exhibits from the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties    5     (display) inside the NMC’s Ancient China exhibition hall often lead visitors     6     (impress) by ancient Chinese civilization. Collectible cards featuring    7     (image) of the museum’s collections have also proven quite popular with visitors.

Since 2018, the NMC    8     (develop) virtual exhibition halls and published short videos on its social media platforms. Therefore, visitors can enjoy exhibitions online, getting a taste of Chinese culture without even leaving their homes. Not only can cultural and creative products bridge gaps,     9    they can also help visitors better relate to     10     (hide) cultural meanings.

Exhibition of Chinese Zodiac (生肖) Culture, which is an annual Chinese New Year cultural series exhibition at the Chongqing Three Gorges Museum,     1     (launch) on January 9,2024. This year’s theme is “Dragon Dance in China,” aiming     2     (show) the rich cultural legacy of the dragon.

Open to the public until March 10, the exhibition     3     (consist) of three sections, namely, the King of Insects, the Wisest of All Creatures, and the Purple Air Comes from the East, explaining how the dragon has become a cultural symbol representing imperial power, good fortune, power over weather and water,     4     a pioneering spirit.

The dragon, as     5     spiritual being, has evolved throughout Chinese history, reaching its peak during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. The succession of dynasties sees the dragon’s     6     (expand) into various objects, including bronze, jade, copper mirrors, silk fabrics, and more.

    7     (feature) 169 pieces of exhibits related to the symbol of the dragon, the exhibition offers a wide range of artworks, such as jade objects, bronze ware, pottery, clothing, stone carvings, New Year paintings and paper cuttings, among     8     67 pieces are graded cultural relics from different dynasties.

In addition to the exhibition, the Chongqing Three Gorges Museum will continue to host a series of     9     (activity), including intangible cultural heritage experiences and cultural creative markets, making it a great choice     10     winter vacation travel.

6 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入一个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Dazu Rock Carvings refers to all of the 102 cliffside carvings in Dazu district, Chongqing. The     1     (construct) of those rock carvings dates back to 650, and continued into the 17th century. The scenic area     2     (add) to the World Heritage List in December 1999.

So far, 50,000 statues and 100,000 carved Chinese characters     3     (identify) and over 75 cliff statue sites are under state protection. The cliff statues are large in size, well carved and among the best     4     (preserve) of their similarities.

The Dazu Rock Carvings have     5     important position in the history of China’s grotto art. Artisans created these rock carvings not simply by replicating (复制) images that their ancestors had made     6     by combining religious figures with ordinary life,     7     recorded the transition (过渡) of society. The statues show the evolution of carving and national features,     8     (break) new ground in religious art and creating dynamic figures full of life. They stand on the peak of Chinese rock carving art with their historical values and aesthetic (美学) quality.

According to the UNESCO description, the Dazu Rock Carvings are remarkable     9     their rich diversity of subject matter and the light they cast on daily life in ancient China. Their existence proved the     10     (harmony) synthesis (结合) of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism during that period.

    1     (create) in 2010, Chinese Language Day was designated to celebrate multilingualism and cultural    2     (diverse), and promote the equal use of the six official languages within the United Nations.

The Confucius Institute at Ljubljana University in Slovenia held an event Thursday     3     (mark) the 14th annual Chinese Language Day. Nearly 300 people participated in the event, teachers, students, lovers of the Chinese language and culture, and overseas Chinese visitors     4     (include).

“The Chinese language is increasingly becoming the very bond     5     links friendly relations between China and the world,     6     (particular) Slovenia, and promotes mutual understanding and trust between Chinese and Slovenian people,” Chinese Ambassador to Slovenia Wang Shunqing said.

The Confucius Institute also     7     (organize) workshops, such as calligraphy, painting, tea art, cultural     8     (perform) and food tasting, to showcase traditional Chinese culture in an all-round way and to build a platform for people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and Slovenia.

    9     the end of 2021, more than 180 countries and regions around the world had offered education in Chinese language, more than 70 countries had included Chinese in their national education systems, and     10     number of people studying and using Chinese in countries other than China had reached 200 million, according to the United Nations statistics.