The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the     1    (important) traditional festivals in China. Many Chinese people have continued the custom of the dragon boat race for the festival. Those people decorate the boats to resemble a dragon. Craftsmen exercise their skills to     2     full with their carving and painting to decorate each boat.

According to legend, the race became the custom after the rescue of the patriotic poet Qu Yuan in the Warring States Period (475 BC~221 BC). As far back as the Sui Dynasty, the Emperor Yang sailed in a large-scale dragon boat with the height of 15 meters (49 feet) and the     3    (long) of 67 meters (220 feet),     4     contained halls and 120 cabins. It is recorded that there     5    (be) nine boats in use at that time, each three storeys high.

In competitions, the dragon boat race often appears as a group activity. Nowadays the boat is     6    (usual) around 20 meters (66 feet) long and 1 meter (3.3 feet) wide. A participating team consists     7     oarsmen (划桨者) or oarswomen, a coxswain (舵手), a gong beater and a drummer. The oarsmen will row,     8    (follow) the rhythmical drumbeats.

    9    (encourage) the development of the special sport, various meetings are arranged. China’s National Games of Minority Nationality’s Traditional Sports is one example and it     10    (hold) every four years.