Listed as a national­level intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产) in 2006, Qinqiang Opera has gradually seen a return     1     popularity in recent years. The revival (复兴) of Qinqiang Opera     2     (attract) more young audience since then.

“Ten years ago, our audience     3     (be) mostly old people. We were afraid we would lose them one day. Now we have lots of young audience members     4     our performances are     5     (warm) welcomed,” said Hou Yan to China Daily.

The number of young     6     (performer) increased as well. The average age of Hou’s opera team is 30. “As we become more confident about our culture, more young people will like     7     (tradition) culture as a fashionable trend and become promoters (推广者) of     8     (they) own culture,” Hou said to China Daily.

The revival of Qinqiang Opera in the past decades has reflected the country’s cultural development,     9     surprises the public. Hou’s attitude to her career has also changed. “As an opera actor, I’m very confident in our culture. I couldn’t imagine it decades ago. So I consider it our duty     10     (make) it well received.”

November 11 this year marks the eleventh "Double Eleven" online shopping festival that     1     (start) by E-commerce giant Alibaba in 2009. Hidden behind the large-scale individual     2     (consume), here is one question: Do the Double Eleven discounts really help you to save money?

Double eleven offers various discounts and customers' eyes are full of     3     (advertisement), which costs customers     4     great deal of patience in front of their computers to go through every price combination to work out which one is more     5     (benefit) than the rest. After the shopping madness ends,     6     customers just find is that they don't     7     (true) need these bargains. “I still remember that last year my friends and colleagues kept talking about what things were cheap.     8     (expose) to the atmosphere, I couldn't help     9     (shop) around online. Those goods arrived later, but I was     10     a loss as to how to use them. I suddenly realized the reason why I bought these things was that I was only attracted by the prices” a customer said.

In China, the history of people planting and using bamboo dates back to as far as 7, 000 years ago. As early as the Shang Dynasty, bamboo was used for food, clothing, housing, transportation, musical instruments and even weapons. Since then it     1     (use) in many aspects of people’s daily lives.

The     2     (apply) of bamboo in science and technology is thrilling. In 51 BC, Li Bing, in Sichuan,     3     (lead) the local people in building the Dujiang Weirs, the first irrigation (灌溉) network in the world, in     4     bamboo played an important role. The world’s oldest water pipe was also made of bamboo. During the Han Dynasty, the people in Sichuan     5     (success) sank a 1600-metre-deep well with thick bamboo ropes. This technology did not spread to Europe     6     the 19th century, and it was by using the technology     7     the Americans drilled the first oil well in Pennsylvania in 1859.

In Chinese culture, bamboo is well-known as     8     of the “four gentlemen” in plants. To many distinguished men, bamboo is a symbol of goodness and honesty. It is always closely     9     (connect) with people of positive spirits. Bamboo culture always plays a positive role in encouraging people to hold on when     10     (face) tough situations.

The     1     (tradition) Chinese lunar year divides the year into 24 solar terms. On the first day of Winter Solstice (冬至), the Northern Hemisphere (半球) experiences the     2     (short) day in the year. The Winter Solstice also     3     (mark) the arrival of the coldest season in the year.

There was a saying     4     ancient China, “The Winter Solstice is as important as the Spring Festival.” As early as the Zhou Dynasty, people worshipped (崇拜) the gods on the first day of the Winter Solstice,     5     also was the first day of the new year. The Winter Solstice     6     (become) a winter festival during the Han Dynasty.     7     (celebrate) were officially organized. On this day, both officials and common people would have     8     rest.

During the following dynasties, such     9     the Tang, Song and Qing dynasties, the Winter Solstice was a day     10     (offer) sacrifices (祭祀) to Heaven and to ancestors.

The Dragon Boat Festival has been marked by eating zongzi and racing dragon boats for thousands of years. It     1     (fall) on the fifth day of the fifth month according to the Chinese lunar calendar in honor of Qu yuan,     2     is said to have committed suicide by drowning himself.

Qu was minister of the state of Chu     3     (locate) in the present-day Hunan and Hebei provinces during the Warring States period. He was upright, loyal and     4     (high) respected.     5    , he was fired from office due to his suggestion to fight against Qin in cooperation with other states. During his stay in other states, he wrote many poems to express his strong love for his country. When Chu     6     (defeat) by Qin. He realized     7     he could do about it was nothing. Qu jumped into Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth month.

After the     8     (dead) of Qu Yuan, people of Chu went to Miluo River to mourn (悼念) over the great poet they loved so much. People threw eggs and rice wrapped in leaves     9     the river to feed the fish to keep them away from Qu Yuan. Now the Dragon Boat Festival has become a       10    ( tradition) festival for the Chinese people.

Poetry is never far away from our daily lives. Many of us grew up reciting classic poems, learning to enjoy this beautiful art form that's able to use just a few lines     1    (express) such rich meanings.

The Chinese Shijing, which dates back to the Western Zhou Dynasty, has a     2    ( long) history than the Homeric Epics(荷马史诗). Even today, classic poems     3    (love)by a lot of people.

To recognize the special     4    (able)of poetry and get its creative spirit, World Poetry Day is held by the United Nations on March 21 each year to support linguistic diversity through poetic expression.

The Chinese Poetry Congress(中国诗词大会) showing classic poetry is     5    (extreme)popular. The competition saw over 100 hopeful participants taking part in     6    number of challenges. The participants,     7    ages range from 7 to 70, include students,farmers, teachers and foreign competitors with an interest     8    Chinese literature.

And even TV series involving poetry are very     9    (success). For example, in The Legend of Zhenhuan, one of the drama's most moving songs was adapted from a poem     10    ( write)by Wen Tingyun of the Tang Dynasty.

It is a big challenge     1     (balance) the progress and the protection of cultural sites. We all need to take responsibility     2     it. And we should know that it is a time which     3     (hold) both challenges and solutions.

Twelve animal head statues of the Chinese zodiac (生肖) are well-known treasures from Yuanmingyuan, or the Old Summer Palace. After Anglo-French troops broke     1     the Old Summer Palace in 1860, numerous national treasures, including the 12 animal head statues,     2     (take) away.

On Nov 13, a red bronze horse-head statue,     3     was donated by Macao-based collector Stanley Ho, returned to Beijing. “The     4     (break) link of historical memory is thus re-connected,” Liu Yuzhu, director of the NCHA, told China Daily. "The return of these relics holds the Public's collective emotion. People's cultural     5    (confident) can be strengthened. It will also encourage more compatriots' (爱国者) devotion, both at home and abroad,    6    (preserve) the cultural heritage of our country better.”

In     7     Past 70 years, the Chinese government and many compatriots     8     (spare) no effort to reclaim (拿回) lost Chinese relics and artifacts from overseas. Due to their efforts, the horse statue is the     9    (seven) of the 12 animal statues to be returned from overseas, Now ,the search is on for     10    (remain) five: a dog, a rooster, a dragon, a sheep and a snake.

The Palace Museum received a     1    (value) painting, The Landscape Map of the Silk Road,     2     was donated by Xu Rongmao, chairman of Hong Kong Shimao Group, on November 30,2017.

The 30-meter-long scroll(卷轴) is painted on silk. The painting describes trade routes(路线)     3    (start) at Jiayuguan Pass in Northwest China’s Gansu Province to Tianfang city. now the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. As many as 221 cities in what now are some 10 countries are     4     the scroll key spots along the ancient Silk Road, like Gansu Province's Dunhuang, Mecca, Damascus, Esfahan in Iran and Samarqand in Uzbekistan were included.

The map, which contains a large amount of geographic information, proves that China     5    (have) the world’s best mapping techniques at that time.     6     also shows Chinese people had had a clear understanding of the outside world     7     Western maps came into the country.

Obviously, the map is a     8    (contribute) of ancient Chinese geography to the whole world. It reflects the frequent business and cultural communication between China and     9    (country) along the ancient Silk Road.

At the moment further archaeological(考古学的), geographic and linguistic(语言的) research on the map     10    (carry) out. It will soon be shown to the public.