The remains of a gold mask are among the 3,000-year-old artifacts (历史文物) found at Sanxingdui, a 4.6-square-mile area outside Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province.     1     (weigh) about 280 grams and estimated to be made from 84% gold, the mask is one of over 500 items unearthed from six newly discovered “sacrificial pits (祭祀坑)” in Sanxingdui.

More than 50,000 ancient artifacts     2     (find) at Sanxingdui since the 1920s, when a local farmer     3     (accidental) came upon a number of relics at the site. A major breakthrough     4     (occur) in 1986, with the discovery of two ceremonial pits containing over 1,000 items. Discoveries made at the site date back to the 12th and 11th centuries BC, and many of the items are now     5     display at an on-site museum.

The site has completely changed experts’ understanding of     6     the ancient civilization developed in China. In particular,     7     (evident) suggests that the unique ancient Shu society developed independently of neighboring cultures in the Yellow River Valley,     8     was traditionally considered to be the origin of Chinese civilization.

Along with other Shu archaeological     9     (site), it is credited by the UN as “    10     outstanding representative of the Bronze Age Civilization of China, East Asia and even the world.”

There are all kinds of festivals and     1     (celebrate) around the world, which are held for different reasons. Most ancient festivals were     2     (main) held to celebrate the end of cold weather, planting in spring and harvest in autumn.

Today’s festivals have many origins. Some festivals are held to honor the dead     3     to satisfied the ancestors in case they might do harm, while     4     festivals are held to honor famous people, such as the Dragon Boat Festival and Columbus Day, the former of which honors the Chinese famous poet, Qu Yuan, and the latter Columbus’     5     (arrive) in the New World. Harvest and Thanksgiving festivals are happy events because the food     6     (gather) for the winter and the     7     (agriculture) work is over, to which mid-autumn festivals belong.

The most     8     (energy) and important festivals are the ones that look forward to the end of winter and the     9     (come) of spring, such as the Spring Festival in China, during which people like to get together to eat, drink and have fun     10     each other.