Li Wen, a paper-cutting artist from Lingbi county, east China’s An hui Province, has devoted     1     (her) to the artform for 17 years.

In 2005, Li     2     (study) oil painting at school when she saw wedding paper-cutting works posted on the windows of her neighbor’s house and was     3     (immediate) impressed by the craft (手艺), as well as the lifelike images on them. Since then, Li     4     (throw) herself into learning the craft wholeheartedly.

Li always brings scissors and paper with her whenever she goes, and has created paper-cutting works covering     5     wide range of themes. In addition to exploring     6     (tradition) patterns of paper-cutting works and learning various expressive techniques, Li has also improved her skills by frequently learning the craft from skilled     7     (artist). Li pays attention     8     every detail when she makes her paper-cutting works, and puts great passion and energy into all of them. As a result, she makes very few mistakes when     9     (create) paper-cutting works.

Li’s passion for the art has helped her go far. She has been awarded several titles, such as “Master in Arts and Crafts” of Suzhou city,     10     is a great honour for her.

One of the largest research libraries in the world, the British Library houses more than 170 million items. The library usually selects works based on     1     (they) popularity or by considering an item’s value.

Recently, 16 Chinese online novels have been added to the     2     (collect) of the British Library, including Great Power, Heavy Industry, Good Spring Time,     3     The Wisdom of Great Song Dynasty.

    4     (cover) themes of science fiction, history, reality and fantasy, these works are considered the classics of Chinese online literature from the past 20 years. Readers can check the information about the 16 books on the library’s website, and borrow     5     (print) copies.

Good Spring Time     6     (focus) on Chinese porcelain culture, conveying a spirit that encourages people to fight against fate, and pictures women’s independence, as well as the love and care among family members.

Readers can see     7     splendid and elegant China through the tradition, struggles and beauty described in the novel.

Great Power, Heavy Industry tells of how China’s manufacturing industries have rapidly grown     8     (strong) in recent decades, and foreign readers can learn about the Chinese system and culture behind the country’s swift     9     (economy) development. The author,     10     online pen name is Qicheng, said I hope through this novel, overseas readers can experience the charm of Chinese culture.

Chinese paper cutting or jianzhi is the first paper-cutting design,     1     (date) back to the Eastern Han Dynasty. Due to its unique     2     (art) appeal, after hundreds of years’ development, the paper-cuts have become a means of decorations     3     is popular both home and abroad.

    4     (general) , the paper-cuts are used to decorate doors and windows, thus sometimes they     5     (refer) to as ―chuanghua (Window Flower). They are also used for religious and ceremonial purposes, buried with the dead and burned at funerals.

Chinese people believe the red paper-cuts on the door can bring good fortune and happiness     6     the whole family. As a result, paper-cuts are more often seen during traditional Chinese festivals, the Spring Festival in particular.

People find hope and comfort in expressing best     7     (wish) with paper-cuttings. For instance: for a wedding ceremony, red paper-cuttings are a traditional decoration on the tea set, the dressing table glass, and other furniture.     8     big red paper character ―Xi(happiness) is a traditional must on the newly-wed’s (新婚夫妇) door. With its popularity     9     (increase) , we may never fail     10     (feel) the existence of Chinese paper-cutting all over the world.

Bridges made out of living roots of trees have been put forward for UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

The root bridges are in the Meghalaya region of northeast India. The region gets    1    lot of rainfall and is one of the    2     (wet) areas on Earth, which creates lots of lakes rivers and waterfalls,    3    (make) it difficult to build roads. However, for hundreds of years the local Khasi people have been trying    4     (they) best to grow root bridges across rivers and streams to make it easier for them to move around the area.

The bridges    5     (build) by stretching the roots of living trees over the river and winding them around bamboo structures to guide them in the right    6     (direct). The roots can take up to 20 years    7     (grow) into a complete bridge.

The India government has suggested Meghalaya’s root bridges should be added     8    the UNESCO World Heritage List. This means they will get special recognition-just like Egypt’s pyramids or the Great Barrier Reef in Australia-    9    should attract more tourist and money to the area.

Morningstar Khongthaw from Meghalaya said, “We want to spread this knowledge so that future    10     (generation) will benefit.”

The Art of Chinese Xinjiang Uyghur Muqam (新疆维吾尔木卡姆艺术) is a     1    (represent) name of various kinds of Muqam in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (自治区),     2     was declared one of the UNESCO Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005.

Muqam,     3    (recognise) as the mother of Uyghur music, is not only     4     artistic creation with a long history, but also a record of     5    (communicate) between China and the regions to the west of it in history. It can be found in 19 countries and regions in Central, South, and West Asia, and North Africa, which is     6    (particular) due to Xinjiang’s central location along the Silk Road.

In Muqam ensembles (乐团), the lead instruments, called satar, are made from local materials and vary in form. The dancing skills involve unique steps, rhythms, and formations as well as     7    (figure) such as flower-picking-by-mouth, bowl-carrying-on-head, and imitation of animals in solo dances.

Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, every possible means     8    (use) to preserve the Twelve Muqam by the Chinese government. About 20 study centres have been set up     9    (train) professional researchers on Muqam. Moreover, the government has introduced Muqam     10     the national artistic education system.

Drum culture has accompanied Chinese civilization for thousands of years and has a deep spiritual meaning, far     1     its physical meaning. Confucius regarded the “Drum Dance”     2     (high).

At the closing ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, 200 drummers in red formed a round drum array (队形) to dance and beat drums. The perfect beats     3     (draw) the curtain on the exceptional Olympic Games. Chinese drum is an ancient practice     4     Chinese culture is deeply rooted.

The earliest reference to a clay fired drum     5     (date) back to the Pottery Age. In ancient China, drums were played to pray to the gods for good weather in agriculture, strike fear in the heart of the enemies in the war and later on accompany some performances and labor     6     (compete).

Dozens of types of Chinese drums exist today. For instance, “Taiping drum” is used to express praying for peace and prosperity while “Ansai waist drum”,     7     (mean) to interpret the spirit of the Losses Plateau and the     8     (hero) character of Northwest farmers, is still popular.

The boom of drum culture reflects     9     stable and prosperous Chinese society. For thousands of years, the drum beats have played in the backdrop,     10     (diversify) Chinese traditional culture.