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,     3     red bronze horse-head statue,     4     was donated by Macao-based collector Stanley Ho, returned to Beijing. “The     5     (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     6     (confident) can be strengthened. It will also encourage more compatriots’ (爱国者) devotion, both at home and abroad,     7     (preserve) the cultural heritage of our country better.”

In the 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 the     10     (remain) five: a dog, a rooster, a dragon, a sheep and a snake.

Shijing, also The Book of Songs or Shih Ching, is the     1     (early) collection of Chinese poetry. It     2     (make) up of 311 poems dating from the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty to the middle stage of the Spring and Autumn Period. Nowadays, Confucius is generally believed to be the     3     (edit) of the book.

Shijing is rich in content,     4     (describe) love and labour, war and slavery, customs and marriage, ancestor worship and special events. It is called a mirror of social life.

Poems included in Shijing fall into three sections-poems that come from villages belong to Feng; those written to persuade or praise the rulers belong to Ya; those used at religious     5     (ceremony) belong to Song. Ya and Song are flowery and serious in language.     6    , Feng is relatively inspiring and full of passion.

The opening poem of Shijing, “Cooing and Wooing” (《关雌》), is about love,     7     reads:

By riverside are cooing, a pair of turtledoves;

A good young man is wooing, a fair maiden he loves.

It is vivid that the man is longing     8     (win) over the girl.

Shijing enables people to have a better understanding of Chinese civilization and is also     9     beginning of ancient Chinese poetry. Additionally, it is also frequently quoted in other Chinese texts and has always been referred to     10     moral truth and lessons.

I     1     (be) always full of confidence about Hamlet before I saw The Revenge of Prince Zidan — the Peking Opera version of Hamlet. First, the opera brought a     2     (complete) new sound to my Western ears, beginning with an orchestra playing traditional Chinese instruments, one of     3     was an instrument with two strings     4     (call) jinghu. Then, I was surprised when the main characters came on stage. The costumes and masks were     5     (amaze). Although the     6     (perform) sang in Chinese, the music, exaggerated movements and mime helped get the meanings     7     the audience. The voices sounded really unique. So high were some of the female voices     8     I was sure they could break glass! And the stage was really simple.     9     (use) some special techniques, the opera had transformed a small stage into the whole universe. What I liked most was how the characters moved on stage. It was so dazzling and energetic that I wasn’t sure if the characters were performers     10     athletes! Feeling the strong emotions of love, anger, fear and grief in the performance. I could easily recognise the theme of Hamlet.

Studying abroad in Amman, Jordan, was a life changing experience for me. There were so many challenges and cultural norms I had to adapt     1    , and I needed to learn how     2     (behave) in new surroundings and cooperate     3     people from different cultural backgrounds. Fortunately, everyone I met there was understanding and welcoming. I applied through International Studies Abroad (ISA), and they were incredibly helpful and made the process less     4     (depress) and overwhelming. Studying abroad let me see things from new     5     (angle) and learn more about cultures around me. I hope everyone     6     (grasp) the opportunity to pursue further studies abroad and to gain     7     understanding of different cultures, too. I believe studying abroad can help you     8     (strength) your abilities in cross­cultural communication and improve your general     9     (competent).

Do you know Dunhuang? Dunhuang is home to the Mogao Grottoes,     1     UNESCO World Heritage Site, elements of which are     2     display in an ongoing exhibition at the National Base for International Cultural Trade in Beijing. Painted sculptures and other splendid items of cultural heritage have been reproduced, while the caves     3     are now closed have been reproduced in digital form.

The exhibition area,     4     (cover) some 1,600 square meters, features the results of research on nearly 50 sets of cultural relics from the Dunhuang Academy.     5     the real grotto in Dunhuang is no longer open to the public, the digitally     6     (restore) grotto can be preserved forever in the digital space.

Opening in July, the exhibition will last for three years. It is the first time that the Dunhuang Academy     7     (hold) such a long exhibition in Beijing. By the end of 2021, the “digital Dunhuang project” had completed the digital    8     (collect)of 268 grottoes. Such projects have provided a means of preserving China’s splendid cultural heritage for future generations, while making it more     9     (wide) available both at home and abroad. It is hoped that the “digital Dunhuang” will not only allow more audiences to experience the artistic charm of Dunhuang,     10     also promote exchanges between cultures along the Belt and Road under new historical conditions.

With a history of more than 2,000 years, the Silk Route dates back to Han dynasty. Through this route, the Chinese highly     1     (qualify) silk made its fame to the western countries. The merchants in different regions     2     (seek) the opportunity of trading Chinese silk     3     they indeed made their fortune along this route.

That route functioned     4     the life blood of international trade at that time. Meanwhile, the Chinese civilization was introduced to the Western countries and vice versa. The Silk Route     5     (consider) as a new chapter recording the friendship between the European and Asian peoples.

Throughout all these years, many great figures have made great     6     (contribute) to the development of the Silk Route. Today, the Silk Route has a poetic name     7     (call) One Belt One Road,    8     (aim) to help those connected regions in culture and economy exchange with a more advanced road. The main cities alongside it are becoming     9     (large) and more important in helping trade and culture exchange. Many countries have gained great benefits along the trading process. All in all, the ancient Silk Road is more like     10     historical textbook for everyone to read and to know about what happened during that ancient time. It has been playing a significant role in the development of the civilizations of China.

Every culture in the world celebrates festivals. Festivals around the world not only have     1     wide range of origins but also have different customs. The harvest festival,     2     takes place after all the crops have been gathered in, can be found in almost every culture. People celebrate it     3     (show) their gratitude to the year’s supply of food. But the     4     (celebrate) vary from country to country.

In ancient Egypt, it     5     (feature) a parade and a great feast with music, dancing, and sports during springtime. During the Mid－Autumn Festival in China, families gather to admire the     6     (shine) moon and enjoy delicious mooncakes.

Customs change with the     7     (develop) of modern society. In China, many big cities     8     (give) up the custom of lighting firecrackers in order to avoid air pollution. Nowadays, businesses take advantage of the celebrations and make festivals commercial. Although some are     9     it, others believe the increase in spending is good for the economy and public happiness.

Festivals reflect people’s wishes, beliefs, faiths and attitudes towards life. If you study festivals     10     (careful), you may be surprised to find that different cultures actually have a lot in common after all.

How to balance economic development     1     cultural heritage protection is likely     2     (be) a complex problem. In Egypt the proposal of building the Aswan Dam met with     3     (protest) for fear of damaging the cultural relics. Most people thought it worth the money     4     (spend) on it to preserve cultural heritage     5     being destroyed. It was thanks to the hard work and contributions of the     6     (globe) community, the project was completed successfully.