Musical instruments in China were     1    (traditional) classified (分类) into eight groups, according to the materials (材料) that were used     2    (create) them. The eight material groups were metal, stone, silk bamboo, gourd clay/earth, skin and wood.

Bamboo instruments mainly refer to woodwind (木管乐器) such as Sheng, Dizi and Xiao. Zhong, Luo and Bo are good     3     (example) of metal instruments. Silk instruments are mostly stringed instruments since silk is the material to string the instrument. A seven-stringed instrument,     4    (call) Guqin is one of the earliest stringed instruments in China. Today, it     5    (remain) quite popular. Here’s an example of a famous Guqin master, Prof. Li Xiangting,     6    (perform) a classical work Flowing Water on Guqin.

Instruments,     7     might seem part of the same family in the Western tradition, have different classifications in the Chinese tradition. For example, a percussion (打击) instrument made with skin, like Dagu (a large drum played with sticks) is in one group, while Fou (clay pot hit with a single stick) is in another.

Modern Chinese orchestras are organized along the same lines     8     Western orchestras in terms of group and seating arrangements of the instruments. The     9     (different) lies in the instruments being played. So a Chinese orchestra has a woodwind and strings section, but you’ll hardly find oboes (双簧管)     10     violins.

A Polite Request

If you park your car in the wrong place,     1     traffic policeman will soon find it. You will be very     2    (luck) if he lets you go without a ticket. However,     3     does not always happen. Traffic police     4    (be) sometimes very polite. During a holiday in Sweden, I     5    (find) this note on my car: “Sir, we welcome you to     6    (we) city. This is a ‘No     7    (park)’ area. You will enjoy your stay here     8     you pay attention to our street signs. This note is only a     9    (remind).” If you receive a request like this, you cannot fail     10    (obey) it!