Imagine mountains wrapped in silver water, shining in the spring sun. Summer s    1     the mountains turn bright green with growing rice. During autumn, these same mountains are gold, and in winter they are covered in s    2     of white frost. These are the colours of the Longji Rice Terraces.

These terraces were built by the local Zhuang and Yao people. R    3     as far as the eye can see, these terraces cover tall mountains, often from the bottom to the very top.

So why did these people go     4     so much trouble to turn the entire mountains into terraces? Firstly, building the terraces meant that they could increase the areas in which they could grow rice. Secondly, the     5     terraces catch the rainwater and prevent the soil from being washed away.

But perhaps what is most significant is the way in which people have worked in     6     with nature to make these terraces and grow rice. The terraces are cleverly designed, with hundreds of waterways that     7     with each other. During the rainy season, it is along these waterways that rainwater moves down the mountains and into the terraces. The sun heats the water     8     turns it into vapour. This forms clouds from which rain falls down onto the mountain terraces once again.

Although modern technology could help produce more crops, these terraces still mean a lot to the local people for     9     traditions hold much value. Today, the Longji Rice Terraces attract thousands of visitors who come to admire this great wonder c    10     by people and nature working together.

I thought I knew a lot about Hamlet. As     1     high school student with English literature as one of my main subjects, I have to! Shakespeare’s Hamlet is probably the most important play by the     2     important writer in English. Almost everybody knows “To be, or not to be”, right? Having s    3     quite a few productions of Hamlet and read the play many times, I was full of c    4     until the Peking Opera came to town!

D    5     back to the 18th century, Peking Opera has over two hundred years of history. Does this mean it’s easier than a Shakespeare play to understand? To find out the answer, I just had to go and see The Revenge of Prince Zidan — the Peking Opera v    6       of Hamlet.

Easily my favourite part of the show was how the characters moved on stage. I had never seen Prince Hamlet do a backflip before! That was simply i    7     . It was so dazzling and energetic that I wasn’t sure if the characters were performers     8     athletes! Everyone was clapping.

Before experiencing The Revenge of Prince Zidan, I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy it. But, in fact, I was on the     9     of my seat! Feeling the strong emotions of love, anger, fear and grief in the performance, I could easily recognise the theme of Hamlet. So, if you want to see a show that combines music, singing, drama, poetry and costume design with explosive effect, The Revenge of Prince Zidan     10     all the right boxes!