The green grass and bar e rock of Macquarie Island’s landscape contrast dramatically, giving it a wild and natural beauty.

But the island’s more recent history tells     1     tragic story that began in 1810 when humans arrived on the island. In their ships they unknowingly brought rats and mice, which quickly took over the island,     2     (eat) the birds’ eggs and attacking baby birds. Cats     3     (bring) to the island to control the rats and mice.     4     (fortunate), the cats subsequently developed an appetite for the birds, too.

Meanwhile, rabbits were introduced to the island     5     a source of food for humans. Loose on the island,     6     did what rabbits do best—they multiplied rapidly and began eating the native vegetation and digging holes,     7     caused soil erosion. The exploding rabbit population     8     (provide) plentiful food for the cats, meaning that the number of cats also increased. This in turn led to     9     (much) cats hunting the birds. The end result was that parakeets, once large in number and native to the island, died out in 1891.

In 2014, Macquarie Island was declared pest-free and the island’s eco logy is finally on the road to     10     (recover).

Do you want to feast your eyes on more than 3,000 years of wonderful art from China? Come to the Richfield Museum of Fine Art,    1     a new exhibition named “From Shang to Qing: Chinese Art Through the Ages” is to be held.

The highlight is the painting Clearing After Snow on a Mountain Pass, one of the great     2     (work) of Tang Yin (1470­1524). This painting, showing high mountains, trees, and houses covered in snow, looks as fresh and full of life as the day it     3     (create). Apart from the     4     (extreme) famous painting, nearly 100 bronze objects from the Shang Dynasty will be exhibited. You will be amazed at the great skill     5     (use) to create these beautiful pieces.

If you are     6     sculpture lover, please seize the chance. A number of fine examples of Tang Dynasty sculptures will be     7    display. From these sculptures, you can see how Buddhist art brought from India and Central Asia influenced China during that period.     8    (look) at the faces of the figures in these sculptures, you seem to see the faces of the past.

This is a    9     (gold) opportunity to know more about ancient Chinese art     10     we guarantee that you will be satisfied with this exhibition.

About 1,500 years ago in China, silk production was a state secret. The silk trade was so     1     (value) that anyone who tried to take silkworm eggs or mulberry seeds out of China     2     (put) to death. However, in 552 AD, two monks smuggled silkworm eggs to Constantinople, and then silk production spread worldwide.

A silkworm actually isn’t a worm at all. It’s     3     type of caterpillar that once     4     (exist) in the wild, but now it only survives in domesticated form. Silkworms are fussy eaters,     5     (dine) only on mulberry leaves. When a silkworm has had     6     (it) fill, it spins a cocoon from a single strand (缕) of silk, two to three thousand feet long!

According to legend, a Chinese empress discovered how to harvest silk when a cocoon fell into her tea. She plucked it from the teacup by the loose end of the silk, then unraveled the whole cocoon. To harvest silk     7     (commercial), cocoons are first steamed to kill the pupae inside. That’s because the silkworm would break the silk if it began to emerge     8     a moth (蛾). Next the cocoon is soaked in hot water—rather than tea—to dissolve the sticky coating that binds the silk. Then a machine unwinds the single strand     9     makes up each cocoon. Twisted together, these strands make the fine thread     10     (use) to weave silk cloth.

The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides a year into 24 solar terms. The Spring Equinox(春分), as the fourth term of the year starts on March 20     1     ends on April this year.

The Spring Equinox signals the equal     2     (long) of the day and night time. The day of the Spring Equinox is     3     the sun is directly above the equator. After the equinox, the sun moves northwards, resulting in     4     (gradual) longer day time in the Northern Hemisphere and longer night in the Southern Hemisphere.

Standing an egg upright is a popular game across the country during the Spring Equinox. It is an old custom that       5     (date) back to 4,000 years ago. People practice this tradition to celebrate the coming of spring. It     6     (believe) that if someone can make the egg stand, he will have good luck in the future.

The Spring Equinox is     7     good time to fly kites. In ancient times, people did not have good medical resources. So     8     (pray) for good health, they wrote their medical issues on paper kite. When the kite was     9     the air, people would cut off the stringy let the paper kite float away,     10     (symbolize) the flying away of diseases.