A message in a bottle that travelled more than 3,200 km across the Atlantic Ocean has received a response—three years     1     beginning its wonderful journey.

Sean Smith, who is now 16,     2     (send) out the message while on holiday in Rhode Island on Thanksgiving in 2018. He put a note in a bottle     3     read, “It is Thanksgiving. I am 13 and     4     (visit) my relatives in Rhode Island. I am from Vermont. If you find this bottle, email me ...”

Fast-forward to 2021, and     5     message was discovered by Christian Santos, a 17-year-old boy living in Portugal’s Azores Islands. He always picks up trash floating on the water in an attempt     6     (protect) the environment. After finding the bottle, he decided to follow the     7     (instruction) in the bottle.

Christian’s email nearly fell on deaf ears because Sean had forgotten that he had sent out the message as a child, and couldn’t remember the password to his email account.     8     (thankful), the story didn’t end there. Christian’s mother posted her son’s     9     (discover) on the Internet. Soon, Sean saw the post and got in touch with Christian.

“It’s cool that somebody found it so far away and we were actually able to get in touch,” said Sean. They     10     (become) good friends ever since and the friendship is well worth the wait.

The Irish government has a plan to boost the population of more than two dozen faraway islands in the Atlantic Ocean — to give money to homebuyers     1     are willing to move there.

These islands are often a tourist draw due to their     2     (beauty) landscapes and history. About 30 islands off the coast of Ireland have year-round residents who are cut off by the water     3     (day) and who don’t have a connection through bridges or causeways to the mainland. Some of the islands have as few as two year-round residents on them. Over the past two decades the population of these islands     4     (fall), with fewer than 3,000 people now spread across them. Even so, the islands are important for tourism,     5     (attract) more than 300,000 visitors every year.

An ongoing worry for island communities is how     6     (maintain) the population levels of their islands. Most of the people on the islands are old, as many young adults leave the islands for     7     (far) education or work chances elsewhere.

The plan brings to mind Italy’s plan to sell homes in small towns for 1 euro     8     a way to attract new residents. However, there are plenty of stories from people who bought a l euro home about the difficulties and high costs of repairing     9     (they). Ireland is providing up to $92,000 for a person who repairs     10     old building on one of the Irelands.

The Jingju Theatre Company of Beijing,     1     specializes in jingju, is a very important theater group in China. Jingju is also known     2     Peking Opera.

The theater company was started in 1979 by bringing together different jingju troupes (剧团) from Beijing and other opera schools. It wants to keep its rich traditions alive while also     3     (look) ahead to a bright future. It aims to become famous worldwide.     4     (achieve) this, it takes good care of the artists and the art itself by practicing good theater     5     (manage). It believes it has the potential (潜力) to make jingju even     6     (good).

Since the company was set up, it     7     (travel) to many other countries around the world. like the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, and many more. It performs jingju there, making people     8     (interest) in jingju and Chinese culture.

In recent years, it has been invited to perform in famous     9     (theater) in the United States, like the Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center, as well as in the Mariinsky Theatre in Russia. This gives people from different countries a chance to see     10     enjoy jingju.

TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) has gained attention worldwide in recent decades, and more than 13,000 foreign students come to China     1     (learn) the ancient form of medicine every year. A report shows that TCM     2     (introduce) to 196 countries and regions, with over 30 TCM centers being established overseas.

Pan Ping, director of the     3     (academy) department at the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies, or WFCMS, said “TCM has become     4     (increasing) popular abroad since the first overseas TCM center was built. So far, more than 1 million foreigners have received treatment at such centers.”

Most of the centers are in countries and regions     5     are home to a large number of people of Chinese descent, including some European nations, Southeast Asia and the United States. TCM did not take root     6     these countries in a day. It has spread overseas along with the footprints of Chinese immigrants over the past few centuries and has proved     7     (it). In recent decades, internationalization of TCM has also accelerated.

    8     (illustrate) by the purple cupping circles on the back of US swimmer Michael Phelps during     9     2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this progress was evident. Leading international figures have also reportedly had such treatment,     10     (arouse) strong interest in TCM in the West.

6 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Throughout history, Chinese sword (剑) culture continuously enriched with time. The sword is known as     1     “ancestor of short weapons”

Chinese swords took shape in the Shang Dynasty. Until China’s Spring and Autumn Period, the sword remained the mainstream weapon on the battlefield.     2     (use) by ancient kings and nobles, the sword was a symbol of power and dignity. They often presented swords as a form of friendship. In the Spring and Autumn Period, Ji Zha, ambassador (使节) of State Wu, passed State Xu on his way to Jin and Lu. The king of State Xu fell in love with Ji Zha’s sword. However, it was hard to ask for it. Ji Zha decided     3     (gift) the sword to him, but when he returned, the king had been     4     (die). To keep his promise, Ji Zha     5     (hang) his sword on the tree in front of the king’s tomb. Ji Zha’s story later represented a gentleman’s trustworthiness.

In the Han Dynasty, sword culture among the literate     6     (gradual) rose. They wore and danced with swords,    7     this showed their proficiency in literature and martial arts. In modern times, sword culture, as a part of traditional Chinese martial arts,     8     (face) the challenge of weak inheritance (遗传).

In recent years, sword culture has developed again     9     the rise of traditional Chinese culture. As one of the Chinese     10     (nation) traditional “brands”, sword culture plays a role in strengthening physical fitness and promoting virtue.

Last year, there were more than 820 million short video     1     (user) in China. Relaxing, emotional and fragmented (碎片化的) , these videos’ contents     2     (perfect) match people’s needs. With the application of new technologies, short video platforms are getting more and more popular, becoming     3     shining site of new Internet media.

Surprisingly, traditional Chinese operas are a major beneficiary (受益者) of the     4     (grow) short video industry and are even becoming popular among the young generation. Peking Opera won     5     (popular) on short video platforms due     6     a series of augmented reality (AR) effects. People love to film clips (片段) based on traditional Peking Opera costumes.

Pop music     7     (mix) with opera elements is also widely spread on short video platforms. In the first half of 2019, people     8     use the video-sharing app Douyin produced more than 65 million pieces of short videos about traditional culture, and these clips     9     (play) 16.4 billion times and received 4.4 billion likes.

In a word, short video platforms are becoming an important way     10     (show) Chinese culture.

Porcelain, a fine and delicate ceramic, has long been prized for its beauty and elegance. Each piece, whether ancient or modern,     1     (reflect) the unique traditions, aesthetics (审美), and skills of its makers. The fact     2     the country and the material share the same name in English — “China”, is a testament to the Europeans’ long     3     (aware) of the significance of porcelain in Chinese civilization.

Porcelain found     4     (it) way to Europe in the 15th century, occupying an important position in the exchanges between China and other countries. The Keise l Randy Museum in Germany, for instance, houses a blue-and-white bowl     5     (date) back to the Ming dynasty, representative of the conciseness and elegance that Chinese porcelain symbolizes.

Throughout history, China, along with other Asian countries, maintained a busy and vast trade in porcelain     6     Europe. From 1602 to 1682, the Dutch East India Company transported over 16 million porcelain     7     (article) to Europe, further establishing China’s reputation for producing delicate ceramics.

Porcelain played     8     important role in the European idealization of China during the 17th and 18th centuries. The rococo style, popular in Europe during that period,     9     (influence) by the “Chinese vogue,” evident in the styles of porcelain and gardens inspired by China.

In conclusion, porcelain remains an eternal material,     10     beauty and diversity continue to appeal to people, making it a timeless treasure.

“Cold the iron chains spanning over the Dadu River,” Chairman Mao Zedong wrote in a poem, describing the do-or-die battle which took place on the Luding Bridge. The Bridge,     1     (measure) 103.67 meters in length and 3 meters in width, is located in Sichuan Province, which was     2     (original) built in 1705 during the Qing Dynasty. Near the Luding Bridge considered a historical landmark    3     (stand) a museum, in front of which there is a bronze statue of the soldiers whose spirit makes the bridge a household name.

Over 80 years ago, the bridge was crucial to the survival of the CPC-led Red Army during the Long March because if the soldiers had failed to dash through the Luding Bridge then, the Red Army might have been wiped out. Upon their     4     (arrive), the Red Army found only thirteen heavy iron chains    5     (leave) across the river. With no time to waste, one by one the Red soldiers ventured forward to risk their lives and of those who offered    6     (they), thirty were chosen. Though several soldiers fell into     7    fast-flowing river,the others crawled along the wood boards they had laid until they finally took control of the east bank .

Probably never before had people seen fighters like these-men for whom soldiering was not just a rice bowl,     8    a mission. They astonishingly accomplished    9     seemed like a task impossible and their    10    (courage) spirit will always stick in our mind.