The Water Splashing Festival of the Dai ethnic minority (少数民族),     1     falls in April, is the most important festival for the Dai people in the Dehong area of Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province. It is the New Year for the Dai, a festival to send off the old and greet the new.

During the festival which lasts for three or four days, people     2    (dress) in their best clothes and take part in a     3    (various) of rich and colorful activities. Dragon boat racing, fireworks displays and other     4    (performance) such as peacock dance are held on the first day. And the most popular event is water-splashing on the second day. People splash water on each other,     5    (hope) to take away sickness and disasters. The wetter you get, the     6    (lucky) you will be. The last day is usually for the young people to play games as a way     7    (express) their love for each other.

The Water Splashing Festival     8    (vivid) exhibits the Dai’s respect     9     water and the culture of music and dance, food, and costumes. It is also a cultural bridge between Xishuangbanna and Southeast Asian countries that share     10     same festival culture of water-splashing.

Global warming could make humans shorter.Scientists claim to have found evidence that it caused the world's first horses     1     (become) smaller nearly 50 million years ago.In fact，a team from the universities of Florida and Nebraska says,     2     has found a link between the earth heating up and the size of horses，during the last time the world heated up.The scientists used fossils to follow the evolution of horses from their earliest     3     (appear)56 million years ago.As temperatures went up，their size went     4    . The scientists say that the current warming could have the same effect     5     mammals and could even make humans     6    (small)．“Horses started out small，about the size of a small dog.What's     7    (surprise) is that after they first appeared，they then became even smaller and then dramatically increased in size，and that     8     (exact)corresponds to(符合)the global warming event，followed by cooling.”“It had been known that mammals     9     (be) small during the last warm time，    10     we hadn't realised that temperature specifically was driving the evolution of body size，”Dr Bloch said in the Science journal.

As is known to all, art     1     (influence) by the customs and faith of a people. Styles in Western art have changed many times.

In the 5th century, the art of the Middle Ages came into being and the main aim of     2     (paint) was to represent religious themes.     3     a result, some pictures at this time were full of religious symbols,     4     (create) a feeling of respect and love for God. During the   Renaissance,   people   began   to concentrate     5     (little) on religious themes and adopt a more humanistic attitude     6     life. In the late 19th century, some painters became the Impressionists. And they were the first painters     7     (paint) outdoors. Paintings can reflect the     8     (develop) of civilization, and it is interesting to predict     9     styles of paintings there will be in the future.     10     not try to visit some art galleries to appreciate different styles of paintings?