Xu Beihong (1895-1953) was important in modern Chinese folk art. During his lifetime, he developed the tradition of combining poetry with painting. Between 1933 and 1940, he     1     (hold) several exhibitions in Asia and Europe to promote Chinese art. Across this painting     2     (name) Racing Horse, we can see a horse running at a high speed     3     a missile (导弹) across the sky. On the left and right side of the painting, Xu clearly drew in black ink to show the     4     (move) hair on the horse’s mane (鬃毛) and tail. The painting of dark and light colors is a favorite of many art lovers.

The problem with     1     (learn) history by key dates and moments is that it gives us a spotlit view of the past — bright stars of major events twinkling against a giant — but dark and mysterious night sky of history.     2     a result, we lose the sense of the context of major events, and the ways in     3     our history — and our world — have been, and still are, connected.

So we set out to find out     4     was happening elsewhere on October 14, 1066 as the Battle of Hastings was raging.

The Norman knights were also expanding into Sicily and mainland Italy, while the migration of Seljuk Turks from Central Asia was about to threaten the Byzantine Empire,     5     (eventual) leading to the call for the First Crusade.

But my     6     (favor) moment in 1066 is from China, where Sima Guang began writing his monumental history of China,     7     (know) as the Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government.

Frances Wood, a former head of the Chinese section at the British Library     8     (dig) out an early manuscript of this work. Wood explained how this history     9     (suppose) to be of use to those in charge — by setting in context the     10     (decide) made by China’s leaders in centuries past (403B. C. -207B. C. ) and by analyzing the moral virtues of their actions.

Where the Sidewalk Ends is a book full of fascinating poems written     1     Shel Silverstein. It contains more than 100 of all kinds of poems-some are happy, some are funny and some are     2     (excite). Each poem comes with a nice drawing by the author     3     (he). Some of the pictures are very silly.

My favourite poem     4     (call) Snowman. It is about     5     happy snowman, which always wants to see July. Other animals say that he will melt (融化) by then. But the snowman wants to see July so     6     (bad) that no matter what other people say, it does not bother the snowman one bit. This poem never says if he actually sees July. So you can only guess.

Another poem I really like is Santa and the reindeer. This poem is about Christmas. Santa has to give     7     (variety) presents to the children while one of his reindeer is always asking what’s for him. I guess Santa gets really annoyed because he puts a flea (虱子) in the reindeer’s ear. And the next thing you know, they fly away and are ready     8     (continue) their journey through the world handing out presents to all the children     9     have behaved well.

This book is fun to read because of all those unique poems. The     10     (character) of this book do many unusual things such as selling sisters, talking to fish and a lot more.

Chang Yu Wine Company, the largest and oldest wine producer in China,     1     (locate) near the port of Yantai in Shandong Province. It was established by Zhang Bishi, an extraordinary industrialist considered as one of the wealthiest self-made     2     (figure) of the time.

Bishi initially imported 2000 vines (葡萄藤) from America, which were     3     (entire) unused to the new environment and died. Once more, 640,000 vines were imported from Europe with 30 percent of vines surviving. Three years later, wild grapes were then source d from northeast China and transplanted onto the European rootstocks. They successfully     4     (bear) fruit.

In 1905, Changyu completed     5     was then Asia’s largest underground wine cellar (酒窖), and later opened for business. In 1915, Changyu’s brandy rose wine won four gold medals at the Panama Pacific International Exposition,     6     (gain) the first international recognition of Chinese wine.

Devoted to continuous trial and     7     (innovate), Changyu’s founder managed to develop a greater variety of grape — Cabernet Gernischt in 1931, which remains China’s only internationally     8     (recognize) variety of grape for wine production.

Later, using Cabernet Gernischt as the main material, Changyu produced a red wine with a totally different flavor.     9     (give) it a stylish name, then Changyu manager created a translation of cabernet — Jie Bay Na, drawing on the Chinese proverb “All rivers flow into the sea”. Since 1937, Changyu has been using “cabernet”     10     a registered trademark.

Today ChangYu Wine Company, with its wine well received both at home and abroad, is moving ahead for a better future.

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.