4 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word, for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Nuo Opera is one of the most popular folk operas in southern China. The ancient form of Nuo Opera is Nuoji,     1     is a special sacrificial ceremony (祭祀仪式). The exact date     2     Nuoji was formed is hard to discover. There are many different stories about the history of Nuo Opera. Some think     3     it began during the Zhou Dynasty. Around the Song Dynasty, people     4     (start) to perform with masks during Nuoji, thus Nuo Opera was basically formed. During the Qing Dynasty, Nuo Opera, which     5     (separate) from Nuoji, became a unique performing art.

Nuo Opera covers ancient religion, folklore (民间传说) and art and combines literature, music, dance, drama, paper-cut and so on.     6    , Nuo Opera involves many acrobatic (杂技的) performances and most of the performers are specially     7     (train). It has great artistic value and     8     (call) the living fossil of Chinese drama.

The mask is the unique symbol of Nuo Opera. Different roles require different masks to reveal the characters. The masks are mainly made of willow (柳树). Studies show that the face painting of Peking Opera and face changing of Sichuan Opera     9    (influence) by Nuo Opera masks.

Nuo Opera used to be very popular in every part of China, but gradually, it     10     (fade) out in most parts. Nowadays, it remains popular only among rural areas in south-west China, such as Guizhou Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.