Reconstructed in the 14th century, the Ancient City of Pingyao,     1     (locate) in China’s Shanxi Province, is     2     exceptionally well-preserved example of a traditional Han Chinese city. The property includes three parts: the entire area within the walls of Pingyao, Shuanglin Temple,     3     Zhenguo Temple.

The Ancient City of Pingyao is an outstanding example of Han cities in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It retains (保留) all features of the Han city and it is of great value for     4     (study) the social form, economic structure, military defense, religious     5     (belief) and so on.

Pingyao     6     (construct) during the reign of King Xuan of the Western Zhou Dynasty. King Xuan’s     7     (origin) purpose of building Pingyao was     8     (fight) against the nomads (游牧民族) from the north. Afterward, Pingyao was developed     9    a multi-functional city, the starting place of commercial business in Shanxi and the birthplace of China’s first rudimentary (初步的) form of a modern bank. Pingyao also retains most of     10     (it) ancient charm in buildings like the Temple of Confucius, the Qingxu Temple and a great number of residential buildings.

Between 121 BC and 111 BC, Emperor Wu set up four counties to the west of the Yellow River, Jiuquan, Wuwei, Zhangye and Dunhuang     1     (expand) the influence of the Han central government and develop ties with countries in XiYu (西域),     2     were west of the Yumen Pass in today’s Central Asia. As a result, the national postal system of the Han Dynasty,     3     (act) like a network of blood vessels, expanded to help improve the communication between the central government     4     the grassroots ones on its northwestern border.

The postal system of the Han Dynasty consisted     5     three tiers— ting, you, and zhi. Tings were usually set up every two and a half kilometers, providing     6     place for passengers and envoys (使节) to rest on their journey. The distance between two yous was around 15 kilometers, the longest distance a man could cover by foot in a day. A zhi was the     7     (big) post station, set up at a distance of 40 kilometers, the one a horse-drawn carriage could reach in a day.

According to the records, sitting on the Hexi Corridor that connected ancient China and XiYu countries, Xuanquanzhi, the post house     8     (function) for more than 400 years as a hub (枢纽) that delivered mail and     9     (office) documents, as well as hosting envoys and foreign guests. “The Xuanquanzhi Ruins was a beautiful knot on Silk Road,”     10     (proud) said Zhang Defang, founding director of the Gansu Jiandu Museum.

Walk in the halls of an academic earth science department, and you’ll likely find     1    (show) on a wall somewhere a strikingly beautiful map of the world’s ocean floor.     2     map was completed in 1977, being the first complete world map of the ocean floor and     3    (represent) the highest point of Marie Tharp’s career. It gives scientists and the public alike their first sight of     4    the sea floor looks like.

In the middle of the 20th century, when continental drift (大陆漂移) met with strong     5     (oppose) from many American scientists, Tharp’s groundbreaking maps made it possible     6    the theory of plate tectonics (板块构造学) to appear.

Tharp began her career at a time when few women     7     (become) scientists, but she was able to take advantage of doors opened by historical circumstances, becoming     8     (unique) qualified to make significant contributions to both science and cartography (地图绘制).

In 1997, the Library of Congress named her as one of the four     9     (great) cartographers of the 20th century. She died in 2006, but countless women scientists     10     (motivate) by her spirit since then.

Art is a way to beautify lifeless urban spaces. We’ve seen examples of street artists working to improve urban scenery — by using new     1     (equip), or creating fantastic wall paintings.

But these are only the beginning. For Italian artist Peeta, blank walls are more than a flat surface; they can be transformed     2     mind-blowing three-dimensional artworks that invite us to step in different urban spaces.

Born in Venice, Peeta got his start as     3     graffiti writer after being “excited” by wall paintings spotted on his trip to Barcelona. Peeta set to work studying art and product design at university, as well as involving     4     (he) in different street art activities. Since then, Peeta — a name coming from his childhood nickname —    5     (develop) his characteristic style of three-dimensional lettering.

Part of     6     makes his works so breathtaking is that they integrate with the urban environment     7     (harmonious) and at the same time create an extraordinary experience. When     8     (see) from a particular angle, Peeta’s large artworks often achieve the impossible, with walls and windows seeming to disappear. “Art in public spaces creates an     9     (include) and enjoyable environment for the citizens there every day,” says Peeta. “My attempt is to make public spaces not just somewhere pleasant and lovely     10     somewhere inspirational and able to excite people’s feelings and imagination.”

The Starry Night was painted in June 1889 when Vincent van Gogh was staying at a home for the     1    (mental) ill. He painted     2     he saw from his window. The stars and the moon hang bright in the night sky.     3     the beautiful sky, a sleeping village and a dark, lonely tree can     4    (see). Unfortunately, his unique paintings didn’t gain much popularity and he only sold one in his lifetime.

The Scream was painted by Edvard Munch in 1893. It shows a thin figure with an expression of fear, which makes it     5    (strike). In his diary, he talked about where his inspiration came from. “I     6    (walk) down the road with two friends when the sun set; suddenly the sky turned as red as blood... Then I heard the scream of nature.”

The Empire of Light is     7     series of paintings by René Magritte between 1953 and​ 1954. He painted the same scene 27 times. The Empire of Light shows a beautiful house which was lit by lights from inside,     8    (surround) by the darkness of night. Different reactions have been produced in     9     (viewer). Some think that the paintings are dark and troubling. Others,     10    , find them calming. As for Magritte himself, he thought that the change between day and night was surprising.

The Starry Night, painted by Vincent van Gogh, shows the night sky     1     clouds, stars and a moon. Van Gogh also painted the massive circles of white and yellow racing across the sky. His unusual use of colour has led experts     2    (think) that Van Gogh’s mental illness may have affected his sense of sight. Van Gogh thought The Starry Night was     3     failure. However, the fact remains that The Starry Night is now one of the world’s most famous     4    (painting).

What makes The Scream by Edvard Munch striking is     5     it shows a thin figure, who opens his or her mouth wide and lets out a scream, covering his or her ears and looking     6    (direct) at the viewer. He talked about what inspired him. He     7    (walk) down the road with two friends when the sun set and suddenly the sky turned as red as blood. He stood there shaking, and then heard the scream of nature.

The Empire of Light by René Magritte shows a beautiful house     8    (light) by lights from inside, surrounded by the darkness of night. Strangely, above the house and the tree, we see a daytime sky full of brightness and soft white clouds. Magritte, whose paintings were visual experiments,     9    (inspire) by his thoughts and ideas. His view was that art should shock the viewers and challenge their sense of     10    (real).

Dream interpreting is popular in China, and the most famous     1     (refer) for dream interpreting is the book Duke of Zhou Interprets Dreams.

The book is said to be written by Ji Dan, who     2     (title) Duke Wen of Zhou during the Western Zhou Dynasty. He assisted Emperor Wu and Emperor Cheng     3     (establish) systems of rites and music, making the Western Zhou Dynasty peaceful and prosperous, which led to him     4     (address) as the Sage.

The Duke of Zhou was, and still     5     (be), honored as a wise ruler and his attributed works influence Chinese thought to this day. One area     6     this is particularly the case is in the area of dreams.

Though some people consider the book as a superstition(迷信), it is     7     (scientific) reasonable to some degree. Zhou’s dream interpretations were so accurate     8     they were widely accepted as the standard for centuries. His interpretations were based on the belief that dreams are a reflection of our innermost thoughts and feelings. He believed that dreams could provide insight     9     our unconscious desires and reveal hidden truths about our lives.

Handed down over thousands of years, the book still has plenty of     10     (mystery) waiting for us to explore.

The Chinese painting is one of the oldest artistic traditions in the world. The painting in the traditional style is known today in Chinese as guohua,     1    (mean) the “national” or “native” painting. It is different from Western styles of art which     2    (become) popular in China in the 20th century.

One technique of the traditional Chinese painting is ink and wash painting and in Chinese it is called shuimo. In fact this was an art form     3    (practise) by gentlemen from the Song Dynasty. This style is also referred to     4     xieyi or the freehand style.

    5    (traditional), the Chinese painting is done on rice paper or thin silk. There     6     (be) broadly three subjects for traditional Chinese paintings — portraits, landscapes, and flowers and birds — of     7     the landscape is the most familiar to people. Therefore the Chinese painting is often known as the landscape painting, or shanshui painting.

The landscape painting was regarded as     8     highest form of the Chinese painting, and generally still is. In the north, artists such as Jing Hao painted     9     (picture) of towering mountains and in the south, Dong Yuan, Juran, and other artists painted the rolling hills and rivers of their native countryside in     10     (peace) scenes.

The Silk Road was a network of trade routes     1    (connect) the East and the West in ancient and Medieval times. In addition to silk, varieties of other goods     2    (trade) along the Silk Road, and the network was also important for migrants and travellers, and for the spread of religion, philosophy, science, technology, and     3     (art) ideals. The Silk Road had a significant impact on the lands     4    which the routes passed, and the trade played a significant role in the development of towns and cities along the Silk Road routes.

Many merchants along the Silk Road were involved in relay trade,     5    an item would change owners many times and travel a little bit with each one of them     6    reaching its final buyer. It seems to have been     7    (high) unusual for any individual merchant to travel all the way between China and Europe or Northern Africa. Instead, various merchants specialized in transporting goods through various sections of the Silk Road.

The Silk Road established     8    (early) connection between the East and the West. It was of great significance in the promotion of world     9    (civil) and the progress of human society. Research and development of the Silk Road today continue to have     10    incredible impact.

80-year-old Tatsuo Horiuchi from Japan is known all around the world for his incredible drawing skills. He doesn’t use pencils, pens or paint for his art. Instead, he    1    (create) masterpieces in Microsoft Excel!

Around 20 years ago, before retiring, Horiuchi thought that he needed a new challenge in his life. So he settled on painting. However, he didn’t want to spend money on art    2    (supply) — he decided to use his PC. But he didn’t go for any fancy digital drawing software either and he chose Excel.

“I didn’t expect    3    (improve) my painting immediately, so I made a 10-year plan,” Horiuchi said.

“For the first 3 years, I focused    4    ‘drawing’ and drew all the things that could    5    (see), such as vegetables, carrots, Japanese radish and    6    (length) grass. For    7    next 3 years, I practised combining the points one by one to construct a painting.”

Six years after    8    ( start) his Excel art journey, Horiuchi applied to an Excel Authoshape Art Contest and won the grand prize. That’s    9    he gradually started getting more and more attention from people for his skills.

Since then, he has become somewhat of a legend and he gets a great sense of    10    (achieve) from his artwork.