When foreigners come to China, they may be     1     (surprise) at Chinese’s special fondness and preference for seals. To Chinese, seals are an art of deep cultural roots,     2     combines the essence of both calligraphy and sculpture and inspires generations to study, to appreciate and to collect.

    3     is believed that seals came out as early     4     8,000 years ago after our ancestors could make pottery wares and had private property. They tried to make marks on their own possessions to prevent them from being stolen. When the first dynasty     5     (found) the king began to use seals to empower and to show lordly credits. Only the king’s special seal was then called “Xi”,     6     (represent) the highest authority. The first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, had his “Xi”     7     (make) out of the invaluable and beautiful jade “Heshi Bi”.

Then the local governments also needed seals for     8     same function. Meanwhile, private seals were carved in     9     (vary) of lucky characters and vivid animal patterns.     10     (gradual), the sphragistics (印章学) came into being.

John Snow was a famous doctor in London,     1     was so expert that he attended Queen Victoria as her personal physician. But he became inspired when he thought about helping ordinary people exposed to cholera (霍乱). He was famous for     2     (defeat) “King Cholera”.

Cholera was a deadly disease and neither its cause     3     its cure was understood. John wanted to face the challenge and solve the problem. He suspected that people absorbed this disease into     4     (they) bodies with their meals. Therefore, when another severe outbreak hit London, he began his enquiry. By gathering a bit    5     (much) information and making further investigations, he found that many victims linked to the outbreak were near the water pump, so he had the handle     6     (remove). Soon afterwards the disease slowed down. He drew the conclusion that the polluted water was     7     (blame). He suggested the source of all water supplies should be examined     8     (immediate). The water     9     (company) were instructed not to expose people to polluted water any more. Thanks     10     him, “King Cholera” was defeated.

Charlie Chaplin is absolutely a master of nonverbal humor,    1     made people happy. However, his life was anything but easy. He was born in a poor family     2     1889. His parents were both poor     3     (perform), and it is astonishing that Charlie was taught to sing as soon as he could speak and dance. Unfortunately his father died,    4     (leave) the family even worse off. By his teens, Charlie     5     (become) one of the most popular child actors in England.

With time going by, he began making films. His charming character made the audience laugh     6     (happy) when they felt depressed. He brightened the lives of Americans and British through two world wars and the hard years in between. Charlie Chaplin wrote, directed and     7     (produce) the films he starred in. Because     8    his outstanding performance, in 1972 he     9     (award) a special Oscar and remembered forever. To this day, Charlie Chaplin is still considered as one of the     10     (great) actors in the history of the cinema.

Following the success of his first non-profit library in Hangzhou, singer-songwriter Gao Xiaosong is opening a second reading room in Nanjing.

Nanjing, in Jiangsu Province, a city with a history dating back more than 2,000 years and the ancient capital of six    1    (dynasty), was named the City of Literature by UNESCO—    2    first city in China to be awarded the title.

On November 1l, a new library opened    3     the foot of Nanjing’s Ming Dynasty (1368—1644 ) city walls, which have witnessed the passing of centuries. Like the first library     4    (open) in 2018 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, the Nanjing Library as well as its     5    (collect) of 40,000 books is free to the public. To ensure a    6    (peace) reading experience, 500 admissions are allowed each day via online appointment.

The first Xiaosong Library, which     7    (design) by famous Japanese architect Tadao Ando, has been such a great success that we often see appointments for     8    (book) out weeks in advance.

At the opening ceremony for the Nanjing Library, Gao said while he only planned to open around six Xiaosong libraries nationwide, opening one in the city was a must: “Just like growing vegetables, you need     9    (plant) them in fertile (肥沃的) soil suitable for farming. Libraries should be established    10    many scholars live. Nanjing is this kind of city.”

Art is influenced by the customs and faith of a people. Styles in Western art     1    (change) for many years. During the Middle Ages, the main aim of painters was     2    (represent) religious themes. During the Renaissance, new ideas and values gradually replaced those     3     (hold) in the Middle Ages. People began to concentrate less on religious themes and adopt a more humanistic attitude     4     life. One of the most important     5    (discovery) during this period was how to draw things in perspective. If the rules of perspective had not been discovered, no one would have been able to paint such realistic pictures. In     6     late 19th century, Europe changed     7    (quick), from a mostly agricultural society to a mostly industrial one. Naturally, these changes also led to new painting styles. Among the painters     8     broke away from the traditional style of painting were the Impressionists. The Impressionists were the first painters to work outdoors. In a sense, without the Impressionists, many of modern art styles might not exist. On the one hand, some modern art is abstract; on the other hand, some paintings of modern art     9    (be) so realistic that they look like photographs. These styles are so     10    (difference) that no one can predict what painting styles will come into being in the future.

Nathan Sawaya’s childhood was a lot of fun. He drew cartoons, wrote stories, and so on. Nathan Sawaya was     1     (interest) in building blocks when he was young. At the age of 5, his grandparents bought his first set of building blocks and he     2     (play) with them ever since. He even took his building blocks to college with him. Instead of books and a computer, he had a model of Greenwich Village     3     (make) of bricks on his desk.

Nathan started as a lawyer     4     gave up his well-paid job to become an artist that uses toys in his art. He uses toy bricks to build everything from the Statue of Liberty to Superman! He has more than 1.5 million colored bricks     5     are used by him to make pieces of art in his office in New York. He started by building small models but then decided to do something big and created a self-portrait. It took him two days just     6     (build) the eyes.

Nathan’s works have appeared in museums around     7     world. People love his arts because they are     8     (fascinate). Since it began in 2007, Nathan’s exhibition “The Art of the Brick” has been very popular with museum     9     (visitor) everywhere.

“I have fulfilled my childhood dream, and I have actually made a job out of it,” Nathan says     10     (proud). “To do what you love in life is the most important thing.”

I have a warm story to share with you. A school in San Francisco not only accepted a deaf student, but also taught the whole class sign language     1     (make) them better communicate with him.

The     2     (move) story began in September last year. A woman asked the primary school in her neighborhood to accept her six-year-old son, James,     3     has a hearing disability. The teacher, Lily, agreed almost     4     (immediate). But on the first day of school, she noticed James sitting all by     5     (he). He was unable to communicate with any of his classmates.

Determined to find a way out, Lily tried developing a few     6     (sign) of her own. But a parent of another child came up with an even     7     (good) idea-getting the whole class to learn sign language along with James. So they     8     (invite) a sign language teacher to teach them. Three months     9     (late), James was able to communicate happily with all his classmates. They can talk     10     many regular things like homework and games.

Nathan Sawaya’s childhood was a lot of fun. He drew cartoons, wrote stories, and so on. Nathan Sawaya showed a strong     1    (prefer) for building blocks when he was young. At the age of 5, his grandparents bought his first set of building blocks and he     2    (play) with them ever since. He even took his building blocks to college with him. Instead of books and a computer, he had a model of Greenwich Village     3    (make) of bricks on his desk.

Nathan started as a lawyer     4     gave up his well-paid job to become an artist that uses toys in his art. He uses toy bricks to build everything from the Statue of Liberty to Superman! He has more than 1.5 million colored bricks     5     are used by him to make pieces of art in his office in New York. He started by building small models but then decided to do something big and created a self-portrait. It took him two days just     6    (build) the eyes. Nathan’s works have appeared in museums around     7     world. People love his arts because they are     8    (fascinate). Since it began in 2007, Nathan’s exhibition “The Art of the Brick” has been very popular with museum     9    (visitor) everywhere.

“I have fulfilled my childhood dream, and I have actually made a job out of it,” Nathan says     10    (proud). “To do what you love in life is the most important thing.”

In the field of sports there are some famous living legends, such as Lang Ping, and Michael Jordan.

As a player, Lang Ping brought not only honour but also glory to     1     (she) country. As     2     coach, she led the China Women’s volleyball team to medals at world championships as well as the Olympic Games. As a person, she is     3     (love) by fans at home and abroad. Before the 2015 World Cup, she     4     (face) a great challenge — two important     5     (player) had to leave because of health problems. However, Lang Ping didn’t lose heart and she led her volleyball team     6     (win) the championship.

Known as “Air Jordan”, Michael Jordan changed basketball with his graceful moves and jumps. Jordan’s skills were impressive but the mental strength     7     (make) him unique. The secret to his success is learning     8     his failures. In life, Jordan has learnt to share his     9     (succeed) with others. The Boys and Girls Club     10     he started in Chicago has been helping young people since 1996.

The Mid-Autumn Festival,     1     is an important traditional festival in China, usually falls in September or October. It is on the 15th day of the     2     (eight) month of the Chinese lunar calendar.

Festival Celebration between New Zealand and China     3     (hold) with high quality performances at the New Zealand National Museum last Sunday night. Artists from southwestern China’s Chongqing     4     (present) the Wellington audience with Sichuan Opera Performance. The performances perfectly showed the charm of Chinese culture and art     5     the audience.

Guo Zongguang, who is the     6     (direct) of the China Cultural Center in New Zealand, stressed that this show was one of    7     most important events in this year’s culture exchanges between China and New Zealand.

Brett Hudson, a member of Parliament, acknowledged that China, now New Zealand’s largest trading partner, provided New Zealanders with thousands and thousands of     8     (job). Our relationship with China is     9     (extreme) important. Our two-way trade now tops 28 billion New Zealand dollars in 2018,     10     (help)New Zealanders improve life styles for families. And it is strengthening even further through cultural exchange and better understanding of one another.