Palace Museum at 600: Old Palace, New Vitality

An exhibition titled “Everlasting Splendor: Six Centuries at the Forbidden City“ was held at the Palace Museum in Beijing to celebrate its 600th birthday. With more than 450 cultural relics and historical photos     1     show, the exhibition brings history to life     2     allows visitors to better appreciate the cultural charm of the palace.

The Forbidden City was completed in 1420 and     3     total of 24 emperors lived and worked there. In many people’s eyes, its beauty lies in the palace complex, being an    4     (extreme) precious and splendid artwork. With more than 70 palaces of various sizes and over 9,000 rooms, it is one of the     5    (large) and most complete existing wooden structures in the world. It is also mysterious, because ancient Chinese philosophies were integrated into its design and     6     (construct). However, the sense of mystery     7     (fade) gradually since it was transformed into the Palace Museum in 1925.

The Palace Museum is now a world-famous museum     8     more than 1.8 million artifacts are collected. Recently, it has become a real “online celebrity” on the Internet. Creative products     9    (inspire) by aspects of the museum, such as make-ups and folding fans, have gone on sale viae-commerce platforms.

    10     (witness) China’s history, it has to some extent shaped the mental world of the Chinese people. But nowadays it has become a brand-new cultural symbol.

2 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Taylor Swift is ending her year with another honor. The pop superstar     1     (name) Time magazine’s 2023 “Person of the Year,”     2     (beat) out Barbie and King Charles III. “While her popularity     3     (grow) across the decades, this is the first year     4     Swift, 33, achieved a kind of nuclear fusion (核聚变): shooting art and commerce together     5     (release) an energy of historic force,” the magazine said. Time said Swift was selected     6     she found a way to give people around the world hope in some seriously dark times. “No one else     7     the planet today can move so many people so well,” Time said in its profile, “    8     giving too much credit to     9     star ignores her skill and her power.” The magazine also interviewed Swift, with the artist revealing that “this is the proudest and happiest I’ve ever felt, and the most     10     (creative) fulfilled and free I’ve ever been.”

Published in 1957, Teahouse is not only a peak of Lao She’s dramatist career but also a landmark in the history of modern Chinese drama.

Through a vivid     1     (describe) of what happened to a teahouse in Beijing and the fate of     2     (it) boss and a group of characters connected, Teahouse mirrors the social turmoil (动荡) and the     3     (pleasant) side of the old society. The play describes 70 characters     4     (live) in a 50-year-long period     5     involves three dynastic periods. It is a classic play with a high degree of artistic charm.

    6     successful performance of Teahouse by Beijing People’s Art Theater would be unimaginable without Jiao Juyin, the general director for the play. As a play     7     (fill) with many characters from different historical periods, Teahouse presented many severe     8     (challenge) to the director. However, Jiao Juyin had not only had a good command of the play but also turned it     9     a national poem. The teahouse in the play not only     10     (serve) as a stage set but also is a poetic symbol.

Chengdu is regarded by many as one of the happiest cities in China, as well as the home of pandas. It     1     (become) the first Asian city to be identified as a UNESCO City of Gastronomy in 2010.

Chengdu is a place where it seems to blur (难以区分) the boundaries between past and future. Its ancient temples, traditional alleys and historic architecture open a window into ancient China,     2     (take) you into a world of past impressive beauty. But what is really surprising is its focus on the future. Transforming into a center of technology, innovation and development, this city has     3     (ambition) plans to become a science city in southwest China.

Chengdu is not only rich in history and modernity, but also in flavor. This city is known     4     its spicy food, with bold flavors and centuries-old cooking traditions coming together to offer dining experiences     5     will delight all the senses. Chengdu’s most popular food, such as tongue-numbing mapo tofu and hotpot, is     6     feast for the palate (味觉). Hotpot works like this. A heat source     7     (place) on the dining table keeps a pot of soup stock simmering (煨), and a variety of Chinese foodstuffs and     8     (ingredient) are served beside the pot for the diners to put into the hot stock.

All this richness that Chengdu has to offer led to its selection as the host city for the 31stFISU World University Games. The athletic event was an opportunity not only     9     (show) Chengdu’s sporting spirit, world-class infrastructure,     10     (warm) and organizational skill, but also to promote friendship and cross-cultural understanding.

Researchers have found that tai chi could slow down Parkinson’s disease by years. Tai chi, with its slow movements,     1     (know) to benefit physical and mental well-being. The researchers     2     (conduct) a five-year study on people with Parkinson’s. They discovered that the condition became worse     3     a slower speed in those who practiced tai chi. They observed fewer falls, and     4     (little) dizziness (头晕) and back pain in the tai chi practitioners. They also noted that the cognitive function of the test participants who     5     (regular) practiced tai chi became worse more slowly.

Parkinson’s disease is a brain disorder     6     (affect) the nerves and muscles. It steadily causes uncontrollable movements,     7     symptoms (症状) include shaking, stiffness, and difficulty with balance. People with Parkinson’s may have difficulties walking and talking. One of the most famous people with Parkinson’s was Muhammad Ali,     8     heavyweight boxing champion. The researchers suggest that tai chi is one of the most helpful ways     9     (keep) symptoms of Parkinson’s at bay. They said: “The long-term     10     (benefit) effect of tai chi on Parkinson’s could extend the time without disability, leading to a higher quality of life, a lower burden for caregivers and a reduction in drug use.”

Diaojiaolou is a masterpiece of Chinese traditional construction. It’s said that when the first ancient pioneers set out from northern and central China in the hope of    1     (settle) in southern China, they came upon difficulties. In the forests of southern China, they met with beasts, poisonous snakes and insects. They managed to settle a colony and set fires to drive away beasts.    2    , they were still troubled by snakes and insects, until one leader,    3     distinguished wise old man in the community at that time, came up with an idea of putting up a building hung on wooden stilts (支柱). The colony then agreed on the idea and such buildings     4     (construct) with joint efforts did help the early settlers stay safe from the dangers. These buildings    5     (gain) popularity among several minorities since then.

Diaojiaolou typically has two to three floors. The upper floors are held up by stilts,     6     appearance makes the building look unsteady. But these stilts    7     (strengthen) by some stone blocks at their base so as to make Diaojiaolou still.

The ground floor is    8     (primary) made up of stilts without walls. This floor tends to be used    9     a place for keeping farm animals or putting firewood and farming    10     (equip). The upper floors are mainly living spaces.

7 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式

Zigong, a city in Southwest China’s Sichuan Province, is known     1     the City of Lanterns. Chinese people     2     (appreciate) the beauty of lanterns for years, but the custom of enjoying lanterns on festivals began in Zigong as early as the Tang Dynasty. Most Chinese lanterns are made with wire structures and fabric coverings.     3     (add) to their beauty, Zigong craftsmen also use a     4     (various) of materials, such as silk, paper, bamboo, straw, cocoon and even porcelain.

Lantern production is now     5     driving force for the local economy, as most of the large-scale lanterns     6     (use) in festive shows are produced in Zigong. The annual Zigong Lantern Show is also a major attraction for the city’s tourism. Visitors flock to Zigong to enjoy lanterns, as well as various other entertaining     7     (activity).

The excellent skills of Zigong craftsmen have also taken this national intangible heritage abroad,     8     (contribute) to spectacles of color and delight at lantern shows in more than 70 countries and regions worldwide. Zigong lanterns are now a name card for     9     hometown.

For the Chinese, lanterns have not only lit up the night, but also illuminated hearts     10     are anxious to go home to celebrate festivals with families.

Lion dance is very popular in China. As a well-known folk activity    1     is traditionally believed to bring prosperity and good luck, lion dance is often seen performed at festive occasions. Accompanied by the sound of beating drums, dancers     2     (dress) up in lion costumes jump back and forth, showing stunning Kung Fu and acrobatic(杂技的) skills. Crowds bursting into applause in response to the performance of this special kind of dancing always help create     3     festive atmosphere that fills the air.

In the 1990s, high-pole lion dancing     4     (introduce) and promoted in Nanhai of Foshan City. Different     5    traditional lion dancing, it has its own unique rules.     6     (performer) do not jump around on the ground but on poles ranging between one to three meters high. Besides, the space between poles also     7     (vary). The poles are often set up where dancers’ skills could be showed while at the same time the audience can enjoy a safe    8     satisfying watching experience. It’s not easy    9     (balance)well while performing the dance of a fierce lion so     10     (active) on poles. That’s why compared with the traditional one, the high-pole lion dance is more challenging and dangerous.

Team China bagged a total of 383 medals, including 201 gold, 111 silver and 71 bronze,     1    (rank) first in the medal tally (奖牌榜) during the 19th Asian Games,     2     concluded competitions on Sunday.

The first gold of the Games was awarded       3     China’s Zou Jiaqi and Qiu Xiuping, who paddled to victory in the women’s lightweight double sculls (双桨赛艇) rowing event with a time of 7 minutes, 6.78 seconds. China’s last gold       4    (take) by 10 artistic swimmers who delivered a great     5     (perform) to win the team free routine final on October 8. In total, China bagged two gold medals in artistic swimming. Japan and Kazakhstan took the silver and bronze medals,     6     (respective), in the two events of the sport.

The 19th Asian Games, which featured 40 sports, 61 disciplines, and 481 events,     7     (run) from September 23 to October 8 in Hangzhou, along with five co-host     8     (city), namely Ningbo, Wenzhou, Huzhou, Shaoxing, and Jinhua, in east China’s Zhejiang Province.

Chinese swimmers Zhang Yufei and Qin Haiyang were jointly awarded the Most    9     (value) Player of the Hangzhou Asian Games, marking the first time that two athletes received     10    award.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced a shocking finding about the air we breathe. It has found that almost everyone on Earth breathes unhealthy air. The WHO made     1    (it) air quality update ahead of World Health Day on April 7. The update reported that 99 per cent of the world’s population breathes air     2     goes beyond WHO air quality limits. It looked at data from over 6,000 cities in 117 countries. People     3    (live) in lower- and middle-income countries breathe the poorest-quality air. Millions of people die in these countries because of pollution-related diseases. The WHO said: “After surviving a pandemic, it is unacceptable to still have 7 million preventable deaths due     4     air pollution.”

The WHO said its report highlighted the need to move away from fossil fuels. It asked governments to do more     5     (reduce) levels of air pollution. It said: “Current energy concerns highlight the importance of speeding up the transition to cleaner and     6    (healthy) energy systems.” It added that high gas prices, energy     7    (secure), the dangers of air pollution, and climate change mean the world must be less dependent on fossil fuels. The WHO report     8    (include) many recommendations for change. One of these is     9     use of clean energy for cooking, heating and lighting. Another is to “build safe and affordable public transport systems and pedestrian- and cycle-friendly     10    (network)”.