As early as a thousand years ago in Kaifeng, China, there were a group of people presenting art and beauty in a delicate manner. Such craft is known     1     Bian embroidery (汴绣). It is now recognized as a state-level intangible cultural heritage. Bian embroidery is characterized by simplicity and serenity. It     2     (consider) a unique form of artistic     3     (express) of the Song Dynasty. The purest natural colors and delicate stitches (针法) make the embroidery look vivid like a     4     (paint) if not bring it to life. For each piece of work, embroiderers would integrate many elements into it     5     (include) fine art, literature and philosophy. The re-creation of the first volume of the work Along the River during the Qingming Festival is the work of     6     (experience) Bian embroiderers who have long observed the     7     (origin) work Qingming Festival and objects.     8     took over 20 embroiderers a year working around the clock     9     (complete) such a masterpiece. The millennium-old craft still has its charm today. It goes beyond the time, bringing out the fine texture of painting     10     it can also be a treasure that one holds dear.

6 . Once popular sports in ancient capital Xi’an

As the capital of 13 dynasties throughout Chinese history, Xi’an has never been far from sports.

Cuju: Origin of modern soccer

Cuju first appeared in the anetent Chinese historical work Zhan Guo Ce, which described cuju as a form of entertainment. Later, cuju was played in the army for military training purposes. The earliest record of women cuju players can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. Cuju was listed into China’s intangible cultural heritages in 2006.

Jiaodi: Chinese-style wrestlíng

Sumo,   known as Japan’s “national sport”, actually originated in ancient China. Sumo was called jiaodi in ancient times. Jiaodi was performed by athletes wearing ox horns and wrestling with each other. In the Tang Dynasty, jiaodi was part of military training and a kind of entertainment and athletic sports.

Jiju: Ancient polo

Jiju is a sport which uses a stick to hit balls while riding on a horse, pretty similar to modern polo. It was popular in the Tang Dynasty. And it was also a major military training program in the army. There is a famous painting unearthed in a prince tomb in Shanxi province in 1971, which shows more than 20 men riding on horses playing polo.

Archery

The origin of archery was closely related with hunting and defense. Ancient archery was not only an athletic event and a military training program, but also part of education. In Zhou Dynasty, the archery was listed as one of the Six Arts. During the Tang Dynasty, archery was an important part of the Wuju Imperial Examinations, and five kinds of archery skills would be tested, including on-horse shot and flat shot.

7 . The Maya city of Tikal is famous for its amazing palaces and temples. But something far more ordinary kept Tikal functioning: its water-purifying(净化) system, the earliest known of its kind.

Researchers recently discovered a volcanic mineral that traps microbes(微生物) and heavy metals in Tikal's largest reservoir(水库). Because the material is not found nearby, the finding suggests the presence of a man-made water-purifying device.

The finding denies the long-standing idea that the ancient worlds technological achievements belonged to the Eastern world, like Egypt, and China. The leading scientist of this research, Kenneth Tankersley says, “When talking about purifying water, the Maya were thousands of years ahead.”

Located in the forests of Central America, Tikal, is thought to have been home to more than 45,000 people. They had to struggle against a dry season lasting from November through April. Storing water in reservoirs was a solution, but that water had to be fit to drink, said Kenneth, “Keeping water clean was of great importance.”

A few years ago, the researchers were surprised to find that the largest reservoir, Corriental, had significantly fewer harmful chemicals than the others. “The water quality at Corriental was much higher.”

Somehow the Maya must have been purifying Corriental’s water, the team assumed. “The Maya used gardens as their bathrooms.” Kenneth said, “The water coming into the reservoir would not have been very clean.”

At the bottom of Corriental, scientists found four separate layers(层), each a few centimeters thick, of millimeter-scale “zeolites(沸石)”. This type of volcanic mineral can purify water and is still in widespread use today, Kenneth says, “Just about everything we drink, from bottled water to wine, runs through a zeolite purifying device.”

The Maya wouldn’t have known about the zeolite in rock, but they would have recognized the purifying effects, the researchers suggest. A zeolite-rich rock formation about 30 kilometers northeast of Tikal is the likely source of the material in Corriental reservoir, the team said last month in Scientific Reports. Water at this site “was clear and tasted good.”

8 . How did we get the alphabet? It was a long process, covering thousands of years.

The first people to write things down carved symbols onto rocks or shells. These symbols represented people or things.

These people who lived a long time ago had simple lives with simple needs. One of the most basic needs was food. Before the introduction of agriculture, people were called Hunter­Gatherers because they hunted animals and gathered nuts and berries for food. To tell each other about how to hunt animals or where to find them, these people drew on cave walls or on animal hides. Soon, people were growing their own crops. They were also using a system of symbols to stand for people, places and things. The best ancient example of this was found in Egypt, where hieroglyphs (象形字) were used. These people believed in many different gods. Each god had its own symbol. Symbols were also used to stand for water, buildings, food, and other parts of life.

But these picture drawings and hieroglyphs represented whole words, not just sounds. How did we get an alphabet? Recent research suggests that the idea of an alphabet was first used in Egypt about 1900 BC. Civilizations that traded with or fought against Egypt were exposed to this alphabet, and the idea spread.

The ancient Greeks adapted this alphabet and created their own. The ancient Romans polished it up to a state almost like our modern alphabet. The idea of stringing letters together to make words was born. You can see by looking at letters from the Roman alphabet that these letters survive almost unchanged in our modern English alphabet.

This was the case in the Western world. Actually, a similar thing also happened in the East. You can see many examples in such areas’ language development.

9 . The University of Sheffield

The University of Sheffield is a research university in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of the original “red brick” universities, which are a group of top and famous old universities. The University of Sheffield was originally formed by the combination of three colleges. The Sheffield School of Medicine was founded in 1828, followed in 1879 by the opening of Firth College by Mark Firth, a steel manufacturer (制造商), to teach arts and science subjects. Firth College then helped to provide money for the opening of the Sheffield Technical School in 1884 to teach applied science. In 1897 the three institutions were joined together to form the University College of Sheffield, which in turn became the University of Sheffield by Royal Charter (特许) in 1905. This university is famous for its good education and boasts a number of Nobel Prize winners among its former students.

System:   The University has five departments: Arts and Humanities; Engineering; Pure Science; Social Sciences;   Medicine,   Dentistry   and   Health.   Sheffield   also   has   many   research   programs   in   fields   including aerospace, environmental science, psychology, and biology.

City show: Sheffield is a lively city in the north of England. Sheffield is known as the greenest city in Europe because of its 2 million trees. As a result, there are many parks and woods throughout the city and beyond. Sheffield is the greenest city in England with 150 woodlands and 50 public parks within the city. Once, in Sheffield, the folk hero—Robin Hood lived in Sherwood Forest with 150 of his loyal friends. And Charlotte Bronte, the English writer noted for her novel Jane Eyre was born in Sheffield.

The Silk Road was a passage for the transportation of silk in ancient times. Lots of relics on the road can still     1     (see) now. From the relics, tourists can see the outline of the ancient metropolitan(大都市) areas along    2       fantastic road. In the tour packages, tourists can imagine     3     (they) to be ancient merchants by riding camels in deserts.

The Silk Road is a long route,     4     Xi'an in the east to Gansu province and Xinjiang region in the west. If it is your first trip to China, we     5    (sincere) suggest you should spend at least ten days visiting Beijing, Xi'an, Dunhuang, Urumqi and Kashgar. You could get to know about the history of China and experience     6     (color) scenery along the Silk Road.

If you are an experienced traveler         7       (want) to explore China fully, it is recommended       8     you travel to Dunhuang, Zhangye, Jiayuguan, Turpan, Kashgar and Urumqi to follow the footprint of Marco Polo. This route may take about 15 days. If you have only a one-week holiday, the     9     (choose) of three most famous cities will be fit for you.

Along the Silk Road route, Xi'an and Gansu province are suitable to visit all-year round. The best time     10     (visit) Xinjiang region is from May to October because the weather is mild.