2 . Gettysburg National Military Park was established in 1895, 32 years after the deadly battle. Gettysburg is the most-visited of the Civil War battlefields.

Many visitors start their visit at the Gettysburg Museum of the Civil War. The museum has the world’s largest collection of Civil War objects. The museum has more than 1 million items, from soldiers’ private notebooks and uniforms to original maps of the battlefield. The museum also houses the Gettysburg cyclorama (风景画幕) painting, showing the final attack in the Battle of Gettysburg: Pickett’s Charge. George Pickett was a Confederate general. On July 3, 1863, he led a charge against stronger Union forces. It was a disaster for the Confederate soldiers.

French artist Paul Phillippoteaux and a team of 20 artists created the painting in the 1880s. Phillippoteaux and his team visited the battlefield. It took more than one year for the huge painting to be complete. The cyclorama is 114 metres long and almost 13 metres tall. It has long been one of the most popular parts of the Gettysburg experience. But by the 1990s, the painting was in poor condition. Experts warned that if the cyclorama was not repaired, the painting could be lost.

A restoration project began in 2003. The painting was cleaned and separated into its 14 parts, and later moved into the new centre. There, the original canvas (帆布) was sewn onto new cloth made in China. Park service officials say China was one of the few countries able to produce cloth in the sizes needed. Then each part was hung and sewn together.

A team of cyclorama experts from Poland worked on the project in Gettysburg. The repair work of the Gettysburg Cyclorama marked one of the largest art conservation effort ever in North America.

After the museum, tourists can visit the Soldiers’ National Cemetery, where many of the Union soldiers who died during the Battle of Gettysburg are buried. The cemetery was dedicated on November 19, 1863, the same day President Lincoln gave his “Gettysburg Address”. Historians agree that Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address defined Americans as a people who believed in freedom, democracy and equality.

China Before China,     1     eight-episode documentary that tells stories of the origins and early development of Chinese civilization based on archaeological findings, is airing now.

The documentary     2     (start) from the Qin and Han dynasties and then traces key points at the dawn of Chinese civilization. The overall narration of the work remains clear, logical and     3     (accurate) conveys the sites and relics. “    4     we want to explore are the characteristics of Chinese civilization and its spirit transmitted through our blood, from which we can trace the cultural genes that make us the Chinese people,” says Jin Ruiguo, chief supervisor of the documentary.

The crew spent months     5     (examine) archeological reports and articles. For instance, they explored the     6     (symbol) meaning of dragon through dragon-shaped artefacts. To make this brief history of early Chinese civilization work, the production team filmed 230 domestic sites and museums, and these video clips will also be screened at 18-museums     7     (involve). Based on the information, they used digital technology     8     (bring)-ancient architecture and cities back to life, and invited actors to re-create scenes of daily life. All of this provides the audience     9     a direct and visual idea of the long past. It vividly illustrates the process of historical development, which is the ultimate goal of historical research and archaeological     10     (explore).

Nowadays, the word “hutong ” has come to mean more     1     just the alleys that connect the courtyards. It also refers to the courtyards     2     (they) and even to the communities that live there.

To help them keep control over the city, the Emperors during these Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasty    3    (arrange) different areas of Beijing in neat blocks of houses established around courtyards. They were then able to place guards at the     4    (enter) of the various hutongs, which made it easier     5    (keep) an eye on people’s movements.   

By connecting people’s homes, the hutongs in fact connected people’s lives,     6     the lives of the rich or the lives of the ordinary citizens.

Towards the end of the Qing Dynasty, the conditions in Beijing’s hutongs went down as the political situation cast a dark cloud on China’s economy. Many new hutongs were quickly built to house the     7    (increase) population but these new hutongs    8    (make) poorly.     

Hutongs are still     9     important part of Beijing’s life and it is not surprising that tourists love the hutongs. They can walk up Sanmiao Street,     10    (date) back 900 years.

6 . On 30 January, thousands gathered in Derry, in Northern Ireland, to mark the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when 13 people were killed and at least 14 were hurt by the British Army.

Bloody Sunday took place on Sunday 30 January, 1972. Over 10, 000 people had gathered in Derry for a civil rights march to give everyone equal treatment. People were marching because the UK Government wanted to introduce a law that would mean people could be held in prison for a long time without the reason being tested by a court to see if it was true. The change was meant to stop violence at the time.

The whole of Ireland used to be part of the UK. However, in 1921, an agreement between the Irish and UK governments led to Ireland splitting into two regions. The south became the Republic of Ireland, while Northern Ireland stayed in the UK. In Northern Ireland there was unrest because some people wanted to be part of the UK, while some wanted to join Ireland. This led to a period of violence from 1968 to 1998 known as the Troubles, when around 3, 700 people died. For much of the Troubles, the British Army had lots of soldiers based in Northern Ireland.

The march started peacefully that day but later skirmishes broke out between demonstrators and the army. Some people started throwing stones at soldiers. The army moved in to arrest them and soldiers fired their guns, killing 13 people and injuring 14 people.

Thousands of people marched through Derry. The Irish prime minister Micheal Martin laid a wreath (花圈) at a memorial in Derry and spoke to relatives of the victims. At a special event at the city’s Millennium Forum Theatre, the victims’ names were read out and a silence was held at the moment the first person was shot 50 years ago. The President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, said, “Derry stands as a guiding light of hope and justice.”

On the north bank of Fuxian Lake in Chengjiang County, Yunnan Province sits a straw-hat-shaped mountain     1     (call) Maotian Mountain,     2     a 512-hectare site is praised as a “world-class treasure trove of fossils” by the international scientific community. On July 1,1984, young paleontologists in China discovered a fossil of the arthropod (节肢动物化石) with a long tail in Maotian Mountain. “    3     we had studied in China were just shell of fossils. The arthropods, lifelike fossils with legs, which belonged to fossils of soft-bodied animals, are     4     game changer in the research of China’s paleontology (古生物学)”, Hou Xianguang, a paleontologist said.

Scientists have obtained a large number of research results on Chengjiang Fossil Site. The reason why Chengjiang fauna (动物群) is     5     great significance is that it is closely related to the emergence of the animal tree of life.

Up to now, more than 20 phyla and more than 280 species     6     (record)in the Chengjiang Fossil Site, of which, 80% are new species. On July 1, 2012, the Chengjiang Fossil Site     7     (be) inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO,     8     (become) China’ s first World Heritage Site for paleontological fossils.

The UNESCO evaluation says the Chengjiang Fossil Site is one of the     9     (early) records of a complex marine ecosystem of the early Cambrian communities. The property displays excellent quality of fossil     10     (preserve). It presents an exceptional record of the rapid diversification of life on Earth during the early Cambrian period.

Tang poetry is considered one of the most significant cultural     1     (achievement) of China. It is a form of poetry that flourished during the Tang dynasty, which lasted from 618 to 907 AD. This period is often referred to     2     the “Golden Age” of Chinese poetry, as it saw the emergence of some of     3     most celebrated poets in Chinese history. Tang poetry is characterized by its elegance, simplicity, and profound philosophical insights. It is also known for its use of vivid imagery, which often draws on nature and the natural world.

The Tang dynasty was a time of great cultural and artistic flourishing in China. During this period, the country experienced a period of relative stability and prosperity,     4     allowed for the development of the arts. Poetry was     5     ( particular) popular, and many of the most famous poets of the Tang dynasty were members of the imperial court. These poets were often highly     6     (educate) and well-versed (通晓的) in classical Chinese literature, which they drew upon in their own work.

Tang poetry     7    (cover) a wide range of themes, from love and romance to politics and social commentary (评论). Many of the poems are deeply personal,     8     (reflect) the poet’s own experiences and emotions. Others are more philosophical, exploring the nature of     9     (exist) and the human condition. Despite the diversity of themes, however, all Tang poetry is characterized by its beauty and elegance, making     10     one of the most enduring and beloved forms of poetry in Chinese culture.