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.

Soccer, or better known to the rest of the world     1     football, is one of the     2    (old) sports in history. Dating back to 206 B.C., there are accounts of Chinese     3    (soldier) who played Tsu’ chu, “kicking the ball”, during the Han Dynasty. While many other ancient cultures played games involving a ball, Tsu’ chu was the first to not allow hands. The goal was a net     4    (attach) to two bamboo poles and elevated 30 feet in the air. This is quite the contrast to modern goals     5     sit on the ground and extend 8 feet high and 24 feet wide.

During the medieval period in Europe,     6    (particular) in England, games called Folkball were played in towns.     7    (score) a point, the players had to place the ball into an designated area, usually the captain’s house. This would often involve a     8    (distant) of a few miles between scoring destinations. Without any set rules the game would cause much trouble throughout the towns in which it was held, leading to its ban in     9     14th century.

In 1863, official rules for football     10    (draw) up to create an organized game in England. These rules formally differentiated between rugby football and association football. Therefore, modern football was born.

The Potala Palace (布达拉宫) features a wall painting     1     illustrates a historic marriage between members of the Han and Tibetan ethnic groups. Like the wall painting, many other relics in Tibet have also helped     2    (far) uncover cultural communication between Tibet and the rest of China.

    3    (original) built in the eighth century, the Samye Monastery is listed as an example of a combination of cultural heritage and architectural styles, while the Shalu Monastery, set up in 1087, is another example of a mix of architectural styles.

The earliest archaeological site     4    (identify) at the heart of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (高原) so far is the Nwya Devu site. More than 4,000 stone artifacts (石器)     5    (find) at the Paleolithic site since 2016. Scientific analysis shows that the site     6    (date) back to some 40,000 years ago.

Archaeological     7    (discovery) have also provided abundant evidence of cultural integration. For example, the wooden carving unearthed from Tibet’s Ngari and those from Xinjiang are similar     8     shape.

The cultural     9    (connect) between Tibet and the Yellow River basin was proved at the Karub ruins with the finding of a crop planted in northern China. The finding proved     10     communication between the plateau and northern China some 5,000 years ago.

6 . The “Middle Ages” refers to a duration of 1,000 years, stretching from the fall of Rome in the 5th century to the Italian renaissance in the 15th. Traditionally, the term refers specifically to Europe. And there are many stories, which are more fiction than reality, about the Europe of that time.

One misunderstanding is that people in the Middle Ages were all ignorant and uneducated. For example, a 19th century biography of Christopher Columbus incorrectly claimed that the Europeans at that time thought the Earth was flat. Sure, many scholars of that period described the Earth as the center of the universe – but there wasn’t much debate as to its shape. A popular 13th century text was literally called “On the Sphere of the World.” And the number of people who had an access to books gradually increased alongside the establishment of universities. Ancient knowledge was also not “lost”; Greek and Roman texts continued to be studied.

And it is the same with knights (骑士). In the 19th century, some Romantic European nationalist thinkers well-romanticized the Middle Ages. In their description of the societies, they emphasized the narrations of chivalry (骑士精神) and wonder. But knights played minimum roles in those days’ warfare. The fights, the duels, the adventures and the beautiful ladies are most probably but legends.

Meanwhile, the 19th century French historian Jules Michelet referred to the Middle Ages as “a thousand years without a bath”. But even small towns were equipped with well-used public bathhouses. People even bathed with soaps made of things like animal fat, ash, and scented herbs. And they used mouthwash, teeth-scrubbing cloths with pastes and powders, and spices and herbs for fresh-smelling breath.

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7 . Four Famous Castles In Britain

The country is abundant of castles, some ruined, and others still surviving today. They are a reminder of their either glorious or violent past. Read on for the one that interests you most.

Bodiam Castle, East Sussex

Built primarily for defence in the 14th century, the castle looks perfectly protected from the outside. You might think you could expect much of the same inside it, but sadly not. The war reduced the inside to ruins. The fairytale appearance of the castle standing within its broad moat (护城河) makes an indescribably spectacular picture.

Hever Castle, Kent

As a queen’s childhood home, it is the perfect picture-book castle. Its thick creeper-covered walls are surrounded by double channels. With large collections including portraits, paintings, furniture and treasures, it attracts a lot of tourists here. Among its collections are two private books signed by the queen herself, which are historically valuable.

Windsor Castle, Berkshire

If you want to have a better understanding of more than 900 years’ royal (王室的) life, then there really is no better place to visit than this splendid castle. It is the largest and oldest castle that is still occupied now in the world. In 1992, a fire swept through the castle, destroying 115 rooms. The repairing was completed five years later.

Tintagel Castle, Cornwall

Few places can compete with Tintagel Castle in romance and mystery. The ruins that you see today date from the 13th century, which, however, didn’t stop it to become a popular attraction. Due to the legend of King Arthur, for centuries the castle has fired writers’ and artists’ imaginations on how the heroic king’s life began here.

It’s said that the Chinese characters were invented by Cangjie. They were deciphered (破译) in the Song Dynasty     1     whether these are the correct answers is still debatable.

In his life Cangjie observed mountains and rivers, footprints of birds and beasts, as well as shapes of plants and objects. Inspired by these, Cangjie invented various symbols     2     (base) on the shapes and     3     (appear) of different things and named them zi (character). These most ancient Chinese pictographs (象形文字) have ended the time     4     people tied knots to record their lives.

According to the Han Dynasty’s Chinese dictionary Shuo Wen Jie Zi, Cangjie wrote two scrolls, which     5     (lose) during wars in the Sui Dynasty.

Scholars in contemporary times tend     6     (believe) it is probably a beautiful tale that Cangjie invented the Chinese characters alone. Many Chinese characters actually came into being before Cangjie. He is more like the one who     7     (collect) Chinese characters. Chinese ancestors accumulated and developed the Chinese characters, updating them through hundreds of years, during which time the Chinese characters evolved from oracle bone script     8     bronze script, seal script, clerical script, and     9     (final) to standard script. Nowadays Chinese people commonly use the standard script, whose     10     (tradition) version was gradually simplified and modernized.