1 . Walled Cities Of The World

There are numerous historical walled cities across the world, whose walls date back several centuries. These walls were fortification (碉堡), a necessity throughout medieval eras for defense. They have been preserved as historical monuments and popular tourist attractions in the modern time.

York, England

The city of York is a medieval city situated in the north of England. Historically, the city was ruled by the Romans, Angles, and the Vikings before being incorporated as part of the Kingdom of England in 954. Located in the city are walls built in 71 AD which have been restored and extended with time.

Xi’an, China

The city of Xian is one of the oldest cities in China. It prospered economically as the eastern last station of the Silk Road. The existing walls were originally built in 770 BC and reconstructed in the 14th century under the Ming Dynasty. The walls are well preserved and are a major tourist attraction in the city.

Quebec City, Canada

Quebec City was a colonial (殖民地的) town which was fortified by the settling Europeans. The walls began to be built in 1608 under both British and French regimes (政权). A fort was constructed by the British as an additional defensive measure and remains undamaged to date. The city’s fortifications were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.

Mexico City, Mexico

Historically, the City of Mexico gained importance as the Aztec Capital. The Spanish then drove out the Aztecs and rebuilt it as the Spanish Capital. The walls protecting the city were built in 1521. Mexico City is also home to numerous colonial-era buildings which together with the walls are major tourist attractions in the city.

4 . From the dawn of civilization, paper records have been a method of keeping track of important and necessary documentation. A common experience throughout the world's record keeping has been the necessity to ensure that all documents are kept together, and none are lost.

    1     These included tying ribbons through the paper, and melting wax to secure the papers in place. For nearly 600 years, these were the methods used to secure papers.

    2     In 1835, a machine that could mass-produce straight pins was invented by Howe J. L. , an American inventor. Although straight pins （大头针）were originally designed for sewing and tailoring, people began using them as a quick and easy way to secure papers.     3     In 1899 he patented the device, which consisted of a wire bent into a particularly shaped hoop for the purpose of securing papers.

During this time, however, the paperclip （回形针）was not a widely distributed device. Therefore, the Gem Manufacturing Company of England developed a machine to manufacture and standardize the paperclip design.     4    

Today the paperclip is a famous invention used throughout offices, schoolrooms, and business throughout the world.     5    

6 . The Renaissance(文艺复兴)is generally considered to have started in Florence, Italy around the years 1350 to 1400. The start of the Renaissance also was the end of the Middle Ages.

Humanism

In the Middle Ages people thought that life was nothing but hard work and war. However, around the 1300s, the people in Florence , Italy started to think that people should be educated and that things like art, music, and science could make life better for everyone.

Florence, Italy

At the start of the Renaissance, Italy was divided up into a number of powerful city-states. One of the major city-states was Florence.

In the late 1300s, Florence had become a rich city. Wealthy businessmen had the money to hire artisans (工匠). This inspired competitions among artists and thinkers. Art began to flourish (繁荣)and new thoughts began to appear.

Petrarch and Humanism

Francesco Petrarch is often called the “Father of Humanism”. He studied poets and philosophers from Ancient Rome such as Cicero and Virgil. His ideas and poetry became an inspiration to many writers and poets throughout all of Europe as the Renaissance spread.

Giotto di Bondone

Giotto was a painter in Florence, Italy. He was the first painter to break away from the standard Byzantine style painting of the Middle Ages and try something new. Giotto is said to have started the Renaissance in art with his new style of realistic painting.

Dante

Another major contributor to the start of the Renaissance was Dante Alighieri.   He lived in Florence and wrote the Divine Comedy in the early 1300s. This book is considered to be the greatest literary work ever written in the Italian language.

New Ideas Spread

This new way of thinking and style of art quickly spread to other wealthy Italian city-states. This early part of the Renaissance is often called the Italian Renaissance. Italy would become wealthy through trade and their new ideas soon spread throughout all of Europe.

A Dream of Splendor(梦华录), marking     1     return of the A-list star Liu Yifei to the historic theme, has quickly attracted millions of views. Liu plays Zhao Pan’er, an independent     2     brave teahouse keeper who struggles for a decent life.

Featuring China’s traditional tea acrobatics, the series demonstrates excellent skills of pouring tea or creating beautiful patterns on the surface of a cup of tea in some     3     (scene).

Chinese tea culture started to enjoy     4     (popular) during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and flourished throughout the Song Dynasty. The well-known politician and thinker Wang Anshi stated the fact     5     tea had become a necessity for almost everyone, from nobles and scholars to common people, just like other essential items, such as rice, oil and salt.

Different from the method of brewing tea(沏茶) during the Tang period, in the Song Dynasty, the popular way of having tea was through tea-whisking, or dian cha in Chinese. The process begins with hot water     6     (pour) over fine powdered tea to create a paste(糊状物), and then more hot water is slowly added as the tea is constantly stirred by hand with a bamboo stick(茶筅)     7     large amounts of foam(泡沫)     8     (appearance). This action of pouring hot water is called dian, hence the name dian cha, which was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of Runzhou district, Zhenjiang city, Jiangsu province, in 2019.

The emperor’s book, Treatise on Tea, has detailed descriptions of tea-whisking. In the eyes of people of that time, the     9     (good) the tea, the whiter it should be, and the longer the foam should last.

Despite enhancing the taste of tea, what is unbelievable is that people also draw     10    they like on the foam.

When we are shopping in a supermarket,     1     (scan) an item at checkout is something we take for granted in this age of     2     (convenient). We can thank barcodes (条形码) for that. It’s been 50 years     3     the beginning of this game-changing technology.

On March 31, 1971, a historic meeting took place in New York City. The meeting agreed     4     (create) a system to uniquely identify every single product,     5     is called the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), the core of barcodes. Today, barcodes are used by 2 million companies worldwide. “    6     (it) creation allowed the first digitization in the control of the stock,” said Jose Maria Bonmati, general director of     7     European commercial association. “The unique identification of products at a global level was the key that opened the door to retail (零售) as we know it today.” In the past five decades, barcodes     8     (provide) much for commerce. The next generation of barcodes, such as QR codes can hold     9     (vast) more information. It ultimately provides consumers a     10     (great) level of trust and loyalty relating to the products they buy than before.