1 . Hanwengong Shrine

Now we come to Hanwengong Shrine, which is beside Hangjiang river and west of Bijia mountain.     1     In the square in front of the hall, an ancient book-shaped stone is carved with two famous sayings of Han Yu on it, meaning hard work is the precondition for success, and deep thought is the guarantee of success.

In the year of A.D. 819, for some political reason, Han Yu was exiled (流放) to Chaozhou, a backland at that time. But he was not depressed by this, and he helped local people to develop education, agriculture, irrigation and release slaves.     2    

The shrine was built against the mountain and divided into two parts, the front part and the back part. Now we play a small game: count the stone steps, and later I’ll tell you a secret. How many steps are there? Yes, 51 steps! Why?     3     The first time Han Yu came to Chaozhou, he was impressed by the beautiful scenery and hospitality of local people. You see that old tree? People say the more flowers in the tree, the more well-educated students are. But in Qing Dynasty, this magic tree, planted by Han Yu himself, died, so people planted this tree instead.

    4     Here is one: when Han Yu was living in Chaozhou, there was a very fierce and cruel crocodile in the Hanjiang river, which was a big social harm. One day, Han Yu drafted a statement against the crocodile and made it public by the river. Incredibly, from the next day on, the crocodile was gone. Later, the statue, made of a portrait of Han Yu, was built and his words were left on the monument to mark his achievements.

DNA analysis reveals two waves of migration

The results of the study, published in the Science Bulletin, revealed two major migration waves in history. In this pioneering study, scientists from Fudan University     1     (dig) into the ancient DNA of individuals buried in Gansu province, revealing interesting insights into the genetic makeup of Hexi Corridor residents dating back over 12 centuries. The research employed ancient DNA data     2     (explore) human migration along the Hexi Corridor.

The Hexi Corridor, was a narrow yet crucial link     3     (connect) the heartland of ancient China to the Western Territory. Characterized by its lofty mountains and deserts, the ancient pathway was dotted with cities     4     (found) along short rivers.

Historical documents attest (证实) to the Hexi Corridor’s significance as a crossroads     5     Western and Eastern civilizations mixed through trade, religion and occasional conflicts following the establishment of the Silk Road during the Han Dynasty.

    6     technological advances in biology open new avenues for exploration, archaeologists are increasingly drawn to analyzing DNA samples. Led by Wen Shaoqing from Fudan University’s Institute of Archaeological Science, the team successfully extracted DNA data     7     the teeth and bones found at two sites near Dunhuang.

The DNA analysis pinpointed two outliers (异常样本) dating to the Wei Dynasty and the Tang. Further examination revealed one had approximately 50 percent western Eurasian ancestry and       8     30 percent, suggesting the individuals were likely descendants of unions between western Eurasian women and local men.

    9     the team concluded was that the genetic mix could be partially attributed to those migrations. Experts said the second major migration period       10     (mark) by a significant shift in the gene pool. Historical records say migration facilitated by Chinese explorer Zhang Qian’s visit to the Western Territory from 138 BC resulted in the creation of the Silk Road.

5 . The Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre has recently “rediscovered” an ancient shark skeleton that has been sitting in the museum’s collection for nearly 50 years. Could this shark be a part of a newly discovered ancient shark species?

This fossil’s original discovery was in 1975 on a farm just west of Morden, Manitoba. The skeleton was brought into the museum and was forgotten within the ever-growing fossil collection. The skeleton was hidden in the collections room for over 40 years and the center just recently found the fossil in its storage around eight years ago.

Adolfo Cuertara, the director of the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre, explained that “It’s a very special shark for many reasons. It’s highly possible that we are talking about a new species.” Although the shark has not been given a scientific name yet, the museum has unofficially named the skeleton, “Dave”, in honor of the farmer on whose land the skeleton was found.

After the fossil rediscovery, Dave was exhibited at the fossil center museum. Dave is around 15 feet long and is one of the largest well-preserved shark skeletons in the entire world. Within the paleontology (古生物学) world, complete shark fossils are extremely rare due to their soft cartilage (软骨结构) which disintegrates as they age. Dave’s shark species are filter feeders with no teeth, who receive their nutrition by absorbing it out of the water. Cuertara emphasizes Dave’s uniqueness by explaining, “The shape of the jaws and the skull and the kind of structures that it has, because the preservation is really amazing, is telling us that it is probably going to be a new species. The problem is now we need scientific papers and scientific research and this paper is underway.”

The Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre is hopeful that more scientific research will provide more information on Dave’s ancient shark species. For now, Dave is currently on display at the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre and the museum has the exhibit up to date with their current information.

7 . On 15^th June 1996, a huge bomb in Manchester, in the north-west of England, destroyed the city centre, causing nearly a billion pounds’ worth of damage. The bomb, which had been planted by a terrorist group called the IRA, injured over 200 people but remarkably killed no one as police had evacuated the area following a warning from the IRA.

Manchester had already undergone some changes as it recovered from the economic depression of the early 1990s that had destroyed much of its industry and created large-scale unemployment. It had won the right to host the Commonwealth Games (a large sporting event) and redeveloped some deserted areas through the building of the National Velodrome, an exhibition centre and an award-winning concert hall. However, at the time of the bombing, the city centre was still badly neglected — dominated by the Arndale Shopping Centre (once described as looking like an enormous public toilet) and squares that were run-down and affected by drug addiction. So, dreadful though the bombing was, it actually provided an opportunity to start again that might not have happened otherwise.

Within weeks of the explosion, the government had set up a public-private company to manage the recovery and launched an international competition to design the redevelopment. The winning plan involved restoring the historic buildings that had been damaged, tearing down and rebuilding some of the ugly buildings, creating new public spaces and improving life for pedestrians. Alongside this, the government reduced traffic in the centre by changing the direction of some main roads and developed an integrated public transport system, making access to the centre easier. Since these improvements, the city has attempted to boost tourism by using some of the city’s historical sites for major public events and by creating the Urbis building, which now houses the National Museum of Football. In turn, these changes have been key in attracting new investors, such as the Qatari royal family who own Manchester City Football Club.

Since 1996, the Manchester economy has grown in all areas. However, there are some concerns that inequality has also increased. Nor are all the new spaces appreciated. One new garden square designed by an international architect was rated as the worst attraction in the city. Others argue that in changing market stalls and industry for luxury consumption and glass buildings, the city has lost some of its soul.

Champagne is a sparkling wine produced from grapes grown in the Champagne region of France     1    (follow) rules that demand secondary fermentation（发酵）of the wine in the bottle to create carbonation. Some use “Champagne” as a general term for sparkling wine, but it is illegal to officially label any product Champagne     2     it both comes from the Champagne region and is produced under the rules of the title.

In France the first sparkling Champagne was created accidentally. Contrary to legend and popular belief, Dom Pérignon did not invent sparkling wine. The oldest    3    (record) sparkling wine is Blanquette de Limoux,     4     was apparently invented by Benedictine Monks in the Abbey of Saint-Hilaire in 1531. Over a century later, the English scientist and physician Christopher Merret documented the addition of sugar    5     a finished wine to create a second fermentation.

The pressure in the Champagne bottle led it to be called “the devil's wine,” as bottles   exploded or corks popped. In 1844 Adolphe Jaquesson invented the muse-let     6    (prevent) the corks from blowing out. Even when it was deliberately produced as a sparkling wine, Champagne was for a very long time made by the méthode rurale, where the wine was bottled before the initial fermentation had finished. Champagne did not use the méthode champenoise    7     the 19th century, about 200 years after Merret documented the process. Méthode champenoise is the traditional method by which Champagne is produced. After primary fermentation and bottling, a second alcoholic fermentation occurs in the bottle. This second fermentation is caused by adding several grams of yeast and rock sugar to the bottle --- although each brand has     8     own secret recipe. Usually a minimum of 1.5 years is required to completely develop the full flavor.

The 19^th century     9    (see) a fast growth in Champagne production, going from a regional production of 300,000 bottles a year in 1800 to 20 million bottles in 1850. In 2007, Champagne sales hit     10     all-time record of 338.7 million bottles.

9 . The Great Migration

The Great Migration began when the North had a labor problem. The North had been relying on cheap labor from Europe — immigrants from Europe — to work the factories and the foundries and the steel mills.     1     As a result, the North decided to go and find the cheapest labor in the land, which meant many of African Americans in the South were not even being paid for their hard work. Many were sharecroppers (佃农) working for the right to live on the land that they were farming.

But it turned out that the South did not take kindly to this poaching (盗用，挖走) of its cheap labor.     2     They would arrest people from the railroad platforms and from their train seats. And when there were too many people to arrest, they would wave the train on through so that people who had been hoping and saving and praying for the chance to get to freedom had to figure out: How now will we get out?

Before the Great Migration began, 90 percent of all African Americans were living in the South, where they were nearly held captive. But by the time this Great Migration was over, nearly half were living all over the rest of the country.     3    

This Great Migration was the first time in American history that the lowest caste (种姓) people signaled that they had options for themselves and were willing to take them.     4     Think about those cotton fields, rice plantations, tobacco fields and sugar plantations, where there were opera singers, jazz musicians, playwrights, novelists, surgeons, attorneys, accountants, professors, journalists. And how do we know that? We know that because that is what they and their children and now their grandchildren and even great-grandchildren have often chosen to become once they had the chance to choose for themselves what they would do with their God-given talents.