1 . Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were two young men from Germany who loved a good story. As university students, they became interested in folktales-traditional stories that people memorized and told again and again. They began to collect traditional folktales from storytellers a over Germany in order to record old German poems and to preserve history. Many were similar to stories told in France, Italy, Japan, and other countries. Between 1812 and 1814, the brothers published two books in German. The collections became known in English as Grimm’s Fairy Tales. It includes some 200 stories, most of which were adopted from oral sources. The best-known tales include “Snow White,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” and “Sleeping Beauty”.

The Grimm brothers’ tales reflected traditional life and beliefs. For example, forests are common in Germany, and this image often appears in the Grimms’ stories. In the past, many people believed forests were dangerous places. In the Grimms’ stories, a forest is the home of evil witches (女巫), talking animals, and other magical beings.

Although most people today think of these stories as fairy tales for children, the brothers first wrote them mainly for adults. Many of their early tales were dark and a little scary. Later, the brothers changed the text of some of the original stories. They “softened” many of the tales and added drawings. Ims made them more appropriate for children. Like the early tales, though, each story still has a moral (道德准则): work hard, be good, and listen to your parents.

The Grimms believed that the most natural and pure forms of culture were based in language and history. Their work influenced other collectors, both inspiring them to collect tales and leading them to similarly believe that the fairy tales of a country were particularly typical of it.

Emperor Qinshihuang united the seven major states into one     1     country where the Chinese writing system began to develop     2     one direction. That writing system was of great     3     in uniting the Chinese people and culture. Even today, no matter where Chinese people live or     4     dialect they speak, they can all still communicate in writing.

Written Chinese has also become an important     5     by which China’s present is connected with its past. People in modern times can read the     6     works which were written by Chinese in ancient times. The high regard for the Chinese writing system can be     7     in the development of Chinese characters as an art form, known as Chinese     8     . which has become an important part of Chinese culture.

    9     China plays a greater role in global affairs, an increasing number of international students are beginning to     10     China’s culture and history through this amazing language.

Delicate, shining, and soft to the touch. The fabric called silk     1     (find) its way into the heart of Chinese people in the past thousands of years.     2     origin of it is not clear, but the ancient Chinese people     3     (credit) their own wisdom to Leizu, wife of the Yellow Emperor, as the inventor of sericulture (养蚕业).

The style and texture (质地) of silk are     4     (variety). Hangluo satin from Hangzhou,Zhejiang province, is famous for its airy and thin texture,     5     Yunjin brocade from Nanjing, Jiangsu province, a luxurious fabric often     6     (use) for royal clothes, represents China’s silk weaving (纺织) technique at its best time. Yunjin brocade is best made     7    hand, in a complex procedure that comprises more than a hundred steps. Even the most skilled artisans can only weave a few centimeters a day.

In the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC—AD 24), with Zhang Qian     8     (open) up the routes to the western regions, silk graced countries in Central Asia, and later other parts of Eurasia and beyond.     9     (appropriate), its name marked China’s major international trade     10     (route), the ancient Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road.

As one of the wonders of ancient China, silk is not merely a type of fabric but a cultural symbol and a representative of elegance.

Recently, a new exhibition building at the Sanxingdui Museum in Guanghan, Sichuan province, has become an immediate tourist hot spot. The exhibits show the mysterious culture     1    (date) back more than 3,000 years. For those who cannot go to Guanghan,     2     exciting exhibition based on digital technology, titled Hello Sanxingdui, provides them     3     a different chance. It is running at the Longfu Art Museum in Beijing until Feb. 29. It offers a time travel experience that is both     4    (education) and artistic. The journey begins with a brief timeline of texts,     5    (photo) and videos, showing how Sanxingdui was first discovered in the 1920s, when objects     6    (find) by farmers.

Tan Ping, one of the producers of Hello Sanxingdui, says it is important     7    (tell) the public about archaeological discoveries     8     developments in new research, while it relies on new ideas and techniques to bring people new cultural experiences. He says an exhibition like Hello Sanxingdui will     9    (obvious) help visitors know about the objects     10     still amaze people three thousand years later.

China is well-known for its long and amazing civilization. Many factors make it possible, one of     1     is the Chinese writing system.

Starting as a picture-based language, written Chinese dates back several thousand years to the use of longgu—animal bones and shells with     2     (carve) symbols on them. By the Shang Dynasty, the symbols had become a highly developed writing system.    3     time went by, a wide variety of dialects and characters came into being because of geographical     4     (difference). Later on, Emperor Qinshihuang united the Chinese people and culture,     5     (lead) to the singular (单一的) development of the writing system. As a result, Chinese people, regardless of location or dialect, now almost have no     6       (difficult) in communicating in writing.

Written Chinese also serves as a great way     7     (connect) China’s present with its past.Because of it, people can read the classic works written in ancient times. People think highly of the Chinese writing system     8     feel proud of the Chinese calligraphy, which is     9     art form enjoying great popularity now.

As China is becoming stronger and more powerful, recently, the number of international students learning Chinese     10     (increase) rapidly.

Recently, a new exhibition building at the Sanxingdui Museum in Guanghan, Sichuan province, has become an immediate tourist hot spot. The exhibits show the mysterious culture       1     (date) back more than 3, 000 years.

For those who cannot make     2     to Guanghan, an exciting exhibition based on digital technology, titled Hello Sanxingdui, provides them     3     a different chance. It is running at the Longfu Art Museum in Beijing until Feb. 29. It offers an     4     (education) and artistic time-travel experience. The journey     5       (begin) with a brief timeline of texts, photos and videos, showing how Sanxingdui was first discovered in the 1920s,     6     many objects were found by farmers.

Tan Ping, one of the producers of Hello Sanxingdui, says it is of great importance to inform the public about archaeological     7     (discovery) and developments in relevant research, while it relies on new ideas and techniques     8       (bring) people new cultural experiences. He says     9     exhibition like Hello Sanxingdui will help visitors know the life     10     the creativity of the people in the Shu kingdom.

On March 29, 1974, farmers     1     (dig) a well northeast of Xi’an when they found the bodies of life sized figures, made of terracotta. Archeologists later confirmed that the     2     (object) were from the Qin Dynasty. The first emperor of the Qin Dynasty was Qin Shihuang,     3     made the city of Xianyang his capital. It was no secret that when Qin Shihuang died, he     4     (bury) in a huge tomb more than 70 meters tall, northeast of Xi’an. Through the ages, details of his tomb had become forgotten, and so when it was dug up in 1974, the whole world reacted     5     surprise.

We now know that the army was built for the     6     (protect) of Qin shihuang in death. Each statue was painted in bright color,     7     (base) on a real soldier, although the paint has faded. However, what’s inside the tomb is still     8     secret. The tomb has not been unearthed because there are still a lot of challenges     9     (preserve) what is found. It is     10     (wide) recognized that it could be many more years before all the secrets there are discover.

Before the mid-20th century, most people felt travelling into space was an     1     dream. However, some scientists were determined to help     2     realise their dream to explore space. After many     3    , they succeeded in making rockets that could     4     Earth’s gravity. On 4 October 1957, the Sputnik 1 satellite was launched by the USSR and successfully orbited around Earth.    5    , the USSR focused on sending people into space, and on 12 April 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the     6     person in the world to go into space. Over eight years later, on 20 July 1969, American     7    Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon,     8     saying, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant     9     for mankind.” Following this, many more goals were achieved. For example, America’s NASA space agency launched Voyager 1 on 5 September 1977 to study deep space, and it still transmits     10     today.