The Olympics are a series of international athletic competitions held in different countries. They’re     1     important multi-sport event that takes place every four years. For the Olympics, participants from all over the world train for years and try their best     2     (win).

Pierre Coubertin, a French man,     3     (found) the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894. He was once a teacher and historian. In his honor, French had the official status (地位) and     4     (prior) over other languages al the Olympics. According to the Olympic Charter, English and French are the official languages of the Olympics. Therefore, every participant needs to have their documents     5     (translate) in both languages. Besides, real-time interpretations in Arabic, German, Russian, and Spanish must be available for all sessions.

The IOC has a complete guide for those     6     want to apply to these contests. French has the status of being the first official language for Olympic events and it was the language of diplomacy (外交) in the beginning. But later, more countries considered     7     (participate) in this contest. The IOC then made French and English the official languages of the Olympics.

    8     (actual), more than 100 countries in the world speak English now. Besides, almost every country has made     9     a must that children learn English in schools and colleges. This     10     (influence) status has caused the IOC to make English one of the official languages.

Dream interpreting is popular in China, and the most famous     1     (refer) for dream interpreting is the book Duke of Zhou Interprets Dreams.

The book is said to be written by Ji Dan, who     2     (title) Duke Wen of Zhou during the Western Zhou Dynasty. He assisted Emperor Wu and Emperor Cheng     3     (establish) systems of rites and music, making the Western Zhou Dynasty peaceful and prosperous, which led to him     4     (address) as the Sage.

The Duke of Zhou was, and still     5     (be), honored as a wise ruler and his attributed works influence Chinese thought to this day. One area     6     this is particularly the case is in the area of dreams.

Though some people consider the book as a superstition(迷信), it is     7     (scientific) reasonable to some degree. Zhou’s dream interpretations were so accurate     8     they were widely accepted as the standard for centuries. His interpretations were based on the belief that dreams are a reflection of our innermost thoughts and feelings. He believed that dreams could provide insight     9     our unconscious desires and reveal hidden truths about our lives.

Handed down over thousands of years, the book still has plenty of     10     (mystery) waiting for us to explore.

Terracotta Warriors exhibition opens in Spain

The Archaeological Museum of Alicante opened on Tuesday     1     unique exhibition of China’s renowned Terracotta Warriors, known as the “    2     (eight) Wonder of the World.”

The exhibition     3     (title) “The Legend of China’s Qin and Han Dynasties” and open to public between Wednesday and January 28, 2024, showcases more than 120pieces from nine Chinese museums.

The exhibition is divided into three galleries     4     showcase the history of the unification of China by Emperor Qin Shi Huang, his tomb, and the     5     (mystery) Terracotta Warriors. The museum uses advanced technology to create an immersive exhibition space     6     (use) light, music, and scent.

Curator of the exhibition Marcos Martinon-Torres, an archaeologist and professor at the University of Cambridge, said the exhibition would provide an “unforgettable experience” for thousands of visitors.

The exhibition is part of a series of activities intended     7     the China-Spain Year of Culture and Tourism. Apart from the 10 life-size Terracotta Warriors and horses, it also features gold and silver, bronze, pottery, and jade cultural relics.

At the opening ceremony on Tuesday, Carlos Mazon, president of Alicante provincial council, called the exhibition “a     8     (history) moment.” He said his province “will become a cultural center in Europe in the next ten months,     9     it is the first time that the Chinese Terracotta Warriors     10     (exhibit) abroad since the (COVID-19)pandemic.”

4 . The days when art was an Olympic sport

Did you know that creating works of art used to be an Olympic competition?     1     In the first year, Walter Winans became the first and the only Olympian to win medals for both art and sports. Despite this seemingly optimistic start, the idea of the arts being included in the Olympic Games soon met with disinterest, finally resulting in the removal of the art competition from the Olympic Games.

The idea to include art in the Olympics came from Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who was the founder of the International Olympic Committee, which created the modern Olympics. Coubertin believed that the arts and sports were linked and was impressed by anyone who had a firm command of both a sport and an artistic discipline(项目).

For starters, only amateurs were allowed to compete in the arts part of the Olympics.     3     Having artists of average quality competing while only the most competent athletes were allowed to compete created a dramatic divide and gave the impression that the arts were not as important as sports.

Secondly, works of art created had to have sports as the subject matter.     4     Limiting the subjects also contributed to making the arts part of the Olympic Games boring to the general public.

Finally, one of the biggest reasons was that the arts are subjective. Sports can be judged by time and distance, making it easy to determine who is the winner.     5     This difficulty in judging a definite winner resulted in the arts part becoming a non-competitive exhibition that ran for the duration of the Olympic Games.

Zhao Taisheng, the principal sanxian player in the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (HKCO), has a mission    1    (keep)the traditional instrument, sanxian, alive and    2     (devote) his career to perfecting his skill on the instrument and preserving this ancient art since he graduated from college.

Musician Zhao Taisheng calls his favored instrument—the sanxian, or three-stringed lute—a voice for his emotions, a vehicle for charm and honor,     3    a ticket to an eventful life. He regards the sanxian    4    an important part of Chinese folk music tradition. He explains that, in the early decades of the 2Oth century, the number of students of the sanxian       5    ( be)similar to that of those studying other traditional Chinese string instruments such as the pipa or guzheng. However, the instrument began to lose    6    (popular) with the adoption of Western orchestra styles, which preferred softer harmonies.

In fact, the sanxian has    7    attractive appearance: lt is usually around 120 centimeters long, and has three strings stretched over a fingerboard,    8    allows for extensive glissando, or the glide from one pitch to another. Like most folk traditions, it is difficult to trace the origins of the sanxian. By some     9    (account), it may date back to the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC). Images of similar instruments can be found in a Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) sculpture, and the characters     10    (literal)mean“three strings”, first appeared in a Ming Dynasty(1368-1644)text.

Discoveries made during the latest excavation of Pit No.1 at the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, China’s first emperor, have allowed Chinese archaeologists to gain more insight into     1     the world-famous Terracotta Warriors and their weapons were made.

According to a recent report archaeologists     2     (restore) more than 140 Terracotta Warriors. They discovered that the arms of these figures were created separately and then attached to the bodies and covered in a layer of fine clay. The carving of fine details was completed     3     the arms were attached.     4     (additional), the pit has yielded a variety of weapons, including long-range attack weapons, shields for defense, as well as drums and drumsticks used for commanding soldiers.

“The Terracotta Warriors used a very special mechanism to connect pieces together. Such     5     (wise) was unique to China,” Lv Qiuxia,     6     expert on ancient Chinese art, told the Global Times on Wednesday. Lv added that the way the warriors were made differed based on their social status and class. “When     7     (analyze) how they were made, we noticed that the warriors were divided into different classes. This contributes to research     8     the burial culture of the Terracotta Warriors.” the expert noted.

Through excavations, Chinese researchers have established the types and arrangement of weapons     9     (use) by the Terracotta Warriors as well as the formations and patterns of the     10     (mystery) underground army.

Working on one of the most famous sites in the world, I’m delighted though tired and covered in dust. I have been digging all day as an archaeology student from England since I     1     (select). The Terracotta Warriors (兵马俑) were discovered in 1974. Some peasants were digging a well     2     they dug up the head of a clay warrior. Can you imagine their     3     (astonish)? Soon archaeologists from Beijing,     4     the whole world knows, dug up 6, 000 clay warriors here. The warriors vary in height according to their roles, with the     5     (tall) being the generals. Eventually Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Tomb was also found nearby. In 1976 another spot was discovered, this one     6     (contain) 1, 400 warriors. The firm belief that there existed life after death got around widely     7     the Ancient Chinese. It seemed that Emperor Qin Shihuang had had the soldiers     8     (make), which were buried near     9     (he) to guard his soul in the next life. Although it lay here hidden and forgotten for so long, the site is visited by tourists from every comer of     10     globe. How fortunate I am working here!

The Silk Road was a network of trade routes     1    (connect) the East and the West in ancient and Medieval times. In addition to silk, varieties of other goods     2    (trade) along the Silk Road, and the network was also important for migrants and travellers, and for the spread of religion, philosophy, science, technology, and     3     (art) ideals. The Silk Road had a significant impact on the lands     4    which the routes passed, and the trade played a significant role in the development of towns and cities along the Silk Road routes.

Many merchants along the Silk Road were involved in relay trade,     5    an item would change owners many times and travel a little bit with each one of them     6    reaching its final buyer. It seems to have been     7    (high) unusual for any individual merchant to travel all the way between China and Europe or Northern Africa. Instead, various merchants specialized in transporting goods through various sections of the Silk Road.

The Silk Road established     8    (early) connection between the East and the West. It was of great significance in the promotion of world     9    (civil) and the progress of human society. Research and development of the Silk Road today continue to have     10    incredible impact.