1 . A young lady was sitting in her garden under a tree drinking tea. _______, something white fell and _______ in her drink. It was a cocoon(茧) . As the cocoon rumbled (发出隆隆声) in the hot _______, she realized that it was made from a long, strong and soft _______ . She started thinking about how to _______ the new material. Does this story sound a bit _______ ? It does remind me of Isaac Newton, having the _______of the law of gravity while sitting under an apple tree after he was _______ on the head with a piece of falling fruit.

The story of the young woman and her tea is a popular Chinese legend (传说) about _______ . When silk was first invented, silk clothing was ________ by the rich people, and it was a status symbol. But over time its use spread and a wider range of social classes ________ wearing silk clothes.

As the production of silk increased, it began to be put into industrial ________ and became a part of musical instruments, fishing lines, even wrap paper and trade business.

Silk was ________ traded and spread all the way from China to India and through Central Asia to the Middle East. It was the longest trade route across land, and it allowed early ________ between Europe and China. Italy became one of the major producers of silk and it’s   ________ some of the world’s finest silk cloth is made even today.