China’s tea culture can be traced as far back to before 2000 BC. The Shennong Emperor discovered tea when a leaf fell into boiled water he was drinking, beginning a tradition that still     1     (exist) nowadays.

During the Tang dynasty(618-907) in China, the culture of tea underwent a remarkable development. When Emperor Lu Yu     2     (author) the highly regarded Classic of Tea (茶经), he set off on a journey that would play a critical role in establishing tea’s cultural     3     (significant) in China. Lu Yu, a monk who later earned fame     4     the’Sage of Tea’ (茶圣), had an enormous impact on the spread of tea drinking and linked     5     to Buddhist ideas, including the harmony and mysteries of the universe. The Classic of Tea is the oldest     6     (know) guide to tea drinking and culture. It covers all aspects of tea culture, from growing to harvesting, producing as well as techniques for farmers and craftsmen     7     (produce) the finest teas.

Throughout the Tang dynasty,     8     culture of tea drinking spread quickly among scholars. Inspired by Lu Yu’s ideas, they added medicinal qualities to tea, praised for     9     (sharpen) the mind. At the same time, wine was falling out of favour for their alcoholic properties, paving a path for tea to spread throughout society     10     to be used in religious occasions and offerings.

Kites nowadays can be seen in parks throughout the world. But     1     is believed that the first kite was invented by the Chinese more than 2,000 years ago. In the beginning, the kites     2     (use) for military (军事的) purposes and defense. Since the Qing Dynasty, kites have been used mostly for     3     (entertain) and celebrations.

For a long time, kites were used only in China and nearby countries. Businessmen     4     visited China took kites to India, Korea and other parts of Asia. Marco Polo was the first person     5     (take) Chinese kites to Europe, after one of his famous trips to China in the 13th century. He was also one of the first     6     (author) who wrote about the kites,     7     (explain) to the Western audience how to use them. They spread from Europe to North and South America as well.

During the 20th century, kite flying festivals became very popular in China. Weifang, Shandong is considered the kite capital of the world and the Weifang International Kite Festival     8     (attract) many tourists from around the world.

Weifang is also home to     9     (famous) Kite Museum in the world. In the Weifang Kite Museum, it is possible to see     10     impressive collection of kites from all periods. Professionals are able to figure out the period just by examining the materials and decorations used.

In human history, many ancient and splendid civilizations were born and died. China is the only country with uninterrupted human civilization. Chinese civilization was born on both     1    (shore) of the Yellow River in 2800 BC. And the rich land     2     Chinese civilization began is Henan Province.

In the long history of Chinese civilization, we may feel that the unique Chinese characteristics are all around us and all within us,     3    (reflect)in Kungfu to a large extent.

Kungfu or martial arts can only     4    (master)through hard work and practice, which contains rich yet profound Chinese philosophy, whether in curing diseases and improving health,     5     in conquering the enemy and preventing conflict. Kungfu can even have an effect on the daily lives of Kungfu fighters.

All styles or schools of martial art originate from Shaolin Temple. So far, Shaolin Kungfu     6    (become)a window of Chinese culture to the world, which also turns Shaolin Temple into the most     7    (influence) “holy land” of martial arts in the world.

Chinese civilization     8     its thousands of years of history is just like an old man,     9    (remain)tough and intelligent. No matter what happens in the world, he is always standing there with a big smile and     10     inclusive attitude.

Located in Guanghan city of Southwest China’s Sichuan Province and covering an area of 12 square kilometers. Sanxingdui Site is the remains of the ancient Shu culture, which dates back     1     4,800-2,600 years ago, and is considered to be one of the     2     (great) archaeological (考古的) discoveries in the 20th century. This particular discovery is a strong proof of the     3     (exist) of the ancient Shu State and the integrative pattern of the multi-cultures of the Chinese nation.

In fact, as a cultural site,, Sanxingdui had come into the notice of archaeologists in as early as the 1930s, and     4     (exploration) were made soon. It all began     5     a farmer called Yan Daocheng dug out a number of treasures     6     (accidental) in the spring of 1929. In the summer of 1986, thousands of rare treasures were unearthed from two large newly-discovered sacrificial pits (祭祀坑). The unearthed objects are unique in shape and superior in techniques,     7     (confirm) the extraordinary creativity of the ancient Shu people and their desires     8     (connect) with and understand the universe.

After sleeping for 3,000 years, their awakening has shocked the world. When our eyes     9     (caught) by the creations of the ancient Shu ancestors, it is     10     encounter with a civilization lost for 3,000 years.

Oracle bones (甲骨) were believed to be first unearthed in Anyang, once called Yin, the capital of the Shang Dynasty. Villagers then had little idea of what they had found and sold the bones to drugstores as     1    (tradition) Chinese medicines. The medicines gained the notice of historians. The discovery     2    (follow) by a series of archaeological excavations (挖掘).

Over the past 120 years, major systematic excavations have been carried     3    . A relic site museum has been built at the Yinxu site,     4    (recognize) as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Discovering the oracle bones and inscriptions helped explore the cultures of Xia and Shang dynasties,     5     trace the origins of the Chinese civilization.

The content of the inscriptions emphasizes the respect for ancestors and other core Chinese values     6     have been passed on until today. It     7    (appeal) to not only scholars but also those outside the circles of archaeology. Chen Nan, a professor at Tsinghua University’s Academy of Arts and Design, has energized the life of these ancient symbols by     8    (feature) them in the biaoqingbao (emoticons) he developed.

“They represent the     9    (clue) to our cultural lineage (传承), ” Chen says. “I feel     10     our responsibility to communicate about the charm of the primitive inscription with the younger generations and foreigners.”

When     1     new year rolls around, people set out to better themselves. They say they will lose weight, find a new job, learn something new, save more money, spend more quality time     2    family members or take that vacation they’ve always talked about. But why do we make these resolutions (决心) to ourselves at that time, and where     3    (do) this tradition come from? Why does this tradition live on when so many people fail     4     (keep) the resolutions they make? Well, we can start with the ancient Babylonians (巴比伦人).

Around 4, 000 years ago in Babylon, the earliest    5    (record) celebration of the coming of a new year was held. Calendars were     6    as they are today, so the Babylonians celebrated in late March during the     7     (one) new moon after the Spring Equinox (春分).

To this day, the traditions of the ancient Babylonians and Romans continue on around the world. Google launched a Resolution: Map in 2013,     8     people could add resolutions and see others adding theirs in real time. However, no matter how many people participated in Google’s project, the numbers are small when    9     comes to the amount of people who maintain their resolutions and only eight percent of people are     10    (success) in sticking them out.

When the Library Cave, known as Cave 17 from the Mogao Cave Complex at Dunhuang, China, was opened in 1900, several tons of manuscripts, scrolls, booklets and paintings on silk and paper     1    (find) literally stuffed into it. These     2    (value) writings were collected between the 9h and 10 centuries CE, by Tang and Song Dynasty Buddhist monks     3     carved out the cave and then filled it with ancient and current manuscripts on topics     4    (range) from religion and philosophy, history and mathematics, to folk songs and dance.

Cave 17 is only one of the 735 human-made caves     5    (call) Mogao Grottoes, which were dug into a loess cliff about 15 miles southeast of the town of Dunhuang in Gansu Province. Dunhuang’s long and glorious history reflects its     6    ( significant) as a center of cultural and religious exchange. These caves were dug and maintained by Buddhist monks from 366 CE and were sealed and hidden about a thousand years ago. It was not until 1900       7    , they were rediscovered.

The Dunhuang Academy was set up in China in     8     1980s, aiming to collect and preserve the manuscripts; the International Dunhuang Project (IDP) was formed in 1994     9    (bring) the international scholars together to work jointly on the     10    (collection). The IDP has put many of the documents online, as images and as translations.