Piyingxi, or Chinese shadow puppetry is a traditional opera art among Chinese people. According to historical records, shadow puppetry originated     1     Western Han Dynasty and became popular in Ming & Qing.

Shadow puppetry is an art with a perfect     2     (combine) of light, image, sound and color. In lamp light, the shadow puppet looks crystalline (似水晶的) and graceful, with the cut-out parts brighter than     3     rest.

The performers hold joysticks in their hands that they grab, grind, roll, and press     4     (create) flowing motions, which is exactly     5     the ancient called “a million soldiers in two hands.” In addition to images, performers tell their stories in the locally popular tone with musicians     6     (play) instruments in the background.

The coloring is also an     7     (amaze) step in making a shadow figure. The favorite colors are the pure ones, most of     8     are red, green and black in practice, as yellow is the original color of the skins, and the light leaked through the cut-outs is     9     (natural) white.

The harmonious co-existence of sounds, colors, light and shadow     10     (make) shadow puppetry a colorful addition to people’s leisure time.

A tea bag is a small, porous packet that contains     1     (dry) plant material, which, when soaked in hot water, helps to make tea. Tea bags are     2     (general) made of filter paper.

Tea bags range from a square or rectangular shape to a tetrahedral (四面体的) and even circular shape. There’s typically     3     small string attached to each tea bag with a paper label at the top.

Tea bags     4     (use) since the 8th century — in the era of the Tang dynasty. In those days, paper was folded and sewn into square bags so that tea flavors could be preserved for a long time,     5     (lay) the foundation for modern tea bags.

The modern version of tea bags first appeared in the Western World as early as 1903. Commercially, however, tea bags made their appearance around 1908,     6     coffee importer Thomas Sullivan shipped his silk tea bags all over the world. Those tea bags were supposed     7     (tear) before use, and their loose contents were then poured into hot water to brew tea.

However, people found that it was more convenient to brew tea     8     the tea leaves still enclosed in the bags. Since dipping tea bags into water didn’t seem to cause any change in the taste, people gradually did away with the practice of     9     (remove) the tea bag, and started dipping it directly into hot water instead.

It’s generally advised to not squeeze a tea bag soaked in hot water. When you squeeze a tea bag, more tannins (鞣质) are released into the liquid. The result of this is that the drink becomes too bitter, or     10     some call it, “too strong”.

Potala Palace (布达拉宫) is the highest ancient palace in the world. The palace,     1     (name) after a holy hill, is said to be used for greeting a Han princess. Legend has it that in the 7th century,     2     (greet) his bride Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty, Songtsen Gampo built a palace with a thousand rooms up on the Red Hill and named it Potala. The palace was     3    (main) made of stones and woods, and decorated     4     special local tree branches. Later, the ancient palace     5     (destroy) in wars.     6     we see at present is the architecture of the Qing Dynasty and the continuous expanding work outcome since the 17th century.

The Palace has two parts, the Red Palace as the center and the White Palace as two wings. The Red Palace is the highest part in the center that is completely devoted to     7     (religion) study. It was painted red to represent power. It consists of different halls and     8    (library)on many levels with winding passages. The White Palace,     9     once served as the office building of local government makes up the living quarters, and     10     (it) wall was painted white to convey peace and calmness.

The chimes (钟声) of Big Ben are recognised by almost everyone in Britain, and by     1     (million) of people all over the world.

The name “Big Ben” is generally used     2     (refer) to the big clock tower itself; but in reality, “Big Ben” is just the name of the biggest bell in the tower, the bell that chimes on the hour.

The famous clock tower     3     (build) in the 1850s, after the Houses of Parliament burned down. The original “Big Ben” bell weighed 16 tons, and was made in the north of England. However, after it had reached London, it cracked. A new Big Ben bell,     4     (weigh) about 13.5 tons, was made to take the place of it. This bell was put in place in 1859.

Since then, there have been several incidents. Once the clock stopped when a pot of paint got stuck between     5     (it) hands. And in 1976, the clock stopped for 26 days,     6     a part of the mechanism broke.

Between 1983     7     1985, the clock tower was     8    (complete) cleaned and repaired; but thirty years later, engineers thought that the tower and the clock were both in need of immediate repairs. The work began in 2017, and Big Ben will finally begin     9     new life in the year 2022.

At night, the clock faces are lit up from inside. Originally they were lit up by gas lamps; then, for most of the twentieth century,     10     electricity. Now the faces are lit up by “green” low-energy light bulbs.

The knot button (盘扣), in Chinese, is a distinctive feature of traditional Chinese clothing Eyen today, it is still     1     (high) visible on garments like qi pao—cheongsam. Though normally     2     (associate) with tradition, the knot buttons are currently enjoying renewed popularity.

The history of knot buttons dates back to the prehistoric era, in     3     ropes were firs used as a primitive form of belts. In the 4th century BC, the knot button took     4     (it) present form and remained largely unchanged until the Qing Dynasty. In the second half of the 17th century, jackets and cheongsam of the Manchurian ruling class had     5     wider use of knot buttons.

Knot buttons come in wide     6    (variety) of forms, ranging from plain and simple straight knots to graceful flowery knots. However, generally speaking, the two major groups are distinguished     7     the basis of functions and decorations.

Recent years     8     (see) a comeback of knot buttons in contemporary clothing. Knot buttons of various shapes and sizes,     9     (represent) the creativity of their makers, are being used on different types of garments. The use of Chinese aesthetics(美学)and cultural heritage can attract both Chinese and foreigners who admire the beauty and     10     (unique).

Located in Changping District, Beijing, Juyongguan is of great military importance since ancient times. The two strategic     1     (pass) in the south and north are respectively named “South Pass” and “Juyongguan”. Grand mountains surround Juyongguan; an 18km long valley, commonly known as “Guangou”,     2     (stretch) right across the middle. In Juyongguan, clear streams belt, green mountains overlap, flowers and trees bloom, and birds sing. Owing to the beautiful scenery, Juyongguan has been honored     3     “Juyong Diecui” and one of the “Eight Great Sights of Beijing”.

In the center of stylobate (柱座), there arranges the doorway through     4     people, carriages and horses can all pass. Cloud Terrace at Juyongguan is a large-scale fine work of stone carving,     5     (construct) in Yuan Dynasty.     6     (initial), there were 3 white pagodas (宝塔). Unfortunately, they     7     (destroy) at the turning of Yuan and Ming Dynasty. Subsequently, “Tai’an Temple” was constructed on the stylobate. However, in the 41^st year of Kangxi Reign in Qing Dynasty (1702), the temple suffered from fire,     8     (leave) Cloud Terrace alone.

An overall repair was conducted to architectures in Juyongguan in 1992, restoring     9     (it) former grandness. The     10     (nature) landscape of Juyongguan surroundings is very attractive. Ever since Mingchang Year of Jin Dynasty, “Juyong Diecui” has been listed into “Eight Great Sights of Beijing”.