The Dujiangyan Irrigation System is located on the Minjiang River, in the western part of the Chengdu Plain. Constructed around 256 BCE, it remains the world’s     1     (old) irrigation system still in use today.

When the annual floods of the Minjiang River caused enormous suffering, the governor Li Bing was so concerned that he made a     2     (decide) to solve the problem. Li Bing and his son carefully studied the flow of the river and the terrain (地形,地势) of the plain.     3     (Draw) on the water management experience of previous generations, they led the local people to construct an irrigation system. Instead of building a dam,     4     would have blocked boat traffic, they decided to make full use of the terrain and split the river     5     (spread)out the flow of water. Since there was no     6     (advance) machinery, tens of thousands of workers used rocks to alter the course of the river. When the water needed to be diverted (使绕道) through a mountain, they employed a creative technique: exploding the rocks     7     heating them with fire and cooling them down quickly.

The Dujiangyan Irrigation System took almost a generation to complete. Since then, it     8     (manage) the waters of the Minjiang River and allowed local agriculture to develop, ensuring     9     plentiful supply of food. This milestone in the history of water management is the living proof     10     with innovation and determination ancient Chinese people made nature work to their advantage.

A stone tablet(牌匾)    1    (date) back to the year 1693, which falls within the Qing Dynasty(1644—1911), was discovered in Daming County, north China’s Hebei Province, said local authorities.

The tablet,    2     (find) in Jindong Village, measures 1.4 meters high, 0.61 meters wide, and 0.14 meters thick. Made of bluestone, it has     3     total of 307 characters on it.

The inscription(碑文)recorded the process of building the King of Medicine Temple in the county during the reign of Emperor Kangxi and     4     (describe) the grand occasions of temple fairs and humanistic stories at that time.

According to the inscription, after the     5     (complete) of the temple, the local medicine expert meeting     6    (organize) here on April 28 in most years of the Qing Dynasty, during     7     all kinds of talented people performed, and the vocal music lasted for more than ten days, said Wang Jianping, an expert in literature and history of the county.

This stone tablet is     8     (relative) well preserved with clear characters, which is significant for studying cultural and economic     9    (activity) in the southern part of Hebei during the Qing Dynasty. It also provides evidence     10     the researchers about the development of local pharmacies(制药), Wang said.

Chinese civilization has been marked, in my humble opinion, by three distinct features: evolution with continuity, inclusiveness, and receiving and sharing the goods of civilization.

China’s modernization process over the past four decades    1    (create) a new context    2    there is a partnership between the ancient and modern, gnerating something new and genuine. China is not a stranger to this evolutionary process. It adapted “socialism” to the Chinese context, devising socialism with Chinese characteristics taking into     3    (consider) the changing Chinese and world reality.

With regard to inclusiveness, Chinese civilization has been open to positive outside inferences,     4     proved by the inclusion of Buddhism and Islam into Chinese society. China has always welcomed the positive aspects of other civilizations while contributing its civilization achievements    5    (enrich) other civilizations. Chinese music did not shy away from    6     (adopt) musical instruments from the Middle East, like the fantastic pipa, and making it    7    essential and beautiful part of Chinese musical culture.

When it comes to sharing, one of the    8    (great) gifts China gave to the world through the ancient Silk Road was the technology of making paper on an industrial scale, which revolutionized the spread of science and philosophy in the Arab and Islamic world all the way to Europe beginning in the 8th century.

This new technology    9    (be) as important then as the Internet is today for spreading of knowledge and communication. In Baghdad and other cultural centers during the Islamic renaissance (文艺复兴), there was a massive intellectual outpouring, which     10    the Chinese invention of paper, would have been limited in scope.

The early 1400s     1    (be) a glorious era in Chinese history. During this time, the Yongle Emperor wanted to develop harmonious relations with the overseas neighbors. Zheng He, one of the most     2     (influence) explorers, took charge of the task. One of the states     3    (mention) in the historical records was Boni (present-day Brunei), a small kingdom in South-East Asia. There is     4    (prove) that China established very good relations with this state a long time ago:one of its kings was buried in Nanjing during the early Ming Dynasty, and there is a     5    (fascinate) legend about the king.

In 1405, on behalf of the emperor, Zheng He sailed the oceans     6     his first voyage. His fleet     7    (load) with gifts to the neighboring countries and regions. In 1407, he travelled to Boni,     8     strengthened the friendly relationship between     9     two countries. In the subsequent year, the King of Boni paid a friendly visit to China. He was accompanied by more than 150 people. The records show that the visitors were astonished by     10    rich and technologically advanced the Ming Dynasty was.

Chinese seal (印章) carving originated during the Shang Dynasty. In the beginning, the characters carved on seals were the same as     1     (that) used in writing, such as Xiaozhuan of the Qin Dynasty. However, with Chinese writing     2     (become) increasingly standardized and simplified, it became a tradition to use Xiaozhuan for seals.

In ancient times, seals were regarded as     3     guarantee of authenticity (真实性). Today, they are more of a sign of authority of a legal person     4     an artwork.

After the Qin Dynasty, materials for seals were     5     (strict)classified. Jade (玉) was only used for emperors, gold and silver for high-ranking     6     (office) and copper (铜) for the low ranks. Various types of stones were used from the Song Dynasty,       7     led to a boom for seal carving.

    8     (early), seal carving was accomplished only by workers. During the Song Dynasty, scholars and artists began to get involved in it. They combined seal carving with calligraphy and painting,       9     (make) this traditional art more popular in China.

To protect this artistic treasure, Chinese seal carving     10     (include) on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009.