In an afternoon of 1929, a farmer and his son in a village of China’s Sichuan Province accidentally discovered a true wonder of civilization when     1    (dig) a well. The farmer’s discovery of     2     (treasure) including bronze, gold and jade from the ancient Kingdom of Shu,     3    (provide) evidence for an ancient Chinese civilization that extended beyond China’s central plains 3,000-5,000 years ago. Sanxingdui demonstrated a civilization that had     4     (it) own customs and rituals (仪式), as well as remarkable innovation.

Sichuan Province and its capital Chengdu are a focal point for     5     discovery and research of ancient Chinese civilizations. So far some of China’s oldest historical relics, providing evidence of ancient Chinese crafts, customs and practices,     6    (find) here. Modern Chengdu and surrounding areas are a melting pot of culture and customs inherited from ancient times: taxi drivers recite Du Fu’s poems; performers show bianlian (face-changing) performance     7     they change masks faster than audiences can follow. Each has its roots in ancient Chinese civilization and demonstrates the strong effect ancient civilization has     8     contemporary Sichuanese culture.

Treasures     9    (discover) in Sichuan province play an important role in tracing the emergence of Chinese civilization. Being     10    (natural) fertile (富饶的), the area attracted early settlers, and from sites such as Sanxingdui, archeologists and historians can discover much about Chinese civilization.

The Oscars are held every March in the city of Los Angeles. Many of Hollywood’s biggest     1     (celebrity) attend this event,    2     (hope) to win an Oscar award. Since the first ceremony in 1929,    3     only fifteen awards were given out, the Oscars have grown in size and popularity. Now, more than fifty of the gold-plated statues are made every year in the city of Chicago. They then     4     (transport) to Los Angeles for the awards show.

However, on March 8, 2000, someone stole the fifty-five Oscar statues that were made for that year’s ceremony. Soon after, the trucking company     5     (responsibility) for transporting the statues offered a $50,000 reward for them.

A few days later, Willie Fulgear was looking for some boxes in a garbage can near his home in the Koreatown district of Los Angeles. Willie was moving out of his apartment and he needed boxes     6     (pack) his things in. Searching through the can, he found some white boxes. He opened one of them and found an Oscar inside. He had the other boxes     7     (tear) open and got fifty-two Oscars, all     8     perfect condition. He immediately called the police.

Finally Willie Fulgear received     9     $50,000 reward and an invitation to the Oscar ceremony. He didn’t receive an award for his honesty     10     he did go from litter to glitter (闪光) in just one week.

In the spring of 1944, the Allied powers in World War Ⅱ took the fight against Nazi into the fifth year.     1    (plan) for months or even years, the D-Day called “Operation Overlord” was designed     2    (free) north-west Europe from German occupation. After waiting for the perfect combination of weather, moon and tides, the date for the start of Operation Overlord     3    (set) for June 6, 1944.

With General Eisenhower’s encouraging words     4    (ring) in their ears, Allied soldiers prepared for     5     would become known as D-Day. The Allied invasion     6    (stretch) across five beaches code-named “Utah”, “Omaha”, “Gold”, “Juno” and “Sword”. The fiercest fighting was at Omaha Beach. Countless Allied soldiers gave their lives on D-Day in violent attacks. Even though they were     7     the terrible cost of human life, the D-Day landings were     8     success and were considered     9    (wide) as the beginning of the end of World War Ⅱ. By the end of August 1944, the Allies had reached the River Seine. Paris was liberated.

Seventy years later, people including     10    (survive) came together for memorial ceremonies in honour of those who fought and died on D-Day.

It was Sunday December 7, 1941. It looked like it would be a normal day     1     board the ship. Suddenly, with a huge crashing sound from above, hundreds of Japanese planes dropped bombs on Pearl Harbor. In great horror, Russell     2     (suffer) serious burns and watched many of his friends die. After receiving the order to abandon ship, Louis still saved more men from the water,     3     (drag) them into the lifeboat. Because of his     4     (remark) actions, Louis was acknowledged as a hero, but he thought the ones giving their lives that day were real heroes.     5     (fortune), Russel survived after the treatment in hospital, but he was     6     (willing) to talk about the attack, describing it simply as “hell”.

The terrible scene of the attack, which was hatched by Japan and caused great loss, left a deep impression on Louis Russell. In response to the surprise attack and the famous address     7     (deliver) by President Roosevelt, the United States joined the Second World War.

Today, the USS Arizona lies     8     it sank: in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. A memorial shaped like a bridge     9     (cross) the ship’s sunken remains. Each year, more than two million people visit the memorial in memory of those victims and pray for world peace. Although almost eight decades has passed, the attack on Pearl Harbor, one of the     10     (dark) episodes in American history, will never be forgotten.

This year marks the 92nd anniversary of the September 18 Incident.

On September 18, 1931, Japanese troops     1    (blow) up a section of the railway in Shenyang and accused the Chinese military of doing     2    . Using the explosion as a pretext (借口), Japanese forces attacked the Beidaying garrison (卫戍部队)and bombarded (轰炸) Shenyang on the same night,     3    (launch) a full-scale invasion (侵略) of northeast China. During the incident, Chinese troops at the Beidaying garrison were given a no-resistance order and withdrew     4     fighting.

The incident marked     5     beginning of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and was a prelude to the world’s anti-fascist war. This Monday, a bell-tolling ceremony is being held at the 9.18 Historical Museum in Shenyang to pay tribute to the people       6     lost their life in the 14-year war.

The 14-year Japanese invasion resulted in over 35 million victims among Chinese troops and civilians. By commemorating the September 18 Incident, the Chinese people reaffirm (重申) their     7    (commit) to never forget this dark chapter in history and prevent it being repeated.

The commemorations serve as a reminder for the Chinese people     8    (keep) dark days in mind. History has    9     (repeat) shown that invasions and wars are rarely     10    (success), and although evidence might be covered up, justice eventually prevails (占上风).