Taizhou and Changzhou （separate） by the Yangtze River， and a new bridge will connect the two cities in the near future．
Do you believe it is one of the （wind） places on the earth？
For your own （safe）， please do not walk about on the plane．
As a good teacher， she is never （patient） with her students．
One cannot discuss Chinese music without mentioning the Chinese seven﹣string zither （七弦琴） ， also known as the guqin， one of the four arts ﹣ along with go， calligraphy and painting． It first appeared over 3， 000 ago and represents China's solo musical instrument tradition．
At first， the guqin had only five strings， representing the five elements of metal， wood， water， fire and earth． Later． in the Zhou dynasty， King Wen of Zhou added a sixth string for his son， King Wu of Zhou， added a seventh string to encourage his army to fight with the Shang．
Ambience （环境气氛） was important in playing the Chinese zither． Usually， it was practised in quiet setting and never for public performance．
Ancient artists enjoyed performing by a stream in the mountains． The sound of the guqin mixed with the echoes （回音） from the mountains， until the musician found himself at one with nature． Playing it in snow was also a favorite pastime for ancient artists， who believed the instrument was the purest of its kind in the world． Also． a night with moonlight was considered ideal for Playing the guqin． Wang Wei （701﹣761）， a highly talented man of the Tang dynasty， liked playing it in a bamboo forest on nights with moonlight most．
Guqin pieces are usually around three to eight minutes long， with the longest being Guangling Verse， which is 22 minutes long． Other famous pieces include Plum Blossoms in Three Movements， Wild Geese Landing on the Sandbank and Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute．
Nowadays， there are fewer than one thousand well﹣trained gugin players and perhaps no more than fifty living masters． The original number of several thousand pieces has greatly reduced to only a hundred works by today． The guqin and its music was added to the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity （人类非物质文化遗产） in 2003．
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Title：The guqin and Its Music |
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Main Parts |
Detailed information |
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Introduction to the guqin |
●As one of the four arts，it has a（1） of 3，000 years and represents China's solo musical instrument tradition． |
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The strings |
● At first，there were five strings，which represented five elements． ●Later，kings in the Zhou dynasty added（2） _ more strings to them． |
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The ambience |
●In quiet setting，not for public performance． 1． By a stream in the mountains．The（3） sound of the guqin and its echoes could make musicians find themselves ﹣at one with nature． 2． In snow．It was believed to be the purest instrument in the world． 3． On a night with moonlight．Wang Wei's（4） was to play the guqin in a bamboo forest on a night full of moonlight． |
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The present （5） |
●Not many players，masters and works﹣are alive nowadays． ● The guqin and its music entered the list the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2003． |
Basketball can be fun， or it can be trouble． People gather around a ball， but their reactions （反应） often go （1） the object． It was a terribly hot summer day when the group of us appeared on the basketball court． Silently， we （2） up and played， as always． The sun was a big " squeezer （挤压者）"， as it not only squeezed out of us sweet （汗水） and （3） ， but also our unhappy feelings． Body contact became more and more often， and we could all （4） the attacks of elbows （肘部）． After another round of game， one of the players and I fell to the ground at the same time． From his burning eyeballs． I could see a （5） was almost unavoidable．
It suddenly came to me that my tins of Cola were lying on the ground， about an inch away from me． "Buddy， hot down here． What about a （6） ？" I said to him． （7） _ I rolled （滚动） one to him， looking at him in the eyes with my most sincere facial expression． "I guess I'm quite fine． Lucky no （8） bones or we'll end up in the hospital! " I said．
Other players watching nearby all laughed． I could clearly see some movement on his face． My （9） did work! He picked the Cola up， tried to open it， and walked over． As he passed by my side， he （10） his left hand， and smiled at me． I smiled back， took his hand， and gave him a light shake．
A gentle wind caught me on the face as I returned to the basketball court． The sun continued to provide （11） for us． What could be better than a group of school students （12） basketball skills on a warm， sunny afternoon？
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（1）A． towards |
B． about |
C． beyond |
D． for |
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（2）A． teamed |
B． cheered |
C． cooked |
D． caught |
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（3）A． time |
B． energy |
C． health |
D． pride |
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（4）A． accept |
B． afford |
C． smell |
D． feel |
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（5）A． match |
B． fight |
C． touch |
D． risk |
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（6）A． game |
B． talk |
C． drink |
D． ball |
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（7）A． Angrily |
B． Equally |
C． Guiltily |
D． Carefully |
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（8）A． lazy |
B． hidden |
C． medical |
D． broken |
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（9）A． humor |
B． chance |
C． advice |
D． trust |
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（10）A． looked at |
B． thought of |
C． put away |
D． held out |
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（11）A． worry |
B． warmth |
C． stress |
D． peace |
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（12）A． protecting |
B． encouraging |
C． exchanging |
D． comparing |