Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.Nowadays, maybe museums are 【小题1】 (visited) places in the world. Doubling as educational centers and conservation centers, museums play an important role in the protection of culture. 【小题2】 these institutions’ various size and specialty, the task of most museums is around the display and care of their collections. In order to figure out how this important cultural phenomenon came to be, it is important to understand its origins and trace how its role 【小题3】 (evolve) over time.
The word, museum, is considered 【小题4】 (originate) from “mouseion”, the Greek term for “a holy place for the Muses”. In classical Greek mythology, the nine Muses are the goddesses of the arts and sciences, making 【小题5】 perfect protectors for these knowledge-based institutions.
Earliest museums were private collections and were only accessible to a narrow circle of people. Rare and curious natural objects and works of art were displayed in 【小题6】 was called “wonder rooms” or “cabinets of curiosities”.
The history of modern museums 【小题7】 (date) back to the 17th century. Early museums served as 【小题8】 but a private collection room until an Englishman named Elias Ashmole had donated the contents of his wonder room to Oxford University. Believing that “the knowledge of Nature is very necessary to human life and health,” many like-minded collectors across Europe shifted their focus from private used to public access in the late 17th and 18th centuries. During this time, world-class museums began to make their art collections accessible to the public.
Today, the importance of public institutions 【小题9】 never be too stronger than ever before. In addition to taking care of collections and making them accessible to the public, many museums are using new technologies to improve their public programs, digitize their collections, and share their research. With these modern methods, museums are able to engage audiences in new ways and extend their tasks 【小题10】 their walls.