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 17^th 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 17^th and 18^th 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.

The Incas were talented farmers. Their ground-breaking food discoveries have left a lasting 【小题1】(impress) on the modern world. 【小题2】 they lived in the mountains, the Incas had to create flat land to farm. They did this by 【小题3】(build) terraces. Terraces 【小题4】 (be) carved steps of land in the mountainside. Not only did this way of farming help them grow crops, but also【小题5】 was great for dry seasons. The Incas dried and stored food in special storehouses 【小题6】(make) sure there was enough food year-round. Fields were sacred (神圣) to the Incas. Farming in【小题7】 Andes Mountains was seen as war. It was so difficult 【小题8】 the people would sing and pray and offer sacrifices (祭品) to the gods upon the arrival of the first harvest to show their thankfulness. Cusco was the Inca capital, and the harvest from the fields there would 【小题9】(use) as offerings in sacred shrines. Incas would eat two meals a day and their vegetarian diet would 【小题10】(main) be full of potatoes, quinoa (a type of grain), as well as corn and berries. The meat they did eat on a special occasion was guinea pig, deer, duck and fish.

The game of basketball was created by Dr. Naismith,【小题1】Canadian who worked as a physical education instructor at the Springfield College.

The New England winters were very cold, and the students were unwilling to do outdoor 【小题2】(activity). Naismith decided to invent a fast-moving game【小题3】could be played indoors. First he tried to change outdoor games such as soccer to indoor play, but he soon found them【小题4】(suitable) for small areas.【小题5】December of 1891, Naismith hung two old peach baskets at either end of the gym at the school. Then the first basketball game was organized, 【小题6】(use) a soccer ball and nine players on each side.

Five years later, a championship (锦标赛)【小题7】(hold) in New York City. By that time, the team had reduced to seven players and five became standard in the 1897 season.

【小题8】basketball first appeared in the 1904 Olympic Games, it 【小题9】(quick) spread throughout the world. In 1906, a metal ring was used【小题10】(replace) the basket for the first time, but the name basketball has remained.