Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. primarily B. beneficial C. set   D. luxury   E. virtually F. fetch   G. crown   H. diplomacy I. touch   J. appealing   K. fascinating

Kweichow Moutai, the company that makes the eponymous (同名的) liquor, is China’s most valuable firm outside of technology. Globally, its market cap has surpassed Coca-Cola, which had long held the 【小题1】 as the world’s largest beverage maker.

Apart from the Chinese diaspora (移民社区), however, Moutai is still 【小题2】 unknown overseas. Almost all — about 97% — of its sales come from China alone, according to its financial reports.

So how is a company that sells its products 【小题3】 in just one country now worth more than some longstanding global corporations? And can Kweichow Moutai succeed in 【小题4】 to non-Chinese consumers?

Moutai is named after Maotai, a picturesque small town in the southwestern Chinese province of Guizhou. This is where the company says its baijiu — distilled (蒸馏) from fermented (发酵的) sorghum and rice — gets the magic 【小题5】.

According to the Moutai Museum, environmental factors, such as the town’s climate and seasonal changes in the water of the local river, help give the liquor its unique taste and is 【小题6】 to the production process.

Known as the favorite tipple of Mao Zedong, founder of Communist China, and as the ‘drink of 【小题7】,’ it was famously used to welcome former US President Richard Nixon on his historic trip to China in 1972, and again in 2013 when Chinese President Xi Jinping met with his US counterpart, Barack Obama, in California.

Being part of so many major public events in China ‘has really 【小题8】 the brand in the national consciousness,’ said Cavender, the managing director of China Market Research Group.

Today, the brand is seen more as a 【小题9】 status symbol. Some customers buy it not to drink, but to keep as investments. Limited-edition cases are collected and showcased by international auction houses, like Christie’s, which says that some bottles can 【小题10】 more than $40,000 each.

“It’s also been a tremendous advantage during an economically tough year: wealthy consumers who are spending less on travel may splurge more on liquor,” Cavender said.