Beijing Opera is our national opera. It has a history of over 200 years. It is the soul of Chinese national culture. It came into being after 1790 when the four famous Anhui opera troupes(戏班) went to Beijing. Beijing Opera is ________ of historical stories, beautiful costumed(戏装) and wonderful performances(表演).

Its music and singing came from Xipi and Erhuang in Anhui and Hubei. There are mainly ________ kinds of roles in Beijing Opera: Sheng, Dan, Jing and Chou. The Sheng is a(n) ________ male actor. The Dan is a female role. The Jing is a male role with a painted ________ and the chop is a comedy actor.

Beijing Opera presents plays and characters mainly by four artistic ________. They are singing, speaking, acting and partial arts(唱、念、做、打). These ways enable ________ to be encouraged by the performers’ feelings, language, music and action.

Beijing Opera is ________ by generations(代) of Chinese people. Today, an increasing number of young people are becoming ________ in it. Foreign people are also visiting China to ________ Beijing Opera. I think the ________ makeup(彩妆) on Beijing Opera actors faces is very interesting.

What’s that? It is called facial painting. It is also known as “lianpu” in Chinese.

Mount Tai is in Shandong Province in the eastern part of China.

It is known as the greatest mountain in our country.

It is said that the Chinese god, Pan Gu, created the universe.

After he finished the job, he was so _________ that he lay down, and died. Parts of his _________ became the five great mountains of China. His head became Mount Tai. His feet became Mount Hua. His arms became Mounts Heng in the _________ and in the north. His stomach became Mount Song.

Confucius (孔子) visited Mount Tai many times in his life and there are many stories about his visits. _________ , Mencius once wrote, “When Confucius went to the top of Mount Tai, the whole country seemed _________.”

Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty never got to the top of the mountain _________. He tried three times, but every time he had to give up for different _________. In the history, many other emperors went to Mount Tai to pay homage (敬意) to heaven and earth.

Why do people climb Mount Tai ? Because they thought it was a great god before. Now people love to go to the mountain because of _________ wonderful scenery (风景). As the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (遗产) site, it draws thousands of visitors from all over the world every year.

It took three evenings for a 21-year-old college student Chen Xing to prepare a gift. What did he _______? He made a fine red Chinese knot (中国结) as a special _______ for his mother’s fiftieth birthday during the Spring Festival.

Including a pretty circle, a character of the Chinese word “shou”, which _______ a long life, is in the middle and a long tassel (流苏) below the circle. In fact, it is so beautiful and special. “The _______ hand-tied knot is the best gift I have ever got,” said Chen’s mother, Wang Haijin, a Chinese knot lover, hangs a(n) _______ one in her house every Spring Festival. It’s a(n) _______ symbol for new year,” Wang _______. “I always change for a new one every year.”

As a _______ skill coming back at least one thousand years, the Chinese knot has won wide welcome cities in recent years.

Like Christmas trees in the West, the Chinese knot is the most _______ decoration for most Chinese families during the Lunar New Year celebration. ________ every supermarket in Beijing has a special counter to sell Chinese Knots of different sizes, shapes and colours.