Do you have any idea of New Year paintings? Also {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(know) as "paper paintings" and "painted pictures", New Year paintings are a unique art form in Chinese folk culture. Without New Year paintings, our traditional Chinese folk culture {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(be) much less colorful. The paintings get such a name because they are {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(most) posted during the Chinese New Year holiday for decoration and they are also accepted {#blank#}4{#/blank#} a symbol of New Year's greetings.

    New Year paintings {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(appear) around the Tang dynasty, replacing the previous door pictures believed to be able to protect the residents and drive away ghosts. The New Year paintings {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(belong) to the Song dynasty were created on a large scale. With the advancement of printing technology, the content and forms of New Year paintings became {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(vary). The development of the paintings matured in the Ming and Qing dynasties, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} the art hit its heyday(全盛期).

    Traditional printing {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(method) of New Year paintings include woodblock printing, stone-block printing, offset(胶印) printing, traditional Chinese painting, watercolor painting and sketches etc. Woodblock-printed New Year paintings are the most popular and interesting {#blank#}10{#/blank#}, according to a recent survey.

    One day a fisherman called Peter went fishing in his small boat.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} reaching a good place he knew, he{#blank#}2{#/blank#} ( lay) down his long line into the water. After a while,{#blank#}3{#/blank#} became very heavy. It seemed too heavy to be a fish. He began to draw in{#blank#}4{#/blank#}line.

    When the hooks began to come out of the water, he was quite {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(surprise), for the hooks were holding the links of a heavy gold chain.  When he pulled them into the boat, more and more links appeared. Soon his boat was full of the {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(shine) links of the gold chain.

    “I shall be rich, ” he said. “{#blank#}7{#/blank#}money I shall buy a new fishing boat with an engine. I shall buy a big house.”

    He drew in more chain{#blank#}8{#/blank#}he couldn't see the end of it. There was more and more of the heavy gold chain in the boat. He was so greedy that he didn't notice {#blank#}9{#/blank#} was happening to his boat. It was sinking{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(low) into the water than before. In the end Peter was drowned. He lost the gold, his boat and his life.

    Once when Kevin was selling hats under a big tree, the monkeys in the tree picked some hats and put {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (they) on. Kevin took off his own hat and threw it onto the ground. The stupid monkeys also threw their hats! Kevin collected all the hats and left{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (happy).

    Fifty years later, young Tony, grandson of Kevin, also sold hats for a {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (live). After a long walk, Tony was tired, so he put his bag of hats beside him and {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (lie) down under a big tree. He soon fell asleep.

    When he woke up, Tony found that there weren't any hats{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (leave) in his bag! Tony looked up and found some monkeys in the tree wearing his hats.

    Tony didn't know {#blank#}6{#/blank#} to do. Then he remembered the story of his grandfather "Yes! I can make these foolish monkeys {#blank#}7{#/blank#} （return） all my hats," said Tony.

    Tony then waved, and {#blank#}8{#/blank#} did the monkeys. Tony started dancing, and the monkeys were dancing, too. Tony threw his hat on the ground…

    Just then, one of the {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (monkey) jumped down from the tree, picked up {#blank#}10{#/blank#} hat and said to Tony, "Do you think only you had a grandfather?"

    Looking out of the window of his Ford truck, Bob Fitzgerald sees large, undesirable plants growing in the fields.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (visitor) to his neighborhood in Princess Anne, Maryland {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(main) see dying forests and empty farmland.

    Fitzgerald says the land{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(be) in his family for over 3 centuries. "I'd say in the next 20 years. You're going to lose{#blank#}4{#/blank#}very high percentage of that land."

    The land around the Chesapeake Bay has been sinking for hundreds of years. But climate change is making things{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(bad). As sea level rises, salt water is entering rivers and other waterways. As a result, the ground is becoming too salty for crops{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(grow) on.

    Maryland's Eastern Shore is home to some of the oldest farms in North America.

    Fitzgerald says he has seen big changes during his life.

    "You just can't believe{#blank#}7{#/blank#}it's been taking things over in the last 15 or 20 years. I can show you land around here that people raised tomatoes on when I was a little boy. And now it's gone."

    Around the world, scientists warn that coastal farms are under{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(threaten) from rising seas and salt water. A World Bank report estimates rice production in coastal areas of Bangladesh may fall{#blank#}9{#/blank#}15 percent by the year 2050. Another study found hundreds of millions of people will{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(force) to move inland because of rising waters.