History is the story of us, human beings. Everyone who has lived and everything that has h{#blank#}1{#/blank#} are part of history. But history is not only what happened in the past. The word also means the study of the past, through old w{#blank#}2{#/blank#}records and other kinds of facts.

    Why do we study history? One r{#blank#}3{#/blank#}is that we enjoy it. A good story is even better if it is true, and history is full of good s{#blank#}4{#/blank#}though they can be terrible too. A more serious reason is to understand o{#blank#}5{#/blank#}and the world we live in. To understand events happening now, we need to know their causes. We cannot understand the p{#blank#}6{#/blank#}if we know nothing about the past. History helps us understand why things are the way they are.

    Of course, history books cannot tell us everything about the past, not even everything that i{#blank#}7{#/blank#}recorded. A history of the world has to pick out the people and events t{#blank#}8{#/blank#}changed the world.

    Since ancient times, great civilizations have appeared in d{#blank#}9{#/blank#}countries and regions. Usually, only three or four existed at the same time. While they lasted they changed the l{#blank#}10{#/blank#}not only of their own people, but of their neighbors, today.