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A road is a bridge between two places． The Silk Road （1） 　 　a bridge between the East and the West for more than 2，000 years．

But did you know that the Silk Road is not a single route（路线）？It is actually a series（一系列）of trade and cultural transmission（传送）routes． The trade route （2） 　 　from the city of Xian in Shaanxi Province and ended in Eastern Europe，near （3） 　 　Turkey and the Mediterranean Sea（地中海）．The Silk Road was about 6，500 kilometers long． It went across one﹣fourth of the earth．

The Silk Road got its name （4） 　 　Chinese silk used to be carried along this road． Besides，silk，jade（玉），tea and iron also went （5） 　 　to Rome． From the areas along the road came glass，gems（宝石）and foods like carrots． The Silk Road was very important to （6） 　 　China and the rest of the world． In addition to（除……之外）trade，knowledge about science，arts and literature（文学），as well as craftsman ship（技艺）and technology，（7） 　 　across the Silk Road． In this way，languages and cultures developed （8） 　 __ 　and influenced each other．

Today，various historical sites along the Silk Road are popular travel places，such as the Terracotta Army and Mogao Grottoes． A new train line，the New Orient Express，is （9） 　 __ 　from Beijing across the Silk Road．

Nowadays，（10） 　 　to One Bet，One Road，China has made better cooperation（合作）with many other countries．