The Silk Road is a historically important international trade route（路线）between China and the Mediterranean（地中海）. It started ________ the Western Han Dynasty and has been a ________ between the east and the west for over 2，000 years.

The road started from Chang'an（now Xi'an）and ________ in an Eastern European country，near today's Turkey and the Mediterranean Sea. It was about 6，500 kilometers ________ and crossed one-fourth of the planet.

The Silk Road got its name because Chinese silk used to be carried along this road. Silk，jade（玉），ceramics（陶瓷）and iron went west to Rome. And from the west came glass，gems（宝石）and food ________ carrots and sesame（芝麻）.

The Silk Road was very important to both China and the ________ of the world. It was more than an ancient international trade route. Besides trade，________ about art，science and literature，as well as crafts（工艺）and technologies was ________ across the Silk Road. In this way，languages and cultures developed fast and influenced each other.

Today，along the Silk Road there're many places of ________，such as the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an and Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang. Now a ________line runs from Beijing across the Silk Road.