[00:00.00]3 Listen and circle.
[00:05.52]You will hear Peter talk
[00:07.18]about the history of kites.
[00:09.52]Listen and answer the questions.
[00:12.23]Kite-making is an ancient Chinese art.
[00:15.12]In China ,the first kites were
[00:17.22]made in the shape of birds
[00:19.16]and could fly for up to three days.
[00:22.33]There are many old stories about kites;
[00:25.04]some of these stories are from
[00:26.90]as early as the fifth century BC.
[00:30.27]In the olden says ,Kites had several uses.
[00:33.85]For example ,they were used in wartime from
[00:37.03]as early as 1232,
[00:39.95]They were used to send message to Chinese
[00:42.58]soldiers telling them to escape.
[00:45.52]Kites were also used for fishing
[00:48.15]in the olden days.
[00:50.09]And in the tenth century,
[00:51.68]there were special kites that could make
[00:54.28]musical sounds while flying.
[00:57.63]The kite was first mentioned
[00:59.75]in Europe in around 1589.
[01:03.29]By that time,people in China had already been
[01:06.37]flying kites for a long time!
[01:09.30]There are now kites made in all kinds of sizes
[01:12.87]and forms such as butterflies,eagles and cranes
[01:18.05]They are made of paper or silk.
[01:20.75]They have been exhibited
[01:21.95]all over China and abroad.
[01:24.80]In April of each year,there is a famous kite
[01:27.97]festival in Shandong province,
[01:30.53]and people from all over the world go there
[01:33.27]to fly their kites
[01:34.94]and take part in the competitions.
[01:34.94]