Wherever you go in China，you can see lion statues（雕塑）.Do you know why？
   （1）

Putting

Putting

（put） lion statues outside of buildings is a common practice in China.It was especially common in （2）

ancient

ancient

/'e?n??nt/ times.We can see them at the gates of palaces，temples，government offices and the homes of rich people.The statues are usually made （3）

of

of

stone.People believe they can scare away evil（邪惡的）spirits and bring good luck.
   However，the lion is not （4）

local

local

/'l??kl/ in China.It was not until about 2，000 years ago，when lions were （5）

given

given

（give） to Chinese emperors as gifts，that the animal could be found in China.Emperors loved lions （6）

because

because

they look strong.They kept lions as pets.The animals were also believed to look like Suan ni（狻猊），one of the nine legendary（7）

sons

sons

（son） of the dragon. . .
   Since the old times，people have put lion statues outside their houses to （8）

protect

protect

/pr?'tekt/ their families.They usually put a pair of stone lions on each side of the gate to their home.A male lion stands on the （9）

left

left

playing with a ball，which stands for power.A female lion is on the right with a baby lion under （10）

her

her

（she）left paw（爪子）.She stands for a large and happy family.