The Silk Road

The Silk Road was not a single road but a vast 1—A beneficialB dangerousC enrichingD interconnectedE luxuriousF networkG perhapsH reminderI risingJ spread of trade routes that linked China with Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. It got its name from Chinese silk, a 2—A beneficialB dangerousC enrichingD interconnectedE luxuriousF networkG perhapsH reminderI risingJ spread fabric that was highly valued in the West. For more than a thousand years, merchants traveled these routes with camels and horses, carrying goods across deserts and over mountains.

The journey was long and 3—A beneficialB dangerousC enrichingD interconnectedE luxuriousF networkG perhapsH reminderI risingJ spread. Travelers faced burning heat, freezing nights, and the constant threat of robbers. Few merchants traveled the whole route themselves; instead, goods were usually passed from one trader to another, 4—A beneficialB dangerousC enrichingD interconnectedE luxuriousF networkG perhapsH reminderI risingJ spread in price at each stop along the way.

Silk was far from the only thing that moved along these routes. Spices, glass, paper, and precious metals were traded as well. 5—A beneficialB dangerousC enrichingD interconnectedE luxuriousF networkG perhapsH reminderI risingJ spread more important, however, was the exchange of ideas. Religions such as Buddhism 6—A beneficialB dangerousC enrichingD interconnectedE luxuriousF networkG perhapsH reminderI risingJ spread from India into China, and inventions like papermaking gradually made their way west. Along with goods and beliefs, the routes also carried languages, music, and art, 7—A beneficialB dangerousC enrichingD interconnectedE luxuriousF networkG perhapsH reminderI risingJ spread the cultures they connected.

Unfortunately, not everything that traveled the Silk Road was 8—A beneficialB dangerousC enrichingD interconnectedE luxuriousF networkG perhapsH reminderI risingJ spread. Diseases could move just as easily as ideas. Over time, as sea travel became safer and cheaper, the land routes slowly lost their importance. Still, the Silk Road remains a powerful 9—A beneficialB dangerousC enrichingD interconnectedE luxuriousF networkG perhapsH reminderI risingJ spread of how trade can bring distant peoples together. In many ways, it was an early form of the 10—A beneficialB dangerousC enrichingD interconnectedE luxuriousF networkG perhapsH reminderI risingJ spread world we live in today.