Shadow puppet plays

Every Saturday, Wang Weifang puts on a play with his friends in a smalltown near Xi'an. The audience can hear them, but they cannot see them. That is (A)____ they are putting on a shadow puppet play.

Shadow puppets are made of hard leather. The leather is cut out in the shape of a person, an animal or an object. Each puppet is painted in bright colours and put on a stick. Some puppets have movable arms and legs. During a shadow puppet play, Wang stands behind a white screen (B)____ lights behind it.

The audience sit in front of the screen. Wang and his friends hold the puppets very (C)close tothe screen so the audience can see the puppets' shadows clearly. Then they move the puppets around and do the voices of the different characters.Shadow puppet plays are an ancient Chinese art.

(D)Now with TV and films, shadow puppet plays are not as popular as before. Wang and his friends often work very hard for little money, but they do not (E)mind. (F)他们想让这种传统的艺术形式存活下去。