Ever since last month, my close friend, Li Hua,    1     (persuade) me to join in his journey to Yunnan Province. He was quite reliable and cared     2     every detailed of the preparations. He insisted that we     3    (travel) by train. The seats looked rather hard, but in fact they are     4     (comfort) to sit in. Finally, we arrived at the destination,    5    we could hardly wait to breathe the fresh air and we happily viewed the scenery there.

What is the    1     (tall) mountain on Earth? Most school children will say the answer is Mount Everest near the border     2     Nepal and Tibet.

There is something that is three hundred four meters taller than Mount Everest.     3    , it is mainly underwater. It begins at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, and     4     (rise) more than seventeen kilometers from the ocean floor.     5     name is Mauna Loa. In the Hawaiian language, Mauna Loa means “Long Mountain.” Mauna Loa is more than half of the island of Hawaii,     6     is the largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is also the largest and most active volcano on Earth. It     7     (produce) liquid rock called lava more than thirty times since records were first     8     (keep) in eighteen forty-three.

Today, Mauna Loa is quiet. It is not producing lava. However, volcano     9     (expert) say it is only a matter of time before this happens once again.

Mauna Loa is not the only volcano on the island of Hawaii. There are four others. Three of them are no longer active. One of them still is active. It     10     (name) Kilauea.

Going to Zhangjiajie reminds people of the mountains in Avatar. For those who love nature, Zhangjiajie National Park is     1     must to visit. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site, one that has seen tourism boom, stimulating economic     2     (grow), and providing a lot of job     3     (opportunity) for the locals. Over the years, the rock caves and karst(喀斯特)formations     4     (lead) people to call it a “fairyland”.

The park has thick forests, deep canyons, unusual peaks, caves, and pillar-like(像柱子似的)rock formations blanketed throughout the park. These pillar-like rock formations are     5     the park is famous for around the world. One of the fastest and most     6     (effort) ways to experience the area is by riding up the world’s tallest outdoor elevator. The 326-meter-tall glass Bailong Elevator     7     (build) onto the side of a cliff at the start of this century and offers amazing views of the park.

Zhangjiajie National Park is also home     8     many endangered species of animals and plants, and the Chinese government has taken conservation efforts     9     (preserve) the landscape, which will     10     (undoubted) help balance the ecosystem better for more people to enjoy the out-of-this- world scenery.

Busy Colombians living in a city can be pressured. But there is a place for people to relieve stress in Bogota.     1    (sit) at the top of Monserrate Hill, east of the city, the place is a protected park for hummingbirds. The area contains a forest that has turned into a peaceful and     2     (harmony) world for both people and birds.

With the hummingbirds flying from flower to flower, some people study them through binoculars (双筒镜) and     3     (other) take pictures with cameras or phones.

“Sometimes it doesn't seem real because we are close to city of eight million residents     4     generate noise every day,” says Camilo Cantor, a caretaker in the park, whose job is to mix water and sugar and put it in bird feeders along a 300-meter path “The park is     5     (true) special place, like an oasis (绿洲). It is place where people can go     6     (ease) stress, forget about troubles and get     7     break from busy city life,” he added.

Ten years ago, the hill     8     (destroy), mercilessly and completely, meaning there were no trees left on it. But workers began to replant local trees and flowers to bring the forest back     9     life. Presently, visitors to the park can see over100 species of birds there.

Hummingbirds can     10     (find) only on the American continent and Colombia is home to many different kinds.