With the rise in COVID-19 cases, this year’s National Day didn’t offer the usual opportunities for travel that it generally would. However, some of my favorite spots remained open. I     1     (take) the chance to visit one of them, Beihai Park. And I was able to explore it in     2     (great) detail and restudy it from a fresher pint of view.

Actually, I had visited Beihai Park many times in all seasons. This time, rather than heading straight to     3     (it) most popular site, the White Pagoda, I explored some of the temples and places to its south. Without the mass of crowds constantly     4     (force) me forward, I felt much less pressure to move from place to place. I was able to take my time and focus more on the     5     (unbelievable) complex (复杂的) details of these buildings, in particular the mythical creatures on the corners of the     6     (roof). The size and number of these creatures played multiple roles for buildings in the past, both representing its     7     (significant) — the greater the number of creatures, the more important it was.

    8     these creations follow a general style, the colors and designs on display have a unique flavor (味道). The park has amazing feature and pieces of culture and history     9     are not obvious at first sight. By making the most of the current situation, I’ve been able to have     10     better understanding of it and realize that I still know so little about it.

Mount Tai has been a source of     1     (inspire) for poets and thinkers for thousands of years. Many people like climbing to the top of Mount Tai, no matter    2     challenging the journey is. Confucius once     3     (reach) its top and said there: “Climb Mount Tai and the whole world looks small.” His words express the idea that the higher you climb, the     4     (great) your vision (视野) is. For me, the higher I climbed, the more steps I saw, until finally I got to the steps that led up to the cable car (缆车) station. Of course, Confucius didn’t take a cable car, but I wasn’t Confucius. I spent two hours climbing steps, and that was enough for me.

We got up at 4 a.m. to position     5     (we) for the sunrise. We were lucky enough    6    (enjoy) a clear sunrise among hundreds of others. After breakfast, we walked for about five hours down the mountain and through Peach Blossom Valley,     7     beautiful walk through pine trees, flowering peach trees,waterfalls and     8     (pool) of water. The green plants up the mountain contribute     9     a unique climb. This valley walk was wonderful for me, not just because there were no steps up. It was peaceful,     10     (allow) me to admire the greater scenery I got.