The China-Laos Railway,     1     connects Kunming in southwest China’s Yunnan Province with the Laotian capital, Vientiane,     2     (start) operation on Dec 3. 2021. The 1035-kilometer-long railway is a landmark project and an important part of the Pan-Asian railway network. It will not only benefit the two peoples, but also     3     (significant) improve regional connectivity.

    4     (locate) southwest of China, Laos is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia and mainly depends on road, water and air transport for the movement of people and goods. It has long been a dream for the Lao people to see their country change from a land-locked country     5     a “land-linked one”, and the opening of the new railway is a big step toward turning     6     (they) dream into reality.

The new railway will improve Laos’ transportation and promote its tourism as well as agricultural processing industries. It will also enable Lao businesses to     7     (well) fit into regional and global supply chains.

China and Laos have stood together through thick and thin and engaged in mutually beneficial cooperation on the basis of equality. Besides, China and Laos were the first     8     (sign) an agreement based on the Belt and Road Initiative. The opening of the China-Laos Railway will thus help speed the     9     (develop) of the China-Laos Economic Corridor, and will further advance the building of a China-Laos community with     10     shared future.

Airparks are neighborhoods designed     1    (specific) for people who have their own light airplanes and want to keep them     2    (park) in their driveways.

There are roughly 650 airparks around the world. So why do so few people know they exist? It may have something to do with the fact     3     most of us can’t afford our own personal airplane, let alone buy a house to accommodate it. Living in one of these airparks     4    (be) very expensive. For example, one of the     5    (world) nicest airparks in California Cameron Airpark Estates is currently listed on Zillow for $1.5 million. That’s the price you pay for living in a place where light airplanes are as common, if not more so     6     cars.

So how do airparks differ from ordinary neighborhoods? Driving through one of them, you’re bound     7    (notice) that every family has a parking lot for their airplanes. The streets are wide enough to fit the wings of a light aircraft, about 100 feet in     8    (wide). Road signs and mailboxes     9    (position) unusually low to the ground to avoid getting broken by     10     wings of the airplanes.

In 2008, an intercity high-speed train pulled out of Beijing South Station, showing China’s rail network stepped into a new fast-moving period. Over the past decade, the country has added over 35,000 kilometers     1     its high-speed rail (HSR) network, with the total length that goes far beyond the rest of the world combined.

The HSR is by far the world’s     2    (big) network of its type and China was also the first country with a GDP per capita (人均国民生产总值) below $7,000     3    (invest) in developing an HSR network.

Looking back, a key milestone for China’s HSR development was the     4    (approve) of the Medium-and Long-Term Railway Plan (MLTRP) in 2004,     5     the low speed of the existing railway limited competitiveness in passenger transport.

Though construction     6    (push) forward under technology agreements with developed countries like Germany and France in the beginning, China quickly adapted and improved the designs for local use. Based on the previous experience     7    (accumulate) in this field, China has also developed international standards for HSR equipment.

The original intention for the project was to     8    (large) the capacity (容量) of the country’s overloaded network and improve passenger services. But thanks to many spillover (外溢)     9    (benefit), it has improved regional and provincial connectivity, serving as     10     great help to China’s economic development.