Motuo lies in the south of the Himalayas in Tibet. It is known as the “Natural Museum of Tibet”. It is home to all     1     (种) of mountains, rivers, waterfalls, plants and animals. Its     2     (特殊的) geographic location makes it a beautiful place, but meanwhile, one of the hardest places to reach. It was the last city in China     3     (没有) a highway.

The construction (建设) of the highway to Motuo started in the1960s. However, it was not completed     4     (直到) over 50 years later. In 2013, the Motuo Highway was opened.

The highway is 117 kilometers long. To make it     5     (更安全的), the two-way highway is open in only one direction every other day. It is a great engineering project. Why is that?

In this area, earthquakes and heavy rains happen very     6     (经常). There could be falling rocks or even landslides. People must build many walls and nets to     7     (保护) the highway.

Another challenge is the snow. Large amounts of snow sometimes destroy rocks and roads. As a result, the construction of the highway to Motuo was stopped several times. To     8     (解决) this problem, people built a tunnel (隧道) that goes through the mountain area.     9     (最后), Motuo is no longer shut off to the world.

The highway stands for the Chinese     10     (精神) of “never giving up”. It is a way to connect Motuo to the outside world and shows how China looks after people in the far areas.

My name is Chen Lan. My home is in Gulangyu.     1     is Gulangyu, do you know? It is in Xiamen. Gulangyu is a small place (地方),     2     it is very nice and clean. There     3     no cars, buses or bikes. People only walk. So it is very quiet (安静的). My house is in     4     center of Gulangyu. Behind my house there is     5     big old tree. There are many birds in the tree. We call it a “bird tree”.