【推荐1】Do you know Big Ben? Let me tell you something about it.     1     It is the name of a big clock (钟). It is in London, the UK.     2     Wherever (无论哪里) you stand, you can read the time (时间) on the face of Big Ben. It has two hands. One hand is 2. 75 meters (米) long.     3     Big Ben can make such a loud noise, “Dingdong, dingdong”.     4     If you visit London, you can find Big Ben there.     5    

Welcome to London to visit Big Ben.

【推荐2】

Last summer, I planned to take a short holiday in the woods. My husband wasn’t available, but I really wanted to see the Perseids meteor shower (英仙座流星雨). So I decided to go camping on my own, which I’d never done before.

After throwing the sleeping bag and a few things to eat into the car, I was on my way. I was a little nervous about being alone. As soon as I reached the camping spot, I asked the guide if he thought I’d be all right camping alone. “Sure,” he said. His answer was somewhat reassuring (令人放心的).

After supper, I got the fire started easily. Looking up, I couldn’t see much of the sky through the trees. Falling asleep quickly, I was awakened (吵醒) a few hours later by some noises. It sounded too loud. Thankfully, after a few minutes, it stopped. But I was scared the rest of the night. I didn’t think it was a good idea to go out and look at the star after all. As I lay there, I heard squirrel and an ow (猫头鹰) calling. I was somewhat glad I was awake to hear this sound of nature.

The next morning, my neighbor talked about how a bear had visited in the night and knocked over some chairs. Luckily, the bear hadn’t done any more damage (损坏) than that. While I was disappointed at not seeing the shooting stars, I’m now a lot more confident ( 自信的) about camping by myself. Bear or no bear.

【推荐3】Travel is like a box of chocolates—you never know what you’re going to get, especially when you’re using a blind box plane ticket.

Fan Zhihua, who enjoys going wherever she wants and whenever she wants, bought her first blind box plane ticket in March last year. The 29-year-old went to Zhangye, Gansu Province. It’s a lesser-known destination, but it actually brings surprises.

When Fan arrived in Zhangye, she found that she was able to share a rented car with a few other people. This allowed the travelers to save money, since many of the area’s tourist places are far apart from each other. So Fan found a group of easy-going young women to join. They went to some tourist places together, but everyone was free to choose their schedule! “The best part of the trip is this way of travelling, casual and romantic,” Fan said.

That wasn’t her only gain. Before that, Fan thought most of the natural scenery (风景) she saw in photos was over-beautified. However, her trip to Dunhuang changed her mind.

After a couple of days in Zhangye, the group decided to leave for Dunhuang. Fan was never a big fan of making travel plans, so she just went along. Fan and her travel pals went on a camel ride, and as they entered the desert, she was amazed at her surroundings (周围环境). “I couldn’t describe it in words. To be honest, I’m not a history lover, but when I was in the endless desert, it was amazing,” Fan said. “I felt like I had become Zhang Qian, traveling to Xiyu.”

Fan believes that life itself is a journey made up of long and short trips. “I think I was brought into this world to have as many experiences as possible and that I should make every day count,” she added.

【推荐1】There is a small shop near my school, but it sells(卖) a lot of things. It sells fruit—apples, pears, oranges and bananas. And you can buy school things there, too—notebooks, rulers, pens, colour pencils, erasers and pencil-boxes. All of them are very cheap.

There are two men and three women in the shop. They are very friendly. The men aren’t in the shop sometimes. They go to different places to get things. The women work all day. The shop opens at 7 o’clock in the morning and closes at 10 o’clock in the evening. We can buy things from this small shop from Monday to Friday.