1     (construct) from the 5th century BC, the Grand Canal was a means of communication for the Empire for the first time in the Sui Dynasty.

Before foundation of Sui Dynasty, China had     2     (continuous) evacuated several canals,     3     had been suspended due to natural environment. Some needed to be repaired but were still navigable, but were too separated from each other to form large-scale water transport nationwide.

The establishment of Sui Dynasty     4     (declare) the end of long-lasting split situation. In 605 AD, Emperor Yang Guang, the     5     (two) emperor of Sui Dynasty, ordered excavation of the Grand Canal to meet the political,     6     (economy) and military needs of unified nation.

The Grand Canal reached a new peak in the Yuan Dynasty (13th century), providing a unified inland navigation network consisting     7     more than 2,000 km of artificial waterways, linking five of the most important river basins in China,     8     (include) the Yellow River and the Yangtze.

As     9     major means of internal communication today, it has played an important role in ensuring the prosperity and     10     (stable) of China over the ages.

Placed among the busy streets of Washington, D. C. is a large public garden that many Americans have never heard of. The U. S. National Arboretum (植物园) includes     1     collection of flowering plants called azaleas, a field of native plants named ferns, and flowering trees in the dogwood tree area. The garden     2     (establish) by Congress in 1927. It plays a leading part in researching and developing plants like trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses.

Government scientists are in charge of the 180-hectare area. Their main goal is     3    (strengthen) the U. S. economy by making sure an important kind of agriculture,     4     (call) the nursery industry, continues to perform well. The most recent numbers from the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) show that the ornamental and landscape plant industry creates billions of founds in sales each year.

The arboretum is home to one of the     5     (large) collections of preserved seeds in the world. The National Arboretum Herbarium (植物标本)     6     (house) around 700,000 ex-ample seeds. They include seeds from plants that the USDA considers as     7    (economical) important. Scientists collect many genetically different seeds within a kind of plant from both native and non-native plants. The reason     8     collecting that data is that scientists protect plants from harmful situations like climate change, changed environments, or other new and possible risks.

While the scientists do their work, the public     9     (explore) plants is free to visit the arboretum. Though many people may not know it, the arboretum has had a hand in developing a number of plants     10     are part of American landscaping.

The Great Wall

The Great Wall, a     1     (memory) landmark, is one of the most appealing attractions in China. It     2     (fascinate) the minds of many in the world in the past several decades.

The Great Wall resembles a Chinese dragon circling the mountains,     3     (wind) its way westwards over the vast land of China.     4     (doubt), looking down at the Great Wall from the sky is amazing. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, each principality (候国) in China constructed its own “great wall”     5     (defend) itself from enemies. They built many a “great wall” in the early days,     6     extended several hundred li length. The Chinese name “Chang Cheng” or “Long Wall” came     7     existence because of the length of the wall. According to     8     (record) put down in Chinese literature, as many as 20 principalities and dynasties took part in reconstructing the Great Wall. If we add the length of the wall     9     (build) in each dynasty, the total comes to over 50,000 km.

The Great Wall is a symbol of Chinese civilization, It has been put down on the World Heritage List. It is     10     wonder of the world and the pride of China.

Shanghai Oriental Pearl Tower     1     (locate) in Pudong Park in Lujiazui, Pudong New Area, Shanghai.     2     (surround) by the Yangpu Bridge in the northeast and the Nanpu Bridge in the southwest, it creates a picture of “twin dragons playing with pearls”. The entire scene is a photographic jewel that excites the imagination and attracts thousands of visitors year-round.

This 468-meter-high tower is the world’s sixth and China’s second     3     (tall) TV and radio tower. However, even more charming than its height is     4     unique architectural design that makes Oriental Pearl Tower one of the most attractive     5     (place).

Visitors travel up and down the Oriental Pearl Tower in double-decker elevators     6    can hold up to fifty people     7     the rate of seven meters per second. Once you reach your destination, you will be amazed at the     8     (various) of activities available as the various spheres and columns     9     (actual) house places of interest, commerce and recreation. It is amazing that this Oriental Pearl TV Tower     10     (combine) ancient concepts such as the spherical pearls with 21st Century technology, commerce, recreation, education and conference facilities.

9 . Here are several places which will surprise you.

Death Valley, California, USA

Very lively at night but completely dead during the day, this place is nothing but dry hot desert. It actually holds the record for the hottest air temperature. It has an average temperature of 46℃ but it has reached 56.7℃ in 1913 and is considered to be a current record. As the driest place in the USA, this place is actually inhabited even though less than a thousand people live there.

Kebili, Tunisia

Tunisia’s close location to the Mediterranean Sea suggests that it should be nice and cool but Kebili is a desert town which has the highest temperature recorded at 55℃. The people inhabiting the area have adjusted to tough conditions and learned to spend most of their time in the shade. Date palms are one of the key features of this place.

Wādī Halfā, Sudan

The city is located on the shores of Lake Nubia, and dust storms are a pretty common thing in the summer. With an average temperature of 41℃, it still managed to make it to 53℃ in 1967. You would think that it should be a little bit cooler for it is the most northern place in Sudan.

Dasht-e Lut Desert, Iran

It’s another uninhabited desert which is actually getting super hot. In the past 20 years, the temperatures of 70℃ have been recorded. The salt desert spreads over 200 miles and even wildlife is not that spread. The place is popular with tourists and naturalists who would like to experience extreme landscapes.

10 . The country’s first national park, Yellowstone, is renaming one of its largest mountains to honor indigenous people after research revealed the man it had been named after helped lead a massacre (屠杀) against local tribes. As part of the park’s 150th anniversary, officials announced the 10,551-foot high peak formerly called Mount Doane is now First Peoples Mountain.

“It is a victory, yes. Is history being rewritten and retold truthfully? I hope so,” William Snell, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council, told NPR. His group helped advise federal officials on the name change. In an email, Snell said the change to First Peoples Mountain couldn't have come at a better time as Yellowstone officials prepare for the park’s anniversary in August.

The peak—along a range on the eastern side of Yellowstone Lake—had been named after Gustavus Doane, who helped lead the Washburn-Langford-Doane exploration in 1870 that eventually led to the park getting federal protection.

But recently, historians uncovered Doane’s role in an attack that left at least 173 Native Americans dead. Known as the Marias Massacre, Doane carried out the attack over the killing of a white fur trader. In writings, Doane cast a favorable light on the attack and even showed off about it for the rest of his life, the National Park Service said last week.

The renaming to First Peoples Mountain is part of a trend to better recognize the roles and contributions of Native Americans. It has also become a priority of the nation’s first indigenous cabinet secretary—the Interior Department’s Deb Haaland, who oversees the National Park Service—and Charles SamsⅢ, the first Native American to serve as that agency’s director.

Across the American West, many iconic representative mountains and other environmental places were named after early white settlers, mostly men and some with terrible pasts.

In Yellowstone, park officials say they may consider further changes to derogatory (贬损的) or inappropriate geographical names in the months ahead.