3 . A volcanic eruption created a new but possibly changeable island in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean. An underwater volcano next to the Kingdom of Tonga erupted in early September, causing lava (岩浆) to rise to the surface. The steam (蒸汽) and water out of it then formed into a new land mass, measuring at over eight acres.

The Home Reef seamount is the place where the volcano erupted on September 10th, 2022. NASA’s Earth Observatory noted that it took about eleven hours for the land mass to rise out of the water. The agency published an image that has spread on social media that shows the size of the new unnamed island.

Over the weekend, the Tonga Geological Services stated the island was about 8.6 acres and measured about 50 feet above sea level. While volcanic activities continued to plague the Home Reef, only a couple of neighboring the Tonga islands were at low risk. “All sailors are, however, advised to sail beyond 4 kilometers away from Home Reef until further notice,” officials with the Tonga Geological Services noted in a statement.

Underwater volcanic eruptions near Tonga that led to new islands, although uncommon, have happened a few times over the last two centuries, including in 1852, 1857, 1984 and 2006. However, NASA’s Earth Observatory showed that many of these volcanic islands existed only for a few months or years.

“Islands created by undersea volcanoes often last only for a short time, though very few sometimes last for years. Home Reef has had four recorded periods of eruptions, including events in 1852 and 1857,” the agency noted. “An island created by a 12-day eruption from nearby Late’iki volcano in 2020 was washed away after two months, while an earlier island created in 1995 by the same volcano remained for 25 years.”

Yingge Dance, a traditional folk art     1     (combine) dancing, Chinese martial arts, and Chinese opera, is popular in the Chaoshan area of Guangdong province in South China. Yingge,     2     is written with the characters for “hero” and “song”, means heroic song in Chinese and Yingge dancers, as     3     (they) name implies, are the avatars of heroes. The dancers each hold a pair of short sticks and strike the sticks with force to create strong beats —     4     artistic display of masculinity. In 2006, the Puning Yingge Dance     5     (list) among the first batch of national intangible cultural heritages in China.

    6    , as young people move out of the villages, so are local folk arts gradually disappearing all around China. In Puning, Yingge is still danced during holidays such as the Lunar New Year and its performers are generally amateurs — farmers who have put down their tools and put on costumes. Some of the parts are passed     7     in the family, from father to son, and so far some villages     8     (start) giving performers a basic salary.

    9     (dress) in colorful clothes and wearing heavy makeup, ordinary villagers have created a song of cultural confidence. The     10     perform), a must-watch for the local people, graces the village square one more time.

Venice is an attractive city between the sea and the sky. The city is     1     (comprise) of over 100 islands and there aren’t any cars or buses. All the islands     2       (link) by canals and bridges, making it     3     (convenience) for people to travel around the city. The best-­known of the canals, the Grand Canal, serves     4     the main street in the part of the city.

Venice has a lot of world­famous tourist     5       (attraction), including Saint Mark’s Square, the Doge’s Palace and Saint Mark’s Basilica,     6     is the city’s most famous church. Every year thousands     7     tourists visit this beautiful city. They always find themselves     8     (impress) by the city’s cultural treasures.

Sadly, the Italian city has been regularly flooded by rising sea water over the years. From November to February, sea level rises up to one and a half meters,     9     (cover) many of Venice’s famous areas. But people in Venice still love their city. They are unwilling     10     (leave). Instead, they want to stay there to save Venice from the sea.

Located at the western part of Hangzhou, just under 5km away from the West Lake, Xixi National Wetland Park distinguishes itself as     1     exceptional urban place. This park is a pioneering example of how urban life combines agriculture with culture, making it a     2     (real) unique destination. Along with Xihu and Xiling famous, respectively, for their natural scenery    3     cultural heritage, Xixi National Wetland Park is one of the celebrated “Three Xi’s of Hangzhou”.

    4    (cover) a vast area, the park consists of three causeways(堤道) and features ten famous sights. Nearly 70% of the park is occupied by river ports, ponds and small lakes,     5     explains a wetland environment. These waterways cross the park, dividing it into distinct     6     (section): the east, the west, and the central part.

So far, the government     7     (establish) ecological protection zones as well as a sightseeing zone.     8     addition, visitors can explore the Wetland Science Exhibition Hall at the park’s main entrance conveniently.

The Xixi wetlands is an area of unmatched peace and quiet — filled with history and natural     9     (beautiful). The only true thing that can be said of the Xixi wetlands     10     (be) that if you haven’t seen them, you haven’t really seen Hangzhou.

Yuelu Academy is one of the “Four Best Academies in the whole country”. It     1     (be)well-known since Song Dynasty.

Located at Hunan University in Yuelu Region Changsha County, Yuelu Academy,     2     has a three-kilometer distance to the downtown, is listed as the national AAAA scenic area, national key Scenic Spot, national civilized tourism demonstration site and important heritage site under state     3     (protect). The floor space of the academy is more than 31,000 m² and the construction area     4     (reach) 11,000 m².

During     5     (it) thousand years, Yuelu Academy has been much popular for the famous people it has fostered (培养).     6     1916 and 1919, young Mao Zedong lived at the Banxue Room in Yuelu Academy several times to work on the revolutionary activities in seek of the truth of     7     (save) the Chinese people. From then on, a number of Yuelu     8     (teacher) and students set themselves to the revolutionary work in the new democracy and caused a profound and everlasting influence to Chinese history.

In addition, the academy is also     9     (real) famous for the elegance of the environment and beauty of the architecture. Nowadays, it serves as     10     ancient heritage museum for demonstrating the ancient academy education and architectural style.

Do you know the Silk Road? The Silk Road     1     is a network of trade routes connected the East and the West in ancient and Medieval times. In addition to silk, other various goods were traded along     2     Silk Road, and the network was also important for the spread of science, technology, and artistic ideals. The Silk Road had a great influence     3     the lands through which the routes passed, and the trade is also important for the     4     (develop) of towns and cities along the Silk Road routes.

Many businessmen along the Silk Road     5     (join) in relay (中转) trade, where an item would change owners many     6     (time) and travel a little bit with each one of them before reaching its final buyer. It seems to have been     7     (enormous) unusual for any individual businessman to travel all the way between China and Europe or Northern Africa. Instead, many businessmen focused on     8     (transport) goods through various sections of the Silk Road.

The Silk Road established the earliest connection between the East and the West. It was significant in the improvement of world civilization     9     the progress of human society. Research of the Silk Road today continue to have a     10     (power) influence.