For five years, the most famous clock tower in Britain was hidden behind an ugly fortress of scaffolding (脚手架) for restoration. This summer, a sound familiar     1     Londoners for more than a century and a half will again ring out across the British capital — Big Ben is back.

The clock tower stands tall over the Palace of Westminster     2     houses the British Parliament (议会). It is officially known as the Elizabeth Tower but commonly called by     3     nickname of the enormous bell in the belfry (钟楼): Big Ben. The bell’s bong is     4     (instant) recognizable to Britons.

The size of Big Ben,     5     (weigh) a little over 15 tons, is impressive, as is the complexity of a clock mechanism based on the most     6     (advance) technology available to its 19-century creators. Nobody had ever attempted     7     (build) a clock that size to the accuracy demanded.

During the restoration, the clock was serviced for the first time since it started ticking in 1859, when crowds lined the streets to greet Big Ben’s    8     (arrive). More than 3500 parts     9     (remove) from the 316-foot tower, including much of its iron roof. Now freshly     10     (paint), the tower stands as a monument to what can be achieved by modern restoration.

Venice is an attractive city between the sea and the sky. The city     1    (consist) 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 best­known 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.

Many of us thought the world had four oceans— the Atlantic, Indian, Pacific and Arctic Oceans. That’s what we     1     (teach) in school. However, a search on the Internet will show that there is also     2     “Southern Ocean“ around the South Pole and Antarctica (南极洲) . The National Geographic Society has now     3     (official) accepted that this body of water around Antarctica is a real ocean. Alex Tait, a geographer, said, “We think it’s really important     4     an educational viewpoint, as well as from a map-labelling standpoint,       5     (bring) attention to the Southern Ocean as a fifth ocean.” Geography teachers will now have to teach their students that the world has five oceans.

National Geogra phic said its recognition of the world having a fifth ocean would have an impact on     6     children see the world. Mr Tait said, “Students learn information about the world through what     7     (ocean) they’re studying. If you don’t include the Southern Ocean, then they don’t learn how important it is.” He said that     8     (recognize) the Southern Ocean would help students understand more about climate change. He wrote, “Antarctica forms a distinct ecological region     9     (define) by ocean currents and temperatures.” National Geographic said, “The Southern Ocean has unique and fragile marine (海洋的) ecosystems that are home to     10     (wonder) marine life such as whales, penguins and seals. ”

7 . Antarctica

Antarctica lies in the most southern part of the world. It is the coldest area on Earth. There isn’t much rain, but there is a lot of snow and wind. The lowest temperature was on 21 July in 1983 at -89.2℃!

Nobody lives in Antarctica all the time! The first people to stay there for a while were fishermen in 1786. Now there are about 5,000 scientists and researchers there in the summer.

During 1907-1909, British explorer Earnest Shackleton explored Antarctica on foot. In 1911, two explorers — a British man named Scott and a Norwegian named Amundsen — raced 1,400 kilometers to the South Pole (南极). Amundsen arrived first.

There aren’t any large animals in Antarctica. Polar bears live at the North Pole. But there are a lot of penguins and seabirds. Every spring there are over 100 million seabirds in Antarctica.

My hometown is Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, located in the central and southwestern part of Gansu Province. It    1    (know) as Hezhou in the past.Covering an area of 8,169 km², it is an    2    (extreme) important location of the South Road of the ancient Silk Road, enjoying some beautiful    3    (title), such as ”The Hometown of Chinese Flowers“and ”The Garden of Ancient Life“.

Linxia is rich in water resources. It is home to the Taohe River, the Daxia River    4     the Huangshui River, three branches of     5     Yellow River. The three famous power stations of Liujiaxia, Yanguoxia and Bapanxia are located here.

With green mountains, clear rivers and its    6    (tradition) cultures, Linxia has 107 tourist destinations,     7     attract a large number of tourists every year. The Bingling Temple Grottoes (石窟) , one of the most famous grottoes in China,     8    (have) a history of more than 1, 600 years.

To sum up, people can be exposed    9     a wide variety of local customs and cultures. Please come to Linxia, living in special residential houses, enjoying sweet flowers and     10    (eat) ethnic tasty food.

Located in Sichuan Province, the greater Chengdu area is home     1     millions of residents. It’s surrounded by rich farmlands that     2     (lead) to the city’s impressive agricultural wealth over the centuries. Often     3     (call) the “Land of Milk and Honey”, the city is one of the most liveable cities in China.

As well as being known for     4     (it) panda tourism and spicy food, Chengdu has a great atmosphere. The city is famously relaxed despite its size and busyness. This more relaxed way of life may be one of the most attractive things about Chengdu.

Chengdu has several panda breeding and research facilities, which     5    (probable) explains its close     6     (connect) with this lovable animal. So, while you’re in the city, make sure you head out to one of them     7     (see) the panda places and maybe even sign up to be     8     zookeeper for the day.

The teahouse culture is a big part of Chengdu. Teahouses are     9     the natives get together, play mah-jong, and drink tea. If you want to be part of the local culture, then escape the busy city the same way the     10     (local) do. Head to one of the local teahouses and try a cup of tea.