The Xi’an City Wall is the most complete city wall that has survived China’s long history. It     1     (build) originally to protect the city     2     the Tang dynasty and has now been completely restored (修复). It is possible       3     (walk) or bike the entire 14 kilometers.

We accessed the wall through the South Gate. The wall is 12 meters high and from here you can see streams of people moving inside and outside the City Wall.

After     4     (spend) some time looking at all the defensive equipment at the wall, we decided it was time for some action and what     5     (good) than to ride on a piece of history!

We     6     (hire) our bikes from the rental place at the South Gate. My bike was old and shaky     7     did the job. It took us about 3 hours to go all     8     way around the Xi’an City Wall. Supposedly you can do it in two hours, but we stopped at the different gates and     9     (watchtower) to take pictures or just to watch the local people going about their     10     (day) routines.

“That is a sleeping dragon.” Napoleon,    1    was the future French emperor, once said. “Let him sleep! If he wakes, he will shake the world.” In 1803, he recognized China’s potential. In charge    2    the greatest military and economic power of his day, Napoleon had an eye for opponents. Now, China’s total domestic product passed    3    of both Britain and France. If Napoleon arrived in Beijing today, he would    4    (undoubted) say, “I told you so.”

Nowhere is China’s influence more apparent than Beijing. As China’s    5    (politics) and cultural center of China, Beijing offers a quick look into the nation’s expansive history and its rapid    6    (develop). You’ll find preserved palaces spreading elbows with new subway stations and peaceful lamaseries(藏传佛教寺院)    7    (share) space with world-class stadiums. Many of the city’s historical sites, such as the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square ,     8    (be) well-known to the world. Yet, the most popular attraction    9    (locate) outside Beijing: The Great Wall of China winds through the hills north of the city. When you witness this    10    (astonish) accomplishment of ancient China, you too will sense the great potential of this modern country.

In Northwest China's Gansu Province     1     (lie) Zhangye National Geopark, which is blessed with a spectacular Danxia (red cloud) landform area     2     (cover) about 19 square miles. The Danxia landforms are     3     masterpiece of nature. The colorful mountain ridges are just like an overturned palette from heaven. Bands of fiery red, creamy orange, rich green and bright yellow streak across the mountain, forming     4     is known as the most beautiful rainbow mountain.

The incredible landscapes were created by sandstone and minerals piling on top of one another over the years due to tectonic plate movements. Wind, rain, and tine then carved the rock formations and rolling hills into     5     (vary) extraordinary shapes, including towers, pillars and valleys.

    6     (declare) a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2010 and a national geopark in 2011, the landform has become a top tourist     7     (attract). The park features a series of boardwalks that allow visitors to walk around the colorful sandstone landscapes. There are viewing platforms     8    (special) designed, enabling tourists to get close to the hills and feast their eyes     9     the magnificent sights without damaging the fragile ecosystem. Shuttle bus service is available, making     10     easy for tourists to get around the park.

Hello, everyone! I’ll show you around the Louvre today through our live broadcast. First of all, let’s take a look at the sculpture at the top of the     1     (stair). It is the Winged Victory of Samothrace. Take a closer look, and you will see how incredible it is! Though it is made of stone, you can see that her dress     2     (fold) by the wind. Now, here is the room in     3     the famous painting Mona Lisa is kept. One moment she seems to be laughing at you, but then again you will catch a sense of     4     (sad) in her smile. It is a really secret smile! Here we are in front of the self-portrait of Rembrandt. This famous painter     5     (make) more than 90 self-portraits throughout his life. No one knows why. Perhaps it was simply     6     (cheap) to paint himself than to pay for     7     model. With about 35,000 works     8     (keep) in its over 300 rooms, the Louvre is so grand that it would take you a lifetime     9     (see) everything in this museum. I do hope that you can pay a visit to this museum and enjoy these amazing artworks for     10     (you).

More than 500 pieces of relics    1    (discover) in recent months at the legendary Sanxingdui Ruins site in Southwest China’s Sichuan province, dazzling archaeologists with their historical value as well as the display of creativity.

The relics, discovered at the six new sacrificial pits of the ruins, include golden masks, jade and ivory artifacts and bronze wares    2    were delicately built and    3    (unique) shaped, said the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Heritage Administration.

The new finds bring the total number of items discovered at Sanxingdui to nearly 2,000    4    the excavation (挖掘) of No.3 to No.8 sacrificial pits began in October last year.

“The new discoveries demonstrate once again that    5    (imagine) and creativity of the ancient Chinese far surpassed    6    people today have expected,” said Tang Fei, chief of the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute.

Tang added that the excavation of the new pits has entered a critical stage,    7    more items yet to be unearthed and expected to challenge the    8    (convention) wisdom of archaeologists.

Originally discovered in the late 1920s, the Sanxingdui Ruins have been referred to as one of the world’s greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century.

Located in the city of Guanghan, around 60 km from the provincial capital Chengdu, the ruins covering    9    area of 12 square km are believed to be the remains of the Shu Kingdom,    10    (date) back some 4,500 to 3,000 years.

The iceberg that was for a time the biggest in the world is no more. A68, as it was known, covered an area of nearly 6,000 km²    1    it broke away from Antarctica in 2017. That's like a small country. But satellites show the mega-berg has now virtually gone, broken into countless small fragments    2    the US National Ice Center says are no longer worth tracking. Most glaciologists regard A68 as the product of a very    3    （nature）process, and it has nothing to do with human-induced climate change.

My cousin and I took a trip by rail across Canada from west to east. Before starting out, we spent a couple of days in Vancouver, admiring the     1    (sight). Then we arose early to take the train to Lake Louise, passing through the Canadian Rockies.     2    (see) from the train window, the mountains and forests looked     3    (mass). We spent the night near the lake, where the blue water literally took our breath away,     4     headed to Jasper the next morning. The beautiful scenery convinced us it was the most awesome journey we     5    (take). From Jasper, we boarded the train bound     6     Toronto. One of our first stops was in Edmonton, which     7     (be) home to many shopping malls. We never anticipated seeing such an open country until the train headed across the Great Prairie.     8     amazed us most were a bunch of farms covering two wheat- growing provinces. The train thundered on, through the     9    (roll) hills in Ontario. It was     10    (true) enjoyable to watch the red maple leaves outside the window. After four days, we reached Toronto.

Originally constructed around 256 BCE by the State of Qin     1     an irrigation and flood control system, Dujiangyan is a remarkable example of ancient engineering skill and is still     2     use today.

During the Warring States period, people who lived along the banks of the Min River     3     (trouble) by annual flooding. Qin governor and irrigation engineer Li Bing investigated the problem thoroughly. He led a team     4     (construct) a levee(堤坝) to redirect a part of the river’s flow. Then they cut     5     channel through Mount Yulei to let the water flow through it. After the system was finished , no more floods     6     (occur). What’s more, it made Sichuan one of the most productive agricultural     7     (region) in China because the redirected water from the Min River could be used for irrigation. If you visit Dujiangyan, you will see an     8    (usual) construction that looks like a fish’s mouth. This famous attraction, Yuzui, together with two other important parts, namely, Feishayan and Baopingkou, was     9     (scientific) designed to control the water flow throughout the year.

    10     (recognize) as a UNESCO heritage site, Dujiangyan has irrigated farms while preventing floods for over 2,000 years.

Many buildings along the Yangtze River have been destroyed during the flood season,     1     the Guanyin Pavilion (亭子) in the middle of the river has continued to stand tall even after more than 700 years. How does this ancient pavilion make     2    ? Described as “the first pavilion on the Yangtze River”, the Guanyin Pavilion     3     (build) in the Song Dynasty and then rebuilt in the Yuan Dynasty. Today, the pavilion     4     (sit) on a piece of dragon-shaped rock in the middle of the Yangtze River. Located outside the city of Ezhou, Hubei Province, the pavilion was constructed on a huge rock about 30 meters from the bank of the river.     5     (face) west, the pavilion is 24 meters long, 10 meters wide and 14 meters in     6     (high) . The base is made with a one-meter- high stone pile. The entire base is     7     (beautiful) combined with the rock, and the whole building is shaped     8     a boat in the direction of the flowing water. More importantly, a very strong stone wall was set up     9     (protect) the main body from the floods. The ancient pavilion is still standing more than 700 years later,     10     shows the wisdom of ancient Chinese people.

The Honghe Hani Rice Terraces(梯田), in southern Yunnan, China, cover a huge 16, 603-hectare area. The terraces,     1    (know)to all of the world now, were made out of a thick forest by the Hani people. The terraces rise at different angles from a shallow 15°    2     a steep 75°, forming a wonderful landscape(景观)that     3    (be)rare in the world.

In 2003, the terraced fields were     4    (official)recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural and Natural Heritage site. About 1,300 years ago, the Hani people first     5    (come)to the steep mountains. They struggled against the difficult terrain(地形), successfully creating the terraces, where they grew rice in order to make     6    (they) living. Over the past 1,300 years, the Hani people have developed a complex system of channels     7    (bring)water from the forested mountaintops. They show great appreciation for natural phenomena such as rivers, mountains, the sun, fire     8     the moon. They have also created a complete farming system     9     involves cattle, ducks, and fish and supports the     10    (produce)of red rice, the area's main crop.

The landscape changes through the year. In April the terraces are all green as rice starts to grow; in later parts of the year it is yellowish brown as the rice ripens. In February, the terraces become bare earth, with the water reflecting(反射)the sky.