Two villages have been named the Best Tourism Villages 2022 by the World Tourism Organization, thanks to their achievements in balancing tourism with economic development while     1     (stick) to environmental protection.

According to the organization, 32 villages in 18 countries and regions including Austria, Chile and China     2     (award) the recognition late on Tuesday. China’s Dazhai village in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region     3     Jingzhu village in Chongqing won the recognition.

Figures     4     (provide) by the county’s culture and tourism bureau show that tourism development in Dazhai has brought great economic benefits to villagers and created more jobs     5     them since the village started to develop tourism around 2003.

As the bureau has pointed out,     6     the village only received 32,000 visits in 2004, the number rose     7     (sharp) to nearly 798, 000 in 2019. The villagers’ average income among its 1,212 people of 271 households, also saw     8     rise from 700 yuan per year ($100) to over 34,500 yuan in 2019, the bureau said.

Jingzhu village, the other village recognized by the World Tourism Organization this year, is located in Wulong district of southwest Chongqing. Seated deep in the mountains, the Jingzhu Village keeps the lifestyles and architectural     9     (feature) that are rooted in its distinctive cultural and geographic conditions, laying the foundation of the successful renovation.

The World Tourism Organization began to award Best Tourism Villages across the world in 2021     10     (promote) the cultural heritage protection and sustainable development of villages. China so far has four villages winning the title, the other two being Yucun village in Zhejiang and Xidi village in Anhui.

The Great Barrier Reef (大堡礁) is one of the seven     1     (wonder) of the natural world. Pulling away from it and viewing it from a greater distance, you can understand why. The reef, between 15 kilometers     2    150 kilometers off shore and around 65 km wide in some parts, is a collection of colorful coral     3     (provide) divers with the most excellent underwater experience imaginable.

A closer encounter with the Great Barrier Reef’s impressive coral gardens presents a number of     4    (extreme) amazing underwater attractions, which include the     5     (large) gathering of corals (珊瑚), coral sponges, rays (鳐鱼), dolphins, over 1,500 species of tropical fish, more than 200    6     (variety) of birds, etc.

The reef is    7     area for humpback whales to breed (繁殖), and is also a habitat of a few endangered species including the Dugong (Sea Cow) and large Green Sea Turtle. In recognition of its significance, UNESCO     8     (list) the Great Barrier Reef as a World Heritage Site in 1981.

Because of     9     (it) natural beauty, both below and above the water’s surface, the reef     10     (become) one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations to date.

The Leshan Giant Buddha is a statue of Maitreya in sitting posture     1     lies to the east of Leshan City, Si-chuan Province,     2    (face) Min River, Qingyi River, and Dadu River. In December, 1996, the Buddha     3    (include) by the UNESCO on the list of the World Heritage Sites.

The construction of the statue began in the year 713 in the Tang Dynasty,     4     finished in the year 803. The Buddha is 71 meters high. The 9-meter-long instep is big enough for one hundred people     5    (sit) on and the 24-meter-wide shoulder is large enough to be a basketball playground.

A monk called Hai Tong is connected with the Buddha forever. At that time, wild waters brought out many boat accidents and people just put the disaster down to the     6    (present) of a water spirit. So Hai Tong decided to make a statue beside the river thinking that the Buddha would bring the water spirit under control. After 20 years’ begging from door to door, he finally collected enough money for the plan. When some local government     7    (official) tried to get this amount of money, Hai Tong said that they could get his eyeballs but not the money     8    (raise) for the Buddha. After Hai Tong dug out his eyeballs, these officials ran away in horror. The project was half done when Hai Tong passed away, and two of his disciples continued the work. After     9     total of 90 years’ hard work, the project was     10    (eventual) completed.

The Singing Sands Mountain(鸣沙山)is located in Dunhuang in    1     (west)China. Whether you walk through the quicksand    2    slide down a sand mountain, you can hear loud noises from beneath your feet. That’s    3    it is named“The Singing Sands Mountain”. There is a spring lying between the tall sand mountains. This spring, which looks like a crescent moon(月牙),    4    (exist) for thousands of years and has never dried up. The formation and continuous existence of the Crescent Spring are greatly related to its topography (地势).

The flowing water gathers here along the landform and overflows through a porous(可渗透的) geological layer    5    (form) the Crescent Spring. Although its     6    (extreme) dry here, with the annual evaporation being more than 60 times that of the annual precipitation, the stable water source ensures a sustainable water supply to the spring.It’s also due     7    the low-lying terrain(低洼).Whenever there’s a sandstorm, it forms an upward spiral air flow between the surrounding sand mountains, sending the sand at the foot back to    8    top of the sand mountain,and saving the Crescent Spring from    9    (wallow)by quicksand.

The ancient Silk Road once passed by the Crescent Spring. And today, it has become a romantic paradise for    10     (visit).

In the remote far north of Sweden in Sarek National Park, I wake up to the sound of the wind     1     (buffet) the cloth of my tent.At 7：30 am, I leave my tent.Standing at     2    edge of the mountain, I see the Rapa River flow through the valley below.

Once     3    (cover) by vast sheets of ice, Sarek's mountains are home to the Sami,     4     are the native residents of the park.The Sami lived on reindeer, moved with them, and    5    (accompany) them for hundreds of years.Today, most Sami have left their ancient     6    (cottage) in the mountain valleys and live a modern life in villages near Sarek instead.

To keep its natural state, apart     7     the Sami, no one is allowed to live in Sarek, and all new     8     (develop) is banned within the park boundaries.It     9    (hope) that Sarek National Park will always remain     10    (nature) and beautiful.

More than 1, 250 lit stalls(货摊) brighten the center of Thailand’s capital city,     1     (provide) a multicolored sight. The shelter,     2     is designed for the thousands of traders and shoppers at Bangkok’s night market, has become an     3     (attract) itself.

The market, which     4     (call) Train Night Market Ratchada in English, was opened in January 2015 and has become     5     popular spot for locals and tourists. Software engineer Prasas Ambati visited the market and took the landscape photographs from a nearby car park. “Those     6     (color) tents and people shopping, eating at stalls and the flashing lights were great. The tents made me think of a giant painting.”

This is     7     (primary) a market that sells yesteryear(旧时) goods, old-fashioned     8     (collection) of clothes, motorbikes, and second-hand toys. There are also plenty of general market things for sale,     9    cheap clothes, shoes, bags, and other fashion items. But above all it’s one of the best places for street food, open-air bars with live music frequently     10     (perform) all over.