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.

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.

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 Great Wall is the longest building in the world. It begins from Shanhaiguan and ends at Jiayuguan,     1     (cover) more than 6,000 km. It was built to prevent the enemy from getting into the Central Plains. The completion of the Wall     2     (take) a long time. Its first section was built in     3     7th century BC. After over 2,000 years rebuilding and connecting different sections thus came the present Great Wall.

The best     4     (preserve) section is at Badaling, which is also the best place to appreciate the greatness of the Great Wall.    5     (it) three parts, namely the pass, the wall and the watchtower, were once greatly significant. The Chinese saying: “If one man guards the pass, 10,000 are     6     (able) to get through.” shows the importance of the pass. The wall is the main part. During the ancient war time, those soldiers    7     (brave) defended the border on the wall. There is a watchtower every several kilometers used to pass military information.

    8     a historic site, the Great Wall symbolizes for Chinese people courage, strength and strong will. So, there’s a Chinese saying: “He    9    has never been to the Great Wall isn’t a true man.”

In 1987, the Great Wall    10     (list) on the World Heritage List.

The highest point on Earth has a     1    (new) announced height. Mount Everest is 29,031. 69 feet above sea level, according to survey results presented today. That is more than two feet higher     2    the altitude previously recognized by the government of Nepal.

The height,     3     was announced on December 8 in a joint     4    (state) by the Survey Department of Nepal and Chinese authorities, is the result of a multiyear project to measure the mountain. As the first serious survey of Everest in 16 years, the effort has been closely followed by the geographic community—particularly scientists analyzing how a devastating 7. 8 magnitude earthquake in 2015     5    (affect) the region.

Last spring a small group of Nepalese surveyors and guides experienced the     6    （bite) wind of a nighttime climbing, reaching the top at 3 a. m. local time.

“We long     7    (deliver) the message that we can do something with our own resources and     8    (technique) manpower,” Khimlal Gautam, chief survey officer for the project, told National Geographic last year.

In 1856, mathematician Radhanath Sickdhar found that Everest was the     9     (high) mountain in the world while he was working for the Great Trigonometrical Survey, a project devoted to surveying and mapping the Indian subcontinent. Since then, a handful     10     surveys have sought to pin down the mountain's true height with the best technology available at the time.