The Vikings, whose ancestors came from Scandinavia, were the first Europeans     1    (reach) America. They had lived in many places of northern Europe. In 982 AD, a man     2    (call) Eric the Red was forced to leave Iceland because of a murder, for     3    he got into trouble. Eric discovered Greenland and persuaded some people     4    (settle) in Greenland. Eric set sail again, but only half of the ships made     5    to Greenland this time.

Later a man, Biarni set sail from Iceland in search     6     Eris’s party. But he     7    (blow) off course and found himself in an unknown land, from where he     8    (eventual) reached Greenland.

In the year 1002, Leif, Eric the Red’s son, followed Biarni’s directions and sailed to     9    is believed to be the coast of present-day Canada. He also discovered Newfoundland. Actually, Eric the Red and Leif’s     10    (deed) are the first records we have of Europeans sailing to the Americas.

After new measurements, China and Nepal have announced a new official height for Mount Everest. The result     1     (announce) on Tuesday that Everest’s peak stands 8,848.86 meters tall,     2     (high) than previously thought. It was reported during an online video event     3     (lead) by the foreign ministers of China and Nepal.

The two countries agreed to the official height after new     4     (survey) of the mountain in 2019 and 2020. Everest’s height was first declared as 8,842 meters by a British team around 1856. But the most     5     (wide) accepted height has been 8,848 meters decided by the Survey of India in 1954.

Nepal had never previously measured the height of Mount Everest     6     its own. In 2005, a Chinese team reported height of 8,844.43 meters, not including the mountain’s snow top. A Nepal government team of climbers and surveyors climbed Everest in May 2019, using GPS and satellite     7     (equip) to measure the peak. Later that year, the leaders of the two countries decided they should agree on     8     official height. A survey team from China then carried out measurements in the spring of 2020, during     9     time all other climbing activities had stopped because of the coronavirus crisis.

Nepal’s climbing community welcomed the result. “The height of Mount Everest will not be a conflict     10     a mutually agreed number. This is a milestone in mountaineering history,” said Santa Bir Lama, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association.

The Temple of Heaven Park, Tiantan in Chinese, is located in the Dongcheng District, Beijing. It is the     1    (large) and most representative existing masterpiece among China's ancient sacrificial buildings.     2    (original), the Temple of Heaven was the place where emperors of the Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty held the Heaven Worship Ceremony. First     3    (build) in 1420, the 18th year of the reign of Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty, the Temple of Heaven was enlarged and rebuilt during the reigns of the Ming emperor Jiajing and the Qing emperor Qianlong. In 1988, it     4    (open) to the public as a park, showing ancient philosophy, history and religion. Its grand architectural style and profound cultural implication give     5     insight into the practices of the ancient Eastern civilization.

Covering an area of 2,700,000 square meters, it is larger than the Forbidden City,     6     is enclosed by a long wall.     7    (it) northern part within the wall is semicircular symbolizing the heavens and the southern part is square symbolizing the earth,     8    (reflect) an ancient Chinese thought of “the heaven is round and the earth is square”. The main buildings lie     9     the south and north ends of the middle axis of the inner part. The     10    (significant) is the Circular Mound Altar (Huanqiutan) to hold many ceremonies.

The first on the must-go attraction list of Jiuzhaigou is the Jiuzhai Valley National Park.     1    (locate) about 460 kilometers away from Chengdu, it has a(n)     2     (usual) ecosystem with dozens of lakes, waterfalls, forests and rare animals. There goes a saying     3     no mountain is worth seeing after the Yellow Mountain and no other water will be     4     interest after the Jiuzhai Valley. If there are “fairylands” in the world, Jiuzhaigou is     5     (certain) one of them. This site has been designated as     6     UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Going west along Jiuhuang Ring Way towards Chengdu, visitors can stop and explore many spectacular scenic     7     (wonder). The Huanglong National Scenic Reserve is famous for its     8    (colour) waters, lakes, hot springs, snow-capped mountains, valleys, and forests. It is another must-see for visitors     9     (come) to Jiuzhaigou. The majestic snow-capped Xuebaoding Mountain,     10     is 5,500 metres above sea level, stands on the way to Huang Reserve. It is a favourite among mountain climbers and hikers.

One of the most famous places of interest in England is a large clock known as Big Ben. Big Ben is the nickname for the clock inside Elizabeth Tower, and it     1     (locate) at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London. The tower was completed in 1858. Several years ago, it celebrated     2     (it) 150th anniversary.Most people recognize Big Ben from movies. In fact, films     3     take place in London usually use a shot of Big Ben at the beginning.     4     this reason, many people are familiar with this     5     (attract), and tourists     6     (see) the sights in Europe often make a special trip there. Interestingly, despite     7     (be) one of     8     most famous tourist destinations in the world, the inside of the tower is not open to visitors from other countries. Only residents of the United Kingdom can schedule     9     (tour), and to do so, they must contact their government. There is no elevator inside the tower, so anyone who     10     (do) visit must be prepared to climb more than 300 stairs to reach the top.

Located in southwest Hangzhou, Longmen is a small town which is full of ancestral shrines(祠堂), halls, pagodas, trees, and bridges from the Ming and Qing     1    (dynasty). It is also home to the     2    (large) settlement of descendants of Sun Quan, who ruled the Kingdom of Wu during the Three Kingdoms Period. More than 90 percent of the 7,000 people     3     (live) here are surnamed Sun. The town covers     4     area of two square kilometers and it is located south of Fuchun River     5     north of Shan River, 38 kilometers away from Hangzhou's city center. It is located at the foot of Longmen Mountain and Longmen River     6     (run) through it.

The name Longmen means “a gate for dragons“ in Chinese and comes from a     7     (poet)written by Yan Ziling,     8     traveled there during the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD25- 220). The ancient town's architecture gives it a unique charm, and goods can only    9     (buy) and sold on an old street that is 1,500 meters long and 3 meters wide, keeping the street     10    (busily) at all times.