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. ”

Located in southwest China’s Sichuan Province, the Jiuzhai Valley runs more than 50 kilometers, towards the Sichuan Basin. The Jiuzhai Valley got     1    (it) name because there are nine Tibetan villages in the valley. It consists of three main valleys,    2    form a “Y” in shape. The clear mountain lakes, splendid waterfalls, colorful forests and the local ,Tibetan, ethnic culture all make it a unique tourist    3    (attract).

More than 400 million years ago, the region was    4    ideal breeding ground for various, prehistoric lifeforms. However, with the time    5    (pass), many lifeforms died off. Now the region is home    6    nationally protected animal species and 74 endangered plants. Historically, the ancestors of the Jiuzhai Valley    7    (be) from the remote Ngari region in Tibet. Today, the local people still maintain their Tibetan religious and folk customs.

In 1978, the Jiuzhai Valley    8    (name) as the Jiuzhai Valley Nature Reserve, becoming the first nature reserve     9    (protect)landscape and natural scenery in China.

Now a network of wooden walkways has been built to provide a     10    ( powerful) protection to the natural environment than before.

From dunes (沙丘) and stone paintings     1     cliffs and towers, Moab is     2     dream for the adventure travelers.     3    (locate) in the heart of the Colorado Plateau, this small city in southeast Utah is one of North America’s greatest outdoor recreation     4    (center).

Millions of years of erosion by ancient oceans, freshwater lakes, streams and windblown sand dunes     5    (shape) the sandstone arches (拱桥), mountain peaks, rock formations     6     canyons here.

Mountain bikers, hikers, campers, climbers and off-road drivers arrive here     7    (explore) this red rock playground. There are more than 3 million visitors     8    (annual), a figure that     9    (increase)sharply since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Visits to arches grew 8.8 percent between 2019 and 2021; visits to Canyon Lands — the     10    (large)and more remote of the two national parks — increased a huge 24.2 percent, according to the National Park Service(NPS).

The Tianshan Tuomuer Grand Canyon is about 25 kilometers long from east to west and 20 kilometers wide from north to south. It consists of three main     1     (valley) in the shape of the Chinese character “川”.     2     (situate) in the northwest of Xinjiang at the foot of Tuomur Peak, it is also known     3     “Kuduluk Grand Canyon”,     4     means “thrilling and mysterious” in Uygur (维吾尔语). It is the only way to the ancient post road in the northern and southern Tianshan Mountains.

On June 21, 2013, the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang     5     (list) as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site. The area in which the Tuomur Grand Canyon lies is the     6     (large) among the four places in the Tianshan Mountains,     7     (account) for 59.87 percent of the whole site.

With its red canyons set against the snow-capped mountains in the distance, the dreamlike landscape     8     (complete) makes visitors lost in the beautiful and impressive view of nature. At night, you can see the stars. Remember that the temperature difference there is very large. While wearing short sleeves at noon, evenings may require     9     down jacket and other warm clothes. There is no tour bus service, but visitors can drive to the canyon by     10     (they) or hire a bus. Apart from it, Xinjiang is in possession of many appealing tourist spots, attracting a good number of visitors at home and abroad.

China’s First National Park

China’s first national park in Northwest of China’s Sanjiangyuan area,     1     (cover)a total area of 123,100 square kilometers, was officially established in 2020     2     schedule. The national park is the country’s calling card, and unlike nature reserves,     3     protect unique species, national parks stress the protection of the entire ecosystem.

Under the national park management, herders and     4     (farmer) will be turned into the forces of     5     (environment) protection in the Sanjiangyuan area. The work     6     (expect) to provide jobs, boost incomes and give people an     7     (encourage) to protect the environment. The ecological environment of the Sanjiangyuan area has greatly improved in recent years. The grassland coverage of the area has risen sharply     8     (compare) with the last decade. The last decade also saw a significant increase in the number of wild animals, because the number of Tibetan antelopes     9     (be) over 70,000 from less than 20,000 in     10     1980s.

Today’s skiers are used to relying on ski lifts at resorts to take them to the top of a mountain before     1     (experience)the addictive thrill of skiing down the mountain.     2    , in some snow-covered villages in Altay prefecture (辖区) of Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, it’s common in winter to see local herdsmen, with boards     3     (attach) to their feet, climb the snowy slopes without any other forms of assistance.

The pair of boards are wrapped with horsehide(马革),     4     serves a double purpose. Remarkably, the horsehide not only can provide friction (摩擦) to prevent skiers from slipping while going up, but also helps them slide more     5     (smooth)down the slopes.

According to rock carvings uncovered in the area by archaeologists, such     6     (ski) have served for around 12,000 years     7     a means of transportation for the snowfield inhabitants of Altay. The fur skiing boards gradually lost     8     (they) popularity in recent decades after paved roads linked houses to the outside world.

However, Altay plans to protect and promote its skiing culture. The local government department     9     (want) to pass its skiing tradition to future generations. The prefecture is working     10     (develop)the area as a popular destination for skiers and snowboarders. As a result, the ancient fur skiing boards and the craft of making them have found a new lease of life in modern times.