3 . Widely known as the world’s first national park, Yellowstone National Park was built on March 1, 1872. Covering 3,472 square miles, Yellowstone runs through Wyoming and into Montana and Idaho, bringing with it deep canyons, rivers, forests, hot springs, and so on. The wonder of the world attracts millions of visitors each year because of its fantastic facts.

The park has a lake named Yellowstone Lake, which is situated at 7,733 feet above sea level, making it the largest high-elevation lake in all of North America. The lake is about 20 miles long and 14 miles wide, with about 141 miles of shoreline. Each winter, Yellowstone Lake is completely covered with two-foot-thick ice.

Aside from its unique lake, there are also 290 waterfalls found throughout the park, including the famous Yellowstone River Upper and Lower Falls, which end up in an area known as the “Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River”. Visitors can view the falls from several different hiking trails (远足路径) and walkways.

With over 300 campsites and more than 900 miles of hiking trails inside the park—most of which are managed as wilderness areas—Yellowstone is the perfect destination for the most adventurous kind of outdoor enthusiast. It isn’t all difficult wilderness hiking, however, since the park also offers plenty of choices for shorter-day hikes on well-managed trails. There are even paved hikes that are wheelchair-accessible.

Also, you may see different kinds of animals along your hike in the park. Not only are there at least 67 species of mammals (哺乳动物) living in Yellowstone National Park, there are also approximately 300 species of bird and 16 species of fish. There’re at least two threatened species. The Canada lynx (猞猁) was listed as threatened in 2000, and parts of Yellowstone are still considered as the animal’s important natural home. They were found only 112 times in park history. What’s more, in 2018, the government restored (恢复) the protection to grey bears within Yellowstone.

4 . From picture-perfect beaches to mountains, wildlife and iconic structures, New South Wales, Australia, offers plenty to enjoy. This beautiful state is located on Australia's breathtaking eastern coast. Sydney, the capital of New South Wales and Australia's most populated city, accommodates more than 5million people.

No trip to Sydney would be complete without a visit to Australia's most famous landmark, the Sydney Opera House. Its unique appearance was designed to resemble a ship's sails and its historic importance is recognized by people all over the world. The Opera House welcomes more than 8 million visitors each year, making it the country's most popular tourist spot. It is also one of the world's busiest performing arts centers, featuring more than 2,000 performances annually.

The Opera House is open 363 days a year, and admission is free. Tours are available throughout the day in seven different languages. For those who arrive hungry, Opera House restaurants offer everything from snacks to fine dining.

“Stunning natural beauty” describes the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. This wilderness area, also on the World Heritage list, is a large, mountainous region that covers 1.03 million hectares. It is home to a vast number of Australia's birds and other forms of wildlife. One of the most visited sites is the Three Sisters, named for its unique rock formations.

Off the coast of New South Wales lies a remote island called Lord Howe Island. Created by a volcano, the island is surrounded by beautiful reefs. Two mountains tower over a bay with sandy, white beaches. Visitors can enjoy beach walks, mountain hikes, water activities (above and below the water), exceptional bird watching and more. About 380 people live on it, and a maximum of 400visitors can visit at one time.

New South Wales offers its visitors an abundance of experiences to choose from and many memories that will last a lifetime.

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.

Going to Mount Huangshan reminds me of the popular Beatles’ song “The Long and Winding Road”.     1     is so breathtaking about the experience is the out-of-this-world scenes. The rolling sea of clouds you see once you are at the top will remind you how tiny we     2     (human) are.

The hot spring at the foot of the mountain is something you must try after the climb. It will     3    (undoubted) help you get refreshed! The amazing thing about the spring is that the colder the temperature gets, the     4     (hot) the spring! Strange, isn’t it? But that’s how nature is — always leaving us     5     (astonish).

What comes next is the endless series of steps. You can’t help wondering how hard it     6     (be) for the people then to put all those rocks into place. Though it is the only unnatural thing on your way up the mountain, still it highlights the whole adventure     7    offers a place where you can sit down to rest your     8     (ache) legs.

As the song goes, this long and winding road “will never disappear”, and it will always stick in the visitor’s memory. It sure does in     9     (I). While you’re in China, Mount Huangshan is     10     must to visit!

7 . Guanmei, a 65-year-old woman of the Dong ethnic group, is the inheritor of the Grand Song of Dong (侗族大歌), a national intangible cultural heritage in China. Her hometown Zaidai Village in Guizhou, southwestern China, is home to the Grand Song of the Dong ethnic group.

The Grand Song of Dong dates from more than 2,500 years ago. The way Dong singers use their vocal cords (声带) is different from how formally trained singers do. It is a folk chorus with multi-parts, no conductor, and no accompaniment. Organically growing from their natural surroundings, it is recognized internationally as “the sound of Nature.”

Before the Dong people had a writing system in 1958, the Dong culture, their history and stories were all recorded by means of songs. As a Dong saying goes, “Rice feeds the body and songs enrich the soul”. The Dong people sing right from their childhood. While not singing, they all work in their rice field.

Guanmei has been singing the Grand Song of Dong all her life, making her a famous singing teacher in her hometown and nearby areas. “The songs are our means of passing on wisdom, knowledge and life experiences to others. I will not exist in this world 100 years later, but Grand songs will. I’m honored to do this job, ” Guanmei said.

Kind-hearted, Guanmei has been volunteering to teach the Grand Song of Dong to the Dong children for over 30 years. Now she has more than 300 students. Guanmei is pleased to see the village children come to her house willingly when they have free time.

“Nowadays, more and more young people leave the village and settle in cities. Decades later, the Dong children out of the village might know nothing about Grand songs. We should do something just now. It’s our mission. What is once lost might be lost forever,” added Guanmei.

Mount Vesuvius is an active volcano located just east of Naples, Italy. It is the only volcano on the continent of Europe that     1     (erupt) in the last one hundred years, though other volcanoes have erupted on islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Vesuvius's earliest     2     (record) eruption is now its most famous. In the year A. D. 79,     3     little or no warning, Vesuvius erupted and completely buried the ancient city of Pompeii. For two days the mountain shot     4     (volcano) material into the air, spreading     5     blanket of ash over the landscape. Pompeii, located seven kilometers from the volcano,     6     (bury) under five meters of ash. The destruction was so complete that it was not until sixteen hundred years later     7     the city was discovered. Evidence of the religion, culture, and everyday life of the Pompeiians, all     8     (leave) behind in the sudden panic of the volcano's catastrophe, are     9     (remarkable) well preserved. And everywhere there are     10     (remind) of its sudden eruption and the shadow of Vesuvius. Even the forms of the citizens remain. Their bodies lie much as they did on the day of their death almost twenty centuries ago.