Welcome to Shangri-La (香格里拉) . Although located in Yunnan, it has many old    1    (village) with a unique countryside life. The     2    (beauty) city was formerly called Zhongdian that     3    (burn) by a big fire on January 11, 2014, but it has been rebuilt quickly. It’s nice    4    (see) the locals dancing every night on the main square. Visitors can involve themselves in     5    (dance). Guests can also explore its area nearby either on foot    6    by bike. A popular place is China’s first national park, Pudacuo,    7    is home to the lakes of Napa and Shudu. Maybe you can even meet with the golden Yunnan monkeys in one of    8    villages!    9    (clear), the winter is pretty cold in Shangri-La, but for those who are not afraid    10    the cold temperature, to see the snow here is very attractive!

5 . Last fall, the Great Salt Lake hit its lowest level since record keeping began. The lake sank to nearly six meters below the long-term average. The lake’s shrinking threatens to upend the ecosystem, disturbing the migration and survival of 10 million birds, including ducks and geese.

Duck hunters aren’t the only ones worried about the Great Salt Lake. The decades-long decline in lake level is raising alarm bells for millions of people who live in the region. The low lake level and increasing salts in the lake water threaten to destroy economic mainstays like agriculture, tourism and mining. Exposed salts can also reduce air quality and so threaten public health.

Saline lakes (咸水湖) are terminal lakes. They have no rivers flowing out of them. As water disappears, salts are left behind. At the same time, the people who live in these deserts use freshwater for crops, homes and industry. Residents get water from streams and rivers into canals, pipelines or reservoirs before it reaches the lakes. And as the lakes shrink, the salt in water increases.

Lake Poopo, a highland lake in Bolivia that used to stretch 90 kilometers long and 32 kilometers wide, is now a salty mud flat. The Aral Sea shared by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, once the world’s fourth largest lake, has at times in recent decades shrunk to a tenth of its historic 68,000-square-kilometer surface area. Some saline lakes, like Nevada’s Winnemucca Lake, dried up so long ago — the waters that fed it were led to agricultural fields — that most people have forgotten they were ever wet.

The good news is that people still have time to halt the Great Salt Lake’s decline by using less water. Cutting agricultural and other outdoor water use by a third to half through a combination of voluntary conservation measures and policy changes would allow the lake to refill enough to support the region’s economy, ecology and quality of life. If this succeeds, the Great Salt Lake can be a model for how to save other saline lakes around the world.

In Fujian province, over 3,000 Tulou scatter (散落) in the mountains, more than any other province in China. Some of them are circular, while others are rectangular (方形的). They also vary     1     size and height.

A Tulou usually has 3 to 5 floors, covering     2     area of around 5,000 square meters. A Tulou can accommodate hundreds of people, who live and work together,     3     (share) the public areas, as well as the public     4     (facility) such as the well and the stairs. So, a Tulou     5     (function) as a village unit. It brings unity to all the villagers, passing down the traditional culture.

The     6     (early) Tulou was built in the 13th century, when the Hakka people moved to Fujian during the war.     7     (settle) here permanently, the Hakka people built the Tulou based on the local geographical environment, for both living and defense purposes. Featuring mud walls     8     are over one meter thick, a specially-designed entrance, high windows and secret tunnels (地道), the Tulou can defend against enemies effectively.

In 2008, the Fujian Tulou were on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Nowadays, the Tulou are no longer defensive buildings,     9     they still reflect the ideas of harmony and cooperation while living together.

When you get a chance, why not visit Fujian Tulou and take a look at these     10     (impress) earthen buildings?

Few countries have as rich of a history and civilization as Egypt, so it’s no surprise that the Grand Egyptian Museum(GEM), which     1     (expect) to open later this year, will be the largest archaeological museum in the world. It cost more than a billion dollars     2     (build) it. When finished, it will hold     3     large number of Egypt’s ancient objects, including the treasures of a king’s tomb.

The GEM, also     4     (know) as the Giza Museum, is about 2 km from the Giza Pyramids. It isn’t the only attraction drawing tourists     5     Egypt. Other new attractions include the Mummies Hall in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) in Cairo     6     two tombs in nearby Saqqara. One of them is Tomb of Djoser,     7     the paths are so puzzling that once you get in, it is difficult to find your way.

“Now many sites are getting improved,” says Egyptologist Nora Shawki. “Even     8     (go) to the pyramids is more convenient, with electric     9     (bus) getting you there and more dining places and better services.”

Though it suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic, Egypt has a strong tourism infrastructure (基础设施), making trips here     10     (easy) than you might expect.

Last month, a new bridge     1    (open) to the public. It’s the longest hanging bridge for walkers in the world. Guess how long it is. It     2    (be) 516 meters - over five football fields long.

Workers     3    (start) to build the bridge in May, 2018. It cost $2. 8 million and took over two years to complete. The bridge     4     (run) between two mountains. At its highest point, it is 175 meters off the ground. Far, far below is a big rushing river. Along the river, there is     5    eight-kilometer- long wooden walkway. People could enjoy the scenery (风景)    6    watch birds there.

Now the city is hoping     7     the bridge     8    (bring) lots of tourists to the area. The website for the bridge describes the walk across the bridge as “the most exciting 510 meters of your life. ”Many tourists, they believe will come    9    (enjoy) the fantastic experience of walking across.

Some people     10    (invite) to check out the bridge before the opening. Jerry was one of them. He said excitedly , “I was a little afraid, but there is no other bridge like this one in the world, it was so worth it. ”