2 . There are thousands of incredible trails that allow us to get up close to nature and here are 4 of the best hiking trails in the world.

Pennine Way, the United Kingdom

Stretching 268 miles from the Derbyshire Peak District to the Scottish Borders, the Pennine Way is the United Kingdom’s most famous long-distance path. The entire walk takes around three weeks, passing over wild east of Manchester and through the picturesque Yorkshire Dales, before crossing the ancient border of Hadrian’s Wall and moving on toward Scotland.

Camino de Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Rather than following a single path, the Camino, also known as the Way of St James, is actually a series of different pilgrimage (朝圣) routes. The most popular modern route follows a line across northern Spain from the French Pyrenees. While some choose to stay at monasteries (修道院) along the way, plenty of operators offer hotel stays and luggage transfers.

Appalachian Trail, the United States

Extending for 2,200 miles, the Appalachian Trail is billed as the longest hiking-only footpath in the world. It runs from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine, passing through some of the most remote places in the United States. Those keen on comfort can use companies like Go Shenandoah, which offers pre-booked accommodation and packed lunches.

The Basho Wayfarer, Japan

This self-guided trip follows a route taken by the poet Matsuo Basho over 300 years ago. The six-day hike starts in Sendai and works its way through the northern Toboku region, passing through the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hiraizumi and along the ancient Dewa Kaido path, with its wonderful forests, before heading into the mountains of Natagiri-toge and finishing at the temple of Yamadera.

Belgian chocolate, Belgian waffles — the small country between Germany and France is famous     1     its mouthwatering sweet treats. But Belgium has more than just desserts to offer     2     (visitor). So let’s take a walk through the streets of its capital, Brussels.

    3     (be) a great place to visit in August, the     4     (impress) Royal Palace of Brussels is only open to the public for tours from July 22 until     5     beginning of September. If you want to learn about the history of Belgium, try the BELvue Museum     6     (locate) next to the palace. And when you’re ready for a break from the August heat, go to Océade, the capital’s water park,    7     is open all year round and features (以……为特色) water slides and wave pools.

Can you imagine a floor blanketed in flowers? The people of Brussels can. Every other summer, more than 100 volunteers work together     8     (create) an eye-catching carpet in the Grand-Place market square. The flower carpet     9     (general) takes months to complete. First the architects meet to plan the carpet’s design. The theme differs every time and often honors an event. After the design is chosen, the flowers must     10     (reserve) to make sure there are enough flowers to produce the pattern. Finally, the gardeners come together and make the flower carpet.

Brussels is beautiful all year round, but August is the month to see it at its colorful best!

If you have not heard of Yangshi Lei, the     1    (honour) name of the Lei family responsible for imperial architecture during the Qing Dynasty, then you have missed an important detail about the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace and Yuanmingyuan Garden.

All the above great cultural relics and popular tourist attractions have been included on UNESCO’s World Heritage List,     2     surprisingly enough, they are all designed by the Lei family.     3     (represent) the great achievements of science and technology in ancient China, their architectural practice covered a wide range of city planning, imperial palaces, gardens, temples, princes’ residences and schools.

Yangshi    4     (refer) to architect or architecture in Chinese. Yangshifang, the then government authority similar to the National Architecture Design Institute today, was in charge of site     5     (select), design and construction of imperial architectures.

    6     (amaze), eight generations of the Lei family were appointed director of Yangshifang consecutively from 1662 to 1911.

With so many architectural    7     (work) on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Lei Family is    8     unique phenomenon in the architectural history throughout the world. Apart from the grand architectures, China has another treasure left by the Lei family - design drafts. In the National Library of China alone, there     9     (be) up to 20,000 architectural design drafts, each of     10     plays an important role in the research of the history of the Qing Dynasty and how architecture developed at the time.

8 . Unusual Castles Around the World

Whether a fantastic achievement of architecture or just a try to appeal to the public intentionally, the four curious castles below are far from ordinary.

When viewed from some sides, Kelburn Castle looks like a typical Scottish castle. But on the building’s south side, the stone tower and walls are covered in cartoon-style graffiti (涂鸦). The castle’s graffiti is the work of four artists. The graffiti took 1,500 cans of paint to create.

Predjama Castle was built directly into the mouth of a cave located halfway up a little over 123-meter cliff (悬崖) face. Although the site dates back to at least the 13th century, the current building was reconstructed during the 16th century. The impressive castle holds the Guinness World Records for the largest cave castle in the world.

It’s common for castles to be built near the edge of a cliff, but few look so unsafe as the Swallow’s Nest in Crimea, which extends out over the Black Sea. The foundation of this small castle, which measures 20 meters in length and 10 meters in width, extends beyond the edge of the 40-meter cliff. The current stone building was once a wooden structure.

On the top of two volcanic mouths is Trosky Castle, which dates back to the end of the 14th century. Along with the towers on each peak, the castle is also built on the ridge (山脊) that connects the peaks. After a defensive stronghold during war time, the castle was abandoned. The government took control of the site in 1925 and the remains of its walls are now carefully maintained.

9 . Hosting the Olympics is costly in both infrastructure and money. The 2012 and 2014 Olympics cost upwards of $16 billion. That was merely to create the various buildings needed for the games.     1     This costs the host city much more in continuous maintenance and upkeep. Or the buildings are simply being left to decay into the landscape.

Berlin is a perfect example. It hosted the Olympics in 1936. Afterwards, the Olympic Village was left to crumble in the surrounding wilderness. Recently, funding has been approved to turn the former athlete residences into new apartments. This could breathe new life into the 135-acre site.     2     That is, they continue to host sporting events. Only occasionally do host cities get more creative. Here are three locations that took a different approach. They repurposed their Olympic buildings for decidedly less sporty uses.

The Olympic Village in Lake Placid

Most people entering this place are in a lot of trouble. The complex, first built in 1980, no longer welcomes athletes. Instead, it houses prisoners. It is the Federal Correctional Institution, Ray Brook. The facility originally housed about 1, 800 athletes.     3    

The Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles

This building used to host weightlifting as well as boxing and wrestling matches. It was first constructed in 1924. After the Games, it continued to host boxing and wrestling matches.     4     The building even served as the film set for parts of Rocky.

The National Aquatics Center in Beijing

This building was built for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and is commonly referred to as the Water Cube.     5     Half of it is now Asia’s largest water park, called Happy Magic Water Cube. There are 13 water slides, a wave pool and a spa. The second floor of the building has an auditorium with 17, 000 seats. There’s a theater, several restaurants, and also a museum of Olympic history.

10 . Top Places to Visit in the World

Bora Bora Island

Bora Bora Island is known for its expensive stays and adventurous activities. The hotels in Bora Bora offer full privacy and their floating villas (别墅) have direct entrance to the sea. May to October is the time when the island receives a lot of tourists. But the best time to go to Bora Bora is November to April. During this time you can skip the crowd and get the perfect weather.

Bali Island

Bali is an Indonesian island and known for its volcanic mountains. It’s very distinctive in terms of history and culture. For its beauty, it has a lot of names, such as Island of Gods, The Last Paradise, Land of Thousand Temples and Morning of the World. Bali has world-class surfing and diving places. April to June and September to October along with Christmas & New Year are the best time to visit Bali.

Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce Canyon National Park is an American national park located in southwestern Utah. This place is known for layered red and orange rocks which are geological (地质的) structures and make this place a famous one with more than 2 million people visiting it every year. May to September is considered the best time to visit Bryce Canyon National park.

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

One of the most remarkable Australian natural gifts is the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The feature of this place is “richness” and “beauty”. This place is blessed with the breathtaking beauty of the world’s largest coral reef. The water is clear there, which allows you to take a deep dive. The best time to visit the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is between June and October. Visiting is not allowed in April.