2 . Venice is regarded as the most romantic city of the world. It’s a ____ that I always wanted to hold in my arms. Venice is most ____ in autumn with the sparkling (闪烁的) colors of glassy arts and crafts. More than that, a ____ can indulge in (尽情享受) the floating and happy feeling in Venice.

When we first walked out of Santa Lucia station, my friend and I smiled because we then ____ the reason why people can’t deny the ____ of Venice. In the light sunshine of autumn, Venice was so fantastic with the blue colors of the Grand Canal, the ____ of luggage (行李) being pulled by visitors chatting with each other, and of course the smell of ____ in neighboring restaurants that have been ____ guests for ages.

We ____ traveled around the Grand Canal by vaporetti (水上巴士). Passing bridges and some small squares, we arrived at Osteria Al Portego restaurant to enjoy a ____ of special dishes, including sarde in saor and baccalà alla vicentina. The dishes were ____ cooked following recipes dating right back to the 17th and 18th centuries! Since Italy is ____ for pizza, spaghetti, pasta and lasagna (千层面) worldwide, we tried to taste other dishes to truly ____ the local cuisine.

After lunch, we decided to explore Venice in our own way without a map. We ____ narrow streets, crossed big and small squares and viewed remarkable structures throughout the city. They all appeared so charming that ____ traveler would remark on the city’s beauty.

4 . The part of the environmental movement that draws my firm’s attention is the design of buildings. Today, thousands of people come to ________ building conferences, and the idea that buildings can be good for people and the environment will be increasingly ________ in years to come. Back in 1984 we discovered that most manufactured products for decoration weren’t designed for ________ use. The “energy-efficient” sealed commercial buildings constructed after the 1970s energy crisis ________ indoor air quality problems caused by materials such as paint, wall covering and carpet. So for 20 years, we’ve been looking for ways to make these materials ________   for people and the planet.

Home builders can now use materials, such as green paints, that release significantly ________   amounts of chemical compounds, which people believe don’t ________ the quality of the air.   ________, our basic design strategy is focused not simply on being “less bad” but on creating ________ healthful materials that can be either safely returned to the soil or ________ by industry again and again. For example, the world’s largest carpet manufacturer has already ________ a carpet that is fully and safely recyclable.

Look at it this way: no one ________ to create a building that destroy the planet. But our current industrial systems are basically causing these conditions, whether we like it or not. So   ________ of simply trying to reduce the damage, we are ________ a positive approach. We’re giving people high-quality, healthful products and an opportunity to make choices that have a ________   effect on the world. It is not just the building industry, either. Entire cities are taking these environmentally positive approaches to design, planning and building.

6 . When it comes to experiencing other cultures, there’s no doubt that traveling is one of the most effective ways. ____, if you don’t have the time, money, or energy to ____ a trip abroad, you have other choices. In fact, you probably don’t even need to ____ your hometown to ____ other cultures!

Given the great ____ of America today, chances are that even the people you meet every day represent a ____ range of cultural heritage and experiences. Your friends, neighbors, and co-workers may ____ people of different national, religious, or ethnic backgrounds, all within arm’s reach. Take the ____ to get to know more about them. You might be ____ at the variety of people living right next to you.

Other types of cultural exploration can be ____. Consider spending a weekend learning about a different culture by ____ some activities such as visiting your local museum, reading a book and trying new cuisine.

In the ____, you can learn about works of art from other countries, look at archaeological finds from distant lands and think about how they may have ____ particular cultures. Read a book that explains the history of different societies and how they’ve evolved (进化) into the culture they are today. That can help you ____ how their customs, traditions, and food got to be the way they are today. Even food offers chances to ____ cultural variety and how it is expressed through cuisine.

7 . When the Italian traveler Marco Polo came to Hangzhou in the 13^th century, he thought he was in the most charming (迷人的) city in the world. And Hangzhou often __________ “Paradise on Earth”, remains as __________ today.

It was named one of the top ten “Foreigners’ Favorite Cities in China” on Nov. 6, according to a survey jointly (共同地) __________by a magazine and a government department.

The West Lake is __________ the most famous landmark in the city. It is __________ by low mountains on three sides. Su Dongpo, a great poet of the Song Dynasty, best described the __________ by comparing it to the famous beauty Lady Xizi. He said, “How charming she looks whether richly made of only slightly so!”

Hangzhou is a city with a history of more than two thousand years, so there are dozens of __________ sites around the lake, many of which have __________ to build the romantic nature of the city. The Broken Bridge is one of the best examples. It isn’t __________ broken. It got its name because after it snows and the __________ comes out, the snow on the sunny side of the bridge melts (融化) first, while the rest __________ . Thus, from a distance, the bridge appears to be __________. Legend (传说) has it that a young man named Xu Xian and the White Snake, a spirit (妖) who changed into a beautiful woman, __________ and fell in love on the bridge during a rainy day.

Hangzhou’s romantic characteristics are shared by both the local people and __________ from home and abroad. Once you are here, you’d feel blessed by nature. Isn’t it like in paradise on earth to __________ a cup of green tea in a quiet teahouse beside the West Lake?

8 . Many of us develop a desire to travel. ________, few are lucky enough to turn that desire into a ________ career. For Trish Sare, owner of Vancouver-based Bike Hike Adventures Inc., it was a ________ story.

“I left home when I was 20 with a ________ of traveling the world for five years,” recalls Sare. “During that period, I spent a lot of time meeting adventure companies abroad and taking part in some of their adventures. Upon returning, I studied ________ and fitness leadership. Then, when we had to do our field placement (实习), I ________ a tour agency. When they heard about my experience, they asked if I wanted to go to Costa Rica for my placement and ________ as a tour leader. And that is where it all began.”

That beginning marked the accomplishment of a ________ dream for Sare. Today, she can ________ those exciting memories from such places as Thailand, Nepal, Costa Rica and more. Although Sare followed her dream of traveling for many years, she began ________ something that offered just a little bit more. So, in 2014, she took the big ________ of starting her own company: Bike Hike Adventures Inc.

Her career has ________ her all over the world to interact with people of so many different cultures and backgrounds. Looking back, Sare can ________ say that it’s been the right choice for her. Here’s her ________ for those wanting a similar path: “Do some traveling ________ your own first and then you’ll be marketable to companies,” she concludes.

9 . The Great Wall of China is one of the greatest wonders of the world. With a ________of more than 2, 000 years, some parts of the Great Wall have disappeared. ________, it is still a very popular place of interest.

It is the ________wall ever built. It is about 8 meters high. The top is 8 meters wide and it ________even wider at the bottom. It is made ________stone and brick. People built it by ________and it took a long time to finish.

No one knows ________when the building of the Great Wall was started. It is believed that the wall was built to ________parts of the country in the old days. It also made people live a (n) ________life.

Today, many of the visitors go to see the Great Wall. ________they stand on top of a tower and look down on this wall, they can’t help saying, “Wow, that’s fantastic!”