1     (sit) back in my seat, I can’t quite believe that I’m about to travel along the railway that many foreign experts claimed was “impossible”. The train     2     (race) along steadily since it left Xining. All this time, the song “Sky Railway” has been playing inside my head. The words “railways like massive dragons are winding among the mountains” seem     3     (particular) vivid as I travel across the “roof of the world”.

The train left Beijing Railway Station,     1     (make) its way to Hainan Island. I was 20 years old, but it was the first time that I had traveled so far. I     2     (long) for the adventure before I set out on it. Like many other college students, I wanted to make use of a summer vacation to see life away     3     my home and parents. It was a good beginning, and no matter what happened, I was determined to prove my ability to survive.

    1     (locate) in the northeast of the Tibetan Highland, Qinghai Lake is usually No. 1 on “Most Beautiful Lakes in China” list. It has very different scenery in different seasons. In spring, the surrounding mountains and wetlands take on a fresh green look with     2    (colour) flowers and white snow. In summer and autumn, the lake     3     (decorate) with golden clothing, as thousands of hectares (公顷) of rape flowers spread out from Qinghai Lake’s shores. In winter, snow and ice cover the surface of the lake, and the lake becomes quiet.

Earlier this year, mystery travel became trendy among China’s young people and they     1     (buy) travel blind boxes to see new places. Just as the name implies, mystery travel is not only exciting and simple to plan, but also allows travelers to explore destinations     2     they may never have considered otherwise. After you’ve provided the travel agency with some necessary information like the travel dates, budgets, food choices and     3     (activity) appealing to you etc, all you need to do is to sit back, relax, and wait for your plane tickets.     4     adds to its mystery is that the destination isn’t revealed until the day of departure.

Along a great part of this track is the     1     (surprise) waterfalls which hikers pass by. These include Empress Falls. It is a wonderful waterfall in the Valley of the Waters. It     2     (go) down a series of rocks to a pool. These are stepping stones for hikers to cross the falls and some shady spots     3     tired travelers can rest.

Construction of the Tower of Pisa began in 1173     1     Pisa was a center of power and wealth. But work was stopped several times because of wars. The eight-story tower was not completed until the late 1200s. The tower itself is made of marble (大理石) and     2     (weigh) 16,000 tons. However, the leaning of the tower was not for its weights     3     for the soil underneath. The ground is     4     (soft) on one side than on the other. The south side has sunk 6.1 feet below ground level in the past centuries. The north side has sunk 12.3 feet!

From Edmonton, the train headed southeast across the great Canadian Prairie. At school, Daiyu and Liu Qian     1     (learn) that Canada’s population is only slightly over thirty-seven million. However, they did not anticipate     2     (see) such an open country, and were truly     3     (amaze). They went through two wheat-growing provinces,     4     they saw a bunch of farms that covered a very large area.