The Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House is one of the most famous buildings in the world,     1    (consider) to be one of the most recognisable     2     (image) of the modern world, although the building has been open for only about 40 years. The Sydney Opera House is     3     representative of Australia as the pyramids of Egypt.

6, 225 square metres of glass and 645 kilometres of electric cable were used to build the Opera House,     4     (include) 900 rooms. It is 183 metres long and 118 metres wide. The building’s roof sections weigh about 15 tons and there are about 1 million tiles on the roof,     5     provides guided tours for 200,000 people a year.

But do you know the Opera House with a roof was designed by a famous Danish architect, Utzon? In the late1950s, the     6     (Australia) government established an appeal fund to finance the     7     (construct) of the Sydney Opera House, and conducted a competition for its design. Utzon devoted a few years to     8     (rework) the design and it was 1961 before he had solved the problem of     9     to build the distinguishing feature — the sails of the roof.

The venture experienced cost blowouts. In 1966, the situation reached a crisis point and Utzon resigned from the project. The building was finally completed by others in 1973. The Sydney Opera House was opened by Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ on 20th October, 1973.

The Sydney Opera House,     10     (locate) on Bennelong Point, reaches out into the harbour. The skyline of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the blue water of the harbour and the Sydney Opera House, viewed from a ferry or from the air, is dramatic and unforgettable.

Fujian Tulou is a unique large-scale rammed earth (夯土) residential building in a mountainous area, as well as a masterpiece of     1     (create) architecture. Tulou shows a reasonable layout (布局), for it takes advantage of the small flat land in the mountains     2     (skillful), which follows the concept of traditional Chinese architectural design.

Tulou has diverse styles of shape. The square building, round building and wufeng building are the three most common     3     (pattern). Among them, the round building’s ventilation (通风), lighting, anti-typhoon and earthquake, as well as the defense function     4     (be) the best. The most unique style is the large circular building     5     is five or six floors high. There are buildings in the building, and the outside building is high and the inside one is low.

Tulou     6     (build) of local materials, mainly earth, stone and wood. Among them, the     7     (construct) of the earth wall uses the long-standing earth ramming technique to the fullest. The rammed earth wall is thick at the bottom and thin at     8     top, and the thickest part can reach 1.5 meters. The earth wall is solid and firm. This kind of high and solid building     9     (make) of the most common material and turning the ordinary     10     something magic, reflects the creativity of local residents.

Morgan’s Inspiration Island is a water park in San Antonio, Texas. It is accessible to people with disabilities. The attractions, which include Rainbow Reef, Shipwreck Island, and even a boat ride,    1     (be) all wheelchair accessible. Though all people are welcome, the park offers free     2     (admit) to anyone with a disability.

The water park    3    (found) by Gordon and Maggie Hartman. Their daughter, Morgan, has special needs, and they were     4    (concern) about how inaccessible many theme parks were to her. So they set out to create a park of their own    5    people with disabilities could play. Before the water park’s official opening, the Hartmans invited members of the disabled community     6     (try) out the park. Teaming up     7    doctors, theme park experts, and special education teachers, they’ve created a seriously creative experience.

The University of Pittsburgh helped create a new kind of wheelchair particularly for     8    park. To make it convenient for guests sensitive (敏感的) to the cold, the park has a feature that     9     (rapid) warms up the water. In addition, recycling the water it uses is one of the park’s     10    (way) to make the park environmentally friendly.

Where is Napa Valley?

Napa Valley wine country is     1     (locate) in northern California, 50 miles northeast of San Francisco. It     2     (know) for world-class wine, as well as beautiful countryside and near perfect weather all the year round.

Napa Valley is home to more than 400 wineries (酿酒厂) and tasting rooms, and some of the world’s best grapevines (葡萄藤).

Napa Valley is also home to more than 150     3     (restaurant). There are more than 130 overnight accommodation for you     4     (choose) from in the Napa Valley, including hotels, country inns, and bed and breakfasts.

The Napa Valley is     5     is commonly referred to as a wine region. In the United States, the legal term is American Viticultural (栽培葡萄的) Area, or AVA, and Napa Valley was the first area in California to be given such a name in 1981.

If you’re looking     6     the spirit of the Napa Valley, you’ll find it in the creative talents     7     power its businesses — and wineries are just the     8     (begin). There’s a diverse community of makers at work in restaurant kitchens, design studios and health centres. The work of these local makers is so     9     (attract) that you’ll surely be inspired to experience the Napa Valley for     10     (you).

Guilin is my favorite city in China because of its    1     (beautiful), its waterways, its cafes, and most of all because I met my wife there. It is    2     (she) hometown and we will both retire there in a few years.

Not only is Guilin a fascinating city, but there are many    3     (interest) places to visit within a short drive from there. The Lingqu Canal is one of the     4     (old) canals in the world. It was built about 2,200 years ago and connects two major river systems, the Yangtze River and the Pearl River.

It’s very comfortable in Guilin during the winter and spring,     5     it gets pretty hot in the summertime. That’s OK because I grew up in the Midwest of the US    6    it gets very hot and humid during the summer months because of the rain. It rarely    7    (freeze) in the winter and the spring and autumn are pleasant.

Being from California I’m used to    8    (have) a car to get around. In fact, it’s practically     9    necessity in California. But in Guilin almost everything is within walking distance. If you need to go further, public buses are available every five minutes on the busy streets. It’s a really perfect place     10    (retire).