2 . Canberra, the capital of Australia, lies in the southeast of the country. From this city, it is about 290 kilometres to Sydney, and over twice the distance to Melbourne. The former faces the Pacific Ocean, and the latter is dose to the Bass Strait through which ships from Sydney can enter the Indian Ocean.

When the Federal Government of Australia was founded in 1901, no one knew where Australia’s capital would be. The two cities of Melbourne and Sydney both wanted the honour. Instead, the founding fathers chose a piece of land between the two cities for the new capital. The government would build a new city called Canberra as the country’s capital.

In 1911, the government invited world leading architects to enter designs for Canberra in a contest. An architect from Chicago named Walter Burley Griffin won this international competition for the design of the new city. Construction began in 1913 but was interrupted by World War I (1914 〜 1918). Twenty-four years later, the construction was finished, but the government moved to this new city ten years before it was completed.

At one time, almost everyone in Canberra worked for the government. However, the city today has become a centre of education and a favourite place for tourists. Now people can hold a government job, or they can work in business. They also make a living by teaching or meeting the needs of tourists.

People find life in Canberra relaxing and pleasant. The city is surrounded by beautiful mountains where people can ski. There is a large man-made lake lined with beaches and parks in the centre of Canberra. Canberra is now Australia’s largest inland city. Many people living there come from other cities in Australia and other lands. Some come to Canberra to work, and others come here to escape from the busier way of life found in many other cities.

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.

4 . 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.

5 . Melbourne is where I grew up so it obviously means a lot to me. It’s a city that is constantly developing. Melbourne people, like all Australians, enjoy travelling and their increasing experience of other countries means local tastes have changed. The city has become much more cosmopolitan (世界性的). 

Someone told me that in Melbourne you can sample the cuisines of seventy-five different countries; I haven’t managed to eat my way through them all, but it’s a wonderful challenge. And besides the top-class restaurants, you mustn’t miss Melbourne’s café culture and wonderful beachside places at St Kilda.

If you enjoy your food, you will love exploring local produce markets. One I really like is the Queen Victoria Market on the corner of Victoria and Elizabeth Streets, which sells a huge variety of fruit and vegetables.

My friend joined me for my most recent trip home. It was fun showing him all the familiar landmarks, but also going to places I’ve never been before. From Melbourne, we took the Great Ocean Road, a 150-mile highway that is a scenic delight. We passed through an area that includes the world-famous Twelve Apostles, the Otways rainforest and Bells Beach along with resort (度假胜地) towns such as Torquay and Apollo Bay.

We’ve still got a pretty extensive “to do” list, including a trip to Queensland and the Barrier Reef. And although I’ve been to Hayman Island a couple of times, I’d like to get to know some of the more special resort islands that can be reached only by private boat or helicopter.

The flight to Australia is a long one but perfectly comfortable if you follow a routine like mine. I get on board and immediately change into my flight pyjamas (睡衣) — one day I’m going to work out how to accessorise them with fashion items, but until then I just look like someone wearing pyjamas!

I just love to travel. It’s an Aussie thing: as a people we are up for jumping on a plane and going off to explore. I can’t wait to see where I’ll go next.