2 . London can be an expensive city to visit if you go unprepared. If you go sightseeing in London for the first time, it is suggested investing in a London Pass. The London Pass is a digital sightseeing credits package that gives you access to 80+attractions in the city with a relatively lower cost. For many attractions on the pass, there’s no need to pre-book. However, some may have limited capacity, so you’ll need to book in advance.

What do you get with The London Pass?

●Incredible savings.

●Access to more than 80 top London attractions.

●Fast entry at selected attractions and sights.

●90-day money-back guarantee.

Go to The London Pass booking page and choose a duration that suits your trip-The London Pass is available for one, two, three, four, five, six, seven or 10 consecutive days. Download the pass to your phone and plan your sightseeing tours with the app. When you get to the gate of any participating attraction, show your London Pass and head straight inside.

What are our bestsellers?

●2 Day Pass: Child £65.00 Adult £99.00

●3 Day Pass: Child £77.00 Adult £116.00

●5 Day Pass: Child £94.00 Adult £144.00

3 . For most people traveling abroad, their first choice is probably to make a beeline for (直奔) tourist sights. For me, I find lots of joy in grocery (食品杂货店) shopping on holiday.

As a vegetarian (素食主义者), finding restaurants that meet my needs is not always easy abroad.     1     The first thing I do, after dropping my bags off, is to go to a grocery store. That enables me to cook breakfast in the morning without walking around for hours trying to find “vegan breakfast” near me.

The variety of foods attracts me every time I travel somewhere new. In Malta, I found the most delicious chocolate-filled cakes, a product I would struggle to find even in the UK.     2     I was so delighted that I could enjoy such an unexpected treat. Another surprise was their selection of ice cream available even in the smallest grocery stores.

    3     Looking for smoked tofu and corn pancakes turns into quite a mission whenever I visit Cluj-Napoca in Romania. There is usually only one variety of smoked tofu, sold in a very small tub (食品盒) and only in the cafeteria section.     4     That is because they are never available at the smaller ones.

Grocery shopping on holiday sounds unusual. But it means being involved in the day-to-day lives of a country’s citizens. I can pretend I am a local and put myself in their shoes. I can watch kids begging their parents for sweets, an international experience that needs no language, or watch couples pick up snacks and drinks for a party on a Friday night.     5    

Mount Emei,    1    (locate) in the southwest of Sichuan Province, is an ancient and famous attraction in China.

Three million years ago, the main part of Mount Emei    2    (rise) sharply along a fault line here. Due to a complex combination of erosion (侵蚀) and weathering，a massive    3     (high) difference of over 2,600 meters was formed between today’s mountain top and the Emei Plain. The Summit of Ten Thousand Buddhas,    4    an altitude of 3,099 meters, is the highest peak of Mount Emei. In a commanding position, The Golden Summit with the biggest concentration of temples and scenic spots on Mount Emei    5    (call) the largest and highest place of worship of Chinese Buddhism in the world.

The Buddha statue of Samantabhadra,    6    (measure) 48 meters high, is the highest golden Buddha in the world. The ten heads of the Buddha statue are divided into three layers, each with different expressions,    7    represent the ten mentalities of ordinary people. The Golden Summit is also the most suitable place    8    (appreciate) the impressive Mount Emei “Sea of Clouds.”

    9    (incredible), the 72 peaks of Mount Emei are mostly over 2,000 meters above sea level. The scenery features high peaks a love the clouds and white mist. Formed by ever-changing mist and fog, they present    10    unique full view. Now Mount Emei has become a famous scenic spot in the world.

6 . Madrid’s Incredible Museums

CaixaForum

CaixaForum is a museum and cultural center that occupies an old power plant. From the outside the building appears to be floating, and there’s a vertical (垂直的) garden with 15,000 plant species growing on the side of one wall. Inside are four floors of paintings, photos, andmultimedia exhibitions, as well as workshops and a theater-auditorium. Even if you don’t enterany exhibitions, it’s worth stopping by to admire the building’s striking outer and innerarchitecture.

Hours: 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM daily

Free admission: May 15, 18, and November 9

Museo Sorolla

This small art gallery is dedicated to the Impressionist painter Joaquín Sorolla (1863-1923).The gallery is in his former home and studio, and they’ve preserved the original atmosphere wellso you get a feel for what it was like when he was living and working there.

Hours: Tuesday to Saturday from 9:30 AM to 8:00 PM

Sundays and holidays from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, closed Mondays

Free admission: Saturdays after 2:00 PM and Sundays

Museo del Romanticismo

This small museum focuses on the history and daily life of the Romantic period. The museum recreates the Romantic atmosphere in its room displays with furniture, carpets, jewelry, paintings, and other antiques of the time period.

Hours: Tuesday to Saturday from 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM

Sundays and holidays from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, closed Mondays

Free admission: Saturdays after 2:00 PM and Sundays

Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza

The Thyssen Museum began as the Thyssen family’s private collection of seven centuriesof European painting, regarded as one of the most important collections of the last century. In1992, it was converted into a public museum. It has a great variety of artists, styles, and time periods.

Hours:Mondays from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM,

Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM

Free admission:Mondays from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM

The English word “garden” gives an entirely wrong idea of the Chinese yuan, for “garden” suggests a lawn and an infinite       1       (vary) of flowers, altogether too prim (呆板的) and tidy to suit Chinese taste. The Chinese yuan suggests first of all a wild landscape, perhaps better arranged and more artistically       2     (plan) than nature, but still a bit of nature itself, with trees, creeks, and flowers. Dotted in this natural landscape are the human structures like pavilions and long winding corridors, so       3       (perfect) belonging to the scenery as to become a whole with it. The Chinese garden       4       (characterize) by studied disorderliness. There are no even-cut bushes or symmetric (对称的) rows lining avenues as if in battle formation.

No Chinese mansion allows an outsider       5       (look) through theiron gates at along drive, for that would be against the principle of concealment.       6       (face) the   gate, we see a small courtyard giving no idea of the expansiveness of space inside, and leading one step by step into newer views, in       7       continual series of surprises and astonishments. With wooden framework       8       (bear) most of the weight of the house, windows, doors and walls are not restricted to certain locations. The essential idea of interior (室内的) decoration is the beauty of simplicity. Home designs are not something fancy we buy from a first-class firm. What distinguishes a home       9       a public building is the personal touch that we give it. It is only when the spirit of leisure and loving care exists       10       living at home can become an art and a pleasure.

Adaptation from My Country and My People by LinYutang

9 . Museums become the next stop many students want to visit at their leisure.    1     However, the experience of visiting a museum could be quite disappointing if not done right, even for the experienced museumgoers.

    2    . No matter how much you’re enjoying yourself, many museums can take hours, days, or even weeks to fully explore. If you try to put it all in, you will get worn out to the point that you won’t really be seeing anything. Pick a few paintings and explore them in a detailed way, and your museum experience will be more relaxing.

Have you ever started your visit by waiting in line in front of the museum for a few hours just to get in? And that’s the sad reality when visiting many of those world-famous museums. Thus, be smart to browse the instructions for visiting and book in advance online.    3    .

What if you don’t like some museums? Then don’t visit them! I’m not a massive fan of parks, so I would hardly ever end up in any park while travelling.    4    Do they have a nice collection of an art style you love? Just ask yourself and visit the museum website to see what the highlights are.

There is nothing worse than impolite manners while visiting. We’ve all witnessed that guy being yelled at by the security for touching or taking flash photos.    5    .Otherwise, not only will you absolutely get embarrassed by security guards, but you can actually ruin artworks!

All of these ground rules are often neglected by us. Bear them in mind before setting off, and you will enjoy your museum tour!

10 . Down House, home of Charles Darwin:

Fun fact

Charles Darwin, his wife, Emma, and their children lived at Down House for 40 years from 1838. Several rooms appear as if the family still live here: with croquet sets thrown into an under-stairs cupboard, a half-played game of backgammon on a side table and Emma’s knitting(毛线) left on a chair in the drawing room. Upstairs, an exhibition showcases Darwin’s voyage aboard HMS Beagle, including a reconstruction of his cabin. Outside, visitors can explore the sheltered gardens which Darwin used as an open-air laboratory, and the greenhouse in which he planted rare plants and devised botanical experiments.

No room at Down House escaped Darwin’s experiments. In the drawing room he once placed a jar of earthworms on the grand piano to see whether they could hear.

Getting there

A 15-minute drive from the A21/Farnborough. Free parking. The R8 bus from Orpington stops nearby (except Sundays) or the 146 bus from Bromley North and South terminates (终点站) in Downe village, half a mile from the property. The nearest railway stations are Chelsfield or Orpington, about four miles away.

Value for money?

It’s ￡12 (adult), ￡7.20 (child), or ￡31.30 (family with 2 adults). Under 5s go free.

Opening hours

Open daily 10am-6pm from 30 March to 30 September; daily 10 a.m. — 5 p.m. between 1 to 31 October. Opening times vary through the winter (check website for details).

Verdict(评价)

8/10. An unstuffy educational, gentle day-trip attraction with friendly, knowledgeable staff.