1 . 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 . 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?