“I just made it to the South Pole!”

Meet Harpreet Kaur Chandi, also known as Polar Preet, the 33-year-old who has been making headlines all over the world after    1     (become) the first woman of color to complete a solo expedition across Antarctica.

“The reason    2    I chose Antarctica was that Ⅰ didn’t know much about it, and I thought, if I could do something that pushes me so far out of my comfort zone,    3    (hopeful) it’ll inspire other people    4    (do) the same,” said she.

As a part of her tough expedition, Preet endured temperatures as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius, and wind speeds of up to 96 kilometers per hour. She    5    (walk) around 27 kilometers a day, pulling a 90-kilogram sled containing her equipment.

“It was generally windy, and there were only two     6    (day) that I can remember when there was slight wind. There were times when it was so hard, and I just thought “This is the     7    (tough) thing I’ve ever done, how am I going to keep going?” And I would break it down and I’d take one step at     8    time, but I never thought, “I’m going to give    9    .”

Despite all the hardships and challenges, Preet says that there’s no stopping and that she has started training for    10    (she) next adventure.

Few countries have as rich of a history and civilization as Egypt, so it’s no surprise that the Grand Egyptian Museum(GEM), which     1     (expect) to open later this year, will be the largest archaeological museum in the world. It cost more than a billion dollars     2     (build) it. When finished, it will hold     3     large number of Egypt’s ancient objects, including the treasures of a king’s tomb.

The GEM, also     4     (know) as the Giza Museum, is about 2 km from the Giza Pyramids. It isn’t the only attraction drawing tourists     5     Egypt. Other new attractions include the Mummies Hall in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) in Cairo     6     two tombs in nearby Saqqara. One of them is Tomb of Djoser,     7     the paths are so puzzling that once you get in, it is difficult to find your way.

“Now many sites are getting improved,” says Egyptologist Nora Shawki. “Even     8     (go) to the pyramids is more convenient, with electric     9     (bus) getting you there and more dining places and better services.”

Though it suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic, Egypt has a strong tourism infrastructure (基础设施), making trips here     10     (easy) than you might expect.

Last month, a new bridge     1    (open) to the public. It’s the longest hanging bridge for walkers in the world. Guess how long it is. It     2    (be) 516 meters - over five football fields long.

Workers     3    (start) to build the bridge in May, 2018. It cost $2. 8 million and took over two years to complete. The bridge     4     (run) between two mountains. At its highest point, it is 175 meters off the ground. Far, far below is a big rushing river. Along the river, there is     5    eight-kilometer- long wooden walkway. People could enjoy the scenery (风景)    6    watch birds there.

Now the city is hoping     7     the bridge     8    (bring) lots of tourists to the area. The website for the bridge describes the walk across the bridge as “the most exciting 510 meters of your life. ”Many tourists, they believe will come    9    (enjoy) the fantastic experience of walking across.

Some people     10    (invite) to check out the bridge before the opening. Jerry was one of them. He said excitedly , “I was a little afraid, but there is no other bridge like this one in the world, it was so worth it. ”

Wild Chinese sturgeon ( 鲟) are thought to have lived at the same time as dinosaurs and among the first class of protected animals in China. Last week, a wild Chinese sturgeon, which is believed to be the     1     (large) ever found in the past two decades, arrived in Beijing for better treatment. The species is one of the     2     (critical) endangered fish species in China and can be found only in the Yangtze and Pearl rivers.

The Chinese sturgeon “Houfu” ,     3     literally means “good fortune for ever after”, arrived at the Beijing Aquarium on Monday after 22 hours of transport     4     Hubei Province.

When the fish     5     (find) by a fisherman in the Yangtze River Basin, it had been suffering from multiple     6     (injury). It was sent to the Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute for treatment immediately. As she was so weak, local care takers had difficulty     7     (feed) it. The Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute decided to move it to Beijing to receive further treatment.

Nicknamed “Aquatic giant pandas” and     8     (list) as a wild creature under state protection, the species has been struggling due to water projects, busy waterway traffic     9     pollution in recent years. The number of Chinese sturgeon living in the wild     10     (fall) sharply to about 50 now from about 1,000 in 1982, according to researchers' estimates.

Lǎozìhào refers to the old and famous shops, which have always been reliable and trustworthy and still enjoy     1     irreplaceable position in people’s minds since long time. Not only do they represent high quality and good reputation, they have also become an indispensable part in     2     (people) daily life.

These famous and time-honored shops, eg, Quanjude and Tongrentang,     3     (locate) in Qianmen, the center of Beijing, all have represented the highly developed     4     (commerce) culture of old Beijing.

But these shops are more about businesses; they are also a historical and cultural phenomenon. He     5     has never tasted a roast duck will regret his whole life--such common sayings have made Quanjude a     6     (represent) of Beijing. Many other similar two-part allegorical sayings among the folks have also     7     (vivid) revealed the very characteristics of these old shops.

Nowadays, with the rapid development of economy and fierce competition in modern society, some Lǎozìhào shops have been keeping pace     8     the times and carrying forward their brands through continuous reforms and innovations. That’s why they    9     (stand) the test of time and survived in competition, while some others have faded into the history due to their inability     10     (adapt) to the rapid changes in modern social life.

Rising sea levels are threatening coastlines in China, for example in     1     (city) such as Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangzhou. If sea levels rise by one meter, more than 92,000 square kilometers of China’s coast could be flooded. This could potentially force 67 million people     2     (move) away. Almost two-thirds of the ice in Asia’s glaciers (冰川) could disappear if average global temperature rises beyond 1.5℃ by the end of the century. If that happens, the impacts     3     China will be felt in multiple areas, from water availability, to agriculture, and to biodiversity.

The good news is     4     China is becoming a global leader on climate action. For example, over the last five years, China     5     (use) more solar and wind energy than any other country in the world. China is also the largest clean energy investor in the world —     6     (spend) some $130 billion in new energy in recent years.

The development of electric vehicles is particularly     7     (inspire) in China. More than 50 percent of electric vehicles in the world     8     (sell) in China every year. And China is now a world leader in the     9     (promote) of clean energy technologies.

Ecological civilization has become the cornerstone (基石) of China’s long-term development strategy, much like climate action is     10     important part of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

A vast region with beautiful scenery, lush plants, a lot of rivers and lakes dotted around, Hulun Buir Grassland is like a huge, green picture scroll,     1     gives you boundless views. The name Hulun Buir, which means “the land of lakes and rivers”,     2     (date) back to a legend long long ago. It is the best-preserved grassland in China     3     recognized as “The Grass Kingdom”.

With the most plentiful and excellent pastures in China, Hulun Buir Grassland also has the name The Purest Grassland     4     there is hardly any pollution there. Its animal products, like meat, milk, leather, and wool     5     (favor) by people both at home and abroad. It’s a famous tourist destination now.

With the irrigation of thousands of rivers, the grassland presents     6     (it) as a green carpet underneath the blue sky and white clouds. You can ride on camels and horses, watch wrestling and horse racing, and enjoy a bonfire party—the unique lifestyle of nomads can be     7     (full) appreciated.

The region’s location makes it warm and pleasant in the summer, while cold and     8     (snow)in the winter. During the summer, the meadows are covered with     9     blanket of multicolored wildflowers. Even in ancient times, the beautiful scenery of this place gained     10     (popular)with poets and writers and was described in their literary works.

The International Day for Biological Diversity, sometimes     1     (call) World Biodiversity Day, is a United Nations holiday based on biodiversity issues. It started in 1993 and is held on May 22 every year.

Biodiversity is the     2     (vary) types of plants and animals living together in a certain place,     3     (include) life at the genetic and cell level, through to all plant, fish, insect and animal species. Biodiversity also includes the thousands, perhaps millions, of ecosystems     4     make up our natural world.     5     word “biodiversity” arrived in 1985. It is a contraction of the words “biological” and “diversity”. And recently it     6     (grow) into a very important concept we all need to understand.

A respect for biodiversity means an understanding that we must help save our environment. Today, biodiversity is one of the world’s most important     7     (issue). Many say that together with climate change, damage     8     biodiversity is the biggest threat to our     9     (survive). The COP 15 meeting held in October in Kunming paves the way for global cooperation. Let’s join hands and make the Earth greener, so that we can prosper     10     (continuous).