The Xi’an City Wall is the most complete city wall that has survived China’s long history. It     1     (build) originally to protect the city     2     the Tang dynasty and has now been completely restored (修复). It is possible       3     (walk) or bike the entire 14 kilometers.

We accessed the wall through the South Gate. The wall is 12 meters high and from here you can see streams of people moving inside and outside the City Wall.

After     4     (spend) some time looking at all the defensive equipment at the wall, we decided it was time for some action and what     5     (good) than to ride on a piece of history!

We     6     (hire) our bikes from the rental place at the South Gate. My bike was old and shaky     7     did the job. It took us about 3 hours to go all     8     way around the Xi’an City Wall. Supposedly you can do it in two hours, but we stopped at the different gates and     9     (watchtower) to take pictures or just to watch the local people going about their     10     (day) routines.

It doesn’t impress like George Washington’s plantation on the Potomac, but Lincoln’s home in downtown Springfield, Illinois,     1     （prove）irresistible to visitors since it opened to the public. Beautifully restored（修复）to its 1860 appearance, the house was Abraham and Mary Lincoln’s home for 17 years. In 1844 they bought it     2     $1,200 and some land from Charles Dresser, who performed their     3     （marry）ceremony in 1842.

When the house was built, it was much     4     （small）than it is today. Mary’s niece wrote, “The little home     5     （paint）white.” It was sweet and fresh. Mary loved it. She was extremely pretty, and her house was a reflection of     6     （she）, everything in good taste and in perfect order.

Although Mary loved flowers,     7     she nor her husband was known as a gardener. A long- time neighbor said they never planted trees and only kept a garden for one year. Mary’s sister, Frances Todd Wallace, often came over     8     （plant）flowers in the front yard.

    9     Lincolns enlarged the house to a full two-story in 1856 to meet the needs of their growing family. Three of the four Lincoln sons were born here. After Lincoln was elected President of the US in 1861, they rented the house and     10     （sell）most of their furniture.

I’m not Chinese, but I love Chinese New Year. There are many fun New Year     1     (celebrate), but nothing quite matches the excitement of the lion dance which can wake up the spirit     2     (complete).

The sound of the drums,       3     you can feel throughout your entire body, is quite inspiring. The two performers are very flexible. But it is actually very difficult as the lion head is very heavy and being the     4     (low)part of the lion is tiring as he has to bend his back and also carry     5     person in front sometimes. The lion head is made with paper over a bamboo frame,       6     (cover)in gauze (纱布), and decorated with beautifully-colored materials.

The lion dance     7     (believe)to have first appeared in the Qianlong Emperor's dream during his Southern tour, and he ordered an animal     8     (make)in the likeness of his description and used in festivals from then on.

I love all about the lion dance. The other day, I saw a film about a left-behind teenager who insisted on pursuing his dreams despite difficulties and     9     (succeed)in lion dance. As Master Xu translates: “Heaven has made us talents; we’re not made     10     vain.”

“That is a sleeping dragon.” Napoleon,    1    was the future French emperor, once said. “Let him sleep! If he wakes, he will shake the world.” In 1803, he recognized China’s potential. In charge    2    the greatest military and economic power of his day, Napoleon had an eye for opponents. Now, China’s total domestic product passed    3    of both Britain and France. If Napoleon arrived in Beijing today, he would    4    (undoubted) say, “I told you so.”

Nowhere is China’s influence more apparent than Beijing. As China’s    5    (politics) and cultural center of China, Beijing offers a quick look into the nation’s expansive history and its rapid    6    (develop). You’ll find preserved palaces spreading elbows with new subway stations and peaceful lamaseries(藏传佛教寺院)    7    (share) space with world-class stadiums. Many of the city’s historical sites, such as the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square ,     8    (be) well-known to the world. Yet, the most popular attraction    9    (locate) outside Beijing: The Great Wall of China winds through the hills north of the city. When you witness this    10    (astonish) accomplishment of ancient China, you too will sense the great potential of this modern country.

In China, Tree Planting Day falls on March 12, but more often people plant trees during Qing Ming Festival in early April. Newly-planted trees can survive more easily with a     1     (warm) climate and frequent spring rainfall at that time.

China set March 12     2     the National Tree-Planting Day in 1979 to memorize Sun Yat-sen (孙中山),     3     died on March 12, 1925. Sun had called for planting trees.

Since 2013, President Xi Jinping has joined Beijing citizens in tree planting activities for nine years in a row. President Xi called on the public     4     (stick) to the tradition of planting trees in spring. “Students should establish an awareness of protecting     5     environment and cherish the green plants,” Xi said in 2017 when     6     (attend) a tree planting activity in Chaoyang district of Beijing.

China has seen a remarkable     7     (grow) in forest resources and afforestation(造林) projects. Nationwide voluntary tree planting campaigns in China over the past four decades     8     (see) increased participation by members of the public and nearly 79 billion trees have been planted. The campaign has made China the country with the largest increase in forest resources and the largest area of     9     (plant) forests.

In the future, China will launch more effective     10     (measure) to fulfill the country’s climate commitment to peak (达到峰值) carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality (碳中和) before 2060.