Harvard is older than the United States. In the early 1630s, some settlers recommended that a university     1    (found) just to improve the quality of their descendants (子孙) so that they could better build the new home. Thus, it was established in 1636 by vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Like many other universities at that time, Harvard at the early stage often ran into     2     financial crisis. The school board often had to go to Europe to raise     3    (donate), but as you can predict, they often came back     4    their hands empty.

    5    (fortunate), in 1638, John Harvard, pastor of Charlestown, passed away. He left his library and half his estate (财产) to the institution,     6    were the biggest contribution ever since its establishment. Therefore, the university was named after his name. Today, you can find a statue of John Harvard     7    (stand) in front of the University Hall in Harvard Yard, and it is perhaps the University’s best     8    (know) landmark.

It is universally     9    (acknowledge) that John Harvard was respected and remembered by the people in the USA owing to    10     he did.

Plovdiv is situated in south-central Bulgaria on the two banks of the Maritsa River. The city has historically developed on seven hills, some of     1     are 250m (820.21 ft) high. Because of these hills, Plovdiv is     2    (typical) referred to in Bulgaria as “The city of the Seven Hills”. Plovdiv’s history     3    (date) back to 6000 BC. Though originally it was     4    Thracian city, Plovidiv has been ruled by many empires over centuries. Later it       5    (conquer) by the Romans. Only in 1885 did the city become part of Bulgaria. Nowadays it’s the second     6    (large) city in Bulgaria and it’s a significant economic, educational and cultural center.

Plovdiv remains a popular     7    (choose) for vacation travel. I have been obsessed with the city     8    years. Last summer I was lucky     9    (spend) a couple of days in this city and I just fell in love with its narrow paved streets and neat beautiful house! The Old Town is definitely worthy     10    (see). It is overwhelmed with restaurants, workshops and museums that were previously famous houses.

Dujiangyan is the oldest man-made water system in the world, and a wonder in the development of Chinese science.     1    (build) over 2, 200 years ago in what is now Sichuan Province in Southwest China, this amazing engineering     2    (achieve) is still used today.

In ancient times, the region in which Dujiangyan now stands     3    (suffer) from regular floods caused by overflow from the Minjiang River.     4    (help) the victims of the flooding, Li Bing, the region governor, together with his son, decided to find a solution. Li designed a series of channels built at different levels along Mount Yulei that would take away the floodwater while leaving the river flowing naturally.     5    (good) still, the extra water could be directed to the dry Chengdu Plain, making     6     suitable for farming.

Once the system was finished, no more floods occurred and the people were able to live     7    (peaceful). Today, Dujiangyan is admired by scientists from around the world because of one feature. Unlike modern dams     8     the water is blocked with a huge wall, Dujiangyan still lets water flow through the Minjiang River naturally,     9     (enable) ecosystem(生态系统) and fish populations to exist     10     harmony.

5 . The “Chong Yang Festival” is celebrated on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, which is also known as the Double Ninth Festival.     1    

Climbing Mountains

People like to climb mountains on this festival, so Double Ninth Festival is also called “Mountain-climbing Festival”.

The 9th lunar month, with clear autumn sky and bracing air, is a good time for sightseeing.     2    . It is really refreshing to climb mountains and enjoy the beauty of nature at this bright and clear time in autumn.

Climbing mounting also indicates “climbing to a higher position”. Another reason why climbing mountains are valued by people, especially by the elderly is that it has a meaning of “climbing to ligneous life”. Climbing mountains on Double Ninth Festival was already popular in the Tang Dynasty.    3    

Drinking Chrysanthemum Flower(菊花) Wine

The chrysanthemum flower wine is unique in brewing. In ancient times, people usually picked fresh chrysanthemum flowers and leaves on the 9th of the 9th lunar month, and brewed the mixture of them and grains into the wine.     4    . The wine is said to have wholesome effects on sharpness of the eye, drop of high blood pressure, reduction of weight and removal of stomach trouble, thus contributing to longevity.

    5    

The Double Ninth cake is also known as “flower cake”. It dates back to the Zhou Dynasty. It is said that the cake was originally prepared after autumn harvests for farmers to have a taste of what was just in season, and it gradually grew into the present cake for people to eat on the Double Ninth Day.