The United Kingdom has several names and many people     1     (confuse) by them. In the 16th century, the nearby country of Wales was joined to the Kingdom of England. Later, the country Scotland and the Kingdom of Ireland joined the country     2     (form) the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

    3     (final), in the 20th century, the southern part of Ireland broke away from the United Kingdom,     4     resulted in the full name today: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The four countries     5     (belong) to the United Kingdom work together in some areas. They use the same flag,     6     (know) as the Union Jack, as well as share the same currency and military defence. However, there are some     7     (different) between them

The United Kingdom has a long and interesting history to explore, which can help you learn more about the country and its traditions. Wherever you go in the UK, you are surrounded     8     evidence of four different groups of people who took over at different times throughout history.

The first group, the Romans, came in     9     first century. Some of their great achievements included building towns and roads. Next, the Anglo-Saxons arrived in the fifth century. They introduced the beginnings of the English language. The Vikings came in the eighth century, left behind lots of new vocabulary. The last group were the Normans. They had castles     10     (build) all around England, and made changes to the legal system.

Peru is a country on the central western coast of South America facing the Pacific Ocean. It is made up     1     three parts: narrow, dry, flatland. Here     2     (be) two magical tours in Peru: Amazon Rainforest Tour and Machu Picchu Tour. You can first take a short flight into the Amazon rainforest and then spend a few days     3     (explore) the unique rainforest with a local guide. In the other tour, you will be     4     (especial) amazed by the Incas’ dry stone method of building.

5 . Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers tried to conquer (征服) Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally, in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.

In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes, was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage (短缺) of work, forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.

For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.

The Irish are famous for being warm－hearted and friendly. Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Greeks”. Since independence, Ireland has revived (复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish songs which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.

Peru is a country on the Pacific coast of South America with three main areas. In the 1400s and 1500s, Peru was the centre of the     1    (power) ancient Inca Empire. Later Spain     2     (take) control of Peru in the 16th century and ruled until 1821. It is for this reason     3       Spanish is the main official language of Peru. Peru is a beautiful country which attracts a lot of     4     (visit) every year.

Getting to know a little bit about British history will help you understand why the UK    1    (have) several different names.

In the 16th century, Wales was joined to the Kingdom of England. In the 18th century, Scotland was joined to create the Kingdom of Great Britain. In the 19th century, Ireland    2    (add) to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Finally, in the 20th century, the southern part of Ireland broke away from the UK, which resulted    3    the full name we have today — the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The four countries that belong to the United Kingdom work together in some     4    (area). They use the same flag and share the same currency and military     5    (defend), but they also have some differences in education and legal systems, traditions, etc.

In the history of the UK, there are four important groups of people     6     took over at different times. In the first century, the Romans came and built towns and roads. In the fifth century, the Anglo-Saxons arrived. They introduced the beginnings of the English language and changed    7    way people built houses. The Vikings came in the eighth century,    8    (leave) behind lots of new vocabulary and names of many locations across the UK. In the 11th century, the Normans conquered England, having castles     9    (build) and making changes to the legal system.

London is a great place to study the history of the UK. If you keep your eyes open, you will be     10    (surprise) to find that you can see both its past and present.

10 . I was growing up in Minnesota, “Joe Versus the Volcano” was one of my favorite movies. I longed to be swept away to a tropical island. But as I _________ myself in La Palma reporting on the Cumbre Vieja (老昆布雷火山) eruption in the Spanish Canary Islands, I quickly realized that there’s nothing romantic about volcanoes — even on an island.

I had come prepared — an N95 mask, and a baseball cap my Spanish mother-in-law lent me. But nothing could _________me for the invasiveness (入侵) of the _________ ash. It fell from the sky like a rainstorm, lining streets, covering doorways, and filling the splits of my ears.

It wasn’t long before the airlines _________ all flights. When tourists began panic-buying all the boat tickets as I was _________ residents about their futures, I realized I had, indeed, missed the boat.

For two days, I wandered _________ streets awaiting the recovery of travel, carrying a backpack and feeling progressively stuck — and at times _________. And then I realized I was being given the chance for deeper _________. Here I was experiencing, although in much lesser _________ what the people were feeling:__________and frustration from living next to an erupting volcano with no end in __________

Like the people of La Palma, I __________ on others to get me through — from the English woman who gave me a bag of oranges from her garden to the minister of the church that let me use the bathroom after being __________ at the top of a mountain.

As I finally left — via boat — I realized how __________ I was to have experienced the humanity of the people in La Palma in the face of crisis. I know it’s what will pull them __________ it.