Best Places to Visit in England

As the largest part of the United Kingdom, England is home to many great places to visit. The following destinations are some of the best.

Of course, most visitors to England will arrive in London. It’s home to a long list of famous sights as well as beautiful green spaces. It also houses some of the best museums on the planet, many of which are free. See the city from above by riding the London Eye or run into famous people at Madame Tussauds (杜莎夫人蜡像馆).

Liverpool is well known as the place that started The Beatles, though you’ll find a lot more to do there than visit The Beatles Museum. Spend time in the pubs chatting with the locals, go shopping at Liverpool One and enjoy the beaches. Art lovers will enjoy Liverpool’s excellent art sight.

Some people say Bath is England’s most beautiful small city, named for its natural hot springs that served as ancient Roman baths (浴缸) 2,000 years ago. And, today, it’s the only place in the United Kingdom where you can bathe in naturally hot, mineral-rich waters just like the Romans did long ago. Enjoy rooftop baths with wonderful views over this Georgian city, dine in award-winning restaurants and stay in romantic hotels.

Dover, located in White Cliffs Country, offers a rich history as well as peaceful countryside and a breathtaking coastline. This area has a unique place in history. You could easily spend weeks experiencing this area’s castles, like Dover Castle as well as the Secret War Time Tunnels, once used as an underground hospital.

In Oaxaca, Mexico, there is a special festival on December 23 called la Noche de Rábanos, or the Night of the Radishes(萝卜). Every year, artists from all over the country show their amazing radish sculptures. The artists work very hard, since the winner receives money and becomes champion. On the day, locals and tourists line up starting in the afternoon to see the sculptures.

More than one hundred years ago, there was a market on December 23 called la Vigila de Navidad. It was a special Christmas market with decorations. It’s said that local businessmen at this market used to carve radishes as decorations. The carved radishes became very popular, and people started to buy them and take them home.

Now, you might be thinking, “Why radishes?” Probably because there are lots of radishes at this time of year. Also, their red and white colors are perfect for making designs. Over the years, people started to compete to see who could make the best sculptures. Finally that tradition has become today’s yearly festival, which brings tourists from all over the world.

Every year people are excited to see what designs the artists will create. There are two types of sculptures: traditional designs and free designs. The traditional designs are related to Christmas, or designs related to Oaxaca. The free designs can be anything.

As you walk through the radish art, you’ll hear live music, and you can even see the fireworks at the end. Close by there is delicious street food, Christmas markets, and many stores.

If you want to travel for Christmas, Oaxaca is an excellent place to visit. There are lots of different events along with la Noche de Rábanos. The weather in December is usually warm, and the sky is often sunny.

Have you ever dreamed of traveling to space? With many developments in space travel, you may soon be able to book a ticket.

The International Space Station (ISS) welcomed the first all-private team of astronauts on April 9. The four-man team made a flight hailed by NASA as a milestone (里程碑) in commercial spaceflight.     12    . Let’s take a look.

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, 46, has invited eight members of the public to join him for a trip around the moon with the help of Elon Musk’s SpaceX company.     13    . Finally it will spend three days returning. In addition to its historic first as a private lunar (月球) mission, the rocket’s flight path means it will go beyond the distance traveled by the US Apollo missions. The mission, called DearMoon, is scheduled for 2023.

Instead of squeezing (挤) into a space cabin (太空舱), how about enjoying your time in a hotel?     14    . It is expected to have restaurants, cinemas and rooms for up to 400 guests. Developed by a US company, the space station will be a large circular (圆形的) structure.     15    . It is similar to the gravity found on the surface of the moon.

While some people may like to stay in space for a long time, others may prefer to simply have a taste. Tickets for a 90-minute journey have been on sale to the public since Feb 16.     16    . The commercial tourist flights with a private space tourism company are arranged later this year.

It was close to Thanksgiving. After selecting my goods, I went up to the checkout line. In front of me was a young woman, wearing old clothes and looking so _________. She was comforting a newborn who was crying _________ looking after a child under three, who was running and jumping around. My _________ went out to her. I had been in her shoes with my own two sons.

The clerk started checking out her items. Obviously the young mother was _________ of money for all that she had picked out. She was looking at a few items and trying to _________ what she needed to put back. The people in line behind me were getting _________ that she was holding them up. The dancing kid and the screaming baby just added to the _________ of her situation.

Certainly the goods in her basket were what her kids needed for the _________. My heart broke for this mama, so I _________ her putting them back and told the clerk that I would pay for her. The young mama turned, and looked at me __________.

What I offered to do for that young woman __________ the man standing right behind me, causing him to make the __________ with me. In tears, the young mother hugged both of us. The clerk wiped her __________, too! The dancing kid was still dancing, and the baby was still __________, but now no one seemed to mind. __________ can be given and received everywhere — even in the checkout line!

The Chinese couplet (对联) refers to two poetic lines obeying certain rules, often written on red paper for     32     (appreciate).

As a form of Chinese literature, the couplet     33     (vary) in content and style. Some express people’s love to their motherland, some describe the beauty of nature,     34     some convey best wishes for the coming year.

Chinese couplets originated in the Five Dynasties, and     35     (become) ubiquitous (无处不在) in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was a custom for people     36     (hang) peach wood charms to drive away evil spirits during the Spring Festival. Nowadays, couplets are used     37     a similar way.

It was said that the     38     (early) couplet was written by Meng Xu, king of Houshu State and it was     39     (extreme) popular in the Northern Song Dynasty. Since the Ming Dynasty, to write couplets     40     (regard) as a mark of the cultured life of scholars.

The couplet has two equal-length lines. However,     41       number of characters in each line can be from four to seven or more. The first and the second lines have opposite tone patterns. The last character of the first line is of an oblique tone (仄声), and its opposite in the second line, of a level tone (平声).