My grandfather is a {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(retire) worker. On summer evenings, we often sat together outside the house {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(enjoy) the cool air. It  was the time that he told me lots of his experiences before liberation.

        When my grandfather was fourteen years old, he worked in a coal mine. One day, when he and his two workmates were working in the tunnel, an{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(fortune) thing suddenly happened. A part of the tunnel fell down, and they were shut init. They had no food {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(eat). When they were hungry, they only drank some water there. It was very cold in it. In order to keep warm, they hugged one another. In the darkness, they didn't know whether it was day{#blank#}5{#/blank#}night, they only felt they had stayed there for a very long time. They were too hungry to speak or move, and thought they{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(die). At last, the tunnel{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(dig) through. They weresaved. They had been there for fourteen days! My grandfather said they weren't let out at once. If{#blank#}8{#/blank#}, they would have died. They were kept at the entrance to the tunnel {#blank#}9{#/blank#}it was very dim, and they were fed {#blank#}10{#/blank#} some thin porridge. After a day or two, they had recovered a bit, and they were helped out.

    It was a short flight from Shanghai to Xi' an. Xi' an is one of the four great ancient capitals of China{#blank#}1{#/blank#}over 3,100 years of history. Its ancient walls date from the Ming Dynasty and are the best {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (preserve) in the world. There are bicycles for people to hire. It is {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(amaze) to ride along the walls to survey this fascinating city.

    The Tang Dynasty Music and Dance show is not to be missed, but my favorite is an art gallery, {#blank#}4{#/blank#}we can enjoy some beautiful artwork and learn how to write Chinese characters.

    Most tourists make{#blank#}5{#/blank#}way to Xi' an to see the life-size terracotta warriors (兵马俑) and we were no  {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(difference). The collection, which shows the armies of the first Emperor of China, {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(remain) hidden until 1974 when they were discovered by a farmer sinking a well. Walking among the statues is forbidden unless you are a VIP — but there are plenty of souvenir{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(shop) in which tourists can buy the replicas(复制品)of them.

    All too soon it was time{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(leave). I really enjoyed my stay in Xi' an. It is indeed a place of interest worth{#blank#}10{#/blank#}second visit.

    More than 700 years ago, a 17-year-old Italian youth followed his father and uncle on a journey to the East, dreaming about the mysteries of China. The three set{#blank#}1{#/blank#} on a path that might have frightened even the most ambitious travellers. The young adventurer was Marco Polo.

    Having a talent for languages，Marco Polo learned to speak Mongolian and Chinese. Later under the orders of Kublai Khan, he{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(travel) far and wide across China. Along the way, he stopped {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (record) detailed notes about the local customs, geography and values of the people, so as to report back to the Khan.

    Marco Polo returned to Venice 24 years later. With{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (count) treasures brought back from the East, he became{#blank#}5{#/blank#} wealthy man overnight.{#blank#}6{#/blank#} he witnessed in China aroused much interest among his countrymen. Marco Polo's journey to China and the contents of his{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (vivid) written book, The Travels of Marco Polo, which{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (think) to be a fairy tale in Europe at the time, triggered a wave of European interest in the Orient.

    Marco Polo's story is both one about an explorer's search riches and a Westerner{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (follow) his dream to reach China. More than 700 years later, China, the once mysterious Oriental nation，is igniting the Chinese dream of many modem Marco Polos, attracted by its rapid {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(develop) and its growing importance in the world.

    The British Museum, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (locate) in the Bloomsbury area of London, is the first national public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture. Its permanent collection numbers some 8 million works, making {#blank#}2{#/blank#} one of the largest in existence. It has been {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (wide) sourced, and documenting the story of human culture {#blank#}4{#/blank#} its beginnings to the present. As with all other national museums in {#blank#}5{#/blank#} United Kingdom, it charges no admission fee. Its ownership of some of its most famous objects {#blank#}6{#/blank#} originally came from other countries is controversial, particularly in the case of the Parthenon Marbles. Today the museum no longer houses {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (collection) of natural history, and the books and manuscripts (手稿) once it {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (hold) now form part of the independent British Library, {#blank#}9{#/blank#} it still keeps its universality in collections of artificial works {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (represent) the cultures of the world, ancient and modern.

    My dad is an enthusiastic (狂热的) runner who {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (great) influenced me when I was young. So I was very sporty before the age of 14. However, when my family move, my new school didn't pay much attention{#blank#}2{#/blank#} sports and had no after-school activities like football or running. Over the next few years, I{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(stop) exercising apart from during Physical Education lessons at school. It looked like I was {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (health); however, I was not.

    One day, I was late for a bus, tried to run after it and in under a minute was out of breath! This made me realize how unfit I was. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (help) myself get in shape again, I made a(n) {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (decide) that I would take up a kind of sport.

    A friend of mine suggested a swimming pool {#blank#}7{#/blank#} she goes to a few times a week. Now, I'm a swimming lover! I find swimming in the pool very {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (relax). I swim for{#blank#}9{#/blank#} hour three times a week. I hope that I will soon start to feel the benefits of regular exercise, and will become {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (fit) than before.