The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture(雕塑品) Festival is Harbin's main tourist highlight every year. It {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(become) the world's biggest winter festival so far. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} makes the Harbin festival special are the scale and size of the sculptures and the beautiful lighting. It is bigger than the ones in Japan, Norway, and Canada.

    At first, mainly the Chinese took part, but now it is an international festival and {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(compete). As the festival grows, the size of the snow sculptures and ice architecture exhibits keeps {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(increase). The work of making these exhibits is {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(astonish), and their size and beauty are amazing.

    The festival is {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(official) held from the end of December through February. Opening dates keep changing, and closing dates partly depend {#blank#}7{#/blank#} the weather. More than 1,000 ice sculptures are on show such as ice lanterns, magical figures and animals that {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(love) by children. It is mostly an ice world {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(aim) at kids. There are interesting activities kids may enjoy, like ice skating. If you are planning a Harbin tour, please attend {#blank#}10{#/blank#} wonderful festival.

    When I was in the seventh grade, I had{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(difficult) behaving. My heart was in the right place, but I couldn't always follow the rules. I played many tricks{#blank#}2{#/blank#}my schoolmates. Once, I even pulled a girl's hair on the school bus to get her attention. As{#blank#}3{#/blank#}result, I was repeatedly sent to the office of the headmaster. Although I hated going there, I did not hate the headmaster, Mr. Smith.

    When he punished me for {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(put) some ants into a classmate's pencil box, it didn't hurt at all, but it did hurt my feelings. I thought so much of him and moments like that seemed{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(prove) I was hopelessly bad.

    When I was called to Mr. Smith's office for the sixth time, I had no idea what I had done. I felt{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(disappoint) as I walked down there. I went into his office, sat down, and{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(look) at the floor. Then he said the last thing I expected to hear. "Kevin, I've heard you've been behaving really well{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(recent). I want you to know how proud I am of you."

    Mr. Smith was really kind. He made me realize that I was just a kid{#blank#}9{#/blank#}had problems with{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(behave). Mr. Smith gave me some hope by giving me some love. I will just remember him forever.

Yangshuo, China

    It was raining lightly when I {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (arrive) in Yangshuo just before dawn. But I didn't care. A few hours {#blank#}2{#/blank#} I'd been at home in Hong Kong, with {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (it) choking smog. Here, the air was clean and fresh, even with the rain.

    I'd skipped nearby Guilin, a dream place for tourists seeking the limestone mountain tops and dark waters of the Li River {#blank#}4{#/blank#} are pictured by artists in so many Chinese {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (painting). Instead, I'd headed straight for Yangshuo. For those who fly to Guilin, it's only an hour away {#blank#}6{#/blank#} car and offers all the scenery of the better known city.

    Yangshuo {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (be) really beautiful. A study of travelers {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (conduct) by the website Trip Advisor names Yangshuo as one of the top 10 destinations in the world. And the town is fast becoming a popular weekend destination for people in Asia. Abercrombie &.Kent, a travel company in Hong Kong, says it {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (regular) arranges quick getaways here for people {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(live) in Shanghai and Hong Kong.