I felt {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(luck) to have won a place to go on a cultural tour to sites of lost civilizations. We visited Pompeii in Italy and Loulan in China. Pompei {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(found) in the 8^th century BC, then taken{#blank#}3{#/blank#}by the Romans in 89 BC. Later, Pompei was destroyed by a volcano. It erupted and covered Pompei with ash.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (fortunate), many people were buried alive. The city was forgotten for many years until the 18^th century when a stone with writing on it was discovered by a farmer. People started to dig in the area {#blank#}5{#/blank#}treasure and caused much damage. Thus, in 1860, the area was governed by the government so {#blank#}6{#/blank#}could be preserved and studied.

    Differently, Loulan disappeared under the sand. There were just a few {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(ruin) left. There was {#blank#}8{#/blank#}ancient water system {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (run) through the middle of the city. The desert was once a green with huge trees, but they were cut down,{#blank#}10{#/blank#}resulted in the city being buried by sand.

    They were both important commercial cities about 2,000 years ago. It was a pity that they disappeared for ever.

    If you've ever heard of someone being in the right place at the right time, you've likely never heard it fit a story as well as this one. In 2014, a 17-year-old volunteer firefighter {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(call) Joseph Chambers heard {#blank#}2{#/blank#} loud crash outside of his sister's home. Joseph found two cars {#blank#}3{#/blank#}what appeared to be a fatal collision, one of {#blank#}4{#/blank#}was a police patrol car. He{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(immediate) ran up to the car of Officer Mark Kimsey{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(see)if he was okay. Officer Kimsey {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(trap), but Joseph sprung into {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(act), pulling Kimsey out through the window with another bystander as his patrol car burst into{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(flame). Maybe it was Joseph's firefighter training that allowed him to think, and act, so quickly, but it's certain that he saved a man's life that day without once{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(think)about his own well-being.

It seems to be something in our blood {#blank#}1{#/blank#} makes human beings want to conquer (征服)" things by climbing them, no matter whether it's Qomolangma — the {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (high) peak on Earth —{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Uluru, a big rock that sits 348 meters above the ground in the central Australian desert. Many {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (visit) to Uluru climb the rock even though there's no road to it, except for a chain-and-pole path that's been hammered into the rock by early explorers. There's even a sign at the bottom of the rock {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (write) in seven languages, reading: "Please don't climb."

    For starters, the rock has spiritual significance for the local Aboriginal people, and {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(set) foot on it is considered disrespectful. Other concerns include some people leaving litter on top of the rock, and some even urinate (撒尿)on it since there's no toilet up there. When it rains, the human waste is washed down onto the rock, which can be {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (harm) to the environment. Also, according to ABC News, 35 people {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (die) so far trying to climb it. This is {#blank#}9{#/blank#} the Australian government announced earlier this month that climbing Uluru {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (ban), starting from Oct 26, 2019.