Do you know an old city called" Pingyao" in Shanxi Province (省)? The old city is not far {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi. It's a town with a long history of more than two thousand {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (year).

    The old city is not very large. It is only 2.25 square kilometres in size. And there {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (be) no tall buildings here. Most of the buildings have only two floors. And most {#blank#}4{#/blank#} them are made of stones (石头). There are many Chinese-style shop on each side of the street.

    Pingyao is {#blank#}5{#/blank#} square city. The city {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (have) a wall around it. It's about 6 km long and 12 m high. The wall has six gates. And you mustn't {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (miss) the nice food in Pingyao. Try Pingyao beef and you are sure to fall in love with it.

    Pingyao is a place worth (值得) a visit. You can take buses or trains here. It's less than 2 {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (hour) bus ride from Taiyuan. It costs you only 20 yuan. If you take a train, it will take you {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (little) time, only one and a half if you want to go to Pingyao train ride {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (take) only about 6 hours.

    Have you ever been cycling(骑自行车运动)? This spring my elder brother and I {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (spend) a long weekend cycling in the countryside. We rode {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (slow) along because we didn't want to break any speed records, or do sports. We just wanted {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (get) some fresh air and a break from schoolwork. We really had a great time {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (ride) along country roads. And there was one of the best things about our trip that made us happy: every few {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (kilometre) there was a village where we could find everything we needed.

    All the local people were really friendly. However, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} the second day, something happened. We were going down the hill when my brakes(刹车) started making noise, but I didn't mind at all. At {#blank#}7{#/blank#} midnight we were woken by the noise in the hotel. We were tired {#blank#}8{#/blank#}we set off the next morning, but soon felt cheerful when the sun came out.

    What we {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (enjoy) most about cycling was that it was simple and fun. I think nothing is {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (good) than cycling if you're looking for a break that is active and cheap.

    Why not have a try?