(一)
PUZZLES IN GEOGRAPHY
People may wonder why different words are used 1.________________(describe) these four countries: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. You can 2.________________ (clarification) this question if you study British history.
First there was England. Wales was 3._____________(link) to it in the 4._____________(thirteen) century. Now when people refer to England you find Wales 5._________________(include)as well. Next England and Wales were joined 6.___________ Scotland in the seventeenth century and the name was changed to "Great Britain".7.____________(happy) this was accomplished 8.___________conflict when King James of Scotland became King of England and Wales as well. Finally the English government tried in the early twentieth century to form the United Kingdom by getting Ireland 9._____________(connect) in the same peaceful way. However, the southern part of Ireland was 10.______________(willing) and broke away to form its own government. So only Northern Ireland joined with England, Wales and Scotland to become the United Kingdom and this was shown 11.__________ the world in a new flag called the Union Jack.
To their credit the four countries do work together in some areas (eg, the currency and international relations), but they still have very different 12.______________(institution). For example, Northern Ireland, England and Scotland have different 13._______________(education) and legal systems as well as different football teams for 14.________________(compete) like the World Cup!
England is the 15.________________ (large) of the four countries, and for convenience it is divided 16.________________ (rough) into three zones. The zone nearest France is called the South of England, the middle zone is called the Midlands and the one nearest to Scotland is known 17.________________the North. You find most of the population 18.________________(settle) in the south, but most of the industrial cities in the Midlands and the North of England. Although, nationwide, these cities are not as large as those in China, they have world-famous football teams and some of them even have two! It is a pity that the 19._________________(industry) cities built in the nineteenth century do not attract visitors. For historical architecture you have to go to older but 20.________________(small) towns built by the Romans. There you will find 21.____________ more about British history and culture.
The 22._______________(great) historical treasure of all is London with its museums, art collections, theatres, parks and buildings. It is the centre of national government and its administration. It has the oldest port 23.________________(build) by the Romans in the first century AD, the oldest building begun by the Anglo-Saxons in the 1060s and the oldest castle constructed by 24.________________(late)Norman rulers in 1066. There have been four sets of invaders of England. The first invaders, the Romans, left their towns and roads. The second, the Anglo-Saxons, left their language and their government. The third, the Vikings, 25.________________(influence) the vocabulary and place-names of the North of England, and the fourth, the Normans, left castles and introduced new words 26.________________food.
If you look around the British countryside you 27.________________(find) evidence of all these invaders. You must keep your eyes open 28.________________you are going to make your trip to the United Kingdom enjoyable and worthwhile.
(二)
SIGHTSEEING IN LONDON
1._________________(worry) about the time available, Zhang Pingyu had made a list of the sites she wanted to see in London. Her first 2._________________(delighted) was going to the Tower. It was built long ago 3. ________________the Norman invaders of AD 1066. Fancy! This solid stone, square tower had remained 4.________________(stand) for one thousand years.Although the buildings had expanded around it, it remained part of a royal palace and prison 5._______________(combine). To her great surprise, Zhang Pingyu found the Queen's jewels 6._________________(guard) by special royal soldiers who, on special occasions, still 7.________________(wear) the four-hundred-year-old uniform of the time of Queen Elizabeth I.
There followed St Paul's Cathedral built after the terrible fire of London in 1666. It looked splendid when first 8.____________(build)! Westminster Abbey, too, was very 9.______________(interest). It contained statues in memory of dead poets and writers, such as Shakespeare. Then just as she came out 10._________________ the abbey, Pingyu heard the famous sound of the clock, Big Ben, 11._________________(ring) out the hour. She finished the day by 12._________________(look)at the outside of Buckingham Palace, the Queen's house in London. Oh, she had so much to tell her friends!
The second day the girl visited Greenwich and saw its old ships and famous clock 13.__________sets the world time. 14.__________ interested her most was the longitude line. It is an imaginary line dividing the eastern and western halves of the world and is very useful for 15._______________(navigate). It passes through Greenwich, so Pingyu had a photo taken 16._______________(stand) on either side of the line.
The last day she visited Karl Marx's statue in Highgate Cemetery. It seemed strange that the man 17.__________ had developed communism should have lived and died in London. Not only that, 18._______________he had worked in the famous reading room of the Library of the British Museum. Sadly the library had moved 19.______________its original place into another building and the old reading room was 20.______________(go). But she was thrilled by so many wonderful treasures from different cultures displayed in the museum. When she saw many visitors enjoying 21. __________(look) at the beautiful old Chinese pots and other 22.________________(object) on show, she felt very proud of her country.
The next day Pingyu was leaving London 23._______________Windsor Castle. "Perhaps I will see the Queen?" she wondered 24._______________ she fell asleep.