Imagine walking through an ancient city, then climbing a gate tower to take in a wonderful view of the city and its more than 600-year-old walls. You can hear the city's heartbeat in the air. This is Pingyao Ancient City in Shanxi Province, a place that should definitely be on your travel route if you enjoy history or ancient architecture since its origins can be traced back to more than 2,700 years ago.

Located in the center of Shanxi Province, Pingyao is the hometown  of Jin merchants, a group of merchants who actively dominated (支配） a booming commodity market throughout China for more than 500 years, especially during the Ming and Qing dynasties. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the city's agriculture and manufacturing industries developed rapidly. Following China's reform and opening up, Pingyao struggled for the transition from a managed economy to the current market-oriented economy. During this time, the city government sought out new ways to break through this  economic bottleneck.

Finally in the winter of 1997, opportunity came knocking. Through the efforts of the city government, Pingyao earned its place on the UNESCO World Heritage list, which caused the entire world to take notice of the city.

Since the city's fame rose, locals in Pingyao have deepened their understanding of the conservation efforts preserving the historical relics in their hometown. Meanwhile the city administration has continued to upgrade itself through a strategy that follows the pillars of "conservation, entrepreneurship, development and protection" .

Currently, the city is focused on establishing a sustainable industry that will enable it to continue to grow while also protecting its relics and introducing them to the world.

   While thousands of college students headed for warm climate to enjoy sun and fun during their week off from classes, seven local students had other plans.

The Northern Essex Community College (NECC) students and one of their teachers spent part of their spring break in New York City, helping repair an area 【小题1】 (destroy) by the hurricane.

“I wanted to see for myself what happened,” said Terry. “I couldn’t imagine【小题2】it is like to lose your home and everything that you know and the【小题3】(power) effect the hurricane had on those people. I wanted to do something, to understand their feeling of helplessness.”

The group headed into Brooklyn’s Red Hook district, which was hit hard by the hurricane. There they met people from other parts of the country, 【小题4】had also volunteered to help. Together, those volunteers and the NECC students【小题5】(work) to clear rubbish out of a three-story building. They put on protective suits and gloves【小题6】they entered the building.

Inside the building, the students saw nothing but broken walls and doors and pieces of the building 【小题7】(lie) all over the place.

The students returned to school with【小题8】sense of achievement, a feeling that【小题9】helped people in need. It was remarkable how a community lost so much and was still able to recover, and this left the deepest impression【小题10】the students.

How are you？I am Li Hua.__________________________________________________________________

Best wishes!

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua