A Special Trip

宫嘉华

Have you ever heard of the Silk Road？ Do you know what an important role it plays in the whole world？ Did you visit any famous places along the road？ Although its called the Silk Road， people bought and sold much more than silk.The Silk Road went through Asia， the Middle East， North Africa and Europe. It was 6，500 km from Xian to Rome.

My dad is very interested in the Silk Road and he has told me many things about it. Last summer， my family got away for a holiday and went to some places on the road.

We started at Lanzhou and went on to Wuwei. Wuwei was a very important city on the Silk Road. It connected （连接） three main cities in the area. In ancient times， it was also a capital. Although its now a modern city， you can get a feeling of history when you visit it. We saw lots of very old stone monuments and people there were very proud of their citys long history.

The next stop was Jiayuguan. Its on the edge （边缘） of the desert， and was also an important place on the Silk Road. It was a busy city with a lot of people coming and going. Even today， its a city that many business people travel through. An important part of the Great Wall was also built here.

After that， we went on to Yumenguan. I first found out about Yumenguan in the famous poem written by Wang Zhihuan. It was in the Gobi Desert and was the only connection between Central Asia and China. I wonder how people ever made it through the hot desert so long ago.

This trip wasnt just a scenic （觀光的） journey. It helped me understand the history of the area and see how people from different places influenced （影响） each other in many ways.

What can we learn from the text？

A. Jiayuguan is a busy city both in the ancient and modern time.

B. The writers family visited five famous cities on the Silk Road.

C. The writers mum taught the writer many things about the road.

D. The writer thought ancient people couldnt go through the desert.

Key：A