As a boy, I spent much time in London. One of the joys was spending weekends(bicycle) to Kew Gardens, famous for housing the world's(large) greenhouses. The importance of the gardens cannot be underestimated— some of the samples(bring) back by Charles Darwin are still alive.
However, it was the pagoda (塔)always fascinated me. Years ago, I went to China. Whenever I'm back to London, I always pay it a visit.
The pagoda was designed by William Chambers, a British architect who had been to China at least twice. The 10-storey octagonal (八边形的) pagoda, which is 163 feet high,(complete) in 1762. Purists, however, argue that pagodas should always, haveodd number of floors. The original building was very colorful and the roofs were covered with iron plates, with a dragon on each corner. The iron plates were later replaced and the dragons(subsequent) disappeared. Since then, there have been several(restoration), mainly to the roofs, but the original colors and the dragons have not been replaced.
Nowadays, being more familiarChinese pagodas, I feel it seems somewhat odd. But for a boy who would later have a quarter century career in China, the Kew Pagoda remains an(inspire).
