As Valentine鈥檚 Day approaches, lovers everywhere are preparing for the most romantic day of the year.

On February 14 loving couples exchange cards and gifts while singletons can send anonymous love letters to people they fancy.

The most common presents given at this time of year are flowers, especially red roses, and chocolates or even sexy lingerie. But sometimes people in the UK give each other more original, not to say unusual, gifts.

Last year a lady in the north of England was astonished to receive an extremelysurprising Valentine鈥檚 present from her husband of 28 years, a live donkey.

Marion Stephenson鈥檚 husband took her on a date to a field near their home, where he presented her with Maggie, a two-year-old donkey.

Mrs Stephenson said, "I usually get a little thing like a small bunch of flowers, but this Valentine's Day it was a surprise to get a new donkey. I'm delighted."

Maggie joined the Stephensons' other donkeys and it is hoped that she will deliver lots of foals.

A more conventional way for couples to enjoy Valentine鈥檚 Day is to take a short mini-break away to a romanticdestination such as Paris or Venice.

However, this year a new destination has caused a stir as a place for partners to fall in love all over again.

A tiny, uninhabited, heart-shaped island off the coast of Croatia has attracted the attention of many people after it was spotted on Google Earth.

The island鈥檚 owner, Vlado Juresko said, "We think it is the most perfect heart-shaped island in the world. Nobody lives there so if lovers really do want to spend time alone it's the perfect desert island."

• romantic [rəu´mæntik]   a.传奇(式)的；浪漫的   (初中英语单词)
• unusual [ʌn´ju:ʒuəl]   a.不平常的；异常的   (初中英语单词)
• extremely [ik´stri:mli]   ad.极端地；非常地   (初中英语单词)
• surprising [sə´praiziŋ]   a.惊人的；意外的   (初中英语单词)
• loving [´lʌviŋ]   a.爱的，有爱情的   (高中英语单词)
• donkey [´dɔŋki]   n.驴子；蠢人；顽固的人   (高中英语单词)
• destination [,desti´neiʃən]   n.目标地   (高中英语单词)
• venice [´venis]   n.威尼斯   (高中英语单词)
• conventional [kən´venʃənəl]   a.常规的；协定的   (英语四级单词)
• anonymous [ə´nɔniməs]   a.不具名的；匿名的   (英语六级单词)