4 . Getting to Antarctica is not easy. The few who are lucky enough to visit this most mysterious continent do so by ship. To reach Antarctica, ships must pass through an extremely violent area of ocean called the Drake Passage, considered to be the roughest stretch of sea on the planet.

Walls of water thirty, sometimes forty feet high continually crashed against our ship for two solid days. We would hold on to a rope inside the ship while being violently tipped (倾斜) to one extreme side, then to the other, and then back again. My daughter Claire and I were as mentally prepared as we could be.

About two and a half days after entering the Drake Passage, the waters calmed. Soon, we noticed small black spots on nearby pieces of floating ice. Emperor penguins (企鹅)! Then, we began the two-mile hike over the ice to the penguin colony. Within several hundred yards, small groups of emperors, perhaps ten or so at a time, greeted us, sliding on their bellies and making their wonderful noises, sort of a long, high-pitched sound.

One day two adult emperors with their three chicks following them approached Claire, who was resting on the ice. They left the chicks with her, as if she were the babysitter. Twenty minutes later they returned to collect the chicks. And I will never forget the penguin that, when I jokingly asked which way back to the helicopters, pointed a wing in the correct direction. Every night aboard our safe and warm ship, we thought about what it takes to survive in Antarctica, an incredibly harsh (恶劣的) place.

But each day on the ice, we also thought about the Drake Passage, the impact of the large body of water we had to endure to get where we were. Over the course of our visit, we came to respect the power of that sea. We still talk about the penguins, as I’m sure we always will. But we talk about the Drake Passage, too. Both experiences were unforgettable, an one would not have been possible without the other.

Zibo city in Shandong province has gone viral on Chinese social media since late February for its local barbecue specialty, and the local government takes the opportunity     1     (promote) tourism and spending.

On March 31 the Jinan bureau of China Railway     2     (add) a weekend special round-trip “barbecue tour” train between Jinan and Zibo. The latest promotion gives visitors a free     3     (admit) to 10 scenic spots in the city with their train tickets as long as their final destination is Zibo.

Barbecue is popular in China, but Zibo’s barbecue differs     4     three ways-it’s made on a stove, and is served with flatbread (小饼) and dressings (蘸料). The skewers (烤串) are 70-80 percent cooked before they are brought to the table, on     5     diners can finish cooking them on their own stoves, leading to     6     sense of participation. Diners are served flatbreads and other dressings at the table so they are able to assemble     7     (they) own barbecue parcels, in much the same way Peking duck is eaten.

The barbecue     8     (unexpected) went viral after a group of college students shot videos of themselves     9     (enjoy) a meal and posted them on social media in late February. Since then, many people, mostly the young,     10     (attract) to the city from all over the country to try the dish.

7 . I live in Xizhou in Yunnan Province, on the historic Tea Horse Road. I have to admit that when I first heard that Paul Salopek was going to walk the entire globe on his own two feet, I was blown away. I couldn’t imagine that there could be such an unusual person in the world.

Last May, I met Paul. He told me that it was his first time in China. He talked to me with great excitement about the history, migrations, and discoveries in my region of China. He spoke of the Shu-Yandu Dao (the Southern Silk Road), the travels of the 17th-century Chinese explorer Xu Xiake, the Tea Horse Road and the early 20th-century American botanist Joseph Rock. He also talked of Xuanzang. Paul considered many of them heroes and in a sense Chinese pioneers of slow journalism.

I decided to accompany Paul on his walk toward Yunnan. On September 28, 2021, we set out. Our days were simple: walk, eat, sleep, and repeat. We woke up at sunrise, set off in high spirits, and rested at sunset, dragging ourselves into exhausted sleep.

We met many people on the road. Some were curious, surrounding us and watching us; some gave us directions; some invited us into their home to take a rest; some spoke of the charm of their hometown. We met many beautiful souls, simple souls and warm souls. We were walking with our minds.

Together, we were impressed by the biodiversity of the Gaoligong Mountains. As I walked on ancient paths through mountains, I seemed to hear the antique voices of past travelers urging me to be careful on the road.

Looking back on the more than 200 miles I walked with Paul, I came to a realization. Walking for its own sake, while healthy and admirable, is only a small part of the benefit of moving with our feet. A deeper reward is rediscovering the world around us, shortening the distance between each other, and sharing each other’s cultures.

“Traveling to China seems like traveling to another world. Its many famous scenic attractions impressed me    1    (great),” an American said. The following is    2    he wrote on his website.

My friends and I had a family visit in Xi’an,    3    old city with a long history in China. The hosts were retired or stayed at home without a job, and they were friendly to    4    (visit) from different countries coming their homes.

We    5    (taste)the true home-cooked dishes in the home of the family that we visited. For in-homing dinner, the host would prepare a list of menus in advance (提前). Our tour guide asked    6    (we) for advice out the food, so the host would try to cook what we wanted    7    (eat) at his home.We just enjoyed the locally cooked dishes. It was quite a different and exciting experience.

Many foreigners enjoy    8    (learn) how to make Chinese dumplings. We    9    (be) also offered a general cooking class in the local family. The host taught us to make dumplings step by step with lots of patience. And we didn’t need to pay any money    10    this. Travel China Guide offers this kind of service free of charge.

The family visit in Xi’an was a good chance for us to get to know Chinese people’s daily life.