2 . Sometime in the early 1960s, a significant thing happened in Sydney, Australia. The city discovered its harbor. Then, one after another, Sydney discovered lots of things that were just sort of there — broad parks, superb beaches, and a culturally diverse population. But it is the harbor that makes the city.

Andrew Reynolds, a cheerful fellow in his early 30s, pilots Sydney ferryboats for a living. I spent the whole morning shuttling back and forth across the harbor. After our third run Andrew shut down the engine, and we went our separate ways — he for a lunch break, I to explore the city.

“I’ll miss these old boats,” he said as we parted.       

“How do you mean?” I asked.

“Oh, they’re replacing them with catamarans. Catamarans are faster, but they’re not so elegant, and they’re not fun to pilot. But that’s progress, I guess.”

Everywhere in Sydney these days, change and progress are the watchwords (口号), and traditions are increasingly rare. Shirley Fitzgerald, the city’s official historian, told me that in its rush to modernity in the 1970s, Sydney swept aside much of its past, including many of its finest buildings. “Sydney is confused about itself,” she said. “We can’t seem to make up our minds whether we want a modern city or a traditional one. It’s a conflict that we aren’t getting any better at resolving.”

On the other hand, being young and old at the same time has its attractions. I considered this when I met a thoughtful young businessman named Anthony. “Many people say that we lack culture in this country,” he told me. “What people forget is that the Italians, when they came to Australia, brought 2000 years of their culture, the Greeks some 3000 years, and the Chinese more still. We’ve got a foundation built on ancient cultures but with a drive and dynamism of a young country. It’s a pretty hard combination to beat.”

He is right, but I can’t help wishing they would keep those old ferries.

3 . Brad Ryan had been feeling burnt out from veterinary (兽医的) school when he visited his 85-year-old grandma back in 2015. He hoped that spending some _________ family time in his hometown would help to lift his spirits.

As he was telling his grandma some _________ of his travels, he was _________ to hear her confess (承认) that she had never seen the sea or mountains. Ryan then asked his grandmother if she would like to _________ the Smoky Mountains with him. Needless to say, she was more than _________ to go with him. Then Ryan made a plan and they set out on their _________.

They have since visited 29 different national parks across America-from the breathtaking slopes (斜坡) of the Great Sandy Dunes in Colorado to the attractive shores of Acadia National Park in Maine.

Over the _________ of the last three and a half years, Ryan says that he and his grandma have _________ driven 25,000 miles through 38 states, and it has _________ his quality of living.

“Seeing it through my grandmother’s eyes, who every morning wakes up and is __________ to be alive, has taught me how to __________,” Ryan said. “With her, I’ve had to __________ and see my life in a different way, which has made it much __________.”

“I __________ my grandma, and our journeys really gave me a lot of peace before she eventually passed on. I can __________ these places and feel her spirit and feel connected to her, because she set her eyes on the __________ things,” he added.

Ryan, who has been __________ all of their adventures online, hopes that their social media presence will __________ other youngsters to spend more time with their elders.

“I want people who are still __________ to know, it is cool to hang out with your grandparents,” Ryan said. “There’s so much __________ and knowledge we can get from our elders.”

It was a bright sunny day today. I went to the Bangalore railway station meet my uncle and aunt, that were coming from Mumbai. When my father and I were careful crossing the Orion mall, we saw three elephants, reminding me with my Kerala trip.

Last year we went to Kerala for a trip, where we were visited five beautiful cities. Then seating on an elephant for two and a half hour, we went to Elephant Junction Thekkady. After that, we feed several elephants and took a lot of pictures with it. It was so a nice trip that I will not forget it forever.