2 . Last day in Faro, I went for a walk along the mountainside of the little farming town. During my days up in the hills, I ________ saw another person. It’s such a ________ to my days in Los Angeles, where the streets are ________, and the air is filled with smog and pollution. I ________ past another little farm and heard cows mooing. I stood up as high as possible to see their cute faces. I started to ________ having a farm one day. I often thought about getting away from the ________ and learning how to Live off the land, which would bring me a lot of ________.

As I walked next to the road on my way back, I ________ several orange trees off to the side. The abundance of oranges in rural areas was a ________ sight. It ________ me of how much better the world would be if we let the ________ do its thing and grow abundantly.

To end the day at sunset, I sat on a chair in front of the house and ________ the hillside again. I tried to take a picture in my mind so I’d always ________. I must ________ I took out my phone and took a few photos as well. Maybe I’m not as “off the grid” as many environmentalists are; my phone is often ________.

5 . Shikumen Residence

Typical Shikumen Residence, literally meaning “Stone Warehouse Gate”, is regarded as the most representative house style of Shanghai. This sort of residence combines the _________ styles of southern China and western countries.

These residences can date back to the 1870s, when the Taiping Rebellion against the_________ of the Qing Dynasty broke out. Due to the warfare, the businessmen, ministers and wealthy people moved to the concession (租界) for protection. As a result, many foreign_________businessmen had many residences built to earn money. Those residences were, therefore, inspired by western style.

Construction Features of Shikumen Residence

A Shikumen Residence is usually a two-floor building constructed with bricks and wood. As the residences are usually linked, a lane naturally comes into being. Two copper door-knockers_________ in the whole lane when they are struck. _________ the stone gate, you enter a patio (天井), from which the sunshine lights the whole yard. Right in front of the patio, there is a living room where the hosts meet or treat their _________. Passing through the living room, another patio appears where the cooking bench is set.

Under the influence of western architecture, the doors and outside walls were gradually_________ with the arc-shaped or rectangular carvings and paintings. So, from the outside, the block of residences looks like western-style townhouses. _________, the lintel(过梁)was usually constructed with Chinese traditional bricks and black tiles.

_________ of Shikumen Residence

It’s said that before the 1950s, these residences __________ 60% of all the Shanghai dwellings and sheltered 60% of the local population. They almost monopolized (垄断) the city’s estate market due to their comfortable, practical and convenient advantages. __________ these, they were popular because of their good locations and convenient transportation. As time passed by, they gradually __________ with the pace of the reconstruction of the old areas. Later, when some influential architects put forward that these residences should be __________ as a symbol of the typical Shanghai culture, great attention started to be paid to them.

Shikumen Culture

The appearance of these residences broke through the Chinese traditional lifestyle, under which a large __________ family lived in a big courtyard. The new smaller-sized courtyard came into being to lay a foundation for the later Lane Culture. This local culture had a great influence on Shanghai’s politics, economy, literature, arts and lifestyle. For example, the literature__________ of “Ting Zi Jian” was born at the same time. Later, the scholars continued to create many masterpieces.

6 . The Negative Impacts of Volunteer Tourism

Volunteer tourism, or voluntourism, is an increasingly popular form of altruistic travel. Its appeal lies in being an experience that allows visitors to feel good by being a part of some kind of meaningful change. But despite good intentions from participants, volunteering abroad has been the target of heavy criticism over the past few years.

Voluntourists only have a limited amount of time, and the ability to change the systems and provide support for the places they visit. Being volunteers, they also simply don’t have the skills to do so. And they can sometimes inadvertently perpetuate unhelpful and even patronizing(自视高人一等的)ideas about the places they visit. A number of studies have shown that volunteer tourism can have negative impacts, ___________benefiting the local communities.

*Unskilled labor creates more work

Previously, volunteering opportunities were often___________to skilled professionals, but this is not the___________of volunteer tourism. Anyone can become a voluntourist, which brings a series of problems. Though___________, they are often unskilled, especially when it comes to work such as construction and digging. This can often lead to locals being forced to take on the added responsibility for rebuilding homes and schools that would have been___________inadequate.

*Volunteers take local jobs

In the meantime, this takes jobs away from locals who would have been paid to do the same work. It also prevents them from learning or being taught the skills that could then be used to___________the community. As a famous proverb says, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” The time and efforts of volunteers could be better___________making local communities more economically independent and self-sufficient, allowing them to improve___________even after they depart.

*There is no long-term commitment

Lots of communities do need the help and assistance of volunteers, but what are they able to address in the few short weeks of their “___________”? Most places tend to benefit more from long-term engagement, and often the largest number of meaningful volunteers come from the communities themselves, rather than from____________eager to fix things. While short-term volunteers can do a lot of good, it is often so only when they have skills and training that____________the specific needs, such as medical aid, construction, conservation, teaching, or even religious work; as well as having experience doing the required work and with different cultures.

* There is a lot of focus on__________the volunteer

Voluntourism tends to place a lot of emphasis on the volunteers, sometimes even at the expense of the community they are looking to help. Travel companies attract individuals with promises of____________but immediately-rewarding experiences. This, in turn, can lead to large numbers of volunteers who, instead of helping create a change, can actually____________local communities from becoming more economically independent due to their very presence.

What Can We Do Instead?

Short-term volunteers, especially students, also need to be given the opportunity to explore various different cultures and destinations. But they should take the time to learn about the socio-cultural backgrounds of the places they visit. Short-term placements thus become more about experiences and____________exchange, where they may gain knowledge and respect other cultures, rather than go on trips that “help the poor”.

This kind of cross-cultural engagement can do a lot of good in a world that is increasingly leaning towards violence and xenophobia.

7 . Have you ever been to Thailand? When you travel in Thailand, you shouldn’t________the Bangkok Walking Food Tour. It usually takes three hours to________the whole tour. During the 3-hour tour, you can eat your fill (开怀大吃)in________excellent little restaurants and have great fun at the cultural attractions.

Here you can find lots of eateries(饮食店) that have been open for many years. Enjoy________when you have so many kinds of Thai dishes. As you know, they are all________deeply by Thai history and culture. The food is cleverly designed into small portion(一份) sizes, ________ you can try more dishes without feeling too full. The tour starts at 10 a. m. and________at around 1 p. m. If you are________ enough, you shouldn’t eat breakfast.

This tour is one of visitors’________activities in Thailand and really gives you a chance to get ________to the delicious food of the amazing country. You will also be able to find more wonderful food in the rest of Thailand with the help of this experience.

8 . I’ ve been living in China for 6 years. I am ______ to say that I have a talent in finding the cool ______ local spots. As a ______, I am never fed up with eating various Chinese foods and other cultures. What’s most important is ______ the real country and culture. So I always try to find something representing ______ culture, and offering an interaction with the locals.

My reputation for doing this has ______. I’m often asked to give people ______ . Since I am fluent in Chinese, I could ______ people for this and become somewhat of an official tour ______ . I choose not to, ______. Because to me, the most important thing is making sure that the tourist has the most ______ experience. It is also about creating a lifelong ______ with that person, and with the locals we interact with during our time together. These tourists could spend much money on the guided tour that is ______ to the local culture. I choose to give them an experience that’s deeper and opens their ______ , all for free.

You can do the ______. When you have someone ______ your hometown, don’t just take them to the tourist spots. Show them the places with great ______ to you. Show them your heart through the places you show them and the experience you give them. There’s always something ______ in almost every town there. If you don’t have any spots in your hometown that you like, ______ to find the good where you live. If you do, you will also find it in your- self. It’s a time that both you and the tourist will never forget. Don’t ______ the experience, but thoroughly enjoy every moment with that person. The tourist and your heart will thank you for it.

10 . The part of the school trip that none of the teenagers were looking forward to had arrived. We sat waiting on the bus fearing how ________ the evening would be. “Couldn’t they have ________ some more interesting ways for the evening?” we thought. After we ________ the museum, however, my original ________ were contradicted.

We found the museum was really ________ even though it contained nothing but children’s exhibits. My friends and I ________ decided to take advantage of the museum exhibits open to ________. We walked from room to room and ________ like the children that it was intended for. We ________ in superhero costumes that were way too small, served each other ________ ice cream in a toy ice cream shop and ________ other games. We had a great time.

After those few hours spent acting like a six- year- old, I ________ that all of the stress of the coming week of school was ________. And I was left with one of the best feelings in the world: the feeling of ________. What I learned was that sometimes the best ________ for stress and a busy life is as simple as playing. I believe in childhood and the ________ of play because some of my fondest ________ have come from doing childish things   ________ to the activities in the museum.

Now, any time I feel ________, I go and play with my friends and younger neighbors. Childhood feeling and games never fail to ________ even the worst of days.