1 . John Kerr and his 86-year-old grandma, Sandy Kerr, are nearing the finish line on a goal they once thought was impossible: Visiting all national parks together.

They kicked off their _________ in September 2023, when John was looking for a way to spend a two-day weekend. He said the idea _________ from a conversation he had with “Grandma Sandy” about his past adventures on the Appalachian Trail. “I felt sorry that she was always _________ vicariously (间接感受到地) through my stories,” John said. “And so just knowing that she had never seen _________ and mountains and the oceans and these _________ wild places on Earth, it just felt like a _________ that I had to her to make sure that she had some memories to take away in her life story as well.” John began _________ their adventures on the social media in 2019, and they quickly _________ a large number of followers.

“You don’t assume your grandma going with you on a camping trip is going to be anything but _________,” John said. “That was my __________. That was my misunderstanding of what age means.” More __________, her spirit was good enough for her to go traveling. “It’s been a __________ adventure; it really has,” Grandma Sandy said. “It’s really been a beautiful time. And I wouldn’t trade it for anything,”

As for __________ from John and Grandma Sandy, they encourage everyone to __________ opportunities for exploration. “We realize that not everybody is going to be able to travel to every national park,” John said. “But there is some adventure to be found in every __________ of the country and we hope that people will go out and seek that adventure.”

2 . Harbin Tourism Booms in Early 2024

As the curtains of 2024 drew open, Harbin, the northern city known for its icy charm, witnessed a tourism boom unlike any other. The city’s tourism sector received a _________ boost, gathering attention from netizens and travelers worldwide.

The local government and tourism authorities spared no _________ to prepare for this influx (人流量), ensuring that visitors were provided with the most _________ and convenient experiences. Specialties like the ice festival were very popular, with artificial intelligence used to _________ and entertain the crowds. The _________ and sincerity behind these efforts were obvious in every detail.

Harbin’s _________ rose, and it ranked among the top tourist destinations globally. This success was _________ to the city’s unique attractions, generous hospitality, and the lucky timing of the tourism boom. Visitors were impressed by the _________ shown to traditional culture and the immediacy (及时) of the local rescue teams, who were always on standby in case of any temporary inconvenience.

Netizens _________ positively on social media, praising the city’s efforts to boost its tourism sector. Some even suggested that other cities should stand in Harbin’s shoes and learn from its example. Complaints were few and far between, with most visitors agreeing that the city had __________ their stay.

The revenue (财政收入) generated by this tourism boom set a new record, __________ all previous revenue and proving that Harbin’s charm and attractions were more than just a passing fashion. The city’s tourism industry is now thriving and looks forward to an even __________ future. This success is a result of what can be achieved when sincerity, creativity, and hard work come __________.

As the world continues to assess the __________ of this tourism boom, one thing remains clear: Harbin has set a new standard for tourism excellence. We eagerly await what the future __________ for this active city.

5 . Like many young people, Jessica wants to travel the globe. Unlike most of them, this 25-year-old is doing it _________. She and her husband have spent the last two years traveling the world, stopping everywhere from Paris to Singapore. It might sound like one long, expensive _________, but the couple has an unusual way to make their travel _________.

They’re part of a new form of the _________ economy: house sitters. Throughout their no-cost stays in _________ homes, they feed pets and water plants in the homeowner’s _________.

The travel is not all about sightseeing. The two travelers carefully _________ their trips, scheduling their days around the pets that are sometimes difficult to _________. But house sitting also offers a sense of _________ they can’t find in a hotel. “It’s like __________ at a friend’s house,” Jessica says.

The couple has a high __________ rate in getting accepted as house sitters as they always go beyond the homeowner’s __________. For Jessica, that means __________ plenty of pictures of happy pets, keeping the house clean and leaving a nice small gift before __________ the next house. “You want to make the homeowner feel that they made the right __________,” she says.

6 . Ciudad Perdida, Colombia’s “Lost City” is older than Machu Picchu. There are no trains or buses allowing of _________ travels to reach its ruins. The remote place is only _________ on foot: a tiring multi-day hike.

Despite this, I couldn’t _________ the opportunity to visit Ciudad Perdida. 12 other hikers and I went there in _________ with a licensed guide. The dirt path, which _________ through towering palms and dangling vines (藤蔓), proved _________ right from the start. Along the way we also met the _________. They have been left _________ for centuries and there’s a deep bond between them and the land.

The next morning, we were off early to _________ the heat, but high temperatures and muscle pain had already set in by the time we reached the final stage—1,200 stone steps to __________. After finally lifting my painful body up the long flight of stairs, my eyes __________ the scene that had __________ the backbreaking journey: Ciudad Perdida.

I looked down and wondered at the beautiful site below. While the return trip included __________ the mental hurdle (障碍) of having already accomplished our goal, the experience is the one I would do __________. It is the difficulty that makes the journey a more __________ one. Earned views are always better.

8 . I had a great dream when I was in my twenties. I wanted to travel around Africa with my _________. So I left my hometown with great confidence and _________ Cape Town, not really _________ what to do next. Luckily, before my trip actually started, I met a kind, old Nigerian man. He gave me the best travel _________ I had ever received. “Be like a(n) _________ on your way around the world.”

It sounded _________, but it really changed my idea about travelling. He helped me realize that travel is about learning and _________ local cultures. “It’s far too easy to go into a(n) _________ country and believe your ways are better. But if you study, ask questions and try to learn from the locals, you’ll have far richer _________ ,” he promised me.

On other vacations, when I was on my tour way to Cancun. I was just a __________. I only stayed there for a week to see the __________ and places of interest and then left. The culture didn’t __________ me. I left the cities and towns without really knowing anyone or anything that existed in those places to which I had paid a visit.

This time, I promised to myself that I would be a __________ traveler. After seven months of __________ backpacking in Africa from Cape Town to Cairo, I realized that having a student-like mindset (观念模式) helped extend my trip and helped me learn a lot, which __________ me more than any other trips ever did to me.

10 . Passion, like life, is about the journey, not the destination. Kimberly and I have been planning a trip to Europe for a year. This was a _________ of ours. We took our friends Frantoise and Stein Eriksen with us.

The most exciting part of the journey started with a train ride that had some curveballs (不顺利). When we were trying to get on a _________ from Zurich to Croatia, we had gotten the departure time wrong and had to _________ around the station to make it in time. We had a tough time finding a taxi to make it to the ship. We finally found a taxi and arrived an hour late. _________, they waited for us.

Once we got onto the ship we _________ it was not like a large hotel with great service. It was a tight quarter. The bathroom was very _________. The shower was a spout (喷头) connected to the bathroom sink. You turned it on and sprayed (喷洒) yourself, along with the rest of the room.

The week-long ship ride was full of _________. There were people from different nationalities speaking different languages. We stopped on islands of all sizes. We bicycled 30-40 kilometers. Then there were high winds — so high that the buses couldn’t run because they might blow over. So we took an expensive taxi, and headed back to make our flight home.

While we loved the more predictable parts of the trip, our real passion was in the _________ — the missed rides, the _________ ship, the mixture of cultures, and even the __________.

Sometimes people are so __________ that it scares them to do something different. __________ when they do get out of their comfort zone, the different experiences they once thought were __________ are what stand out. Mixing things up, trying new things, seeing something through another person’s eyes, being __________ to adventures — this is how you create __________.