2 . As a traveler with a disability, I have always avoided cruises. This expedition-style small-ship cruise changed my mind.

When our expedition leader ________ we would make a Zodiac (卓迪船) ________ at Jan Mayen, a tiny island in the Arctic Ocean, I stepped out onto my balcony aboard our ship, ________ to find clear skies and calm seas. ________, I was met with a gust of wet wind and a view of mist-covered mountains in the distance. Jan Mayen wasn’t on our itinerary (行程), and due to its ________ location and often unpredictable weather, very few people ever ________ the island. I knew the ________ weren’t ideal, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me.

In fact, the possibility of ________ adventures was one of the reasons I chose this small-ship cruise. So I ________ joined my shipmates in the mud room, where we put on waterproof clothes and life jackets before hopping in the Zodiacs for a bumpy ________ to a black-sand beach. Even the fierce wind and rain couldn’t ________ our excitement as we ________ our way to the beach and hiked to a viewpoint, pausing to photograph little purple flowers ________ the volcanic rocks.

Our visit there wasn’t about what we could do or see. It was an opportunity to just be—to exist in a brief ________ on a tiny, often inaccessible, volcanic rock in the Arctic. And that’s something I never thought I’d ________ in my lifetime.

4 . I’ve reached the turn-around point of the day’s kayaking (皮划艇) trip. Sweat runs down my cheek as I ______ my fingers through the cool water. I look around. It’s just me, a couple of seagulls, and shining freshwater to the horizon. This, I whisper to myself, is ______.

Solo outings had never ______ my mind before because I always had loyal friends willing to tag along. But three years ago, I moved to Cleveland. Meeting close friends in a new city is ______. And a world wide health crisis made ______ impossible.

In October 2022, I decided to ______ a whole day on a solo hiking trip. I went to Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) to ______ the autumn leaves. Five miles in, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so alive. I was more ______ of my surroundings than I’d ever been while hiking that day. I studied the markings of trees, focused my ears on each forest sound and did something I had almost never spared ______ for: I listened to my own thoughts. Every word in my mind pointed to a newfound ______—solo hiking is my happy place. From then on, I have adjusted myself to any solo activity.

Pride ______ through my body when I first launched my kayak. My chest, ______ tightened by nerves, was bursting with happiness as I finally reached the middle of the river that I’d long ______ standing on shore before.

Adventuring alone has become like medicine for me! It’s also pushed me to go ______ my comfort zone and to meet new people. Through meetups and social media, my adventure friend circle has ______. But at least once per month, I schedule time to hit nature with my favorite trail buddy: me.

5 . The New Technology and Travel Revolution

Technological advances have changed the way we travel, and these new developments promise an even more _______ and exciting experience. Do you want to know what it has _______ for us in the not-too-distant future?

Today, nobody _______ that technology and travel are the perfect combination. This _______ force also plays a crucial role in the way we travel. According to a Google Travel study, it is so _______ that 74% of travelers plan their trips on the Internet, while only 13% still use travel agencies to prepare them.

The cell phone has become our tour guide, travel agency, best restaurant locator, map, and more. It’s _______ during the entire purchase journey. In fact, according to TripAdvisor, 45% of users use their smartphones for everything having to do with their vacations.

This is why there’s a need to _______ corporate services and communications to these devices. KLM, for example, has already created an information service for passengers using Facebook Messenger. This system, once someone has made a _______, sends the user information regarding their ticket through Facebook Messenger as well as their boarding pass or updates about the _______ of their flight. This way, the user has all the relevant information about their trip in the palm of their hand using an app that they already use, ________ the need to download anything else.

Augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) have also entered the travel world, and the truth is that it’s a trend ________ all the possibilities they can offer. More and more companies use it to show users a cabin on a cruise ship or transport them, for a few seconds, to the Great Wall of China.

In addition, we’re all familiar with Siri and Alexa, the ________ assistants that meet all our needs: what’s the weather like today in my city, turn the radio on, open my email, and more. Hotels are now starting to ________ this “help” thanks to the arrival of virtual assistants that are ________ designed for this environment. IBM recently ________ Watson Assistant, an AI-powered virtual assistant that creates an interactive and personalized experience for consumers. This is the open technology that firms can employ and adapt to their needs. This way, the virtual assistant won’t be called Watson but instead, have the name that the hotel chooses.

7 . For almost every traveler, culture shock is unavoidable. But culture shock isn’t always a ________ thing. It can be an indication that you’re growing. The new ________ stretch your mind about the world—different languages, cultures, customs are just a few ways a travel culture shock can ________. If you’re able to ________ the culture shock, then you will be open to ________ these foreign experiences.

When I traveled to Egypt, I knew neither their language nor what to expect. All I ________ was it’s conservative. When I landed, I really felt as though I’d been ________ to another world. The biggest shock for me was the lack of ________ on the road, horses on the side transporting goods, three people ________ on a one-person motorcycle, four lanes but six cars crowding in—anything ________!

On the first night, something frightening happened. A very loud ________ voice went off at midnight. I felt ________ for the first few seconds until I realized it was the adhan(祷告). I then got used to it and admired the locals for the way they ________ their time to ensure they could complete the adhan.

As a woman, another ________ of mine was ensuring I followed the Egyptian dress styles and dressed ________. No matter how conservative my dress though, I couldn’t help but ________, especially with my bright red hair!

While I did get a bit of unwanted ________ (mostly by school girls wanting to take my picture), traveling definitely gave me a ________ cultural experience. I’ve since traveled several times and always managed to ________ things to be shocked about, but I love continually being surprised by the ________ of Egypt—the Nile and the mysterious pyramids!

8 . 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/an _________ of ours. We took our friends Frantoise and Stein Eriksen with us.

The most _________ 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 at first, we had gotten the departure time wrong and had to _________ to the station. Unfortunately, It was late. So we turn to a ship journey. To _________ 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 room. The bathroom was very _________. The shower was a spout (喷头) connected to the bathroom sink. You _________ 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 island of all sizes. We bicycled 30-40 kilometers. Then there were high winds — so high that the buses couldn’t __________ because they might blow over. So we took an expensive taxi. And __________ 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 adventure — this is how you create __________.

10 . Many people want to buy the newest gadget (小玩意儿), the fastest car and the most expensive watch, but what are these things really worth?

For some people, these things _______ them to achieve status (社会地位). They are cool because they have a cool car, or they are _______ at the newest Xbox game. Lots of people say that _______ new things makes them happy. They _______ having new, pretty, impressive things. _______, the problem is that people can’t remain _______ and the feeling you get when you buy something new fades . There’ll always be another _______ iPhone. You’ll stop liking your car. Your friend will get Beats headphones in a more _______ colour and they’ll look so much nicer! Things get old and out of _______, and someone else will always have something better.

So, what can you buy and stay happy with? The research ________ that the best thing to spend your extra ________ on is doing things like travelling, learning to cook or learning a language. What about going to the theatre or climbing a mountain?

In the long term, people are happier with money they spend on ________ than on things. You forget what shoes you wore, but you ________ running a marathon! When you do new things or things you enjoy, you ________ life experience and memories. You can share adventures with people and tell stories. Furthermore, it is always ________ when you meet someone who has done the ________ thing as you can swap stories. You have an instant ________with this person and can have an amazing time ________ the things you’ve done. Even if you don’t enjoy the experience, you can ________ something and often a little while later you see the positives of it. At the very least, it’s a story to tell — maybe even an amusing one.

So forget about designer clothes and fancy gadgets — a new skill or ________ lasts longer!