1 . My father was born in a small town in the US. He wasn't sure what he wanted from ______， but something told him to ______ and begin a new adventure.

He began that adventure traveling to cities in the US before going on to Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines. He took my mother and us three daughters with him and went wherever the road ______ him.

It's easy to feel _____ when you're on the road. We made lots of new friends on our trip — most of them are mechanics, since we often ______ hours in repair shops. But that was a way much _____ than sitting by the roadside while waiting for the engine to ______ when it was 40 ℃ outside.

Getting along well sometimes seemed ______. There were always a lot of _____， especially among us back seat passengers about who had to ______ in the middle. But even if it was hard, we learned a lot about ______. When we were traveling in the Philippines, we drove to Quezon City one day. It should have been an hour's drive but was nearly three thanks to bad roads and ______ traffic. “Did you put our suitcases in the car?” my father asked my mother as we arrived there. From the back seat, we saw her ______ turn toward my father. “No, ” she said. “I thought you did.” That was how a seven hour car trip turned into a 16hour one, which was mostly spent in ______.

On occasions like that, we had to learn to let go of our anger because we were ______ in a rolling box with the same people for the rest of the ______. Even if I sometimes felt like opening the car door and ______ one of my sisters out, I kept my feelings to myself.

This is why road trips were like ______ universities to us. We ______ our PhDs (博士学位) in how to get along with other people just by traveling in our old car.

If we were ______ given a second chance at life, we would do it all over again. Only this time would I put the suitcases in the car myself.

2 . My father was born in a small town in the US. He wasn’t sure what he wanted from _______, but something told him to _______ and begin a new adventure. He began that adventure traveling to cities in the US before going on to Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines. He took my mother and us three daughters with him and went wherever the road _______ him.

It’s easy to feel _______ when you’re on the road. We made lots of new friends on our trip — most of them are mechanics, since we often _______ hours in repair shops. But that was a way much _______ than sitting by the roadside while waiting for the engine to _______ when it was 40℃ outside.

Getting along well sometimes seemed _______. There were always a lot of _______, especially among us back-seat passengers about who had to _______ in the middle. But even if it was hard, we learned a lot about _______. When we were traveling in the Philippines, we drove to Quezon City one day. It should have been an hour’s drive but was nearly three thanks to bad roads and _______ traffic. “Did you put our suitcases in the car?” my father asked my mother as we arrived there. From the back seat, we saw her slowly turn towards my father. “No,” she said. “I thought you did.” That was how a three-hour car trip turned into a nine-hour one, which was mostly spent in _______.

On occasions like that, we had to learn to let go of our anger because we were _______ in a rolling box with the same people for the rest of the _______. Even if I sometimes felt like opening the car door and _______ one of my sisters out, I kept my feelings to myself.

This is why road trips were like _______ universities to us. We _______ our PHDs in how to get along with other people just by traveling in our old car.

If we were _______ given a second chance at life, we would do it all over again. Only this time would I put the _______ in the car myself.

3 . I grew up on stories about Ernest Shackleton and all the great polar explorers. I had a really ________ mental picture of what the environment they ________ might be like. Those tales of exploration were the reason why I got into travel ________ in the first place.

I had wanted to go to Spitsbergen for years. I was actually ______on a trip with my wife, but we had to cancel — for the ________ possible reason that she fell pregnant with our first child. A couple of years later, I got the ________ to shoot(拍摄)a story on the Noorderlich, a ship that gets ________ into the ice every year — just as the boats of the old explorers did when they ________ in the Arctic. I thought the experience would be _______ because I love riding snowmobiles and dog sleds but it didn’t quite turn out well. It was an eight-hour snowmobile journey from the capital Longyearbyen to the _______ . We rode through snowstorms and it was one of the ____things I’ve ever done. It was really quite _______ and we were ______ about on ice during the last part of the journey. I began to think: “This had better be _______ it.”

And then I saw the ship, lit by the moonlight. It looked so strange and frightening, ____ on its own in the middle of nowhere. I almost didn’t want to get close to it because it was so perfect in its _______. It was exactly how I had _____ it to be. _______experiences are rarely like that---there’s usually some disappointment ____ somewhere. When you have held a mental picture of a place since your childhood and you see that it exists in ______, it really is a dream that comes true.

4 . Travelling alone can be a little frightening. However, this time is ______. Last week, I had a holiday from work, but all my friends were occupied and none of them had the same ______ as mine. Such as it was, I still booked a train ride to Toronto and __ a bed in a hotel for one week.

One week by myself? Would I be lonely? Would I be ______? Quite the opposite! In fact, there are many ______ that come from travelling alone. Firstly, I was able to do whatever I wanted. I enjoyed spending hours in museums that might have seemed ______ to some of my friends. I walked all around the ______, which some people may have found too exhausting. Instead of ______ someone else to remember ______ or to suggest activities to do, I discovered my independence and ______ map-reading skills that I didn’t know I had. I could ______ and go to sleep when I wanted. Being in the safe environment of a hotel with like-minded ______ also gives a great opportunity to meet new people from all over the world, which can help conquer ______.

I found that there were also some disadvantages of travelling alone ______ the benefits. I missed having someone to talk to and to ______ ideas off. Experiences are often more enjoyable if they are ______, and part of the fun of travelling is the ______ that you have with your friends or families afterwards.______, eating in a restaurant or cooking in the hotel alone is less fun.

I am very ______ of myself for travelling alone and I had a fantastic time in Toronto, I would rather be by myself than with someone who is lazy and ______ to deal with in the future!