2 . When it comes to experiencing other cultures, there’s no doubt that traveling is one of the most effective ways. ____, if you don’t have the time, money, or energy to ____ a trip abroad, you have other choices. In fact, you probably don’t even need to ____ your hometown to ____ other cultures!

Given the great ____ of America today, chances are that even the people you meet every day represent a ____ range of cultural heritage and experiences. Your friends, neighbors, and co-workers may ____ people of different national, religious, or ethnic backgrounds, all within arm’s reach. Take the ____ to get to know more about them. You might be ____ at the variety of people living right next to you.

Other types of cultural exploration can be ____. Consider spending a weekend learning about a different culture by ____ some activities such as visiting your local museum, reading a book and trying new cuisine.

In the ____, you can learn about works of art from other countries, look at archaeological finds from distant lands and think about how they may have ____ particular cultures. Read a book that explains the history of different societies and how they’ve evolved (进化) into the culture they are today. That can help you ____ how their customs, traditions, and food got to be the way they are today. Even food offers chances to ____ cultural variety and how it is expressed through cuisine.

3 . What I love most about traveling isn’t seeing the famous landmarks or eating great food. It’s watching my mom gasp (倒抽气) at something ______and unexpected. In Yellowknife, it was the bright aurora (极光). In Japan, it was 3,000 cherry trees. To get to them, we had to travel great distances (距离) and______our trips just right. All of them were better because we saw them_______.

When I tell people how much I like to______with my mom they often feel_______.We expect parents to show their children the______. When children become older, things are______. They prefer traveling with friends. They no longer have to see the world through their______.

When I was little, my mother was my_______. She is responsible (负责的) for everything that makes me a good person. She’s kind and patient but she has little time to_______. So at 23, I booked two tickets to Yellowknife. We would explore the world as friends; I could______my mother to see the world on her own terms.

Our trips are not without______times. We’ve gotten on the wrong train, encountered (遭遇) wild animals, and even lost our passports. But I have never______any of the trips with my mother. Before our ______, I had no idea how much my mom loved the mountains. Most of all, I never knew how much I could______her as a friend.

4 . We had just come back home after a big trip. My 5-year-old boy, Baldwin, couldn't _________ to share our stories with his grandmother. Our final _________ is the Appalachian Trail, one of the longest footpaths in the world. We finished the route without any _________ in 209 days. The _________ was really hard work, but full of fun. The landscape along the way was _________, with green woods and wild animals like kangaroos. My husband and I had little time to _________ our own physical pain from walking so many kilometers, but tried hard to keep our little boy happy and excited. When we were tired, we got to eat Skittles, a colorful sweet treat, to make my son_________. We slept in a tent, _________ at 5: 30 in the morning and walking all day. Talking with other hikers along the way prevented _________ and brought extra joy.

My son was even several months __________ than “Buddy Backpacker”, a boy who once held the record for the youngest person for the route. We had been hiking __________ my son was two years old. We took every opportunity to go outside and __________ the world. It may seem like an impossible activity for a child. However, it turned out that he was strong enough to __________ it. My son's trip earned __________ from Dale, the oldest person to hike the route. He said, “It's going to change his life forever. Baldwin has gone through some hardships, making him stronger. This challenge contributes to his social and __________ development. He will smile through his life.”

5 . An off-duty pilot was called a "legend" after stepping in to fly a plane himself to stop the flight being cancelled.

Michael Bradley, a(n) _______ easyJet pilot, had a holiday when he _______ flying a plane that was delayed by two hours. He told passengers on board the Manchester Airport flight to Alicante that he was _______ his services as there was no pilot available. Mr. Bradley was filmed by passenger Michelle Potts making the _______ and Ms. Potts posted the video on Facebook.

Mr. Bradley said, "My wife was then with my little boy. She _______ and complained ‘Our flight's delayed by two hours because there's no _______ for the flight.’ So just before we went through security I _______ if this is worth a phone call. I think it is because I'd like to go on holiday."

Mr. Bradley phoned up easyJet and said, "I'm standing in the _______ doing nothing. I have got my _______ with me and I'd very much like to go on holiday and if you need a(n) ________ , I'm standing here ready to go." And his bosses called him back in less than a minute to give him the go-ahead, saying, "Please, please, can you fly the airplane to Alicante?" Then he said to the passengers, "If you're alright for one of your pilots to ________ this today, we'll go to Alicante. " This was ________ with cheers from the passengers.

An easyJet spokesman said the flight's delay was due to the knock-on effects of the French Air Traffic Control ________ on Sunday. He added, "We are ________ to one of our pilots who was ________ on holiday from Manchester to Alicante on 2^nd, September with his family and ________ to operate the flight. This ________ customers could get to their destination and shows the ________ of our crew. This is ________ in line with regulations as he had his license and ID with him. Safety is always our ________ priority."

6 . I was 11 years old when my family went on a holiday to Beijing. That was my first trip to China. One morning, my brother became _______ and had to stay in the hotel to rest. As my mum had to be with him, she told me to _______ breakfast from the food store in front of the _______. She also told me that she would be right by the window, _______ me.

Had I been back home, it would have been a(n) _______ task. But my inexperience and the _______ to the environment turned it into a highly challenging experience I still remember _______. The food store had a lot of people coming and going. I had no _______ what to do. Overwhelmed (不知所措的) and on the point of crying, I suddenly _______ what my mum had told me. I stepped out of the shop and looked up. True to her __________, she was just by the fifth-floor window, giving me the thumbs-up (翘拇指). I was comforted.

Although she wasn't right by my side, I knew she was __________ giving me the confidence to complete the task. On the top of the __________ were all Chinese characters (汉字), with most characters unrecognizable to me. At that moment, I __________ my task. My mum had given me very simple instructions—buy several cakes—but among the __________, what she said was gone.

I realized that was the biggest challenge I faced. I had no idea how to __________, or to whom to give my orders. Fortunately, a lady saw me and communicated with me in fluent English. That made me remember what I wanted to buy.