1 . The part of the environmental movement that draws my firm’s attention is the design of buildings. Today, thousands of people come to ________ building conferences, and the idea that buildings can be good for people and the environment will be increasingly ________ in years to come. Back in 1984 we discovered that most manufactured products for decoration weren’t designed for ________ use. The “energy-efficient” sealed commercial buildings constructed after the 1970s energy crisis ________ indoor air quality problems caused by materials such as paint, wall covering and carpet. So for 20 years, we’ve been looking for ways to make these materials ________   for people and the planet.

Home builders can now use materials, such as green paints, that release significantly ________   amounts of chemical compounds, which people believe don’t ________ the quality of the air.   ________, our basic design strategy is focused not simply on being “less bad” but on creating ________ healthful materials that can be either safely returned to the soil or ________ by industry again and again. For example, the world’s largest carpet manufacturer has already ________ a carpet that is fully and safely recyclable.

Look at it this way: no one ________ to create a building that destroy the planet. But our current industrial systems are basically causing these conditions, whether we like it or not. So   ________ of simply trying to reduce the damage, we are ________ a positive approach. We’re giving people high-quality, healthful products and an opportunity to make choices that have a ________   effect on the world. It is not just the building industry, either. Entire cities are taking these environmentally positive approaches to design, planning and building.

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 . Borneo is home to some of the most extraordinary wildlife. Several years ago, I decided to go there for a visit. A local person offered to be my guide, which was a great bonus for me.

One day, my guide turned off the smooth road and took me across a ________ hillside instead. We picked our way carefully when ________, a Rafflesia (大王花) popped into my view among those stones. Oh, dear! More than ________, I bent down and put my nose practically inside the flower’s core.

________, to my surprise, it was only one of the ________ during the trip.

As I ________ the end of my trip, there was still something I had yet to see. We planned to ________ most feared creature there, the saltwater crocodile, which can grow to a ________ of 6 meters or more. When we shone a flashlight towards the muddy shore, little sounds ________ in the darkness as if something unseen underwater had broken the ________ Taking a second look, we spotted two greedy ________ just above the water line. As we drew near, it ________ and we saw clearly it was a crocodile. With great caution, we neared it and finally could ________ its true dimensions. It was a baby-no more than 0. 6 meter long. Aha, whatever, I could now report to the ________ back home, who had never been to Borneo, that I had ________ a hungry crocodile in the wild and lived to tell the tale.

The world out there is so fascinating. Don’t let work run your life. Why not step outdoors and enjoy the wonders nature offers to you?

4 . 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.

5 . The Neelakurinji flower that blooms after a cycle of twelve years was the main attraction behind choosing the Blue Mountains or Western Ghats for the family outing. A long drive along the _________ paths of Kodaikanal was a treat in itself and all the members of the family enjoyed _________ the tender(娇嫩的)green plantation along the road.

The carpet of the purple Neelakurinjis along the hill slopes _________ in front of our eyes as we reached the picnic spot. After freshening up at the restroom of the picnic area, we set out to _________ the forests, through which we would reach the slopes of the Neelakurinji flower meadows. Rain had eased off by then and a magical mist _______ from the top of the mountains.

The soil was _________ but there was no clogging of water(积水), which made hiking through the grassland easy for us. The number of flowers gradually increased and finally we were standing in a purple-flower-laden grassland where soil could not be seen beneath.

We spent a lot of time taking _________ of the rare flowers before hiking back to the picnic area. The caretaker of the picnic spot _________ us with coffee sourced from the nearby coffee plantation. The lunch was _______     fried rice, chili chicken and fried vegetables which are also __________ from the farm nearby.

We spent some more hours watching the rain in the mountains while having the fruit custard(蛋奶沙司)prepared by the caretaker’s __________. The couple also talked with us regarding his farms and the picnic spot which is ________   with tourists during public holidays. Waving goodbye and __________ to return someday, we were homeward bound.

A __________ from the dullness of life not only added a sense of quiet to our mind, but also helped each of us spend quality time with each other, something we do not get in the routine schedules. The Western Ghats outing was a lifetime __________ with the Neelakurinjis.

6 . The bell rang. Jacob smiled and he was glad his math class was _______. He grabbed his lunch bag out of his backpack and looked inside. He blinked. Beside his usual lunch, there was an envelope. Jacob opened it and slid out a (n) _______. It was of a suitcase. Jacob _______ what it meant.

The next day at lunchtime Jacob opened his bag. A new envelope peeked out. Inside was a tiny toy _______. Now he was _______! When he got home, he asked his mother, “Are we taking a plane somewhere?” She just _______ at him, her eyes sparkling. “I guess it’s a mystery(谜)” was the only _______ she gave him.

Over the next few days, Jacob _______ more: a small American flag, a leaf from a palm tree and _______ a juicy orange. Then one day, when he finally got to open his lunch bag, there was ________ in it except for his usual lunch. His heart sank. Maybe he had been wrong after all. Maybe there was no trip. He was very ________.

Just before the end of the day, the school secretary handed Jacob a small box. “This is for you and ________ your mother outside.” He opened the box. A smile slid across his face. He ________ and pulled out a small black hat with two round mouse ears.

He hurried down to the main school doors where his mother and father were waiting, with suitcases. “We’re going to Disney World, right?” Jacob couldn’t contain his excitement. “Mystery ________,” laughed his mother. “Come on, we’re headed to the ________!”

7 . You may ________ why I travel so much and why I’ve been to so many countries. Well, for me, I really love it. For another, my mind really longs for new, and ________ things. There are a lot of ways to ________ newness in your life, but going to ________ places and meeting new people is one of the best.

Now, we have been to Europe many times, so maybe it doesn’t sound like such a new experience. ________, this time was quite different for us, and I think I ________ it even better. This time we took a cruise(游轮) ship called the Viking. The staff did so much for their ________. They arranged all the land tours at the ________ stops, and they served a great food and drinks. They were also always there to ________ any question that passengers might have. Having the cruise ________ take care of all the details really took the pressure off our minds and reduced the ________ on our bodies.

Whether you choose to take a cruise ship, a plane ________, or a road trip, I highly ________ that you do more traveling, ________ now that we can travel so much more than we had been in the past couple of years. It’ll be good for your mind and your ________.

8 . When the Italian traveler Marco Polo came to Hangzhou in the 13^th century, he thought he was in the most charming (迷人的) city in the world. And Hangzhou often __________ “Paradise on Earth”, remains as __________ today.

It was named one of the top ten “Foreigners’ Favorite Cities in China” on Nov. 6, according to a survey jointly (共同地) __________by a magazine and a government department.

The West Lake is __________ the most famous landmark in the city. It is __________ by low mountains on three sides. Su Dongpo, a great poet of the Song Dynasty, best described the __________ by comparing it to the famous beauty Lady Xizi. He said, “How charming she looks whether richly made of only slightly so!”

Hangzhou is a city with a history of more than two thousand years, so there are dozens of __________ sites around the lake, many of which have __________ to build the romantic nature of the city. The Broken Bridge is one of the best examples. It isn’t __________ broken. It got its name because after it snows and the __________ comes out, the snow on the sunny side of the bridge melts (融化) first, while the rest __________ . Thus, from a distance, the bridge appears to be __________. Legend (传说) has it that a young man named Xu Xian and the White Snake, a spirit (妖) who changed into a beautiful woman, __________ and fell in love on the bridge during a rainy day.

Hangzhou’s romantic characteristics are shared by both the local people and __________ from home and abroad. Once you are here, you’d feel blessed by nature. Isn’t it like in paradise on earth to __________ a cup of green tea in a quiet teahouse beside the West Lake?

9 . In 2008, I traveled to a remote region in southwest China to tell the story about the Nu River. The word “Nu” means “angry” in Chinese. Here many ________ lived in the mountains along the narrow river. There were ________ bridges over the river and most people from the villages had to ________ it by zip lines (滑索).

I went to a place closest to a town on a market day. When I got there, a stream of people was already crossing over the ________ waters of the river. They did it ________ or in pairs. Some of them even went with ________ in their arms, such as chickens and pigs. I even saw a goat.

With a camera around my neck, I hooked onto the return line and moved forward until I ________ midway above the river. The waters did look angry below me.

Hanging over the river, I ________ people crossing until those waiting to return home became very ________ . I pulled myself back to the roadside to let them pass, and then hooked onto the line again for another try. Suddenly, I saw a group of people were heading toward the zip lines with a ________!

“What’s the angle? “I asked myself, as I ________ my position. I wanted the river waters in the picture but that was not easy to do. Before I could check all the ________ they tied a rope around the cow, hooked it on the line, and gave it a push. Kicking its legs in the air, the cow ________ the steep line above the angry river.

I reached the line’s end just as the cow closed in. For a second, my camera was in the cow’s face. The view was ________ —completed by the angry river below.

Nowadays, these zip lines have been ________ by modern bridges and government housing projects have been designed to encourage the people to move down to the riversides.

10 . Many of us develop a desire to travel. ________, few are lucky enough to turn that desire into a ________ career. For Trish Sare, owner of Vancouver-based Bike Hike Adventures Inc., it was a ________ story.

“I left home when I was 20 with a ________ of traveling the world for five years,” recalls Sare. “During that period, I spent a lot of time meeting adventure companies abroad and taking part in some of their adventures. Upon returning, I studied ________ and fitness leadership. Then, when we had to do our field placement (实习), I ________ a tour agency. When they heard about my experience, they asked if I wanted to go to Costa Rica for my placement and ________ as a tour leader. And that is where it all began.”

That beginning marked the accomplishment of a ________ dream for Sare. Today, she can ________ those exciting memories from such places as Thailand, Nepal, Costa Rica and more. Although Sare followed her dream of traveling for many years, she began ________ something that offered just a little bit more. So, in 2014, she took the big ________ of starting her own company: Bike Hike Adventures Inc.

Her career has ________ her all over the world to interact with people of so many different cultures and backgrounds. Looking back, Sare can ________ say that it’s been the right choice for her. Here’s her ________ for those wanting a similar path: “Do some traveling ________ your own first and then you’ll be marketable to companies,” she concludes.