1 . 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, 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 ______ 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 tight quarters. The bathroom was very ______ . The shower was a spout (喷头) connected to the bathroom sink. You ______ it on and sprayed 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 ______ 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 ______ 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 ______ .

Yours sincerely

Li Hua

3 . When I was 25 years old, I had a big dream in my mind and lots of things in my backpack. I wanted to travel around Africa with my ________. So I left my hometown with great confidence and   ________ to Cape Town, not really ________ what to do next. ________ , before my trip actually started, I met a kind, old Nigerian man. He gave me the best travel ________ I ever received: “Be like a student on your way around the world.”

It sounds ________, but it really changed my mind about travelling. He helped me________that travel is about learning and observing different ________ . “It’s far too easy to go into a ________ country for you and believe your ways are better. But if you study, ask questions, and ________ to learn from the locals, you’ll have much richer ________ , ” he promised me.

On other trips ________ I was on my tour way to Cancun, I didn’t know the man so 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 ________ anyone or anything. Those people and   ________existed in those very places to which I had ________a visit.

This time, I promised myself that I would be a ________ student traveller. After seven months of ________     travelling from Cape Town to Cairo, I returned home. Having a student-like attitude helped me learn a lot. This trip satisfied me more than any other trip ever did to me.

4 . Welcome to Los Angeles. Here are some best things to do in Los Angeles (LA) with your kids.     

Fall at the Beach

Thanks to its almost perfect weather all through the year, a visit to the beach is one of the best things to do when in Los Angeles with kids. While they enjoy themselves nearby, you can simply relax and have a good rest in the sun.     

Trip to Disneyland       

A trip to the City of Angels with your little angels is incomplete without a visit to the Magic Kingdom. The joy they'll feel from being around all those Disney characters will light up your day, too.       

Visit to the museums       

If you want to turn your stay in LA into an educational one for your kids, you should visit the museums. Starting with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, or the California Science Center, or even the Kidspace Museum in Pasadena, you have many choices. I'm sure a visit to all these places will make your kids learn more.     

Visit to the Universal Studios Hollywood

Your kids could get to see interesting things from some of the most popular movies ever. From the theme park of Jurassic Park to Wisteria Lane from the TV play Desperate Housewives, the Universal Studios Hollywood is a place that we all find wonderful.

5 . The Hearst Castle

Hearst Castle is a park on the central California coast and a National Historic Landmark. It was designed by Julia Morgan for William Randolph Hearst from 1919 until 1947. In 1957, the owner gave it to the state of California. Since that time it has been a state historic park where its large collection of art and antiques are open for public tours. Despite its location far from any urban center, the site attracts about one million visitors per year.

Guided Tours

• Tour One is recommended for first time visitors. It now includes the movie, Hearst Castle Building the Dream.

• Tour Two gives visitors a closer look at the main house's upper floors, Mr. Hearst's private suite, the libraries, and the kitchen.

• Tour Three looks at the Castle's North Wing, guest rooms and guest house Casa Del Monte.

• Tour Four includes the impressive gardens and grounds, the largest guesthouse, the wine basement, and the Hidden Terrace.

Ticket Prices

Hearst Castle accepts VISA, Master Card, American Express and Discover. Free day use parking is available for automobiles, motorcycles, tour buses and recreational vehicles.

*Children under 6 are free when accompanied by a paying adult.

Reservation (预订) Information

7 . A tiger park in Phuket, Thailand is preparing to welcome back foreign visitors this week. The reopening is part of a plan to bring back foreign visitors with COVID-19 vaccination(疫苗接种)to the island. The visitors do not have to follow lockdown rules. After 14 days, as long as they have no coronavirus infection(新冠感染), they can travel elsewhere in Thailand.

Chadarat Taodaeng is the general manager of Tiger Kingdom in Phuket. He said the park had put safety measures in place before Thursday’s reopening to help foreign visitors feel comfortable.

"We have vaccinated more than 90 percent of our workers and also trained them about the ‘new normal' tourism," the manager said. The park has more than 50 tigers and a cheetah. And visitors can get close to them. Since the pandemic(流行病） lockdowns, visitor numbers have dropped from nearly 1, 000 a day to fewer than 20.

Thailand lost about $50 billion in tourism when foreign arrivals fell to 6.7 million last year. In 2019, the country had nearly 40 million visitors. And Phuket suffered from a large number of job losses and business closings.

"I’m happy that finally there will be people visiting the tigers, and Phuket city will be bustling again," said the park’s assistant manager, Phonphawit Ton-od. She added that the reopening would "help with both tigers’ and the workers’ mental health."

Even though there has been an increase in the popularity of parks like the Tiger Kingdom, experts（专家） are against the opening. Clearly, there are worries over safety after some attacks （袭击）by the animals. Bringing back visitors is important to Thailand’s economy（经济）. But government officials also have to deal with a recent increase in coronavirus infections.

10 . I travel a lot, and I find out different “styles” of giving directions every time I ask “How can I get to the post office？”

In Japan, people use landmarks (地标) in their directions because most streets don't have names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight ahead and turn left at the hotel. The post office is across from the bus stop.”

In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are no towns or buildings in many places. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. In Kansas, for example, people will say, “Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another             mile.”

People in Los Angeles, California have no idea of distance. They measure(测量)distance in time, not miles.“How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh, ” they answer. “It's about five minutes from here.”

It's true that a person doesn't know the answer sometimes. What happens in such a situation？A New Yorker might say, “Sorry，I don't know.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers, “I don't know.” People believe that “I don't know.” is impolite. They usually give an answer, often a wrong one. A tourist can get very, very lost in Yucatan!