2 . Travelling with friends can be an amazing experience where you could make lifelong memories or it could ruin your friendship.     1     Here are some rules you should follow to make sure your next trip with friends goes as smoothly as possible.

    2     Sure, you and your friends probably have some similar interests, but that’s not always the case. In an effort to keep everyone happy, go over travel plans and expectations ahead of time. Have each person categorize activities or sights into “must-see”, “want to see” and “would go if we have time”. Plan accordingly and make sure everyone can see some of their top attractions.

Communicate and respect each other. Everyone has personal preferences when travelling— from getting the bed closest to the bathroom or sitting in the airplane’s window seat. But sometimes things don’t go as you like. In this case, share your requirements directly with your travel companions.     3     Have a conversation when problems arise, for communication is the key.

Don’t disappear. When travelling with a group — or even just one other person — you may want some alone time. That’s completely fine, but make sure your friends know where you are and have a way of contacting you.     4    

Get off your phone. Of course, your friends will understand if you need to take a call from a family member, or in the event of a work emergency, but other than that, try to stay off your phone.     5     After all, the appeal of this type of trip is to spend time with friends. Just enjoy it!

3 . I live in Xizhou in Yunnan Province, on the historic Tea Horse Road. I have to admit that when I first heard that Paul Salopek was going to walk the entire globe on his own two feet, I was blown away. I couldn’t imagine that there could be such an unusual person in the world.

Last May, I met Paul. He told me that it was his first time in China. He talked to me with great excitement about the history, migrations, and discoveries in my region of China. He spoke of the Shu-Yandu Dao (the Southern Silk Road), the travels of the 17th-century Chinese explorer Xu Xiake, the Tea Horse Road and the early 20th-century American botanist Joseph Rock. He also talked of Xuanzang. Paul considered many of them heroes and in a sense Chinese pioneers of slow journalism.

I decided to accompany Paul on his walk toward Yunnan. On September 28, 2021, we set out. Our days were simple: walk, eat, sleep, and repeat. We woke up at sunrise, set off in high spirits, and rested at sunset, dragging ourselves into exhausted sleep.

We met many people on the road. Some were curious, surrounding us and watching us; some gave us directions; some invited us into their home to take a rest; some spoke of the charm of their hometown. We met many beautiful souls, simple souls and warm souls. We were walking with our minds.

Together, we were impressed by the biodiversity of the Gaoligong Mountains. As I walked on ancient paths through mountains, I seemed to hear the antique voices of past travelers urging me to be careful on the road.

Looking back on the more than 200 miles I walked with Paul, I came to a realization. Walking for its own sake, while healthy and admirable, is only a small part of the benefit of moving with our feet. A deeper reward is rediscovering the world around us, shortening the distance between each other, and sharing each other’s cultures.

In southern China, there is a famous road     1     (build) across Poyang Lake, which lies in the north of Jiangxi Province, China and is known as China’s second     2     (large) lake. People in China also call it “the most beautiful road under the water”.

This road is sure     3     (attract) a lot of attention towards the end of May every year. A lot of people come out of curiosity. The water level of the lake is so close to     4     surface of the road,     5     makes the view ahead broad and bright when people drive along. It’s as though they were taking a boat across the lake. The feeling is     6     (simple) wonderful!

For the next few months, this road is not above the surface     7     under the water. When the water level of Poyang Lake starts to go up, the road surface becomes unseen. However, drivers can still drive across the lake safely     8     watching the guardrails (防撞护栏) fixed on either side of the road. For thrill-seeking motorists, it’s like     9     (drive) an amphibious (水陆两栖的) super car. Then in a few days, the entire road     10     (flood) with the continuously rising water. A few months later, the road will reappear.

“Traveling to China seems like traveling to another world. Its many famous scenic attractions impressed me    1    (great),” an American said. The following is    2    he wrote on his website.

My friends and I had a family visit in Xi’an,     3    old city with a long history in China. The hosts were retired or stayed at home without a job, and they were friendly to    4    (visitor) from different countries coming their homes.

We    5     (taste) the true home-cooked dishes in the home of the family that we visited. For in-homing dinner, the host would prepare a list of menus in advance (提前) .Our tour guide asked     6     (we) for advice about the food, so the host would try to cook what we wanted to eat at his home, We just enjoyed the locally cooked dishes. It was quite a different and exciting experience.

Many foreigners enjoy    7    (learn) how to make Chinese dumplings. We    8     (offer) a general cooking class in the local family. The host taught us to make dumplings step by step with lots of    9    (patient). And we didn’t need to pay any money    10    this. Travel China Guide offers this kind of service free of charge.

The family visit in X in was a good chance for us to get to know Chinese people’s daily life.

8 . A new study in the journal of Tourism Analysis shows frequent travelers are happier with their lives than people who don’t travel at all.

Chun-Chu Chen, an assistant professor at Washington State University, conducted a survey to find out why some individuals travel more frequently than others and whether or not travel and tourism experiences have a lasting effect on happiness and wellness.

The results of his analysis show individuals who pay more attention to tourism-related information and frequently discuss their travel plans with friends are more likely to go on regular vacations than those who aren’t constantly thinking about their next trip. Additionally, participants in the survey who reported regularly traveling at least 75 miles away from home also reported being about 7% happier when asked about their overall well-being than those who reported traveling very rarely or not at all.

“While things like work, family life and friends play a bigger role in overall reports of well-being. The accumulation (积累) of travel experiences’ does appear to have a small yet noticeable effect on self-reported life satisfaction,” Chen said.

Participants in the study were asked about the importance of travel in their lives, how much time they spent looking into and planning future vacations, and how many trips they went on over a year. They were also asked about their life satisfaction. Out of the 500 survey participants, a little over half reported going on more than four pleasurable trips a year. Only 7% of respondents did not take any vacations.

As travel restrictions (限制) due to COVID-19 pandemic begin to relax in the future, the research could have important effects on both tourists and the tourism industry. Based on the results of the study, Chen said travel companies, resorts and even airlines, could launch social media campaigns, such as creating signs about the scientific benefits of vacation, to spark people’s interest in discussing their opinions about travel.

9 . Located in Ontario, Canada, the Niagara Falls is the seventh wonder of the world and the fastest flowing waterfall in the world. When I went to tour it, I found there were some truly amazing ways to _________ the waterfall.

One way was to take a _________ to the center of the Niagara Falls. Everyone on board was given a raincoat that looked more like a garbage bag. We would need it later on when we got close to the waterfall. There were huge waves and thick mist (迷雾), although we were still far away from Niagara Falls. Inside the mist, another boat approached us. As that boat _________, we waved hello to the blue-coated _________. After a while, we were as _________ as possible to the waterfall, which was like a wall in front of the boat. The _________ here was white with huge waves that _________ to knock over the boat. A few minutes was enough to make this a very exciting trip.

Another _________ was to go behind the waterfall. This adventure started with everybody walking into a wet and _________ tunnel (隧道) one by one. It was __________ by several lanterns, making us see the tunnel clearly. As the tunnel came to an end, I could see that we had __________ onto a platform at the foot of the waterfall. Here, I had a good __________ of how thick the waterfall was. It was at least one meter __________.

__________ I experienced Niagara Falls, I was shocked by how __________ it was. And I look forward to taking the zip line next time to view Niagara Falls from the sky. It will definitely be a wonderful time, too.

10 . Cheap Travel

You can pay a lot of money to travel around the world. Or you can pay nothing at all. Here are some places you’ll never regret visiting. They won’t cost you a coin.

You need to go here to see the Egyptian mummies (木乃伊), the ancient Greek statues and so many other treasures. It’s open every day, and unlike most other places of interest in England that cost an arm and a leg, it’s totally free.

You can walk a pathway from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument with other sights in between. Do you know you can go up in the lift to the top of the Washington Monument? Tickets are free, but pay a small fee to book them in advance to avoid being disappointed.

Want to see Viking artworks and learn about Irish country life? All four branches of this museum are free to visit, including museums devoted to archaeology, natural history, decorative arts history and country life. The museum of country life in Turlough Park, Mayo, is devoted to Irish countryside traditions, while the Natural History Museum is especially famous for its collection of insects.