1 . One day, Marga asked if I would join her in hiking to Base Camp at the foot of Mount Qomolangma to celebrate her 60th birthday. I _________ the opportunity.

We met our guide Achut Pandey in Kathmandu. He was a man of joy and _________, who had been to Base Camp over 100 times.

When we left Namche Bazaar, we took the Three High Passes route, which is less-traveled, longer and more _________. The temperatures ranged from the teens to below 0°F. We were nearly _________. When we were done with dinner, we _________ ourselves to our sleeping bags. While we _________ were able to down a couple of eggs and a piece of toast, the higher we went, the less we _________. Eventually, it was a lot of _________ to just eat a bowl of rice. The altitude _________ us in other ways too. As our appetites slowed, so did our ____________. Renjo La Pass, the first pass, was supposed to take eight hours. It took 12.

Achut’s faith in us was never ____________. He greeted us each day with a ____________ “good morning.” Before we ____________ Base Camp, he carried our packs and skillfully negotiated our moods and capabilities. We trusted him as he ____________ us, confident and strong, up and down icy, ____________ and sometimes narrow paths.

Thanks to Achut, I made it, at 65.

2 . Many people dream of going on a great travel adventure. Most of us keep dreaming; _________ make it happen.

Gregg Bleakney’s _________ was to travel the Americas from top to _________. He _________ the idea after he finished a 1,600-kilometer _________ ride. Gregg’s friend Brooks Allen was also a cyclist. The two friends talked and _________ on their goal: They would _________ from Alaska to Argentina—by bike.

To pay for the journey, Gregg and Brooks worked and _________ money for years. In 2005, after four years of planning, they _________. Once they were on the road, they often __________ outdoors or stayed in hotels. In many places along their route, __________ people opened their homes to the two friends and gave them __________ and water.

During their trip, Gregg and Brooks cycled through __________, rain forests, and mountains. They visited __________ cities and explored ancient ruins, such as Tikal in Guatemala. In many places, they __________ other cyclists from all over the world.

In May 2007—two years, countries, and over 35,500 km later—they __________ reached Ushuaia, Argentina, at the southern tip of South America.

Gregg and Brooks kept a __________ of their adventures in an online blog. The trip __________ both men a lot about traveling. Here is some of Gregg’s advice.

Travel light. The less luggage you have, the less __________ you’ll be.

Be flexible. Don’t plan everything. You’ll be more relaxed and happy, even when there are __________ along the way.

4 . Water is one of the most important things for life on Earth. What happens ________ you suddenly can’t get this precious liquid?

Mark, an expedition (探险) guide from Shropshire, in the UK, ________ this for himself while ________ along the Zambezi River for two months. When he reached the gorge (峡谷) at the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, the area became much more ________ to travel through. Mark guessed that it would take a month to get to the other side of the gorge, and with no other people for miles around, he was beginning to ________ food: After two weeks of trying to pick his ________ through the gorge, Mark decided to find another ________. On his ________, he could see another river heading into the Zambezi.

________ at 4 am, Mark climbed out of the gorge with two—litter water bottles. But after three hours of walking, he ________ ran out of water. He was on the edge of a cliff (悬崖). He could see the river far below him.

He examined the cliff and saw a few tree roots to hold onto, so he decided to make an attempt at climbing down. When he reached a ledge(岩架), he became ________ due to his thirsty, hunger and tiredness. It was not until a few minutes later that he came to himself. Even so, Mark kept pushing himself down the cliff for nearly an hour until he came to the ________. He had to sit there for an hour, cooling down and drinking water.

While few of us are likely to experience this kind of extreme dehydration (脱水), around four billion people experience a ________ of water at least one month of the year. Mark was lucky. After resting for a week, he was able to ________ his journey. Although his experience was a ________ in patience, it also taught him how important water is.