2 . Not long ago, I was the guide on a wildlife-photography trip to Svalbard near the North Pole. After two days of _______, we arrived there and _______ several seals resting on the ice. I _______ my camera and a motion sensor near the edge of a hole to get a(n) _______ of a seal.

The next morning, I was woken up because a polar bear was _______ closer. At first the bear walked toward our boat. Then it made a(n) _______ turn and headed directly for my camera. The motion sensor reacted to the bear’s _______, making the camera start taking pictures. The bear circled the _______, gently sniffing it. Unexpectedly the camera _______ into the hole and disappeared beneath the deep ice.

That was the ________ moment in my photography career. I was so ________ with myself. A year later I obtained ________ to bring a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to find the camera. There was a lot more ice than the ________ trip. As I knew well, polar bears could be nearby. We decided to ________ it. The ice was so thin, and soon we ________ technical difficulties and had to pull the ROV out of the water twice. ________ on the third try the ROV found the camera. We shouted and ________ around on the ice.

I was overjoyed to see all my ________. I saw the polar bear breathing and sniffing the camera. ________ that camera is the most satisfying ________ of my career with the lovely animal and its habitat presented.

3 . Mawson was an Australian explorer and scientist who explored the Antarctic with a team of fellow adventurers in 1912. His travels in the frozen continent brought him worldwide _______. In December of that year, Mawson and two other _______ left the main base at Commonwealth Bay, _______ a 300-mile exploration into the central part of the continent to gather scientific data and samples. _______ followed.

One of the men, a young British soldier named Belgrave Ninnis, _______ down an open crack on a sledge, along with several of their best dogs and many of the team’s supplies, dead. For several weeks, the two others, _______ with scurvy(坏血病)and other _______, struggled to return to camp, keeping living first on the _______ dogs, then on starvation food. _______, Xavier Mertz, a Swiss mountaineer and skiing champion, died from exhaustion, starvation and possible poisonousness from eating dogs’ livers.

________ to return with the research data, Mawson ________ the elements for 30 days. Finally he returned to the________ in February of 1913, extremely thin, frost-bitten and exhausted-only to ________ he had missed the ship rescuing the rest of the ________ by hours. Mawson was regarded as a survivor hero. For his achievements as an explorer and scientist, he was knighted(封爵)in 1914. In addition to his other ________, Mawson edited and contributed to the 22-volume Reports of Australasian Antarctic Expeditions.

4 . The Sierra Nevada range is incomparable in scale and magnificence. There’s no better way to see it than to appreciate every spectacular view with your own hard _______. My husband, Will, our kids (Herbie, 5 and Artley, 11) and I planned to _______ the northern half of the John Muir trail in two weeks, which _______ along the backbone of the High Sierra, past lakes, and through dusty pine forests.

We set _______ before we started: this would be tough, but worth it. To get our kids more _______, we let them have the map and decide when to stop and rest. In this way, they felt empowered. This _______ also resulted in Herbie nearly standing on a 4-foot snake on our first day, though. _______, it was early morning and the snake was half asleep.

For two weeks, the boys enjoyed the _______. They built dams and bridges across streams, climbed and swam. Sometimes, they refused to carry their packs and _______ about feet hurting. But these moments were far outweighed by extraordinary bursts of ________ and enthusiasm — particularly when we’d been slogging (艰难前行) uphill for hours and a mountain top finally came into view, our kids even decided we needed to ________.

By the time we finished, we had ________ countless mosquitoes, suffered foot pain and had terrible sleep. But we were right to be ________ about our kids’ abilities. Through the ________, they will, I hope, understand what they are truly capable of, how perseverance leads to bigger ________ later on, and what it feels like to be encouraged and supported so that they can achieve something great.

7 . I was young and determined to take an adventurous trip. But _________ nearly 875 yards out of a cable car (缆车), with a rubber band attached to my ankles, was not part of my plan. It’s _________ how intentions can change.

Staring over the _________ of the cable car, my heart was in my throat. I _________ heard the others behind me counting down. How could I have let myself be _________ into this? It was crazy!

My palms were _________, and my heart was pounding.

“Five.” They started the _________ for the second time, ignoring my useless protests.

“Four.”

“Three.”

“Two.” In that instant I _________ my mind a million times and came to the final _________ that there was no way I could allow myself to leap out of the cable car, suspended so high off the ground.

__________ my ankles please!

Then...

“One.”

I let go and leaped out as far as I could. If there had been time to __________ it for another second, I would have stopped myself. But instead, I jumped.

It felt as if all my fears, insecurities, and doubts were being let go. An enormous sense of __________ rose up in me. As I fell toward the earth __________ first, I saw my new friends waiting for me on the ground and could hear them __________ my victory over fear.

Jumping out of the cable car put me on __________ of the world, and that’s where I am determined to remain for the rest of my life.

8 . Neal Moore was boating along New York State’s Mohawk River. Now he was _________ the end of a journey that began 22 months ago.

His paddle (桨) has touched 21 bodies of _________ so far on his way across the continent. “22rivers, 22 states, 22 months of journeying” has been his declared _________.

At evenings, sunset often _________ upon a chosen part of sand — the river showing him where to _________. He likes sleeping on islands, where it is _________ because there are no fierce animals. He’ll want himself to awake one hour before dawn, and in _________ with the first hopeful rays of morning he will push off into the stream, _________ nothing.

Moore was anything but _________. But his mother wanted him to do something __________, and to do something pure.

The __________ changed his life. “When you push yourself out of your comfort zone,” he concluded, “this is when you __________ and grow.”

On December 14, 2021, Moore made his final approach to New York City. Near the George Washington Bridge, the winds came up so strong that he __________ with his bow (船头)   pointing in a wrong direction, but he made it.

It was hard to __________ it was coming to an end: 7,500 miles, 22 rivers, 22 states, 22 months, just as he’d said he would do.

His mother was __________— he had done something extraordinary, something “pure”. But it’s over now, and he wishes he could just keep paddling.

9 . Last spring, my family went camping in the Peak District. For two whole weeks, life felt _________ — living, working, playing together, _________ by the sights, sounds and smells of the natural world.

On the final night of our trip, an _________ gradually took shape: could we do this longer-term? When it came to _________, my husband and I had both kit and expertise. It might also be an _________ to turn the writing and photography we loved into our livelihood.

After half a year of preparation, we finally _________ in September. Our first destination was New Forest National Parks and we stayed at each _________ for between one and four weeks, exploring each day from the tent door.

There was no mobile signal or Wi-Fi at the campsite, _________ us from the outside world. We just _________ the best of what nature had to offer. I loved the __________ rhythm (节奏) of daily life in the tent, always starting with coffee as the steam from the camping stove rose into the morning air. We worked hard, drawing __________ for our writing and photography from our surroundings. Afternoons were for __________ — climbing mountains, paddling in streams, or simply enjoying being in and around the tent. The mountains __________ us as if in protection with a reassuring (令人安心的) skyline.

It was wonderful to fully __________ the places we stayed. Sleeping with an ear to the earth, tuning into the natural rhythms of light and __________, there’s nothing quite like being in a tent for total immersion in a place.

10 . 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.