1 . The other day, I was looking at my schedule for the summer. I had a moment of _________, realizing I’d be without my laptop for two weeks during our family camping trip.

You might be thinking my _________ sounds astonishing and that two weeks with no pressure to work, just relaxing in nature is the time to refresh and restore one’s _________ and body. I used to be a workaholic (工作狂). So taking two weeks off from my business made me _________.

I know I’m not _________ here in our busy world. To work hard is especially significant for high-achieving people to _________ in their careers. We live in a culture that _________ the state of being busy. There might have been many times when you _________ some relatives or friends on the street and heard they said they were very busy when asking about their recent _________. Being busy is the new normal. Therefore, when we’re not busy, we feel like we’re doing something wrong.

I’m not saying working all the time makes us feel OK. Taking a break brings us __________. We’ll be more __________ after relaxing, thus having more novel ideas. Iceland has __________ a 4-day work week for 2,500 people. A study by Stanford University found that their __________ didn’t decline; they reported a better work-life balance.

Our brains aren’t designed to __________ all the time. Working hard enough to pass our limits will unavoidably lead to burnout. Therefore, we should give ourselves a(n) __________ once in a while.

2 . My parents, siblings (兄弟姐妹) and I took our first camping trip to the Lake Houston Wilderness Park recently.

We had finished putting up the _________ when it suddenly started to rain. Luckily, we had _________ our tent on a high flat ground where water could not pour in. Mom got some snacks and drinks ready for us while we played games and _________ about our daily life, which made wet-weather camping fun. How _________ it was camping under the sound of the rain! We were gathered around in the center of _________ and it was a nice feeling. Even with the rain, I had never been so _________.

The rain died down before dark and the sky turned clear. Soon, Mom _________ a big meal over the fire for the family. I sensed that a hot meal and good _________ would warm us right up. While we ate together, Dad _________ at the stars and told us about his childhood. As we laughed and __________ on our days, the stars shone like diamonds at night.

The following day, we had a good time __________ the rocky trails around our campsite. __________ hiking in the forest, we had a lovely late afternoon boating. It was amazing to see the __________ changing rays of the sunset behind the pine trees. That evening we packed up our __________ and headed home.

I am very grateful for this camping trip, which has left us unforgettable __________.

5 . My parents, siblings and I took our first camping trip to the Lake Houston Wilderness Park recently.

We had finished putting up the _________ when it suddenly started to rain. Luckily, we had _________ our tent on a high flat ground where water could not pour in. Mom got some snacks and drinks ready for us while we played games and _________ about our daily life, which made wet-weather camping fun. How _________ it was camping under the sound of the rain! We were gathered around in the center of _________ and it was a nice feeling. Even with the rain, I had never been so _________.

The rain died down before dark and the sky turned clear. Soon, Mom _________ a big meal over the fire for the family. I sensed that a hot meal and good _________ would warm us right up. While we ate together, Dad _________ at the stars and told us about his childhood. As we laughed and __________ on our days, the stars shone like diamonds at night.

The following day, we had a good time __________ the rocky trails around our campsite. __________ hiking in the forest, we had a lovely late afternoon boating. It was amazing to see the __________ changing rays of the sunset behind the pine trees. That evening we packed up our __________ and headed home.

I am very grateful for this camping trip, which has left us unforgettable __________.

6 . On the bank of the Witham River, in Lincolnshire, George, 15, and his father Kevin Tindale were magnet fishing. That was their _________: pulling metal objects out of water. After several _________ at his spot, George fished out a door to a small _________ . Little did he know that the real _________ was still hiding below the water’s surface!

When George _________ pulled the rest of the safe to the surface, they began to _________ the mud-filled contents. On a few documents, they _________ the former owner’s name. Then as they opened a muddy bag, they grew _________. Inside the bag were piles of Australian _________ !

Rob Everett, the owner of Money Options Group, was ____________ when the Tindales returned his long-lost safe. The safe had been ____________ from his office by a local teenager back in 2000. The thief had later been ____________ because he’d left a hat with his name written inside it at the ____________ of the crime. However, the safe was thrown into the river and remained missing.

It took 22 years for a different ____________ to make the theft right! Rob called George and his dad “____________” and said he’d give them some of the ____________ as a reward. He also has a spot for this ____________ teen in his company, should George ever want it.

What a find! We’ve got to ____________ to George and Kevin for doing the ____________ thing and returning the money. We’re sure this experience will ____________ them to keep up with their unusual hobby!

7 . Every year about 40, 000 people attempt to climb Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. They ________ with them lots of waste. The ________ might damage the beauty of the place. The glaciers (冰川) are disappearing, changing the face of Kilimanjaro.

Hearing these stories, I’m skeptical about the place — other destinations are described as “purer” natural experience.

However, I soon ________ that much has changed since the days of disturbing reports of ________ among tons of rubbish. I find a ________ mountain, with toilets at camps and along the paths. The environmental challenges are ________ but the efforts made by the Tanzania National Park Authority seem to be ________.

The best of a Kilimanjaro ________, in my opinion, isn’t reaching the top. Mountains are ________ as spiritual places by in any cultures. This ________ is especially evident on Kilimanjaro as ________ go through five ecosystems (生态系统) in the space of a few kilometers. At the base is a rainforest. It ends abruptly at 3, 000 meters, giving way to lands of low growing plants. Further up, the weather ________ — low clouds envelop the mountainsides, which are covered with thick grass. I ________ twelve shades of green from where I stand. Above 4,000 meters is the highland desert: gravel (砾石), stones and rocks. ________ you climb into an arctic-like zone with permanent snow and the glaciers that may soon disappear.

Does Kilimanjaro ________ its reputation as a crowded mountain with lines of tourists ruining the atmosphere of peace? I found the opposite to be true.

10 . During the coronavirus lockdown, a fifth-grade teacher contacted me asking for help. She was ________ with students not attending online class but her students all loved the story in my book. So she asked if I had any ________.

My immediate ________ was for me to do a weekly book club where I would read to the students. The idea was ________ by Mrs. Sandberg, my first teacher in America.

When I moved to America from Iran in 1972, I spoke seven words of English. Despite the language ________, I immediately loved school. My favorite part of the day was ________ lunch, when Mrs. Sandberg read to us. Her kind voice ________ me to magical places where animals could talk and where kids had grand adventures.

With this joyful ________, I started the club. At the first session, five kids ________. I read to them and tried to ________ a conversation. Whenever I asked a question, I was met with complete ________. The following week, a few more kids came; they ________ started responding, but with one-word answers. The next session, they gave ________ answers and more students participated in the conversations.

This club has quickly become the ________ of my week. I have gotten to know the students and grown fond of every single one of them. Reading out loud forces me to forget everything else for an hour. I recently wondered if our post-lunch reading hour had given Mrs. Sandberg a chance to forget her ________, too.