My mum was young when she fell pregnant with me. After I was born it was decided that my father's relatives would  (1)   me in   Manchester. No one spoke about Mum. Eventually, I was shown letters from Mum,  (2)   that she was a drug addict.

         All this was running through my head as I arrived in Glasgow on 27 December last year. My sister Leanne, from my mother's side, had  (3)   me down on Facebook, and we had been  (4)   for a while, but had met only once or twice. Leanne had been brought up by our mother's parents, and had some  (5)   with Mum throughout her life. She was now living in Canada, but returning for Christmas and  (6)   to see all the family together. A big party had been arranged to welcome her back, and everyone would be there, including our  (7)  .

      In a very short time my sister and Ihatcheda  (8)  . I'd meet my sister as she arrived at Manchester airport, then we’d drive up to Glasgow  (9)  . Keeping it a surprise gave us a rush. After about a four-hour drive, we were there. I'd  (10)   called someone “Mum” before. But there she was.

        We embraced (拥抱) and were soon  (11)  . We could hardly get the words out fast enough. Seeing someone so alike looking back at me was the strangest but most  (12)   experience. Though a lifetime may have  (13)   us, this woman at a party in Glasgow was my mum. She  (14)  at me for a second, before giving me a tight hug. All she could say was that she never thought we'd  (15)   again.

      She'd been  (16)   of drugs for five years. She told me how she now works for a charity that helps young people  (17)   the same problems she had. We now talk regularly, and I feel  (18)   she's my mother. That's something I couldn't have even  (19)   when the door opened to her at that Christmas party. Life may be short, but it's always  (20)   enough to reconcile(和好).

Once there was an old farmer, with a horse which was almost as old as himself. He   (1)   one morning with his young son   (2)   the horse before it died. Father and son walked,   (3)   the farmer did not want the horse to be   (4)   .

They met two men on the road   (5)   said: “Why are you walking, farmer? You have a horse. It's  (6)   

to market.” The farmer knew that this was   (7)   , so he rode on the horse,   (8)   his son walked.

Then they met two old ladies. “   (9)   are you doing up there, farmer? Can't you   (10)   how tired your boy is?”   (11)    the farmer got down, and his son rode   (12)   .

   (13)  , three old men stopped them. One said: “Why are you walking, farmer?   (14)  . It's too hot for an old man like you to walk today.” So the farmer got up   (15)  his son, and they   (16)  .   (17)  , a young woman passed them. “Why aren't you walking?” she asked. “It isn't   (18)  to market. Give your poor old horse a rest.”

So the farmer, and his son, got down   (19)  .

It is a fact that you cannot please   (20)  the people all the time. 

 For a period of a month some time ago, I became a vegetarian. Some people won’t eat meat because they think it is cruel to animals, or because of health  (1)  . My reason is a little  (2)  : it is love.

 I  (3)  wanted to honor my grandmother by not eating meat. My grandmother spent a large part of her life as a vegetarian, and some of my happiest childhood  (4)   in Vietnam were of sharing a meal with her.

 In fact, as a child, I learned how to  (5)  food not from dishes my mother often cooked, but from the simple meals my grandmother  (6)  . Often, dinner with Grandma would come with interesting  (7)  she had known from her childhood.

 Grandma  (8)  more than a decade ago. Now I am an adult living in San Francisco, and Grandma’s vegetarian suppers and stories have become a  (9)   past. But one morning it   (10)  to me that I could no longer hear the sound of my grandmother’s voice, because she had left me forever. So I  (11)  to become a vegetarian for a month. It is something Grandma would do as a way to  (12)  those who had died before her. And I could do no less.

 In a city famous for its dining experience, this was  (13)  . I turned down several dinner parties  (14)  offending(冒犯) the hosts. I

  (15)  walking by restaurants where the  (16)  of good cooking wafted(漂浮) in the air. My best friend wondered  (17)  I was going through a mid-life crisis.

 In truth, I wanted to change my  (18)  many times. What got me through that month-long diet was this  (19)  memory of my grandmother. Now, I followed her  (20)  . I invited friends who wanted to taste vegetarian food. And as we ate, I told them stories I had known as a child.

A young man, who had graduated from a well-known university, was applying for a job as a manager in a big company. The president did the final   (1)  .

He discovered the youth was  (2)   and felt satisfied. Then the president asked who paid for his school fees. The youth answered, “My mother did it. She worked as a clothes   (3)   .”

The president requested the youth to  (4)  his hands. So the youth did. They were smooth. Then he asked, “Have you ever    (5)   your mother wash the clothes before?” The youth answered, “Never, my mother always wanted me to     (6)   .”

“Go and clean your mother’s   (7)   when you go back today, and then     (8)   me tomorrow morning,” the president said     (9)   .

The youth felt his chance of getting the job was high, so when he went back, he   (10)   requested his mother to let him clean her hands. However, his tears fell    (11)   he cleaned his mother’s hands slowly. It was the first time he had   (12)  that his mother’s hands were so wrinkled (布满皱纹的). After that, the youth didn’t say a word and washed all the remaining clothes for his mother    (13)  . That night, Mother and Son  (14)  for a very long time, longer than any talk before.

  (19)   of family relationship.”

The president said, “You are    (20)   . This is what I’m looking for to be my manager.”

It was the last day of the final examination in a large eastern university. On the steps of one building, a group of engineering students were talking about the exam that was going to begin in a few  (1)  . On their faces was confidence. This was their last exam — then on to   (2)   and jobs.

Some talked of jobs they already had; others talked of jobs they   (3)   get. With the certainty of four years of college, they felt ready and able to take   (4)   of the world.

The coming exam, they knew, would be a(n)   (5)   task. The professor had said they could bring   (6)  books or notes they wanted, requesting only that they did not   (7)   each other, during the test.

   (8)   they entered the classroom. The professor passed out the papers. And smiles   (9)   on the students’ faces as they noticed there were only five essay-type questions.

 Three hours had passed   (10)   the professor began to collect the papers. The students no longer looked confident. On their faces was a frightened expression. Papers in hand, no one spoke as the professor faced the class.

 He looked at the   (11)   faces before him, and then asked, “How many completed all five questions?”  (12)  a hand was raised.

 “How many answered four?” Still no hands.

 “Three? Two?” The students moved nervously in their seats.

 “One, then? Certainly somebody finished   (13)   .”But the class remained silent.

 The professor put down the papers. “That is exactly what I   (14)   ,” he said. “I just want to impress upon you that,  (15)   you have completed four years of engineering, there are still many things about the   (16)   you don’t know. These questions you couldn’t answer are relatively   (17)   in everyday practice. ” Then smiling, he added, “You will all  (18)   this course, but remember — even though you are now college graduates, your education has just   (19)   .”

The years have forgotten the name of this professor, but not the   (20)   he taught.

I will always appreciate my father and his faith.

As I held my father’s hands one night, I couldn’t help but notice their calluses(老茧）and roughness. His hands tell the story of his life as a ____  (1)  ____, including all his struggles.

  One ____  (2)  ____, I remember, a drought (旱灾）hit Ontario, turning it into a burning desert. On one of those hot mornings I was picking sweet corn with my dad to fill the last ____  (3)  ____ from the grocery store. Fifty dozen was all we needed, which____  (4)  ____ took twenty minutes. That morning, however, the process didn’t go quickly. After forty minutes of____  (5)  ____ walking in the field, we ____  (6)  ____ needed twenty dozen. I was completely frustrated and angry. ____  (7)  ____ the basket heavily, I declared, “If the store wants its last twenty dozen, they can pick it themselves!” Dad laughed. “Just think, my little girl, only____  (8)  ____ dozen left for each of ____  (9)  ____ and then we’re done.” Such is Dad----whatever problem he ____  (10)  ____, he never gives up.

  ____  (11)  ____, the disastrous effects of the drought were felt all over our county. It was a challenging time for everyone,____  (12)  ____ Dad remained optimistic. He ____  (13)  ____ to be grateful for other things like good health and food on our plate. Only then did I truly begin to ____  (14)  ____ Dad and his faith that guided us through the hard times.

  Dad is also a living example of real ____  (15)  ____. From dawn to dusk, he works countless hours to ____  (16)  ____ our family. He always puts our happiness ____  (17)  ____ his own, and never fails to cheer me on at my sports games ____  (18)  ____ his exhaustion(疲劳) after long days. His loving and selfless nature has inspired me to become more sympathetic and ____  (19)  ____ others first.

  Dad，the life ____  (20)  ____ I have learned from you will stay with me forever. You are my father, teacher, friend and, most importantly, my hero.

Many dogs live a comfortable life as pets. They eat, play and get attention from their   (1)  . But some dogs work hard. They are guide dogs. Guide dogs help   (2)   people safely move from one place to another.

Guide dogs and their owners are a   (3)  . They don’t lead the owners, and their owners don’t completely control the guide dogs. They work together. The guide dogs don’t know where the owners want to go, so they follow the owners’   (4)  . The owners can’t see the obstacles（障碍）along the way, so the dogs make decisions for the   (5)  of the owners. Guide dogs stop at all crossroads before   (6)   a street. They don’t see   (7)  , so they don’t know if the light is red or  (  (8)  . The owners decide if it is time to cross the street by listening to the   (9)   of traffic. The dogs help the owners get on a bus or train. They learn to   (10)   many tasks.

Guide dogs are very   (11)   and friendly. A guide dog needs to work   (12)   distraction（分心）in noisy places, bad weather and   (13)   situations. So when you see a guide dog, it is important that you   (14)   that the dog needs to concentrate on its job. Don’t pat or talk to the dog.  (15)   is very dfficult, and it requires a dog’s full   (16)  .

Guide dog training lasts about five months. Only about 70% of dogs in the training program can “graduate”. Those that graduate bring their owners   (17)   and love. In other dog training programs, trainers use   (18)   as a reward. In the guide dog training, the trainers don’t use food. They use physical affection (爱抚). This is   (19)   a guide dog sometimes takes the owner to a restaurant. It must lie   (20)   at the owner’s feet without wanting to eat.

There was a boy who was sent by his parents to a boarding school (寄宿学校).   (1)    being sent away, this boy was the   (2)   student in his class. He was at the top in every   (3)    always with high marks.

But the boy changed after   (4)   home and attending the boarding school. His grades started   (5)   . He hated being in a   (6)   . He was lonely all the time. And there were especially dark times when he    (7)  committing suicide(自杀). All of this was because he felt   (8)   and no one loved him.

His parents started   (9)   about the boy. But they even did not know what was    (10)   with him. So his dad decided to travel to the boarding school and   (11)   him.

They sat on the bank of the lake near the school. The father started asking him some   (12)  questions about his classes, teachers and friends. After some time his dad said, “Do you know, son, why I am here today?”

The boy answered back，“To   (13)    my grades?”

“No, no, “his dad replied, “I am here to tell you that you are the most   (14)   person for me. I want to see you   (15)  . I don’t care about grades. I care about you. I care about your happiness. YOU ARE MY LIFE.”

These words   (16)   the boy’s eyes to be filled with tears. He   (17)   his dad. They didn’t say anything to each other for a long time.

Now the boy had   (18)   he wanted. He knows there was someone on this earth who cared for him deeply. He   (19)   the world to someone.And today this young man is in college at the top of his class and no one has ever seen him    (20)   !

Communication with a Stranger

Last weekend I sat on the bus talking with excitement and so ready to spend time in New York City with one of my best friends from college. As I took the window seat and wore headphones over ears, I almost didn't   (1)  the elderly man sitting beside me.

Two hours passed and I was still absorbed in my own world.  (2)  the elderly man asked me a question, a simple question  (3)  the bus's Wi-Fi connection, which turned into a two- hour    (4)  . In fact, it directly  (5)  my personal life.

We talked a lot about my dreams, my fears and my life. I  (6)  more with this stranger on the bus than I have with any friend or family member in months. Maybe it had something to do with me just being   (7)  to let anyone I know close to me. I was  (8)  that the stranger was not only so deeply interested in getting to know me, but also just as willing to  (9)  me to my greatest abilities. He listened carefully to every word I said and made some useful  (10)  at times. Instead of politely  (11)  his head when I mentioned my major, he told me that my strong liking seemed to be psychology, but not the one I was studying. He said that he knew I would face difficulties if I studied psychology and that he fully understood my   (12)   for the failure.

This elderly man made me   (13)  the plans that I had laid out for my life with just that simple statement. He helped me realize that my neatly  (14)  plan for the next five years of my life wasn't all that neat, but actually complex and filled with  (15)  . Most of all, he helped me    (16)  the complex, not stay away from it because of my fear for the unknown. I  (17)  a lot from talking with the elderly stranger.

A few days later, he emailed me, saying, "I think you're  (18)  for great things no matter what you decide to do." The email was filled with words of  (19)  . In a few hours a stranger showed me a sense of kindness that made me realize that life is sometimes  (20)  but it is going to be okay.

Year after year my brothers，sister and I would lie in bed awake on Christmas morning. We were just   (1)   to hear my father’s voice saying it was all right to   (2)   .