Jean was sitting on the beach.“It’s getting late，”she thought，“I should     1     home.”

She wanted to know what her parents would do when she got home after     2     for three days.

It was really dark when she finally     3     at the front door.It seemed     4     to her.Nobody had     5     care of the outside garden for a few days.She was surprised as her father usually worked hard to keep everything     6     and tidy.She couldn’t understand what was going on.

She entered the house.First she went into the kitchen where she     7     a note written by her father.It said，“Dear Ellen，here is some coffee.I am out searching.”Ellen was her mother，but where was she?

Jean went to her parents’ room.She found her mother there.Her mother was     8     on the bed，fast asleep.Her face looked so     9    ，as if she hadn’t slept for days.Jean wanted to wake her up but she stopped.She was tired，too，and fell asleep beside her.

When Jean woke up，she found something was different：She wasn’t in her mother’s room any more and her clothes weren’t the ones she had been wearing.She was on her own bed.

It felt so good being back home.Suddenly she     10     a voice，“Are you feeling better now，dear？You know you made us all very，very scared.”

The evidence for harmony may not be obvious in some families. But it seems that four out of five young people now get on with their parents, which is the     1     of the popularly—held image of unhappy teenagers locked in their room after     2     family quarrels.

An important new study into teenage attitudes     3     shows that their family life is more harmonious than it has ever been in the past. “We were surprised by just how positive today’s young people seem to be about their families,” said one member of the research team. “They’re expected to be rebellious and selfish but     4     they have other things on their minds; they want a car and material goods, and they worry about whether school is serving them well. There’s more negotiation and discussion between parents and children, and children expect to take part in the family decision-making     5    . They don’t want to rock the boat.”

So it seems that this generation of parents is much more likely than parents of 30 years ago to treat their children as friends. Maybe this     6     view of family life should not be unexp-ected. It is possible that the idea of teenage     7     is not rooted in real facts. A researcher comments, “Our surprise that teenagers say they get along well with their parents comes because of a brief period in our social history when teenagers were regarded as     8     beings. But that idea of rebelling and breaking away from their parents     9     only happened during that one time in the 1960s when everyone rebelled. The normal situation throughout history has been a smooth     10     from helping out with the family business to taking it over.”

I was halfway across Indiana headed home to Kentucky when my car broke down. My phone was     1    , too. I managed to get to a gas station, but it was Sunday in the early fall, and there was no     2     on duty. I was working my way through university then and had little money for maintaining the car.

I sat alongside my car for several hours trying to beat the heat when an older gentleman     3     to fuel his car. He asked about my car, and I     4     my predicament (困境). To my     5    , the gentleman told me that he had a daughter my age, and then he opened his trunk and pulled out a tool set.

Right then and there, this total     6     examined my engine, explaining as he worked that my spark plugs (火花塞) hadn’t been changed for so long that they were     7     to function. After about an hour, he pronounced that my car was safe to finish the trip.

    8     came at the hands of a stranger. Soiling his clothes, working on a hot September afternoon, this man     9     a college student from disaster, just because she could have been his     10    .

A young couple moved to an apartment. On the first morning in their new home, the wife looked     1     the window and watched her neighbor     2     sheets out to dry. ''What dirty sheets! '' she thought to     3    . ''Maybe I should go and teach her to     4     them properly. '' Every few days she said the     5     thing to her husband while watching her     6     hanging out the dirty sheets in the early morning light.

A month passed, and one day the wife was     7     to see that her neighbor was hanging out perfectly clean sheets. She     8     to her husband, ''Look! She     9     learned to do her washing! ''The husband replied, ''Well, in reality, darling, I got up early this morning and     10     the window. ''

【推荐3】

Brian was not good at speaking in public. One day he was invited to make a speech at a church. His youngest sister in his family. Ann, knew he was nervous and tried to calm him     1    . Don’t worry! Everything will be fine.     2     the day came, Brian’s car had an accident     3     the way to the church.     4    , he was not badly hurt and arrived at the church on time. After a few minutes , he began his speech, but he was so nervous     5     he dropped his book. Many people thought he would run,     6     he went on. Suddenly, people saw something     7    running down from his nose: Blood! He stopped speaking when he saw the blood. But after a few     8    , he still tried his speech, Then Ann quietly moved to the front and handed him her handkerchief. Then she gave him a smile and returned     9     her seat.

It was a really simple gesture, and might be the simplest. She just saw     10     in need and gave him a hand. In the end, Brain finished his speech, with more confidence.