It was a cold November morning several years ago. My alarm clock had just gone off, but I was having trouble getting out of     1    . My dad had passed away a few weeks before. I still felt sad and depressed (沮丧的).

Tough and strong, my dad had worked so hard all his life to support the family. He had a temper (急性子) and would sometimes shouted at my brothers and me,     2     I always knew that he loved me. He had been raised in a traditional way and raised us that way, too. I couldn’t remember, for example, even being     3     by him.

When my grandma passed away, my dad moved into grandma’s home right up the road from where I lived. I was so h    4     to have him close by. I would visit him and just talk with him about life. But we still hardly touched and     5     hugged. Later, his health began to rapidly fail and within a few months, he left us. It was a cold morning when we had to say goodbye to     6     forever. But till that day, I still couldn’t remember when we hugged each other, even once.

I signed (叹气) and got out of bed. I turned on the lights and walked into the hallway. I saw my son Jack walking down the hall to meet me. Suddenly, he     7     his arms and gave me a heartfelt hug. And just as he did, I heard my dad’s voice deep inside of me say, “Joey, this hug is     8     me!” I cried and smiled at the same time. At that moment, in the place where heart, mind and spirit all met, I felt loved. I felt loved by my dad. I felt loved by life.

How are you? I had great fun last Wednesday,     1     12^th, June. It was a traditional Chinese festival called the Dragon Boat Festival that day. This festival is in memory of Qu Yuan, one of     2     greatest Chinese poets. He killed himself by jumping into the Miluo River on May 5^th of the lunar calendar (农历), 278 BC. People there rowed the boats to     3     (save) him. But it was too late. They were very sad and then threw rice into the     4     to feed the fish so that they would stay away from his body.

    5     then on, every year on this day, people enjoy     6     (eat) Zongzi which is made of rice with meat, eggs and so on. In the past, we ate it only     7     (one) a year, but now we regard it as our daily food. We can have it any time we like.

Have you ever     8     (watch) the dragon boat race on TV? It is another important part of this festival. Several teams row their dragon-shaped boats as     9     (fast) as they can. The first team to reach the finish line wins.

If you have a plan to visit China next year, would     10     (your) like to spend this festival with us?

Everyone wants to have     1     wonderful New Year’s party, but do you know how to hold a     2     (succeed) party? OK , now let me tell you about     3     (plan) your New Year’s party.

The     4     (one) step to any great party is planning. Think about what kind of New Year Eve party you want to have. Will this be in adults only party? Will this be a music, dancing, drinking or performance party? Will you invite the family     5     (member) for fun to the party? Will this be a party     6     teens?

You have to think about who is     7     (come) to your party when you plan it so that you can make it fun for everyone! Once you have decided who you are inviting and what kind party you are having, the fun     8     (start)!

Second, send     9     (you) New Year’s Eve Party Invitations out early     10     that everyone you want to invite has a lot of time to write back to you and you know how many to plan for. Then, you can start your New Year’s party.

Do you know that there are two special days for parents     1     America? One is Mother’s Day on the     2     (two) Sunday of May, and the other is Father’s Day on the third Sunday of June. On these two days,     3     (America) children often give gifts to their parents or take them out for lunch or dinner. Common gifts are flowers and     4     (card) for mothers and shirts or ties for fathers. I heard that it is     5     (become) more and more popular to celebrate Mother’s Day and Father’s Day in China. I wonder     6     children over there also give similar gifts to their parents. I believe that there are many ways to show     7     (we) love.     8     (actual), we don’t have to spend a lot     9     money. It is also a good idea     10     (help) parents to do something instead.