1 . As an immigrant from China, my mother loves Chinese culture deeply. She _________ Chinese food every night. She prefers to do it herself at home because she thinks the local restaurants aren’t authentic. _________, strangely enough, she likes to take my son to Panda Express to have _________ with her friends who are also from China. She is even _________ to point it out whenever they are at a food court.

Why is American Chinese food not _________ among some Chinese Americans? How is American Chinese food not better than _________ Chinese food? I can’t _________ that it’s not as good as authentic Chinese food. In fact, authentic Chinese food really tastes better while American Chinese food _________ to have food with its own taste — they are right for different persons. It’s important to _________ American Chinese food from authentic Chinese food. They are not the same __________ and have their own characteristics. So they should be treated __________. That’s why my mother thinks that Panda Express is not very authentic, but can still __________ it. Actually, American Chinese food is often created by Chinese immigrants according to their own preferences. As people from various countries have differences in their __________, it is changing.

My mother has a deep feeling for authentic Chinese food and restaurants, so I decide to open a restaurant where she and other immigrants can feel the __________ of Chinese family dinner. My son says he’ll learn Chinese cooking skills from me, which, I think, should be __________ from age to age. Likewise, I’ll also pass on the Chinese food culture to the world.

2 . Last year I attended the annual autumn saffron (藏红花) harvest festival on a trip in Italy, known as the sagra. Giovannina Sarra and her family ________ me at their home. Early the next morning, we ________ among the fields and participated in the harvest.

Saffron , taken from the stigmas (柱头) of the saffron flower, is a(n) ________ crop. Also called red gold, it is a(n) ________ from Spain, first introduced into the region around the 13th century. Saffron is ________ in the hours just before ________, while the petals (花瓣) are closed. This helps protect their precious stigmas and makes the flowers easier to ________, especially preferred by the acquirers (收购商). Later, on the same day, the stigmas — three ________ strings per flower — are separated from the petals. It’s a delicate ________ that takes hours with a skilled and ________ hand. In the evening, over an open wood fire, the stringlike stigmas are ________ to make saffron powder to add to the richness of the color and the flavor, which brings considerable income.

Now sitting at a mouth-watering plate of Risotto alla Milanese, a dish cooked with saffron, I ________ the freezing morning with Sarra and her family. There’s no ________ that it is the families like the Sarras that stick to the many ________ that have survived from generation to generation. ________ more people will join them.

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

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

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

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

5 . One day, Fainsilber Katz, who is 60 years old, went to visit her favorite ______ . She parked her car and ______ the beach with everything she ______ for the day: a chair, a beach umbrella, flippers, sunglasses and a cooler. With so many things, it was ______ for her to keep her body balance when climbing over some rocks.

When she reached a part of the beach entrance, she found there was a large step down. Unsure whether she could take the step ______ , she stopped, ______ what to do. ______ a young man, about 30 years old came over to Fainsilber Katz, and asked, “Do you need some ______ ?” “Sure!” Fainsilber Katz ______ .

The man took some of the things that Fansilber Katz was ______ . Then he gave Fainsilber Katz his ______ to walk her down the ______ . Fainsilber Katz felt ______ .

The man’s act of ______ comforts Fainsilber Katz and reminds her that when life gets hard, one doesn’t have to do it ______ . Where there is a help, there is a hope.

6 . Last month, my husband and I decided on visiting Cape Cod, which is about three hours’ drive from Boston. Our daughter who_________close to Boston dropped us off at 8 am on her way to the office. We decided to return home on our own in the evening _________we thought we could catch a local train to home from Boston. We had a great time in Cape Cod and_________Boston in the evening. We found ourselves just going round in a maze (迷宫) of streets, with the station_________ in sight! The roads were _________with not many people walking around. And we were a bit embarrassed to ask strangers for _________. Eventually we saw a young guy coming towards us. We_________him and told him about our _________situation. On hearing it, he immediately _________ to take us to the station. When we got there, to our__________, the money ticketing machine was out of order. At that moment the young man took out his credit card. “Here you go,” he smiled and __________the tickets to us. We gave him the ticket money, but he__________. We both expressed our __________ for his help. After returning home, we told our friends about this and they all asked about his name. __________, we had forgotten to get his name in a great__________ at the time of our departure! But we’re determined to pass his kindness on.

8 . It was a September day. Today was the first day of high school for a freshman, Kayla. Kayla had always been a bit of a shy kid, but she had always ______ her studies. She was determined to make full use of her high school years.

As she walked down the hallways, Kayla couldn’t help but feel ______. The older students seemed so confident, while she felt small and unimportant, But Kayla was determined to succeed, no matter what ______ came her way.

It wasn’t long before Kayla’s determination was put to the ______. In her first week of school, she was assigned (分派) a (n) ______ project that required a lot of research and planning. Kayla did her ______, but she soon realized that she was in over her head. As she struggled (努力) to complete the project, Kayla began to ______ herself. She wondered if she was cut out for high school. But then, something ______ happened.

Kayla’s classmates began to notice how ______ she was working, and they started to offer her help and ______. They gave her advice on how to ______ her time better, and they shared their tips for ______ assignments. With their help, Kayla was able to complete the project on time and with great ______.

From that day on, Kayla ______ that high school was not a challenge to be faced alone. With the help and support of her ______, she was able to deal with any difficulty that came her way.

10 . Last summer, my family and I went on a road trip to the Grand Canyon. It was our first family vacation in years, and we were all ______ to spend some quality time together. We ______ our car with snacks, water, and a lot of sunscreen, and then ______ the road.

The trip was long, but we kept ourselves ______ with card games and singing along to our favourite songs. When we finally arrived at the Grand Canyon, we were ______ by the breathtaking views. We spent the next few days hiking, taking pictures, and ______ the area.

One of the highlights of the trip was when we went on a helicopter ______ of the Grand Canyon. It was a great ______, and we all felt like we were on top of the world. We took a lot of pictures and videos, and we still ______ them to this day.

As the trip came to an end, we all felt a sense of ______. We didn’t want to go back to our busy ______. We wanted to stay together and keep exploring. ______, we knew that we had to go back home.

Looking back on the trip, I realized how important it is to spend time with ______. In our busy life, we often forget to slow down and enjoy the little moments. The trip ______ me of the importance of ______ memories and cherishing (珍惜) the time we have with our loved ones.