3 . “New Recruits (招募) Wanted.” This________caught my eye and revived (重新唤起) the dream I had since my childhood. But, just as________, I reminded myself that I was getting close to sixty. Hesitating for a while, I finally entered the hall and filled out a(n) ________.

My dream of becoming a firefighter began when I watched the television show Rescue 8,   ________ with the cooperation of the Los Angeles Fire Department when I was young. Unfortunately, life doesn’t follow young people’s dreams. A career in construction, a family to     ________, and many other factors got in the way of volunteering with the local fire department. Now, ________retirement, my wife and I have just relocated to a beautiful village near Seattle. I have time to give.

To my delight, I was accepted for ________. Yes, I was the oldest recruit, and it was so   ________that I was ready to drop out one day. When I got home from practice that day, a friend came over. I was about to say I could________do it anymore when he passed me a beautifully-illustrated book of firefighters who are in     ________ , with a personalized message of inspiration, encouraging me to follow my dream. As I looked through the________ , I felt amazed at the courage and devotion of these brave ________ . It gave me the strength I needed to carry on.

Over the next few weeks, the training continued to be tough, but I never lost     ________again. I lost twenty pounds, but eventually I was certificated as a firefighter. And now I can drive the big red trucks and ________ my community. When most of my friends are retiring, I’m ________ a new career I love. And I know that you're never too old to take on new challenges; never too old to follow your dreams.

6 . Right after lunch, Mother found she had got a cold. She did need a _______ in bed. But first she had a few things to do. Prepare the meat for_______. Leave a _______for the cleaners…

At last, she fell into bed, soon asleep…

Then the door banged(砰的一声) open as the_______came from school. “Mom! Mom! Where are you?” “Didn’t you even get up yet?” “What about dinner?”

“I’m sick. And I can’t do anything. I’ll have to leave all to_______. Cook the potatoes. Take care of the baby. Put plates, spoons and forks on the table.”

“Wonderful!” “No problem!” The children ran off_______. Mother was left in her quiet room. She felt_______! But everyone else seemed great. In fact, there seemed to be a party going on with loud laughs_______the children.

There was a sudden crash(破碎声). Then a voice shouted, “Get the baby out of the way   _______he cuts himself. Don’t ________Mom’s rest!”

Another crash came! The younger girl rushed in with news. They________your plate and the dog ate all your dinner.”

The girl ran off. There was more noise until, finally, the children appeared,________. They were proud of what they brought. There is a glass of water, three beans, a cold boiled potato and a small piece of burned meat.

Suddenly, Mother felt________. As the children watched________, she ate her cold dinner. “Everything________so good,” Mom smiled. “Thank you, my kids. I feel better now.”

7 . I choose to go to the Medical University in Nanjing, wanting to study in the medical field. I would spend the majority of 8 full years _________ with China’s diverse culture.

In my first year, it was _________. The language problem was more than what I had _________. Even shopping proved challenging. I could not bargain during my first few months. I finally decided to _________ Chinese language classes.

While studying in China, I acquainted (使熟悉) myself with the local vendors (小贩). My Chinese was getting smoother so that I could _________ with them. There was nothing _________ than listening to the stories they would tell about their _________. One vendor selling me fresh mangoes would always tell me stories about his home. He _________ told me how his grandmother would _________ four kilos of ginger (生姜) every two days in the winter for soups. He said she did it to keep her family __________ and keep the common cold away.

This story __________ me even today, and I look back on this story with so much __________. You do not understand how special a moment is while it is happening. It was such a simple story that the vendor told me, but I __________ it. Because of him, every time winter comes around, I make homemade soup and make sure to add ginger. __________ how he and his family enjoyed this every winter to keep warm and healthy __________ me to do the same.

8 . Five years ago, my husband and I bought a farm. As we restore the land, I feel my well-being _________. I think the farm is also working its magic on our son. Since he was 20, he has lived with mental illness. Just when it couldn’t get any worse, an unexpected _________ occurred in my life. We _________ the farm.

It has taken us a couple of years to _________ the land, seed the lawn and build garden beds. The farm was holding our _________ together. Before my son went to treatment, we planted a “union” in the old farm to support the health of trees by grouping other helpful plants around them. We dug around and _________ the weaker trees. We placed in garlic, wildflowers, etc and the garden seems to grow well.

We also learned how to depend on others. Our workman worked _________ and helped when I asked. Asking for help is a principle in the recovery community, a lesson my son is _________. The desire to recover this land has continuously _________ in me and I have seen this __________ towards restoration in my son as well. It truly does take a village to rebuild a farm and a (an) __________. And my son has found his own kind of union that __________ him.

Owning a farm was never our __________ but it came when our family needed a __________ project. Digging is an act of faith, hope and __________ of what will appear next.

10 . In casual conversations, there is a seemingly simple question I can never answer without hesitating — “Where are you from?”

I could say I am from Thailand, where I was born. Or I am from Mexico, where I _________ majority of my childhood. Or I am from the US, whose language is _________ in my life. In my mind, none of these answers are satisfying enough. _________, to be from somewhere carries _________ of understanding “your” culture and “your” home.

I feel _________ whenever my friends say they’re “going home” for school breaks. As a student who frequently moves, I have never seen my living space as “home”, but “_________”, another location to stay in before I unavoidably move again.

So, does this mean I do not have, and will never have, a home? I _________ living with this sense of sadness, until very recently.

Inside my dorm drawer is a never-used white towel that I brought from my parents’ house. One day, I took it out, but stopped after _________ the soft, sweet detergent (洗衣粉), the one my parents used back in Thailand. I felt my eyes _________ as that smell fired up my mixed emotions: sadness and nostalgia (念旧), a strong feeling of missing home. I still avoid using that towel until now because I don’t want to __________ the smell of nostalgia with my newly-bought detergent.

Sadly, even with this new discovery, I will still __________ when answering where I am from, and I will always feel a sense of loss in not having a(n) __________ home to “go back to”. __________ in random moments, when a smell __________ me with the memories it brings, I like to believe that the things I feel then are things people feel when they are home. And if these moments can make me smile, even with a sense of __________, what better home can I ask for?