2 . 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?

4 . It was a snowy day. I ______ the friend who sat with me on winter evenings, talking about our experiences and thoughts—a true ______.

I had almost given up hope of finding another friend like that after I ______ to this city. I wanted to invite a woman I’d met only twice to come share my dinner, ______ she lived an hour away, and it was snowing. I was sure she wouldn’t ______ to come. However, I decided to have a try. So I made the ______.

“Don’t feel you have to come if you don’t want to.”

“Is it snowing? I have a ______, and I’m in bed. I’ll think about it later, if that’s OK with you.”

“Of course it is. And here are your choices, if you decide to come. I’ve just been shopping, so I can ______ you macaroni (意大利粉) and cheese or fresh vegetable salad.”

There was a ______ for a moment. She was thinking.

“Since I’m sick, not the macaroni and cheese. Too rich for a cold. I ______ the vegetables,” she said, “Vegetables. If it’s not snowing too hard.”

An hour before dinner, the phone rang.

“I’ve got up. I’ve been in bed all day. Looking forward to the ______.”

I was happy.

An hour later, she ______, holding a piece of chocolate.

We sat by the fireplace, eating and chatting. The smell of the vegetables filled the house. And we ______ love, art and travels. Everything was warm and good.

As she left, she said. “Those vegetables were delicious. They kept me from ______. I didn’t choose macaroni and cheese.”

“Next time,” I promised. And I went inside, quite satisfied, because I knew there would be a next time, and I didn’t feel ______ anymore.”

8 . Several months ago, a tornado fiercely hit our city without any signs before. We hadn’t ___________for it in advance, so we were just forced to go into our___________actions. I happened not to be in the classroom when it attacked. Hearing the alarm screaming, I rushed___________as fast as I could back to the classroom.

Never did I imagine that we would put our regular_________to use. Never did I imagine that my students had ___________against the wall and crouched(蹲) down on their knees. Their eyes were obviously filled with___________as they asked if their parents, pets, and friends would be okay. I, along with other teachers, tried our best to___________them, though we actually didn’t know what the___________would be.

I couldn’t ___________the tornado anymore. However, I’m very proud of my students who performed so well. In such a(an)____________and dangerous situation, they behaved beyond their ages. Never in my life had I seen them ____________instructions(指示) so quickly, without any hesitation. Though some tears were dropping and some hearts were beating fast, the kids were incredibly____________. I’m extremely proud that they struggled to calm down because of their____________in me.

Because of the tornado, I realized that my job as a teacher meant a lot. Behind every well-behaved students are a long line of teachers who have made it their life’s ____________to educate them with safety, courage, calmness and trust. Though the tornado has presented ____________, I’m sure we can handle them one by one.

9 . Are you a man or a mouse? When people ask this question they want to know whether you think you are a ______ person or a coward (懦夫). But you will never really know the answer to this question until you are ______ in real life. Some people think they are brave but when they come face to face with real ______, they act like cowards. Others think of themselves as cowards, but when they meet danger, they act like ______.

Lenny had always thought of himself as a ______ person. He got worried before examinations. He worried about his job and his health. All he wanted in life was to be safe and healthy. Then January 5th, 2002, a plane ______ into the Potomac River in Washington. Lenny went to the river to see what was happening. He saw a woman in the ______ water. Lenny did not feel afraid. He kept very ______ and did a very courageous thing. He jumped into Potomac, ______ to the woman, and kept her head above the water. Seventy-­eight people died that day. Thanks to Lenny, it was not ______.

When you are in a very dangerous ______ and feel afraid, the body automatically produces a chemical in the blood. This chemical is called adrenalin (肾上激素). With adrenalin in the blood system, you actually feel stronger and stronger and are ______ to fight or run away. However, when you are ______ frightened, the body can produce too much adrenalin. When this ______, the muscles become very hard and you find you can’t ______ at all. You are paralyzed (使无能为力) with fear. That is why when we are very frightened, we sometimes say we are “petrified”; this word comes from a Greek word “petros”, which means “stone”. We are so frightened that we become stonelike.

10 . “Don’t worry. Those are just age spots (老年斑),” the doctor said. “Are you _________ that these are age spots?” I questioned, pointing to the dark spots on my hands. Angie, the doctor, smiled warmly and _________, “I’m 100% sure.”

I let out a scream of _________. “You’ve no idea how long I’ve waited for these to _________” I said. Angie looked slightly _________, and I realized there was no possible way I could explain my excitement. What Angie didn’t know was that I shouldn’t have _________ to see age spots! At age forty, there was not much hope that I would live long enough to see any signs of _________. I was in the battle of my life—fighting lung cancer.

After the five-year mark of being cancer free, I started to have hope. When I got my first white hair, I quickly pointed to my husband, “look, honey, a white hair.”

_________ I was taking a trip down the memory path, Angie _________ , “Here’s the fade cream (增白霜) that you can __________ to your hands twice a week before going to bed”. And then she mentioned another __________ , “of course, you can always have the spots removed with lasers (激光).”

“Remove them?” I questioned. “ __________ would anyone want to do that?” Angie stared at me, not understanding the meaning of those words, while I explained, “I’d like to __________ them.” As I walked out of the hospital, I was __________ that I had such wonderful age spots!

Later that year, I celebrated two milestone (里程碑)—my sixteenth birthday and twenty years of being ________ from cancer. I’m excited to be growing older with white hairs, wrinkles (皱纹) and now age spots. And I can see the beauty in all of them!