I still remember last winter, when I     1     (wake) up in the morning, it     2     (stop) snowing. Looking outside of the window, the shiny white snow on our lawn     3     (clean) by my father. I closed the book that I     4     (borrow) from our local library and went downstairs for breakfast. Then my little brother came to tell me that he     5     (finish) all his homework and he     6     (have) a very nice dream the night before. During the breakfast, one of my best friends came to visit my family. She     7     (go) to Australia last year. Before that she     8     (prepare) for the examination of University of Sydney for half a year. During her study, she     9     (learn) the culture and     10     (profession) knowledge in her field.

Last year I went back to the US to visit family, friends and     1     number of old places. I started in the desert of California, crossed the prairies(大草原) and farms of Iowa, and then rose into the     2    (amaze) mountains and woodlands of Tennessee and North Carolina.

I went to Iowa City to visit my good friend, Matt, and     3    (he) wife. Though there’s not much to recall(回忆) about the city, I will never forget the great time we had     4    (hang) out together. We     5    (sing) with guitars, cooked dinners, played board games, and walked in the woods.

One place I visited was     6    (extreme) special to me: Asheville, North Carolina. It is a mountain town where I went to college.     7    (memory) were everywhere I looked. I walked by my college dormitory and thought of my old roommate, David. I remembered late nights when we would cook pizzas     8    complain about our schoolwork and professors. Nothing had changed—except the people. Everyone I knew had moved away.

A good trip     9    (teach) you something. I learn that a place is only as good as the people whom you share it     10    .

5 . As a child, I had spent my holidays travelling our village in Bangladesh — running across the rice fields or farms and fishing in lakes. But, this had started to wear off as a teen. One thing I remember about that trip was when we were only about half an hour from our village, we had to get out of our car. The road in front of us was completely under water. We all got on a bamboo boat for another two or three hours.

That was 15 years ago — the last time I visited our village. One by one, many other villagers left there. But my father has been working hard to build it up. He doesn’t want it to be lost.

Yes, we should protect our home. But there is something else to think about: climate crisis (气候危机). Bangladesh is at the centre of the climate crisis — it is hit by floods, droughts, storms and other natural disasters. “I jokingly say, Bangladesh is God’s laboratory for natural disasters,” says Prof Ainun Nishat, an expert on climate change from Bangladesh.

The period from June to October sees heavy rains. But the rainfall time is becoming more erratic (无常的). In 2020, Sylhet, my hometown, was hit by huge floods that affected thousands of families, whose homes were swept away. In fact, over a quarter of the country was flooded. Nearly 1.3 million homes were damaged, and hundreds of people died.

The weather is getting more extreme (极端的). It is getting too hot. And the supply of water can’t be relied upon, leaving the land getting drier.

Although people have worries about droughts and floods, unlike in the past, the country is well-prepared to deal with them. Prof Nishat says, “Maybe 20, 30 years back we depended on external (外部的) support to return to normal from any natural disaster, but now it’s different. The country has developed, and we suffered these disasters many times, so the people are one of the most prepared.”

Back in my country, when I was a child, I used to go to “market day” with my mother. One day each week, farmers used to bring their fruit and vegetables into the city. They closed one street    1     all cars, and the farmers set up tables for their produce. This outdoor market was a great place to shop. Everything was fresher than produce in grocery stores    2     the farmers brought it in immediately after the harvest. My mother and I always got there early in the morning to get    3    (fresh)produce.

The outdoor market was a wonderful adventure for a small child,     4     was like a festival-full of colours and sounds. There are red tomatoes, yellow lemons, green lettuce, peppers, grapes, onions. The farmers did their own advertising. They all shouted loudly for customers to buy their produce. “Come and buy my beautiful oranges! They’re juicy and delicious and full of vitamins    5     (make)your children healthy and strong!”

Everyone used to argue with the farmers    6     the price of their produce. It was like a wonderful drama in a theatre; the buyers and sellers were the “actors” in this drama. My mother was an expert    7     this. First, she picked the freshest, most attractive tomatoes, for example. Then she asked the price. The seller told her.

“What?” she said. She looked very surprised. “So expensive?”

The seller looked terribly hurt. “My dear lady!” he replied. “I’m a poor, honest farmer. These    8    (be)the cheapest tomatoes on the market!”

They always argued for several minutes before    9    (agree)on a price. My mother took her tomatoes and left.     10     buyer and seller were satisfied. The drama was over.