1 . I had been invited to go to my friend’s birthday party. I was excited because I liked to go to parties. Although Tori was not my best friend, I _______ to be there.

Two days later, my best friend asked me to go to Disneyland. I really wanted to go. That’s when my mom _______ me that Tori’s party was on the same day. She said I couldn’t change my mind just because something better came along.

My_______ about going to the birthday party was _______. Tori’s party would be okay but not as _______ as a whole day at Disneyland. _______, Tori wasn’t even my best friend. I begged my mom but she _______. She asked me to think about how I would feel if someone did that to me. I had to _______ that it would _______ my feelings. My mom was _______.

So my mom dropped me off at Tori’s party. Something _______ happened after I got there. We did stuff that was fun and different. We watched a movie that hadn’t come out in theaters yet and that was pretty _______. There was also a make-your-own pizza contest. We gave presents to Tori and her parents had a special present to give to each of us _______! That was so cool.

When my mom came to _______ me up, she was glad that I’d had a good time. Not only did I _______ the party, but I learned an important lesson. My mom was right…as usual.

2 . A father gifted his daughter an old car at graduation. The father said to his daughter: “You just _________, and this is a car that I _________ when I began to work a long time ago. But before I give it to you, take it to a car dealer (商人) in the city and _________ how much they offer for it.” Then the girl did _________ as her father told her to.

The girl _________ to her father and said: “They only offered $1,000 because it looks very _________.” The father replied: “Hold it and take it to the second-hand car dealer.”

The girl _________ to her father and said: “They offered $100 because it is a very old car and it needs a lot of _________.” Lastly, he told his daughter to show the car to a famous car club. She returned and said to her father: “Some people in the club offered me $100,000 because it is a _________ car that is in very good __________, with good performance and very difficult to __________.”

Then the father said: “I wanted to let you __________ that you are not worth anything if you are not in the right __________. If you are not valued, do not be __________, that means you are in the wrong place. Don’t __________ in a place where no one sees your value.”

3 . My son Lucas and his wife Holly lived in a small apartment. Therefore, it was a _________ to see a huge card table _________ in the corner of the living room. On it was a partially worked jigsaw puzzle (拼图). “Have you been _________ puzzles since you were a little girl?” I asked. Holly shook her head and explained that she had so many brothers and sisters that the family dining table _________ had enough room for plates and food, let alone puzzles. “I didn’t really start working on puzzles until I was in law school,” she said.

Being far away from family and friends, Holly told me how _________ she’d felt during her first semester in law school. With a tight _________, she couldn’t afford Internet or TV. But a person can’t _________ all the time. “I needed to find something relaxing and interesting to do.” she said. “When I started to work on the puzzle, a surprising _________ came over me. For the first time in a long time, I felt at peace,” she said. “It was unbelievable. Whenever I am under _________, I will work on puzzles. And the __________ continues till now.

Holly told me she gradually saw a __________ between puzzles and the law during those years. In both, you have to __________ the big picture first. You find and __________ all the facts and the applicable (适合的) law. Then you put the case together one piece at a time till you arrive back at the big picture. Once this __________ came to her, law school didn’t seem quite so boring. Puzzles gave Holly a way out of academic stress. Now, being a successful lawyer, she really appreciates that experience and its __________.

4 . Many years ago not long after we were married, my wife, Margaret, and I went to her parents’ place for a weekend visit in the fall. They happened to be pouring cement ( 浇筑水泥) for a new step and walkway outside their back door, so I ______ them. We completed the job and were quite _____ of the result.

Later that night after dinner, I ______ that my wedding (婚礼) ring was______. The whole family searched the house with no luck. The next day I was not______. After breakfast we ______ to search outside but again, no luck. At that point we came to the conclusion (结论) that the______ must have slipped off (滑落) my finger while I was doing the cement work and now it was ______.

We returned home without one wedding ring. I felt______ at the thought and kept ______ myself why I hadn’t taken it off before doing the cement work. This was a very hard ______for me to learn. My wife’s family said they would continue______ just in case as you never know — they might get ______ and find it.

The following spring, we got the miracle (奇迹) phone call. It seems that my ten-year-old brother-in-law, Mike, was outside playing in the yard and guess what he ______? My mother-in-law phoned to give me the good news.

Luckily, the ______ ended well for us and was quite a learning experience for me!