2 . “I have a letter for you,” my friend Kirsten told me on the phone. “I think it’s from your mother.” I was ______, since my mother had been ______ for seven years.

A few weeks later Kirsten handed me the ______ dated Aug. 30, 2002. Aground then I was preparing for my pilot course’s final exam at the ______ school. The students finished the training on ______ days.

I was the first to ______. My mother’s letter ______ after I left. Kirsten picked it up from my mail-box, to keep ______ she next saw me.______, a few days later, when it was her turn to leave, she ______ the letter among the piles of papers she ______ packed into boxes. It ______ there for a decade, during which my mother died. In 2013, when Kirsten ______ some dusty belongings from her flying school days, she ______ the letter.

It’s been two years since Kirsten gave me the letter which I’ve carried on my long flights. But I haven’t ______ it yet. When I told some friends this, they ______ their heads. They said they wouldn’t have been able to wait a second. Of course, I ______ -How could I not? -about her ______ in the envelope. Surely, I think, she had written to wish me luck, ask about my life and tell me the news from ______ to make me at case. However, for now it’s ______ to look at her handwriting on the envelope, and to remember that until I open it, I know I’ll hear from her once more.

Parenting is challenging, especially when you’re new to it. One winter when our now grow-up daughter, Esther, was a baby, we took the advantage of the holiday to see her grandparents. In the ladies’room of a restaurant, I gave her instructions on how wash and dry her hands. An old lady stood in the corner but stared at us the entire time curious. After I helped Esther to wear a pair of glove, the woman gave me a warm smile and said, “You were a great mom.” Her words made me encourage for days. Now I’m the one who observes young mothers with her little kids. If a mom is patient for her kid, I say, “I have seen how kind you are to your child.”

James’ granddad wrote to help James quit smoking. He once became addicted to cigarettes in three ways. His body was accustomed to     1     (have) nicotine. He began to do it     2    (automatic) and became mentally addicted. But     3     realizing the harmful effects of smoking on the body, he finally managed to stop. He also told James smoking did damage to heart and lungs, and     4     it was more difficult for smoking couple to become pregnant. So he gave James some     5    (advise). Firstly, be well-prepared and be determined. Decide on a day to quit. Don’t choose a day that he knows is going to be     6    (stress). Once he decides, he should carry it out. Secondly, relax himself. When feeling nervous, do not reach     7     a cigarette. Instead try some deep breath and do some exercises. Thirdly, get help if he need     8    . If he feels desperate, don’t hesitate to ask for help from his friends or join a stop-smoking group. Finally, keep trying. Don’t be disappointed if he doesn’t see the immediate effects. Just try again and he     9    (succeed) in the end.

All these might help James to stop and     10    (strong) his resolve.

6 . I never saw my father home from work late or ill, nor did I ever see my father take a “night out with the boys”. He had no hobbies but just took care of his family.

For 22 years, since I left home for college, my father called me every Sunday at 9:00 am. He was always interested in my life----how my family was doing. The calls even came when he and my mother were in Australia, England or Florida.

Nine years ago when I bought me first house, my father, 67 years old, spent eight hours a day for three days, painting my house. He would not allow me to pay someone to have it done. All he asked was a glass of iced tea, and that I hold a paintbrush for him and talk to him. But I was too busy, for I had a law practice to run, and I could not take the time to hold the paintbrush, or talk to my father.

Five years ago, my 71-year-old father spent five hours putting together a swing set (秋千) for my daughter. Again, all he asked was that I get him a glass of iced tea, and talk to him. But again, I had laundry to do, and the house to clean.

The morning on Sunday, January 16, 1995, my father telephoned me as usual, this time he had seemed to have forgotten some things we had discussed the week before. I had to get to church, and I cut the conversation short.

The call came at 4:40 am. That day my father was sent to hospital in Florida. I got on a plane immediately, and I vowed (发誓) that when I arrived, I would make up for the lost time, and have a nice long talk with him and really get to know him.

I arrived in Florida at 1:00 am, but my father had passed away at 9:12 pm. This time it was he who did not have time to talk, or time to wait for me.

In the years since his death I have learnt much about my father, and even more about every single day.

10 . Aaron Fotheringham has been an amazing person with backflips(后空翻) and other skateboarding tricks throughout his teens. And his famous backflip has won worldwide notice in the form of Record. Why did his particular backflip earn such a reputation? Aaron was the first person to successfully perform a backflip in a wheelchair.

Aaron was born ill. He has been in a wheelchair since the age of 8. Since then, he has even developed a new extreme sport in which wheelchair-bound athletes use their chairs like skateboards or bikes to do tricks. Now Aaron's friends call him "Wheelz", and he says it's huge praise.

Though Aaron makes his stunts(特技表演) look easy, doing tricks in a wheelchair is very different from using a skateboard or bike. It's a completely different skill set.

If a skateboarder goes into a backflip like Aarons and doesn’t start out with enough rotation (旋转), he or she can bend his or her body to speed up. This allows a skateboarder to make complete rotation in time for a successful landing. But Aaron can't bend his body any more than it is already.

That means Aaron has to have everything perfect before going into a backflip. He needs to launch himself to just the right height. If he doesn't, he could fall on the ground completely. "My rotation is so quick that I don't have much time to think," says Aaron.

Aaron's stunts take a lot of practice. He tries to make it to the skate park every day to work on his backflip and try out new tricks. Even though he's an excellent athlete, Aaron doesn't always land his stunts perfectly. But Aaron says he doesn't let bad landings stop him. He gets right back up and goes for his backflip again.