2 . With time going by, I understood that my dad knew everything. In my teen years, he taught me things I’d need to know to ________ in the real world. How to drive a manual car. How to ________ your car tyre pressure. The ________ knife to use to cut a melon.

But, ________ I needed him less. I got married and moved away. My husband had most of the knowledge I ________ about the household chores (家务杂活). I loved my dad, of course, but I wondered if maybe he had already shared everything I ________ to know. Maybe I’d heard all his ________. Maybe, after knowing a man for 40 years, there’s ________ left to say.

Then, two years ago, my husband and I ________ with my parents while our house was being repaired. They own a lake house, and Dad asked me to help ________ the bulkhead (隔板) at their dock.

I didn’t baulk (退缩)—it was the least I could do for ________ rent-but I was anxious. It was ________ labour.

But as we put the new bulkhead together piece ________ piece, my dad knowing exactly what ________ where, I looked at him. “How do you know how to build a bulkhead？”“I spent a summer while I was at university building them.”I suddenly realized that maybe it’s not that there’s nothing left to say. Maybe it’s just that I’ve spent my life asking him the ________ questions.

A few weeks later, after moving back, I called my father. We ________ talking about everything. To anyone else, it would sound like a normal ________ between a dad and his daughter. But to me, it was a ________ beginning. I ________ the first part of my life needing to talk to my dad. Now I talk to him because I ________ to.

6 . How to Make Friends at a New School

Starting with a new school can be difficult. Everything seems to be different, and you don’t even know where to go for your own classes.     1     However, if you use these skills, you can quickly turn some of those strangers into friends.

    2     If some people don’t accept you, they’re not the kind of friends you need. People often stay together because they have similar interests. For example, someone who does a lot of sports may make friends with those who also run or swim a lot.

Remember to be nice to the people you meet at your new school. If you think that you will say something that may make them feel sad, do not say anything and just nod your head if they talk to you. Also, remember to be as helpful as possible!

A smile goes a long way. When you walk in the halls, don’t keep your eyes on the floor. Raise your head and make eye contact with other people.     4     Introduce yourself. Tell them your name and where you’re from.

You like it when people use your name, and so do other people.     5     Besides, ask them in a kind way if they have a nickname. You’d be surprised how often this may come in handy.

7 . Today, I’m sending Sally away for a week of summer camp. She never actually asked to go. This was all my ________. She’s nearly 12, and I noticed that I’m with my child nearly 24 hours a day.

Living on a farm without any neighbors, I’ve chosen a life that is quieter than a________family’s. But rather than longing for________away from me, Sally has become increasingly dependent on my________. What________me most is that she has become a “mini-me”. She________my hobbies, my dreams, and my opinions. And that’s________I pulled her to the summer camp: a nearby wilderness camp called Hawk Circle.

After we eat, I drive Sally to Hawk Circle. Once there, we get a tour of the grounds and are introduced to Sally’s fellow________. Sally stands by the group of children, holding my hand, tears in her eyes, trying to work up the________to join a game of soccer. “I need you for a few more minutes,” she tells me, holding my hand________. I walk up to one of the camp’s workers. “Excuse me,” I say loudly，“I’d like to________my daughter. Maybe you could help her ________a few of these kids.” He comes over to talk to Sally, and I kiss on her cheek and then I________before she realizes I’m gone.

It’s not until that drive home that I finally feel it. I begin to________. The tears stream down my face. It takes every bit of my________to keep driving forward. When I arrive home, I calm down and remind myself why I chose this________. I want Sally to have a chance to find herself, out of my_________ I don’t want to see only myself in my child. I want to learn who she is. If I don’t set her________, I fear I’ll never really meet her real________. After 12 years of________being together, I want to finally meet my daughter for the first time.

Both of my parents worked full-time when I was a little girl, so my grandmother would stay at our house during the day. We would watch game shows in the living room. Our favorite was The Price is Right. We would call out our answers along with the players.

When I got older and started going to school, we couldn't watch our game shows regularly. That was okay with me, though, because the one thing I liked better than watching game shows with my grandmother was helping bake. Watching her in the kitchen was amazing: she never seemed to need the recipes but everything she made tasted delicious.

At first I would just sit in the kitchen and watch, even though I didn’t understand what she was doing. As I got older, she let me help with the easy parts, such as measuring the sugar. The day she let me separate the eggs. I felt like I had found complete pleasure.

At last. my parents decided that I could take care of myself, and my grandmother stopped coming over every day. The love of baking, however, stayed with me. I started baking by myself, and even if the cookies ended up being burnt sometimes, more often they turned out pretty well. I tried out new recipes, and whenever I got to a thorny part. I would call my grandmother for advice. Sometimes I would call her just to talk, too. I felt like I could talk to her about anything.

My grandmother passed away ten years ago, but I still think of her every day, Last week, I found a recipe book she made for me. It included her recipes for brownies, cookies, and my favorite, lemon pie stout anything. As I looked through the pages, I thought I could hear her voice. She was the one who taught me not just about baking, but about life.

10 . Mildred Webinga Freeman was an English teacher at the new middle school I attended in the ninth grade. She wasn’t my teacher, she was the adviser to the safety patrol (巡逻队) on which I served. I loved being around her and enjoyed her sense of humor and kind personality. She was also a good listener.

At the end of the year, she announced that she was moving to Florida, and I was very shocked and sad. We exchanged addresses and became pen pals. I could tell her anything, and she treated me with respect even though I was a teenager.

In Florida, Mrs. Freeman became a businesswoman, but she managed to find time to write letters and amusing stories and always took my concerns seriously. She had given me an open invitation to visit, and I missed her so much. When I wrote to take her up on the offer, she answered, “Get your shoes on and your bags packed! You are welcome anytime!”

I spent three weeks with her in Miami, thrilled to do anything from washing dishes to touring houses with her. Her love of poetry, music, and creative writing encouraged me. One day while hanging sheets on the clothesline, she looked up and said, “You know, the sky is fuel for the soul.” I have never looked at the clouds since without hearing those words. Two years later when I visited her house I had hoped to talk to her about school, but instead she was in a hospital bed in the guest room. She had cancer on the liver, and her family members were caring for her. I was in shock.

To this day, more than 50 years later, I still see her smile and think about the advice she gave me. Now and then I reread her letters, and I remember the importance of her smile and her friendship.