2 . Family is the most important thing in the world. Sometimes it can be hard to get along with family members but you love them. How can you have a better relationship with your family members?     1    

●Spend more time together.

Think about how much time you spend with your family already. Is it enough?

    2     Arrange time when you all have freedom to do things together. Go on a picnic, visit a museum, go to a sports match and so on.

●Improve yourself.

Perhaps they complain about your grades, your attitude or your lack of goals; don’t assume it’s all nagging. Some of what they are saying is most likely for your own good, and they’re trying to protect you from life’s hardships and encourage you to be the best you can be.     3    

●Be as independent as you can.

For example, don’t ask your father to wake you up in the morning.     4     Or, don’t expect your parents to help you out all the time, especially not as an adult.

    5    

If your parents come home late at night after work, try to make a simple dinner for them, instead of making your mother cook for you again. If your brother or sister is not doing well at school, show him or her how to succeed with the subjects.

I hope everything is going on well with you.

Sincerely Yours,

Li Hua

Tony became ill and had to spend all day in bed. Because other     1     (child) could not come near him, he felt sad and lonely.

There wasn’t much to do, so he just looked out of the window. One day, he     2     (see) something strange outside the window. It was a penguin (企鹅)     3     (eat) a sandwich. The penguin said “good afternoon”     4     Tony and then left.

Tony was very     5     (surprise). He tried to find out what was going on. Suddenly, he saw a monkey playing with a balloon (气球) outside his window. As he saw more and more strange animals, Tony couldn’t help laughing     6     found it hard to stop.

Before long, his health improved and he went back to school, where his friends Tom, Jack and Mark were all waiting for him. He told     7     (he) friends about all the strange things outside his window. While he was talking, he saw something in Mark’s schoolbag. Tony asked what it     8     (be) and Mark showed him.

Inside the bag were a lot of clothes     9     looked like animals. His friends wore them to cheer Tony up while he was ill!

From that day on, Tony always tried his best     10     (make) sure his friends never felt sad or lonely.

5 . Mary, a reporter from History Weekly, is interviewing Malcolm, the curator (馆长) of the Powell Cotton Museum.

Mary: Hello, I’m Mary. Nice to meet you.

Malcolm: Hello, I’m Malcolm. I’m the curator of the Powell Cotton Museum. Welcome.

Mary: Could you show me around the museum?

Malcolm: Sure, come in.

Mary: So who started this museum?

Malcolm: The museum was built by an Englishman called Powell Cotton. He was born in 1866 and died in 1940.

Mary: Who was he?

Malcolm: He was an adventurer, explorer and hunter.

Mary: So which countries did he visit?

Malcolm: He visited mostly Africa but also parts of Asia as well, including Ladakh and some parts of India.

Mary: Did he have a favorite country?

Malcolm: I don’t know about a favorite country, but certainly his favorite continent was Africa.

Mary: What was his longest trip?

Malcolm: His longest trip was thirty months and that was in 1903 to Africa.

Mary: What is your favorite thing in the museum?

Malcolm: My favorite thing is this lion. This is the same lion that attacked Powell Cotton in 1906. He survived because the local Africans killed the lion.

7 . “Where is the light?” My dad used to ask me the question when I was little. It’s one of those questions that parents often use to find out how smart their young children are. During my teenage years, my dad jokingly told me that he thought I was going to be dimwitted(愚蠢的) because I pointed at him whenever he asked me where the light was.

Dad is from a rural area about 230 kilometers north of the capital Manila, and where most people live off the land, raising and selling livestock and poultry. His father, an artist and street magician, died when he was very young. To make ends meet, his mother went about town and washed laundry in various households. My dad found himself alone—lack of nurturing (养育) and love, short of family bonds.

Dad loved reading and always looked for opportunities to educate himself. One day, when my father was 16 and out of work, a stranger saw him sitting under a tree, absorbed in a book. He approached Dad and asked him why he wasn't in school. Dad replied that he had no money for college. The stranger saw his desire to study and recommended him to University of the Cordilleras as a working student. He also gave Dad a job in a local factory. Thanks to the warm-hearted stranger, Dad got his Bachelor of Arts degree, then went on to study law and became a successful lawyer. He wrote a widely-read textbook on Philippine law.

Looking at my father now, I can see how he was able to overcome so many obstacles. He is by nature a hardworking man, pouring his energy into his career without forgetting his family. He values education—when we were younger, he would tell me and my brother to constantly seek improvement in ourselves through learning.

Like a light, he shines with dignity and respect because of his achievements, but his light radiates the brightest for maintaining our family as a cohesive (有凝聚力的)unit with love and faith as its foundation.

There are times when my dad kids around and asks me, using my childhood nickname, “Sasi, where's the light?”

I just smile, and point at him.

8 . Spreading Kindness, Rock by Rock

“Mom! I found one! I found a rock!”

I _________ those words again and again last summer as I sat on the porch of my home, which faces a park in the small town where I live.

The Kindness Rocks Project, which was started a few years ago by a mom in Massachusetts, has _________ around the world. _________, families, and adults of all ages are taking part — painting rocks, hiding rocks, and finding painted rocks all over the place. Some _________ photos of the rocks on social media, and others simply move the rocks for someone else to find. Some take the rocks home and then _________ them with new ones that they create and hide.

Nine-year-old twins Harry and Hannah DeVrieze have _________ hundreds of rocks with their parents. Most evenings, the family and their small dog walk around with a wagon full of _________ that they hide as they walk.

“It’s a fun _________ activity,” Hannah says.

“We will do it in the winter too,” Harry _________. Ben Burinsky, aged nine, and his brother, Luke, aged seven, were visiting relatives when they __________ their first painted rock in a park. They were so __________ that they went home and painted their own rocks, then __________ them for others to find.

“My boys loved finding the rock in the park, __________ since it was a superhero,” their mother, Judy Burinsky, says. “I love how something so __________ can bring a smile to my children’s faces. In return, they learn the __________ of giving back to others.”

9 . Christmas is a time for giving and receiving. However, is it ________ for close family and friends? Do we even spare a ________ for those in need? Our children receive so much throughout the year.

As parents we want our daughters to be ________ for what they have and to think of those who don’t. That’s why my husband and I want them to ________ the spirit of giving back from a very young age.

Through their school, the girls have a charity which they ________ . Every Tuesday they take two loaves of bread to the school food bank. Twice a year they donate ________ clothes, toys and books to shelters. They also volunteer on weekends. As my husband is a regular blood donor, the girls ________ to donate as well. Unfortunately they are too ________ as the start age is 16.

Children mirror the ________ of their parents and if you often reach out to others by giving generously, they will ________ . Christmas is the perfect time to teach them to give back to those less ________ .

Teaching the gift of giving back not only promotes personal growth, it also ________ them a sense of belonging and pride. It will create ________ that they are making a difference in someone else’s life no matter how small the ________ . It teaches them love, kindness, patience and so on. These ________ will help them carry it forward in their adult life.

10 . Ma Li is a dessert shop owner in Yinchuan, Ningxia. On a cool morning, she received an online _______, but it took an hour for her to wait for the deliveryman (外卖送餐员).

When the deliveryman came, Ma was a little _______. “It is too cold outside and my motorbike didn’t work,” explained the deliveryman. After she heard his words, her anger was _______. She invited him to sit for a while and offered him a cup of hot water.

At that moment, Ma noticed the deliveryman’s face and hands were dark purple _______ he was working outside for too long. She felt sorry for him. While they were talking, Ma knew that the deliveryman wanted to buy her daughter a _______, but he thought it was a little expensive.

After the deliveryman left, Ma _______ what happened just now on her WeChat Moments (微信朋友圈) with two photos of the deliveryman.

Heartwarming comments (评论) poured in, such as “life is not easy but _______ of us give up!”, “Thumbs up(点赞)for hard-working people” and “Showing understanding to deliverymen.” Some _______ offered money for a cake.

The next day, Ma got in touch with the deliveryman and invited him to her shop. When they met, Ma expressed people’s kindness to him and gave him a cake for his daughter’s birthday. The deliveryman was _______.

Ma received more than 600 yuan in donations ________ her friends and customers. She said she would use the money to offer some help to people in need.