4 . An Olympic Village is a place that houses Olympic competitors. It is a place where they prepare for what might be the most important moment in their life. But we want to know more about this mysterious (神秘的) place: What really happens in the village?

We asked swimmer Natalie Coughlin, a three-time Olympian and 12-time medalist. She says, “People think it’s a lot more attractive and interesting than it is. It isn’t. It’s like a huge college campus, including a bank, a salon, a post office, and a huge cafeteria — except that everyone is anxious, getting ready for their biggest event under unbelievably high pressure.”

But some other Olympians look differently at their campus. “It’s like the first day of college,” water polo player Tony Azevedo says. “You’re super excited. Everyone’s meeting people and trying to socialize with others.”

Coughlin says the best spot to be in the village is the cafeteria. Not only does it provide a place to talk with the rest of the athletes from your country, but it’s a great chance for people-watching. One of her favorite games was to tell what sport someone in front of her took based on their body type.

Living in the same village means athletes run into one another all the time. Coughlin shares this story: While in London in 2012, at one point applause (欢呼) broke out at the arrival of someone. Coughlin thought it was one of the British royals, but it was Jamaica’s Usain Bolt (the world’s greatest runner alive). Runner Allyson Felix — a winner of six gold Olympic medals — has also had her run-ins. In 2008, she came across the world-famous U.S. men’s basketball team, including Anthony, Bryant, Wade and other top players.

It’s “a pretty wild scene, the biggest melting pot — a place where large numbers of people, ideas, and cultures are mixed together— you’ve been in,” said swimmer Eric Shanteau. Felix agrees, saying, “You get to meet people from other countries that you wouldn’t even come into contact with. To me that’s the coolest thing.”

5 . Kim and I decided to go to see a new movie. We________a little early and were talking about our day. Then came a young girl,________by a man who we thought was her________. They sat one row ahead and about two seats to the right. As they began to talk, it was________that the man was her father, and that their family had been experiencing hard times.

The young girl seemed mature(成熟的) beyond her years .She________her father, saying that everything would be okay and that she loved him.________they spoke, Kim’s________were filled with tears. He was thinking how________this father was to have·the love and________of his daughter. The young girl________her dad of the past times when they used to go to the________together, enjoying, talking, laughing and even crying. These were times she________. She knew her dad missed________, but he had devoted himself________to making money and supporting the family.

It became clear to us that they had________the early show because the tickets were________. They had bought a small box of popcorn and were________it happily. This young girl had saved her money to enjoy this daddy-daughter “________.” The father felt grateful(感激的) to his daughter,________that things would return to normal________.

6 . One night,after dinner,an argument broke out between my parents again. I felt greatly depressed about it. However,I had no idea who I should talk with about how I was feeling. So I asked Mom to allow me to stay the night at my best friend’s house. Though I knew I wouldn’t tell her about my parents’ situation, I was looking forward to getting out of the house. I was in the middle of packing up my things when suddenly the power went out in the neighborhood. Mom came to tell me that I should stay with my grandpa until the power came back on.

I was really disappointed because I felt that we did not have much to talk about. But I knew he would be frightened alone in the dark. I went to his room and told him that I’d stay with him until the power was restored. He was quite happy and said, “Great opportunity.”

“What is?” I asked.

“To talk, you and I,” he said. “To hold a private little meeting about what we’re going to do with your mom and dad, and what we’re going to do with ourselves now that we’re in the situation we are in.”

“But we can’t do anything about it, Grandpa,” I said, surprised that here was someone with whom I could share my feelings and someone who was in the same“boat”as I was.

And that’s how the most unbelievable friendship between my grandfather and me started. Sitting there in the dark, we talked about our feeling and fears of life---from how fast things change, to how they sometimes don’t change fast enough. That night, because the power went out, I found a new friend, with whom I could safely talk about all my fears and pains, whatever they may be.

Suddenly, the lights all came back on.“Well,” he said, “I guess that means you’ll want to go now. I really like our talk. I hope the power will go out every few nights!”

7 . The phone call came one cool winter day. I was _________ that my father was seriously ill.

It had been long since I had seen my father. Ever since his _________ from my mom, my father had lived alone in a small trailer(房车)in California, 500 miles away from me. The real _________ between us seemed so much greater. I was in no hurry to _________ that, but somehow I heard myself _________ to the owner of the trailer to be there the next day.

The whole drive down, _________ flashed through my mind. I remembered my father, the proud Marine. He made sure the first song I _________ was the Marine Hymn(美国海军陆战队队歌). He snatched of (扯下)the Christmas _________ all the decorations the rest of us had _________ and rehung them so there was of the __________ same space between them. But we need not __________ those military orders, as we were not soldiers. I remembered __________ the battles he had with my mother. I remembered hoping to hear my father say __________ once, "I love you, Patty", only to have him __________ at me, "You can't do anything right!'

And now here I was standing outside his trailer, trying to __________ my courage to face him once more. I knocked on the door, my hand and my whole body __________ . No answer. Slowly I opened the door. I took a few __________ inside and stopped, too shocked to believe my eyes.

My father was sitting on his sofa, looking confused and crying This wasn't the __________ man I had known growing up. He seemed broken.

A sense of __________ overtook me, and I knew what I had to do. He would be my father forever. Without __________ , I went back inside and packed up all of my father's things . I would take him to my home---our home.

I'm writing to express my attitude towards the topic “whether teenagers' secrets should be kept from their parents”.

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua