Yours,

Li Hua

2 . Never do I realize it has been so long since my father left us. I have often thought what a ________ world it would be without children; and what a cruel world without the ________.

My father was a very warm and ________man, quick to lend a hand to anyone who needed it. I always ________ my father and deeply admired his way with people.

He was in a care center for years after suffering a series of diseases that impacted his ability to walk and caused his ________ to be slow and not clear. It ________ me very much to see him there, and we tried to visit him several times a month. My toddler daughter, Kelsey, read stories to him, and he lay listening as her ________ ran wild, pretending to read words from the books she held in her tiny hands. They loved each other dearly, and he was her “Papa.”

Kelsey was only four years old when Dad died. I was ________for weeks, and Kelsey tried to comfort me. Oftentimes she cried with me or tried in some way to make me feel better. Nothing helped. I needed my ________ on this Earth, and sometimes my heart ________ so badly that I thought it might be broken because of sadness.

While we were preparing for Thanksgiving, I heard Kelsey talking to her daddy. They were chatting about Papa and how he had gone to ________and was now watching over us. She said in the sweetest voice, “Daddy, since Mama doesn’t have a daddy anymore, do you think you could just ________ yours with her?”

I sighed in relief, bursting into tears.

From that day on, my sadness ________. I knew my father had given Kelsey gifts of care, kindness and ________ for others.

He would ________ forever, in her.

Yours,

Li Hua

Three years ago, Mark moved out of his mother’s house after landing a well -paying job in another city. He thought living 1500 miles away from his elderly mother, Cassandra, would work out because he planned to visit her monthly.

Mark stuck to his visiting plan during the first year. However, with the amount of work increasing, he couldn’t find time to visit his mother monthly. He started to only speak to her on the phone, telling her about his life. Soon, Mark became busy and made a few phone calls to Cassandra. He didn’t even remember the last time they spoke on the phone.

One day, while working in his office, Mark heard his phone ring.

“Mom’s 70th birthday!” the reminder on his phone read.

“Oh, dear. How can I forget my mom’s birthday again?” Mark shook his head as he turned the reminder alarm off. “I can’t keep disappointing her like this. Let me see how fast I can get to her place.”

After checking his work schedule (日程计划), Mark realized that he could make it to his mother’s house by the evening if he left the office in an hour. He quickly finished the work and left the office without wasting another minute.

On his way, he stopped at a store and bought his mother’s favorite cake. He also bought her flowers and a few gifts. Although he wanted to call her, Mark thought it would be better to surprise her because he was sure that she wasn’t expecting him to visit her. After all, this was the first time that he had done something like this in a long time.

Mark finally arrived at the mother’s house. However, when he knocked at the door, no one answered. Puzzled, he opened the door with his key and entered. Nobody was there. He searched the house worriedly, only to find an envelope covered with dust on the table. Recognizing his mother’s handwriting (笔迹), Mark opened the envelope at once. It turned out that Cassandra had left her house and joined a local retirement community because she felt lonely.

In the letter, she also expressed her love for Mark and the hope of seeing him.

After asking about his mother at the front desk, he was glad to know she was still there.

I used to enjoy going to my aunt’s flower farm. But not recently, because my newly born sister, Rosa, was settled in my old bedroom. For many years, I stored my books and toys in that small room. But now it was changed into her baby room. Both my space and my old life were gone.

One sunny morning, my aunt took me to her farm again. When we arrived there, my aunt said I could pick some flowers for my parents. I used to love this, but today I was so overcome with tired nest and envy that I did not move.

“Why bother to bother them flowers when they are enjoying Rosa at home without me?” I thought while silently helping mg aunt arrange flowers.

“Your mother told me that there hadn’t been much sleep recently for any of you,” my aunt said.

“The alarm clock in Rosa’s room kept going off,” I complained with a huge yawn(哈欠).

I remember that I had to walk around the house like a worn-out mouse when your mother was a baby. I spent the first months hating her so much, “my aunt laughed.” But you and my mother seem so close,” I said, guiltily hiding away my envy of Rosa.” “Now, we are. But it took me years to get used to the role of being a big sister,” she said and pulled me into her arms. “It really takes time, you know.”

A few seconds later, my aunt took me for a walk along the road which was dotted with beautiful flowers. I began to pick the little flowers as we talked. It was like collecting my childhood memories. I remembered how I’d made flower chains with my father, while giving each other the silliest names such as Princess of Snacks and King of Junk Food. Little by little, my face lit up and the flowers reminded me of the bright colors in my baby sister’s room. “Is she awake?” I wondered.

Suddenly, I saw my parents walking towards me along the road.

After the picnic, we went to pick some flowers.

7 . My sister and I grew up in a little village in England. Our father was a struggling lawyer, but I always knew he was special. He never criticized (批评) us, but used ________ to bring out our best. He’d say, “If you pour water on flowers, they grow well. If you don’t give them water, they die.” I ________ as a child I said something ________ about somebody, and my father said, “________ time you say something unpleasant about somebody else, it’s a reflection (映射) of you.” He explained that if I looked for the best in people, I would get the best ________ . From then on I’ve always tried to follow the principle in my life and later in running my company.

Dad’s also always been very ________ . At 15, I started a magazine. It was ________ a great deal of my time, and the headmaster of my school gave me a choice: stay in school or leave to work on my magazine.

I decided to leave, and Dad tried to make me change my mind, ________ any good father would. When he realized I had made up my mind, he said, “Richard, when I was 23, my dad ________ me to go into law. And I’ve ________ regretted it. I wanted to be a biologist, ________ I didn’t pursue (追求) my ________ . You know what you want. Go realize it.”

As ________ turned out, my little publication went on to become Student, a national ________ for young people in the UK. My wife and I have two children, and I’d like to think we are bringing them up in the same way Dad ________ me.

How is everything going?

Yours,

Li Hua

“Surprise!” was the first thing I heard when I opened the door. My family and friends were all smiling at me. There were colorful balloons all over the house, a big poster saying “HAPPY BIRTHDAY”, and of course a cake with 12 candles. It was a wonderful feeling, I knew that I had finally turned twelve and I might possibly get the thing I wanted most.

I saw my mom and dad coming towards me with a small box which seemed to be a birthday present. When I opened the box, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had really gotten a mobile phone! Throwing myself into their arms, I let out a cry of joy, “Thank you! I love you guys!” “You’re welcome. We knew this was going to make you happy but we didn’t only get you this because you turned twelve, but also because you are doing well in school. We expect you to keep getting good grades.” “Of course I will.” I said confidently.

As soon as I got to school the next morning, I was showing off my phone and asking everyone for their number. It was cool how I got so many contacts on the first day. It felt like I didn’t even exist in that class anymore. I wouldn’t pay much attention to the teachers because 1 was too busy on my phone. However, I didn’t get caught using it.

I am pretty sure that the teacher did notice that I stopped paying attention to her because a week later we took a test and I failed. What was worse, my mom had to sign the test.

It was hard to show my mom the test. She was used to seeing A’s and B’s on my tests. Finally, I showed it to her, and she couldn’t believe it. She was angry but most of al, she was disappointed.