3 . It was Grandpa’s 70th birthday. The whole _______ had been preparing for it for quite some time.

Early in the morning, I woke up excited. First I got dressed _______. Then I headed downstairs to _______. Mum was already preparing Grandpa’s special birthday lunch. Dad was _______ to be seen. After a quick breakfast, I checked the special gift I had made for Grandpa, a _______ of his life story - for the last time. For weeks I had been working on this, listening to Grandpa’s stories, selecting his favourite music and _______ photos from the family album (相册).

Just before lunchtime, Dad came in with some _______. Surprisingly, they were Grandpa’s best friends from secondary school, all in their seventies. Grandpa couldn’t believe his _______ and it took quite a long time for them to _______. As soon as the guests took their ________, Grandpa’s favourite music began to fill the room with ________ of the old days. With each old photo, the guests saw how Grandpa ________ from a handsome boy to a kind old gentleman. When Grandpa and his friends appeared in an old photo in their school uniforms(校服), there was a lot of ________ in the room, and quite a few tears in their eyes.

Towards the end of the party, Grandpa said ________ , “It is a wonderful birthday celebration and I’ve got the best ________ I have ever received. Now I am looking forward to my eightieth, ninetieth and even one hundredth birthdays already!”

5 . Growing up, Kelsie Dolin’s grandmother always encouraged her to try new things.

The two of them were especially _______ since it was her grandparents who raised her rather than her parents. That’s _______ she felt heartbroken when her grandmother _______.

One way that her grandmother tried to _______ her out of her comfort zone (舒适区) was by encouraging her to _______ more, especially in public. Kelsie gave it a _______, but it didn’t turn out like she’d hoped. She once tried to sing in church (教堂) but when the music started playing, she didn’t sing because of _______. Still, not long after her grandma died, Kelsie couldn’t help but _______ the unusual number of American Idol ads (广告) that were made to get people to audition (试演). _______, it reached a point where she took it ________ a sign (征兆) from her grandmother for her to take another chance on singing.

For Kelsie, just getting to the audition would mean experiencing a lot of ________. Not only was she about to perform for the first time ever, but she was about to do so in front of judges (评委).

Kelsie ________ the judges with her singing when she chose to sing “Piece by Piece” by Kelly Clarkson. But they could tell that Kelsie was too ________ to sing well. After much ________, they asked her to sing the second song she had ________. All three judges couldn’t help but say “You are going to Hollywood!” We can’t wait to see where Kelsie’s singing career takes her!

6 . Some of us regret that we no longer have parents to serve after their passing away (去世). Then why not pay more attention to them when they were _________ and with us?

A few days ago, when I went to a park for my evening walk, I came across an old couple sitting on a bench and talking to each other. Feeling a bit tired after a long way, I’m _________ to know about their _________ of discussion. So I went over and sat on the bench next to them. After a few moments, from their conversation I could _________ that their only son had moved to America. And they were _________ alone here.

Every sentence they said to each other conveyed to me their desire, their loneliness and their selfless _________ for their son. My eyes were filled with tears and I realized just how _________ we have become as children.

To achieve our goals and purposes we tend to care _________ about the two most important persons of our lives: our parents, who _________ us when we were young, raised us heart and soul and guided us patiently on each step of our lives.

What has the life of these parents become now? Most of them are staying in old houses and leading a __________ life. Most of them even couldn’t be taken care of when they fall ill. Why do we always __________ that we are what we are now just because of these two special people who brought us into this __________?

Finally, I would like to use a few words written by a wise man which say, “When you were __________ and just a little way off, I __________ you with blankets (毯子) against the cool night air, but now you are tall and out of __________, I hold out my hands and cover you with my best wishes.”

7 . I was with my mom one day as we took a walk while window shopping. We both knew we wouldn’t be buying much.

I remember I was looking up at the people we _________. Ladies wore five-inch heels and bright clothing. Men wore expensive scents (香水) and creams that might wipe away (擦去) the wrinkles (皱纹) on their faces.

An uneasy feeling started to _________ in my chest. I could deny it no longer; I was _________ of my mother.

We were in a high-class neighborhood－I knew that. We lived in a small, _______ apartment building at the edge of our county. Mom chose to move there because she knew the schools were good. I realized for the first time that we didn’t _________ there.

I could see the heavy _________ around mom’s eyes and mouth. She wore cheap clothes and worn-out shoes. Her eyes were tired from working long hours to make ends meet, and her hair was too _________ for her age.

My mom is nothing extraordinary, _________ at that moment, she stood out because she was just so _________. I didn’t want to be seen with her, although there was no one important around to see me anyway. I felt embarrassed about being at her side.

We were standing in the middle of a high-end store, and mom was holding a sweater.

She said, “This will look __________ on you. Do you want it?”

It was much too expensive, but I almost thoughtlessly answered “yes”.

Then I __________ a closer look at the small, tired woman with a big smile and a sweater in her hands, happy to be giving me something so nice. My words __________ in my throat.

Her clothes were worn and old because she spent her money buying me new ones. She looked so tired because she was busy working to provide for (供养) me. She didn’t wear jewelry or perfume because she was __________ with spending what little money she had on me.

__________, my mom was beautiful and extraordinarily wonderful in my eyes.

I was no longer ashamed of her, but of myself.

“Do you want it?” my mom __________.

“No, thanks,” I said.

10 . My 9-year-old niece Lily is a bit fat and she doesn’t do well at school. Because of these, she is often made fun of at home, thus developing some _________ in adults, who in turn usually don’t put high _________ on her.

Yesterday Lily and I went to an art exhibition, where paintings from kids with disabilities were being on _________. Lily has sharp eyes, for the paintings she liked most were also the best of the exhibition. She also _________ to help arrange the chairs and tables for a sharing meeting, and cheerfully helped me fetch my bag from another room, something that _________ happened at home.

Then we went to a bookshop, where I bought a book written by a mom describing her journey with her autistic (孤独症的) son. On the bus back home, I briefly _________ the book to Lily. It _________ that she was truly interested. She kept asking me to tell more stories about the friend in the book who _________ with small things in life. Even when I was _________ the topic, she made requests for more about this boy. This is the first time I’ve seen her so ____________ a single topic. I’m touched that the life of an unknown ____________ has found its way into this little girl’s ____________.

I’m thankful for the ____________ of the book, for the beauty that my niece ____________ to me, and for the time we had together. I hope that I can keep seeing clearly the fantastic things in her, so that whenever the not-so-kind world puts her down, I can ____________ her how truly wonderful she has always been.