3 . I was ten when my mother was diagnosed with cancer. Prior to that, she had been a(n) _______ woman, active to an extent most people found astonishing. As a child, I was amazed by her accomplishments. But at thirty-one, her life _______. And so did mine.

She could do anything, I _______. She won tennis tournaments. She took photographs and held her own exhibition. She _______ as a newspaper columnist, and she cooked Spanish dishes for the family.

Now, she faced her illness with the same _______. Words like “disabled” and “physical therapy” became part of a(n) _______ new world we entered together. _______, I began to help take care of her. And it became routine to _______ her into the kitchen, where she instructed me in the _______ of peeling carrots and potatoes and how to prepare a decent breakfast.

Every accomplishment was a ________ for us both: the electric typewriter, the car with power steering and brakes, her return to ________, where she earned a master’s degree in special education. She eventually founded an activist support group called The Handicappers. One day, without ________ much beforehand, she took me to a Handicappers meeting. I had never seen so many people with so many ________. I returned home, thinking how ________ we really were.

Because my mother accepted her condition with such optimism, I rarely felt sad or resentful about it. Instead, I viewed her drive to look forward to things I ________ as a great mystery and powerful inspiration in my life.

4 . My father was a restaurant owner. My name is Vincent Lim. I’m a chef and restaurant owner. Running a Chinese restaurant is one of the hardest and most_________things in my life.

When we first arrived in Australia, my dad_________a Chinese restaurant. I would go there on a_________basis to help him out. And slowly I developed my_________for cooking. The hard work that my dad put into Chinese food makes me feel so proud that I am lucky enough to learn from a_________

The first dish that I ever learned to cook was the fried rice, which is the easiest but also the _________one to get right. From years of experience, I can_________you the difference between a good fried rice just from the feel and from the smell, without even taking a bite.

To lots of Chinese immigrants like us, the restaurant isn’t just a business. It’s a sense of _________. The wok hei (锅气)_________every ingredient in the wok, producing an appealing smell. The fragrances of the food__________the air and lingered around so much longer. Those memories, they become nostalgic (乡愁). The sense of home is what makes a__________good dish taste.

In 2017, my dad passed away. I realized that my love of cooking dishes was from my childhood. I __________the restaurant that I own today. Cooking was a__________way to my dad. I wanted to __________everything that he taught me. Cooking__________all the hard work and memories that we had.

5 . I saw a photograph in a magazine once. A male lion was seated on the ground. Beside him was a young lion, and the young was giving him a _________ on the backside. But Papa lion didn’t react. He didn’t roar (吼叫); he didn’t get angry; he didn’t try to blow the cub away. He _________ sat there and allowed himself to be annoyed. This is _________ dads do-they endure (忍耐).

Not long ago at a _________ game in America, a batter lost control of his bat. The 907-gram piece of hardwood flew out of his hands and went spinning into the stands. Everyone dived under the seats to protect themselves except for one young boy who hadn’t been _________ attention. At the last moment, a (an) _________ reached out and stopped the bat away from the boy’s head. It was the hand of the boy’s father _________ appeared in time. This is what dads do to _________ their children.

My brother has two daughters. They are both _________ and have jobs and live away from home. One day, his elder daughter had a flat tire while rolling on a busy highway. It was a (an) dangerous place to have something like that happen, __________ she didn’t have to think twice about whom to call for help. My brother __________ what he was doing and drove 32 kilometers to change the tire. This is what dads do to help their children all __________ their lives.

June 19 is Father’s Day, the day we thank dad for all the things he does for us and for all the times he is there when we need him. Moms are the __________ of the family and dads play an important role in keeping the family __________. Having a good dad makes children more __________ and successful and less likely to get into trouble.

So, thanks to all the dads who endure, protect and help. They are the everyday heroes that children need.

6 . One day, much to my astonishment, my son befriended a nun (修女)! Through the glass _______ doors where I stood chopping onions, I heard Sebastian’s voice and then a woman’s. Sebastian, woman-back and forth. Sebastian was five, and when I came out to _______ on him, his face was pressed against the bars of the fence, completely _______ in conversation.

Beyond that fence lived the woman, later identified as Sandy in her 40s. I had _______ peculiar habits inside nuns. Contrary to my _______ expectation of these mysterious figures, Sandy was friendly and _______ wore a smile.

Over the next few weeks, then months, their murmuring (低声) voices _______ through the fence. Sandy even drilled out a _______ on the wooden fence, roughly the size of a baseball, through which they _______ shells and leaves that they’d found. They asked and answered endless questions. Sometimes there was ________, Sebastian sitting with knees drawn up and his back to the fence while Sandy paced outside the fence.

During the COVID-19 in 2020, Sandy’s presence and the gifts left in the hole became a comforting ________ in the period of darkness.

Sadly, one year later, Sandy’s ________ came suddenly as she had to attend to her sick mother in Kansas. She ________ Sebastian to say goodbye but couldn’t find him in time. But their ________ remained through heartfelt letters exchanged over the years. Sandy’s impact on Sebastian’s life was immeasurable, teaching him love, and the beauty of ________ connections.

8 . A hero isn’t just a superman that flies around saving people. A hero can be a volunteer worker, a teacher, or even a _________ member. My hero just so happens to be my dad, which may sound like something _________ to you. You would also say your mom or dad is your hero because they raised you, or you’re always able to _________ them. My _________ are like that as well. _________, I still consider my dad a hero above everybody else and he _________ deserves it.

My dad has always been caring and loving. When I was young, he was the one that stayed at home with me, taking _________ of me and loving me wholeheartedly. He also helped me with my _________ so I could do well in my schoolwork. I couldn’t ask for a _________ dad. I love how my dad __________ my mom as well. He is a fantastic __________, so my mom is willing to share her sorrows and joys with him. Besides, my dad is always __________ to offer a helping hand, sharing housework and solving her problems at work. He has also shown others his good __________ by serving our country and helping the community.

My dad isn’t a great person who changes the world, but he has __________ my little world. He is a great __________ for me and I’d like to be an ordinary hero like him.

10 . Every year on my birthday, a white gardenia (栀子花) was _________to my house. But no card or note came with it. Calls to the flower shop were always _________— it was a cash purchase. After a while I stopped trying to discover the sender’s identity and just _________in the beauty and heady perfume of that one magical, perfect white flower lying in soft pink paper.

But I never stopped _________who the giver might be. My mother _________to these imaginations. She asked me if there was someone for whom I had done a special kindness who might be showing _________. I had more fun imagining that it might be a boy I fell in love with or one who had a _________on me even though I didn’t know him.

One month before my high-school graduation, my father died. My feelings _________from sorrow to fear and anger: my dad was _________some of the most important events in my life. I became completely __________in my coming graduation, the senior-class play and the ball. But my mother would not hear of my losing any of those things. Mother and I had gone shopping and found an impressive dress, but it was the __________size. When my father died, I forgot about the dress.

The day before my ball, I found that dress — in the right size — hanging over the living room sofa. It was __________to me so lovingly. I didn’t __________if I had a new dress or not. But my mother did. She wanted her children to feel __________, filled with a sense that there was a beauty even in the face of __________.

My mother died ten days after I was married. The following year the gardenia stopped coming.