1 . John Kerr and his 86-year-old grandma, Sandy Kerr, are nearing the finish line on a goal they once thought was impossible: Visiting all national parks together.

They kicked off their _________ in September 2023, when John was looking for a way to spend a two-day weekend. He said the idea _________ from a conversation he had with “Grandma Sandy” about his past adventures on the Appalachian Trail. “I felt sorry that she was always _________ vicariously (间接感受到地) through my stories,” John said. “And so just knowing that she had never seen _________ and mountains and the oceans and these _________ wild places on Earth, it just felt like a _________ that I had to her to make sure that she had some memories to take away in her life story as well.” John began _________ their adventures on the social media in 2019, and they quickly _________ a large number of followers.

“You don’t assume your grandma going with you on a camping trip is going to be anything but _________,” John said. “That was my __________. That was my misunderstanding of what age means.” More __________, her spirit was good enough for her to go traveling. “It’s been a __________ adventure; it really has,” Grandma Sandy said. “It’s really been a beautiful time. And I wouldn’t trade it for anything,”

As for __________ from John and Grandma Sandy, they encourage everyone to __________ opportunities for exploration. “We realize that not everybody is going to be able to travel to every national park,” John said. “But there is some adventure to be found in every __________ of the country and we hope that people will go out and seek that adventure.”

2 . With a broad smile on her lips, 15-year-old Sirin rushed to her mom to show off her new painting. But her mom raised her eyebrows, and spoke in a hushed tone, “Shh. . . honey… don’t shout. I am busy with a (n) _______ talk.”

Holding her oil painting, she _______ and then searched for her dad. “Dad, see what I have done,” Sirin announced aloud in a (an) _______ voice. Her dad smiled and just patted her on the back lovingly, saying, “No time, baby. I’m late for work.”

Hearing this, she stormed off to her own bedroom, slammed the door and _______ herself on her bed, sobbing. When her mom was calling her for dinner, Sirin arrived late deliberately. She kept silent, _______ the table mat with her nail. Her mom was puzzled at the _______ behavior. Suddenly, the morning _______ clicked in her mind. Softly, she asked, “Honey, did we do anything wrong?”

At this very moment, Sirin could no longer _______ her anger. “Why is everybody so busy?” she roared, tears streaming down. She assumed that, _______ ignoring her like others in her school, her mom and dad would appreciate her painting, but they were no ________ . Shocked, mom threw her arms around her tightly, announcing ________ and firmly, “Baby, I am so sorry!”

When back from school the next day, Sirin was surprised to see her beautifully-decorated painting on the wall. It was beautifully ________ and just below the painting, it read, “Honey, we are really proud of you!” ________ her parents’ stress from daily routine, she felt sorry about her previous behavior. She ________ her head and apologized.

Though everything came and went, mutual ________ would stay forever in their family.

5 . It was a sunny Sunday afternoon. My husband was taking care of our baby girl so that my six-year-old and I could do some yard work, just the two of us. It was sure to be _________. But soon, the clouds of mosquitos seemed _________ to our bug spray (喷雾). I was sweating, itchy (痒的), and arguing with my son about how to _________ weeds. I had told him the “right” way—getting those weeds out from the bottom, by the roots, _________ them entirely.

However, my son went about things in his own way. He pulled the _________ of the weeds off, moving quickly down the line as he left the remaining part still in the soil. Somehow, I found this to be incredibly _________. Why couldn’t he do it in my way and save me the time of having to _________ his share? Why did he do it at all if he wasn’t going to do it properly?

“If you would do as told, we’d be done earlier and promised a longer period _________ we would have to return and pull weeds next time,” I said, trying to keep my tone _________.

“But people do things…__________, Mom,” he said innocently.

My fire soon faded, replaced by the __________ realization that I’d just received a valuable __________ from the person that I was supposed to be teaching. While trying to __________ my baby girl, my kindergartener, and the yard work, __________ was a lifeline for me. But my way was, perhaps, not the best way after all. His time shouldn’t be __________. His job was to be a kid and take his time, for as long as he was able.

6 . Grandma is ninety this Christmas. I remember once visiting her, crying when my big sister told me “There is no Santa Claus!”, because I knew she always told the ________.

“No Santa Claus?” she snorted (哼着说). “Ridiculous! Don’t ________ it. That rumor has been going around for years. Now, put on your coat, and let’s go.”

“Go? Go where, Grandma?” I asked.

“Where” ________ to be Kerby’s General Store. As we walked in, Grandma handed me twenty dollars. “Take the money,” she said, “and buy something for someone who needs it. I’ll wait for you outdoors.”

I was only eight years old, and had never ________ for anything alone. For a few moments I just stood there, ________, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for.

Suddenly I ________ Bobbie, a kid sitting behind me in the classroom. He didn’t have a coat; he never ________ during the winter. I held the bill excitedly. I would buy Bobbie a coat. I saw a red one with a hat to it. It looked really ________. He would like that.

That ________, Grandma helped me wrap the coat in Christmas paper and write, “To Bobbie, From Santa Claus” on it. Then she drove me to Bobbie’s house. Grandma ________ down the street, and we hid in the bushes by his front walkway. Then Grandma pushed me ________. “All right, Santa Claus, get going!” she whispered.

I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, ________ the present down, rang his doorbell and flew back. Together we waited ________ in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobbie.

Forty years haven’t ________ the excitement of those moments. That night, I realized those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said: they were ________. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team.

7 . My son turned 14 and didn’t have a smartphone. He was the only kid in his class without one. When he asked for a phone, I _________.

“You can choose to do things _________ when you grow up and become a parent,” I replied. But sometimes, I wondered if I was being too stubborn (固执的) or unfair.

The more I research, the more confident I feel in my _________. Many studies _________ the current mental health crisis among teenagers to changes in how they socialize, namely, the change from in-person to online _________.

But other parents _________ my view, saying “He must feel so left out!” Then there are the parents who tell me with _________ that they regretted not delaying their teenager’s phone ownership longer than they did. They _________ my decision.

If teenagers are truly spending about 5 hours on average per day on their devices, as a recent research states, then what are they not doing? Kids _________ in their devices are missing out on real life, which strikes me a lot.

I want my son to have a __________ childhood, one full of adventures, imaginative play and physical challenges. The simplest way to achieve these __________ is to delay giving him a smartphone.

Some think my son is missing out or falling behind, but he is not. He does well in school, __________ with friends, and moves independently around our town. He claimed he would give his own 14-year-old boy a phone someday, and I told him that’s __________. But recently, he admitted he __________ the beautiful scenery on a drive to a mountain because he had been so absorbed in his iPad.

If that is his __________ of admitting I’m right, I’ll take it.