1 . Do We Miss Something in Life?

“In this life what did you miss?” The wife asked the husband when she was 25. Sadly, the husband replied: “I missed a new job opportunity.” When she was 35, the husband angrily told her that he had just missed the bus. At 45, the husband sadly said: “I missed the opportunity seeing my closest relative     1     his last breath.” At 55, the husband said disappointingly: “I missed a good chance to retire.” At 65, the husband hurriedly replied: “I missed a dental appointment.” At 75, the wife did not ask the husband anymore. At this moment, the husband     2     (kneel) in front of the very sick wife.     3     (remember) the question the wife used to ask him, this time he asked the wife the same question. The wife, with a smile and peaceful look, replied: “In this life, I did not miss     4     (have) you!” The husband was full of tears. He always thought that they could be together forever. He was always busy with work and trifles. So much so he     5     (not be) thoughtful to his wife. The husband hugged the wife tightly and said: “Over 50 years, how I had allowed myself to miss your deep love for me.”

In the busy city life, there are many people     6     are always busy with work. These people revolve their lives around their jobs, these people sacrifice all their times and health     7     (meet) the social expectations. They are unwilling to spend time on health care.

They miss the opportunity to be with their children in their growing up. They neglect the     8     (love) ones who care for them, and also their health. But     9     knows what is going to happen one year from now.

    10     life is not permanent, always live in the now. Express your gratitude to the ones you love in words. Show your care with actions. Treat every days as the last episode of life. In this way, when you are gone, those you love would have nothing to feel sorry about.

The TERM “killjoy parents” has been trending on Chinese social media platforms as many young pcople complain that their parents would rather criticize than praise them for their accomplishments. One poster, for example, remarked that his parents said his high score in math wasn't good enough     1     several other students had scored higher.     2     complained that, after     3     (accept) into a “second-tier” university, the response he got for his father was “Congratulations. You got admitted to a garbage university.”

It’s a terrible feeling to have someone “burst your bubble” when you think they should be sharing your joy. And your parents, after all, are probably the people with     4     you most want to share the best moments in your life. But why do some parents seem to be so hard     5     (please)?

I think a lot of it has to do with Chinese society. Parents know that life     6     be full of hardship and dificulties, and they want their children to be “hardened” to these realities. Another reason can probably be found deep in Chinese culture.

When I asked a Chinese friend why Chinese parents don’t praise their children, he said it’s because they don't want to bring their children bad luck. He told me the story of two women sitting in a park and watching their children play. One of the mothers said to the other, “Your boy is so handsome and healthy.” That other mother replied, “No, he’s very ugly and he’s a very sickly child.” The mother, my friend explained, didn't want her son praised in case the “gods” heard and punished him. It's an old superstition (迷信), but it does have some basis in fact.

American parents, at the other extreme, are taught to ever criticize their children because it may hurt their feelings—their self-esteem. Instead, they     7     (tell) to always praise their children, even for failure. Psychologists now believe this is a bad idea. According to one study, too much praise can result in negative effects.     8     kids with low self-esteem felt even worse about themselves, kids with high self-esteem became narcissistic or self-centered. Moreover, children who got too much praise were     9     (likely) to take risks, were unable to deal with failure and tended to give up when faced with challenges.

Stacey and Toby aren’t the only people to be welcoming Mariella’s app. It’s now got thousands of users, and she’s working long days to balance it with her A-level studies. The time difference from New York to her school in Rugby, Warwickshire, means she sets her alarm for 5am.

    10     (have) “killjoy parents” may not be enjoyable, but it’s important to recognize that their seemingly critical nature doesn't negate the love they have for you. In their hearts, they genuinely share in your joy.

Last Monday, having gotten my promise of taking care of my mother, my father left for a business trip.     1     (see) him driving away, my mother and I waved our hands and said goodbye to him.

I thought everything would go well , as this was not the     2     (one) time that my father had been away for several days. Unfortunately, my mother     3     (catch) a cold the next morning. Looking at her pale face, l experienced high levels of anxiety.     4    , I told myself that I had     5     (calm) down and look after my mum, as I promised to my dad.     6    moment I got my mum to sleep, I put a cold towel on her forehead, found pills in the medicine box, and made some noodles for her.     7     (lucky), she woke up and felt     8     (good) after taking the medicine and the noodles.     9     her fever was gone relieved me a lot. In the next four days, I was taking her body temperature twice a day to make sure that she was completely well. To our happiness, my dad went back home on Saturday. On hearing what I     10     (do) to my mum, he gave me a big thumb. Hearing their praises and seeing bright smile on their faces, I really felt overjoyed.

On the morning of her grandson’s wedding, Peg McCormack received some bad news. The 91-year-old was in the hospital after a fall when she found out she would be unable to attend the     1    （celebrate）in Madison, New Jersey.

Unknown to McCormack, her grandson Brian and his wife Lauren     2    （make）a heartfelt plan     3     （include）her in the day’s activities.     4    （follow）by a wedding photographer, the couple made a surprise visit     5     the hospital before heading to the reception.

“She was so excited to watch us get married,” the bride said. “She was simply living for this wedding. So we brought the wedding to her.”

“    6     we walked into that room she was     7    （obvious）shocked,” the photographer said. “She just kept     8    （say）’ I cant believe you’re here! ‘and thanking them for coming to see her. The way she held their hands,     9    （touch）their faces and just looked at them, you could tell they had such a special bond. I don’t think she released Brian’s hand     10     entire time that we were in the room.”

“It meant the world to bring the wedding to her,” the groom said. “It was such a small portion of the day to trade in for such a special moment.”

China is a     1    (develop) country, but it has a long history. There are many beautiful stories about friendship, the     2     (good) of which to be described in Chinese literature is probably the friendship     3    Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi. Yu was a famous master of music     4    played the qin well.

Once, he took a boat trip to the state of Chu.     5    (inspire) by the beautiful view along the way, Yu took out his qin and began to play. After a while, he noticed a woodsman enjoying his music     6    (quiet). The man was Zhong Ziqi. When Yu played music that described high mountains, Zhong said: “How     7    (wonder) it is! I seem to see Mount Tai.” And when he played music that described flowing water, Zhong said: “How nice it is! I seem to see the rushing river.” Yu was surprised by the woodsman’s words because the man could really understand his music. When Zhong died the following year, Yu was     8    upset that he took out his qin to play the music of the “high mountains and flowing water” one last time for Zhong. When he was done, he     9     (break) his qin on purpose so he could never play it again.

Now, the phrase “high mountains and flowing water”    10     (use) to stand for very good music or “zhi yin”—a bosom friend who treasures and knows you quite well.