I was tidying my room yesterday and     1     (find) an old photo in a notebook. It was a photo taken in our kitchen, in which my mother looked at me very     2     (kind), with a big smile on her face. As I was looking at it, the lovely     3     (memorise) of that day came back to me.

It was my mother’s birthday ten years ago, and I decided     4     (surprise) her with home-made scrambled eggs. I woke up really early and tiptoed to the kitchen. I had never cooked anything     5    , so I tried to copy how she did it. But somehow they ended up burnt. I was about to throw everything away when my mother came in. I showed her the eggs and sadly explained     6     happened.     7     my surprise, she tasted them and said they weren’t bad! I guess love is indeed a     8     (power) ingredient. In fact, we ended up     9     (laugh) and ate them all.

This weekend is her 45th birthday. I     10     (make) scrambled eggs for her again, and this time I’m sure I can do a better job!

My family and I have managed     1     (cross) the North American continent, from western to eastern Canada in two weeks! I can’t wait to share the stories     2     you.

We started from Vancouver in a home on wheels with Dad driving.     3     he has such     4     poor sense of direction that we had got lost many times before we finally crossed the Rocky Mountains to see fantastic view. On the     5     (eight) day, we reached Quebec, where the funniest thing happened. Dad left Mom behind after     6     (get) some petrol and it was not until mom called that we realized it! To cheer my mom up, we     7     (go) to a typical Quebec restaurant for some delicious French food.

Now we’re in the very eastern part of Canada. We went on a boat trip yesterday in celebration of our trip. My mom dropped Dad’s phone into the sea when seeing an     8     (amaze) killer whale, which drove Dad mad.     9     (luck), we met another family from Quebec who will send some great     10     (photo) of the whale to us.

Dear Worried: You might need to make a stark (无法回避的) choice between the     1     (possible) of your husband self-destructing in your absence, or of him self-destructing in your     2     (present).Your husband has alcohol use disorder, and as with other serious     3     (medicine) disorders (his cancer, for instance), in order for him     4     (get) well, he requires treatment and follow-up care.

If you want to continue to help him, it might be wisest for you to focus on his cancer diagnosis and     5     (treat). Make sure his physicians know about his alcoholism. Sometimes ultimatums (“Stop drinking or I’ll leave”) do work,     6     I believe it might be more powerful and useful for you to make a     7     (choose) based on your own needs and capacities. An alternative would be for you to     8     (simple) separate with no strings attached while you focus on your own self-care. You can then continue to make choices about the relationship,based on your own judgment and non-negotiables, as     9     as his needs.

And when     10     (deal) with the addiction disorder of a loved one, Al-Anon (al-anon .org) could be a game changer for you.

Misunderstanding happens in any relationship. If not dealt with properly, it can lead to an     1     (argue). To avoid a cycle of miscommunication with your parents, try putting yourself in their shoes.

The first step in working through miscommunication is     2     (consider) why your parents might make certain choices. We have a tendency (倾向) to judge ourselves through our intentions, but judge     3     through their actions. Take a moment to really think about this statement because it might apply to one of your     4     (experience). You may have said something that hurt a friend's feelings but     5     (immediate) thought to yourself that's not what you meant. Your friend, however, may not have understood and took your words at face value. With your parents try to take     6     step back and consider their intention. Usually, you     7     (advise) to have a conversation when you feel calm,     8     will help you stay clear and rational during the conversation and help your parents be more receptive of your thoughts. Finally, realize your parents are only human. You and your parents will disagree or misunderstand each other sometimes—that's just the way any relationship     9     (work). Your task is to transform these misunderstandings into positive discussions. You can improve your relationship with your parents by     10     (improve) your communication. Listen without judgment. Consider their points of view. Express your ideas clearly.

Parents are often upset when their children praise the homes of their friends and regard it as a slur (诋毁) on their own cooking, or cleaning, or furniture, and often are foolish enough to let the teenagers see that they     1     (annoy). They may even accuse them of disloyalty, or make some unpleasant remark about the friends’ parents. Such a loss of dignity and attack on childish behavior on the part of the adults deeply shocks the teenagers, and makes them decide that in future they will not talk to their parents about the places or people they visit. Before very long the parents will be complaining that the child is so secretive and never tells them anything, but they seldom realize that they     2     (bring) this on themselves.

Disillusionment (醒悟) with the parents, however good and adequate they may be both as parents and as individuals, is to some degree inevitable.

Most children have such a high ideal of their parents,     3     the parents themselves have been unsatisfactory, that it can hardly hope to stand up to a realistic evaluation. Parents would be greatly surprised and deeply touched if they realized how much belief their children usually have in their character and correctness, and how much this faith means to a child. If parents     4     (prepare) for this teen-aged reaction, and realized that it was a sign that the child     5     (grow) up and developing valuable powers of observation and independent judgment, they would not be so hurt, and therefore would not drive the child into opposition by offending and resisting it. The teenager, with his passion for sincerity, always respects a parent who admits that he is wrong, or ignorant, or even that has been unfair or unjust. What the child can’t forgive is the parents’ refusal     6     (admit) these charges if the child knows them to be true.

Victorian parents believed that they kept their dignity by retreating (伪装) behind an unreasoning authoritarian attitude; In fact they did nothing of the kind, but children were then too frightened to let them know how they really     7     (feel). Today we tend to go to the other extreme, but on the whole this is a healthier attitude both for the child and the parent. It is always wiser and safer to face up to reality, however painful it may be at the moment.