A Bowl of Noodles

Jenny was the only child in her home. She had a quarrel with her mother that afternoon and she ran out of the house angrily. She couldn’t help crying sadly when she thought of he scolding from her mother. Having wandered aimlessly in the street for hours, she felt a little hungry and wished for something to eat, but it was not even possible for her, since she had nothing with her. She stood beside a stand for a while, watching the middle-aged seller busy doing his business. However, with no money in hand, she sighed and had to leave.

The seller behind the stand noticed the young girl and asked, “Hey, girl, you want to have the noodles?”

“Oh, yes... but I don’t have money on me...” she replied.

“That’s nothing. I’ll treat you today,” said the man,

“Come in.”

The seller brought her a bowl of noodles, whose smell was so attractive. Jenny thanked the man and started to gobblle (狼吞虎咽) up the delicious food...then cried silently.

“What is it?” asked the man kindly.

“Nothing, actually I was moved by your kindness!” said Jenny as she wiped her tears, “Even a stranger on the street will give me a bowl of noodles, while my mother drove me out of the house. She showed no care for me. She is so mean and cruel!”

Hearing the words, the seller smiled “Girl, do you really think so? I only gave you a bowl of noodles and you thanked me a lot. But it is your mother who has raised you since you were a baby. Can you number the times that she has cooked for you? Have you expressed your thanks to her?”

Jenny sat there, speechless and numb with shock; she remembered her mother’s familiar face and weathered hands. “Why did I not think of that? A bowl of noodles from a stranger made me feel grateful, but I have never thanked my mum for what she has done for me.”

On the way home, Jenny made up her mind to make an apology to her mother for her rudeness as soon as she arrived home.

Approaching the doorway, Jenny took a deep breath.

Her mother came back home, which called her mind back.

4 . My grandma, Popo, came to live with us in Canada when I was nine. I remembered her as the comforting figure who warmed me in her thick wool coat when we went on family walks during _______ in China. But things_______when she moved in.

_______ my grandma arrived, I used to plant some flowers in our garden. But while I was at school and my parents were at work, Popo, in her _______ , came down upon the little land. She pulled out my flowers and _______ them with orderly rows of tomatoes and other_______. I told her to stop and to keep the flowers. “They’re pretty, but they’re _______,” she said matter-of-factly. I complained to my parents, but they told me to let Popo be.

I never fully understood why my parents _______ to my grandma until one night when my mom was driving me home.“Grandma’s had a _______ life,” she said. “She was two years old when her mother passed away, nine years old at the time of a severe famine (饥荒). She also lost her dad and her elder sister in her teens. Since then， Popo did everything on her own to support her family.”

Different times create different people. My grandma was shaped by the ________ of her family members and the hardship in her childhood. Those who experienced the famine are, naturally,________ to use valuable land to plant flowers. Her independence, diligence and responsibility helped her through those difficult years. Though her quality of being so practical may seem out of place in our current times of ________, she is an important ________ between my families’ past and future- she ________ life challenges to bring up the next generation. Someday, I will be like my grandma and ________ my small part to humanity’s march forward.

5 . Every summer he came to our village on his cycle. The cycle was full of coconuts and on the handle was his small red money purse and the knife that he used to cut the coconuts. He was known for his toothless smile that tended to turn into a slight laugh.

He often announced the arrival of summer by standing under our village’s Gulmohar tree. During the first touch of summer, red flowers fell on the ground and welcomed him to out village; soon the red flowers turned into long sword-like fruits which hung above his head as he cut the coconuts.

He never ate anything except paan (a kind of leaf), which he always could be seen chewing, and he just sat under the tree until someone approached him. Then, he would choose the best coconut, and with expert skill, carve it so that the person could drink the satisfying liquid.

Nowadays, he doesn’t do much business. Kids no longer care for coconut water; they want soft drinks. I know his weak body will fail him in the coming years. He will not visit our village, and with him, all my memories of summer will disappear. No one will miss him apart from the Gulmohar tree, his only friend.

My friends and I have stayed in the same village our whole life. Now, in our mid-thirties, we don’t have time to talk about our childhood and the life beyond the chains of society.

I’ve made up my mind. Tomorrow I will talk with him. I will listen to him and preserve him in my memory. I will tell him how important he was for me, how he defined summer for me, and, during every summer, how he nurtured (滋养) me with the coconut water, which was filled with his love. I will take in his smile one last time — a remembrance of my childhood innocence. I will hug him until my tears mix with his.

An 80-year-old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45-year-old son. Suddenly a crow (乌鸦) landed on their window.

The father asked his son, “What is this?” The son replied, “This is a crow.”

After a few minutes, the father asked his son for the second time, “What is this?” The son said, “Father, I told you just now. It’s a crow.”

After a little while, the father asked his son the same question for third time, “What is this?” This time, the son was irritated (生气) and said to his father in a low and cold tone, “It’s a crow, a crow.”

After a moment, the father yet again asked his son for the fourth time, “What is this?” This time his son shouted in his father, “Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again? I have told you already, ‘It’s a crow’. Are you not able to understand this?”

A minute later the father went to his room and came back with an old tattered(破旧的) diary, which he had kept since his son was born. On opening a page, he asked his son to read that page. When the read it, the following words were written in the diary:

“Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa when a crow suddenly landed on the window edge. My son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied him 23 times that it was a crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question. I didn’t at all feel annoyed, but instead felt a deep affection for my innocent son.”

After reading the diary,the son was in tears and began to reflect on the days when he used to sit together with his father.

Feeling ashamed, the son got down on his knees before his father.

7 . Bert Katz, my father-in-law, celebrated his 90th birthday in November 2020. Bert loved sports and was an enthusiastic Yankees(an American professional baseball team based in the New York City) fan, so it was no wonder that over the years, he was an avid(热切的) listener to WEAN radio and, in particular, the afternoon show hosted by Mike Francesa.

Bert had health issues in his later years that limited his mobility, and when he lost his eyesight three years ago, his attachment to his radio and Francesa became more pronounced. He just loved listening to Mike talk about sports and his Yankees each afternoon. Those hours brought him so much pleasure.

Of course, Mike will be leaving on Dec. 15, 2021 after 30 years at the station. Mike lives in the same community where I work on Long Island, and I have gotten to know him over the past 20 years. So when my father-in-law was approaching his special birthday last year, I asked Mike for a favor: to call Bert and wish him a happy birthday.

Mike agreed without hesitation. Two days before the special day, Mike stopped at my workplace. I called Bert at his nursing home and put Mike on the phone. It was a complete surprise to Bert. Mike spent more than 10 minutes wishing Bert a happy birthday and, of course, talking about the Yankees.

When my family celebrated Bert's birthday two days later, he couldn't stop talking about the phone call. Over his lifetime. he said it was one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for him. Unfortunately，Bert' s health declined(衰退) and he passed away on July 13, 2021. But even in his final months in the hospital and nursing home, he always had a radio set to WEAN to listen each afternoon to Mike Francesa. And he also had the memory of that special phone call for his 90th birthday.

Dave comes from a rich family. He is a friend of     1    (me). His parents always give him lots of pocket money. But Dave thinks his parents work very hard and that     2    is not easy for them to make money, so he always tries his best     3    （save） more money. He has some good ways to do it．

Dave likes reading and he has lots of books．He tells me he often buys     4    （book） online because they're less expensive. And when he has free time, he often goes to bookstores or libraries to do some reading．

Dave has a bike. He usually goes to school by bike instead of       5    （take） the bus. Sometimes when it rains or snows, he walks. These two ways help Dave keep     6    （health） and save some money．

Dave brings a bottle of water to school every day. When other students drink juice , he    7    （enjoy） his water. He thinks water is the     8    （cheap） and the best drink．

Some students think Dave is mean（吝啬的）,     9    Dave doesn't care at all. "Our parents almost pay for everything for us. We shouldn't waste money buying things     10    are not needed．" Says Dave．