1 . My father was a strong fisherman. He loved the sea and would stay out until he caught enough to ______ the family.

When we met ______ weather, he would drive me to school with his old track. And after we arrived, he would bend over and give me a ______ on the face and then tell me to be a good boy. I always felt very shy in front of so many other ______. I was already a twelve-year-old young man, but my father still kissed me goodbye!

Then on a rainy day I ______ to tell him my feeling. When we stopped at the school gate, the ______ big smile appeared on my father’s face. I ______ what would happen next. I ______ put my hand up and for the first time said “No” to him. The smile on his face immediately changed into a ______ look. He looked at me for a long time, and tears began to appear in his eyes. I was shocked. I had never ______ him cry! Then he said, “You’re right. You are a big boy... a man. I won’t kiss you anymore.”

Not long after that, my dad went to the sea on a bad day. Most of the ______ stayed at home, but not Dad, because he had a big family to feed. But after that day, be ______ came back. Later his boat was found with its nets half in and half out. He must have ______ a strong wind and was trying to save the nets.

How I wished I hadn’t ______ my father’s kiss! And from this I have learnt that we should take every chance with our family and friends as the last one in our lives. We can have ______ regrets(遗憾)by doing this.

As a sixth grader, I began noticing how other kids were separating into groups. I wasn’t sure where I belonged. I found it hard to fit in.

Our teacher had assigned “secret friends” for the coming week. She wrote each kid’s name on a piece of paper and threw them into a glass; then we each closed our eyes and catch one piece of paper from the glass on which was the name of a classmate who we were to secretly befriend and support each other over the next five school days. By the middle of the week, everyone, including me, had turned this assignment into a competition to see whose secret friend could leave the best gift. We left cards, pens and even money. It seemed that everyone was getting cool presents from their friend except me.

On the last morning of our assignment, I walked into my classroom and noticed there was a package. I opened the wrapping paper and inside was a box of powder (胭脂). The girls sitting near me laughed at the gift I had received. To make matters worse, the powder had already been opened.

I tried to forget about the embarrassing gift, but when I was in the bathroom during the break, the girls who had seen me open the powder started speaking ill of my secret friend. I quickly joined in: “How terrible”. I heard myself saying “What could my friend be thinking by giving me such a stupid gift? My grandmother wouldn’t even want it.” The girls laughed at my remarks and rushed out of the bathroom. I stayed to wash my hands and let the water run through my fingers as I thought about what I had just said. It wasn’t normal like me to say mean things like that about someone.

Then I saw my classmate Janet come out of a bathroom booth (厕所隔间), tears streaming down her face.

Along with my apologies, I explained the reason.

4 . I have been looking forward to visiting Paris since I was young. When my daily life in New Jersey seemed boring, I _______ about walking around the streets of Paris. With our financial situation _______, European travel became a _______. 

Travelling to France with my _______ was exciting, but it would not be _______ without facing problems and figuring them out. 

We had just started to get _______ with the Paris subway system. Thus using it was very difficult. We were walking at a slow pace _______ we realised the subway was about to leave. As soon as I _______ the subway, the doors shut with my mom on the other side. I did not have my cellphone, neither of us spoke a word of _______ and we had no idea how to ________ each other. My mom and I, who were both ________, began to pound on the doors. Suddenly, a man with a puzzled look on his face walked over to the doors and simply ________ them. My mom stepped on and we hugged as if we ________ for the first time in years. A huge sense of ________ washed over us, followed by embarrassment. 

________, my mom and I were able to celebrate the victories of finding destinations.

5 . I always remember one Christmas when we lived outside of town. My older brother had a job in a different city _________ he always made it home to observe the holidays. During the few days before Christmas Day, we experienced a violent snowstorm with powerful winds. It was so _________ that the country road was almost impassable (不能通行的).

The day before Christmas was more _________ than I had ever imagined. My older brother was stuck at a stranger's home where he had been _________ to stay overnight because of the snow­storm.The person was kind enough to let him stay until morning. But, the _________ was that he couldn't get his car to start and there was no help.

So my dad and I _________. We were lucky enough to make it to where my brother was waiting. After his car warmed up, he thought it much _________ to head back to his place rather than try and make it home for Christmas. So we headed in the _________ direction.

The drive back got even worse. We got stuck in a huge snowdrift (雪堆). A(n) _________ had to be made. We placed a shovel (铲子) about ten feet behind the car to warn anyone else that there was an obstruction (障碍物) ahead.

We left the car in the __________, wrapped blankets around our heads and __________on top of the snowdrifts. We made it about a mile up the road to a neighbor's farmhouse where we __________ for the next mile walk home. We all made it __________ home that night. Christmas was very __________ that year. It didn't matter whether there were __________ under the tree or not the next morning. We each got our gift — the gift of life, home with our family safe and sound. What better gift is there? None.

The power of silence

Joe was an old man aged 75. His children grew up and moved to different cities in pursuit of a good career and future. He lived in a small village carrying the memories of his deceased wife. Joe had 4 grandchildren and they used to visit him during their holidays. And it was the vacation time and Joe was eagerly waiting for his grandchildren. He was making preparations for their arrival, cleaning the house, mowing (修剪) the lawn, rearranging the household items and buying snacks and dresses for the children, etc.

However, in the busy arrangements, he lost his favorite watch, which was given by his late wife when their first child was born. Joe treasured the watch and it became his only companion (伴侣) after his wife’s death. He didn’t realize that he had lost the watch and received the kids happily at home. It was only the next day when he was about to take a bath that he remembered the watch was missing. He was shocked and very upset. His grandchildren asked him why he was so sad and what troubled him.

Joe said, “Dear children, I lost the most precious watch I have ever had in my life. It was gifted by your grandma and I lost it while cleaning the house. I feel like I’m missing my heart.” Joe was in tears and the children promised him that they would find the watch for him.

One granddaughter, Mary, asked, “Grandpa, do you remember when you saw the watch last before you lost it?” Joe said, “I guess when I was cleaning the barn.”

The children immediately began to search for the watch in the barn. The barn was full of waste materials, books, broken furniture, etc. They searched for more than three hours with the help of Joe, but failed.

After a fruitless search for the watch, Joe gave up.   

Mary stayed alone in the barn for about 10 minutes quietly and then rushed to her grandfather.

7 . It was in my high school science class. I was doing a task in front of the classroom with my favorite shirt on. A voice came. “Nice shirt,” I smiled from ear to ear. Then another voice said, “That shirt belonged to my dad. Greg’s mother works for my family. We were going to _______ that shirt away, but gave it to her instead.” I was _______. I wanted to hide.

I stuck my shirt in the back of the closet and told my mother what had happened. She then dialed her _______, “I will no longer work for your family,” she told him. That night, Mom told my dad that she couldn’t just clean any more; she knew her life’s achievement was something _______, so she decided to find another job.

The next morning she met with the personnel manager at the Board of Education. He told her that without a proper education she could not teach. So Mom decided to _______ a university.

After the first year in college, she went back to the personnel manager. He said, “Are you serious? I think I have a _______ for you as a teacher’s assistant. This _______ deals with children who are mentally challenged with little or no chance of _______.” Mom accepted that job opportunity very _______.

For almost five years, as a teacher’s assistant, she saw teacher after teacher give up on the children and quit, feeling ________. Then one day, the personnel manager and the principal showed up in her classroom. The principal said, “We have watched how you ________ the children and how they communicate with you, and we ________ your hard­working spirit over the last five years. We all ________ that you should be the teacher of this class.”

My mom ________ more than twenty years there. During her career, she was voted Teacher of the Year. All of this came about because of the bad comment made in my classroom that day. Mom showed me how to handle ________ situations and never give up.

8 . New Year gift ideas for parents

Getting gifts for your parents on New Year 2021 does not have to be that hard.    1     Following these unique gift ideas, you express warmth and love to your parents and make them feel super special. 

A restaurant gift card for dinner.

After all those busy schedules and tough work routines, your parents definitely need a relaxing break on New Year’s Day. You can send them a restaurant gift card.     2     If you don’t have enough money, you can split(分摊) this gift price with your brothers and sisters and give your parents a perfect New Year dinner in a top restaurant. 

Joy and happiness.

When parents get old, they appreciate family joy time. They love partying with their grown-up sons and daughters, and spending time with their grandchildren.     3    Let all the family members welcome New Year together, enjoy those delicious desserts and dinners, and play those New Year night games together. 

    4    

A sweet New Year wish from children can bring a smile on your parents’ face. So, wish them a Happy New Year 2021 and make them feel extra-special. Write a beautiful New Year wish on a greeting card, and present it to your mom and dad with a nice bouquet of bright flowers.

Other than all this, you can also perform a secret check in your parents’ home and make a list of things that you think should be gifted to them for this New Year.     5