5 . My father was an ill-humored man. I knew he loved me and his love was _______. He just didn’t know how to express it.

One evening we went out for a night on the town. We were sitting in a famous restaurant that had a small but lively _______. When there came a familiar waltz tune (曲调) I decided to invite him for a dance. “Dad, you know I’ve never danced with you. I begged you but you _______ wanted to. How about right now?”

I waited for the usual _______. But instead he considered thoughtfully and then a surprising twinkle appeared in his eyes. “Let’s hit the floor and I’ll show you just what kind of moves an _______ guy like me can still make.”

My father took me in his arms and I felt overcome by _______. As we danced I _______ my father but he avoided my gaze (注视). “Dad,” I finally whispered, tears in my eyes, “why is it so hard for you to look at me?” At last his _______ dropped to my face and he studied me. “Because I love you so much,” he said. I was struck dumb (愣住) by his response. It wasn’t what I had _______. But it was of course exactly what I needed to hear. His own eyes were teary and he was blinking.

I had always known that he loved me. I just hadn’t understood that his deep emotion had ________ him and made him mute (沉默的). “I love you too, Dad!” I said softly. He stumbled over the next few words, “I’m sorry that I’m not good at showing feelings. It’s ________ for me, but just remember how much I love you.”

When the dance ended I excused myself to the ladies’ room and during my ________ everything changed. Dad fell down ________ in his chair. Everything was really all too ________. He was gone.

Now I still remember our waltz on the dance floor and his sudden confession (坦白) to me. It was indeed the first, last and only dance that I ever had with my father. What a blessing that we had the chance to say ________ it was too late.

8 . Adele’s new album, “30”, is finally available. Last month, hundreds of millions of us streamed its first single, “Easy On Me”. This song arouses feelings not easily put into words, but we can probably agree it is a sad song.     1    Yet sad music does pull us in and lift us up.

Let’s start with a biological theory. When we experience real-life loss, or empathize (产生共鸣) with another’s pain, certain hormones are released within us.     2    They do so by making us feel calmed and supported. Feeling Adele’s pain, or recalling our own, may cause such chemical changes within us.

    3    Feeling moved can come from us suddenly feeling closer to other people. Indeed, when we have listened to “30”, we may turn to reaction videos to see how others feel. This lets us share an emotional experience with others. And it boosts our feeling of being moved and triggers (激发) feelings of comfort and belonging.

We can also think at the spiritual level. Adele’s songs allow us to view the pleasure in terms of the meaning she helps us make. Adele takes hard life experiences and makes sense of them. This is what sad art does.     4    As philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once put it, someone who has a why to live for can bear almost anyhow.

Ultimately, we listen to Adele’s songs when we want to recall, reflect, or belong. They let us feel her sadness, share our suffering, and connect with others. To all of us, Adele’s songs say:     5    

9 . When you encounter animals, do you wonder what they’re thinking? Seeing a newborn lamb or a cute puppy might arouse happy emotions in us, but what are they thinking? Does the look on their face and how they behave indicate how they’re feeling — or are they feeling nothing at all?

Humans have a complex range of feelings, but it’s hard to tell what’s going on inside the heads of animals. Some of us own dogs, because they are good companions, are loyal and seem to connect with us. We might even think they love us. Professor Kim Bard, an expert in comparative developmental psychology from the University of Portsmouth, told the BBC: “We have a few studies now that actually show scientifically that some dogs will respond when their owner — but not a stranger — pretends to cry.” The empathetic ability of cats, however, is harder to work out.

Other non-domesticated (非驯养的) animals might have feelings too. Giraffes and whales, for example, are known to experience sadness when someone in their group dies. It’s believed that even tiny creatures like insects might have emotions as well. Research is beginning to show they experience a wide range of feelings. Kim says: “They can be optimistic, pessimistic, or frightened, and respond to pain just like any mammal would.”

Dr Barbara J King, Emerita Professor of Anthropology at the College of William and Mary, told the BBC: “If we understand the profound depths of emotions animals can feel, this should make us question the existence of zoos and slaughterhouses (屠宰场) around the world, and rethink those systems. It does seem all creatures feel emotion, but what is not clear is whether they feel the same way as us.”

10 . Have you ever had times questioning yourself and feeling bad? If you answer yes, what you’ve experienced is negative self-talk.     1    . You say to yourself untrue things like, “I’m not good enough. I’m a disappointment.” These wrong ideas stop us in our way. So, how do you stop the bad self-talk?

●    2    

Know you’re special. You are “One of a Kind”! There is no other person that thinks exactly like you. When you begin to sincerely believe how special you are, it’s easier to fight the bad self-talk.

●Change your environment

Your bad self-talk comes from your environment. You didn’t just accidentally wake up one day thinking of bad things about yourself. It may be because someone, somewhere in your life has told you bad things about you and whether you accept it or not, you believe them. However, if you let the right people surround you, they will build you up, give you confidence and make you feel better.     3    .

●Change your dialogue

Read and say all the wonderful things about yourself at least 5 times per day. Look at yourself in the mirror and say, “I am amazing!”     4    , and you’ll believe you are very pretty soon.

Of course, there are other things to stop bad self-talk.     5    , but if you decide to think positively in every situation, that will bring a good change in your life.