2 . My father and I disagreed about curfew (晚间回家的时间). He’d say I was to be in by 9:30 on weekdays, and 11:00 on weekends, no exceptions without my first asking. I told him it made me _________ like a junior-high kid. He explained that _________ a curfew might sound like a restriction (限制), it’s really about people looking out for one another.

The very next Friday after that pretty heated _________, my dad and I had tickets to see our town’s professional football game. On that day he was _________ to a nearby city to meet with some major clients and _________ me that his getting home and our leaving for the game would be _________.

To make sure we could move off the moment he walked in, I got everything prepared. When a half hour had passed from the time he said he’d be home, I understood that he was a little late. But then, nearly a whole hour passed. I was getting _________. We were going to miss the kick-off! And why hadn’t he _________ me and let me know he was going to be really late? As I anxiously paced the floor, another half hour passed. That’s when I got really angry. How _________ of my father! Now we were going to miss the whole game! When yet another half hour passed, my anger turned to __________. What if something terrible had happened to my dad, like he had a heart attack or had been in an accident, or something? I began to really worry. I’d already called his cellphone about ten times, but no answer.

I was beside myself, assuming the worst had happened.

Finally, the phone rang, and my dad said __________, “Son, I’m so sorry about the game, but... there was a terrible accident...on the freeway coming home, and I __________ to help… and __________ going to the hospital. I left my cellphone in the car, so I couldn’t call until now.”

I was so __________ to hear from my father and to learn that he was safe that I actually cried. That was when I got the importance of a curfew: Checking in! It’s about knowing that someone you love is __________. It was one more proof of my father’s loving me as much as he does.

3 . I played a racquetball (壁球) game against my cousin Ed last week. It was one of the most ________ and tiring games I’ve ever had. When Ed first phoned and suggested we play, I laughed quietly, figuring on an ________ victory. After all, Ed’s idea of ________ has always been nothing more ________ than lifting a fork to his mouth. As long as I can remember, Ed’s been the least physically fit member in the family, and ________ proud of himself. His big stomach has always ballooned out between his T-shirt and trousers. Although the family often ________ about that, Ed refused to buy a ________ T-shirt or to lose weight. So when Ed ________ for our game not only with the bottom of his shirt gathered inside his trousers but also with a stomach you could hardly ________. I was so surprised that I was speechless. My cousin must have made an effort to get himself into shape. ________, at the point in our game when I’d have predicted (预计) the score to be about 9 to 1 in my favor, it was ________ 7 to 9-and Ed was ________. The sudden realization was painful. We continued to play like two mad men. When the score was 16 up, I was having serious ________ about staying alive until 21 years old, let alone ________ that many points. When the game finally ended, both of us were lying flat on our backs, too tired to move. In a way, I think we both won: I the game, but cousin Ed my ________.

Ali and his younger sister, Zahra, lived with their parents in a poor neighborhood. Their mother was very sick and their father was struggling to find a job, and they had only a little money with which to buy food. As they had not paid the rent for several months, the landlord was breathing down their necks.

One day, Ali took Zahra's shoes to a shoe repairman to be fixed, but he lost them on the way home. It wasn’t until he got home that he realized he had lost the shoes. He was afraid that his parents would be angry and disappointed, so he begged his sister to keep it a secret. Zahra agreed and the two decided to share Ali’s running shoes. Zahra's school hours were in the morning, so she would wear them first. After school, she would rush back and give them to Ali. He could then run to his school, which began in the afternoon. Although he ran as fast as he could, Ali often arrived late and was warned by the school.

Ali heard about a long distance race that was held for the boys in the city.When he learned that the third prize was a new pair of shoes, he decided to take part. He ran home excitedly and promised his sister that he would win her the new shoes.

The day of race arrived. Ali had a strong start, but halfway through the race he began to get tired and his legs began to ache. Getting more and more exhausted he thought only of Zahra and his promise to her. Dreaming of the new shoes he would win for his sister gave him strength, and he stayed right behind the two fastest runners, determined to finish third. Suddenly, as the finish line drew near, another runner collided(碰撞) with Ali from behind and he crashed to the ground.

Ali looked up and saw the other boys rushing ahead.

Filled with delight, Ali walked home quickly.

6 . Luke Grenfell—Shaw had a rare form of cancer. It started as a pain in his shoulder and the tumour spread to his lungs, making it stage four. The Oxford graduate was teaching English in Siberia when he suffered a shoulder pain and saw the school nurse. It was her reaction to a lump on his back that sent him back home to Bristol. “I was 24 years old. I had done an ultramarathon,” Luke says. “48 hours later. I was back in hospital in the UK.” On 19 June, 2018, doctors told Luke that he had cancer.

“I had kind of worked out that it was cancer, but what kind of blew me away was the fact that it was stage four cancer,” says Luke. “That day, my life felt like it had disintegrated. My life had been comfortable and conventional. I had worked hard and got rewards in terms of education, jobs, things like that. That was all taken away.” On the day of his diagnosis, Luke had one clear thought in his mind that he wanted to cycle around the world. It was something he had always hoped to do, but the cancer news made him realize that he couldn’t put it off.

“I realized that the future had to become now,” Luke explains. He decided to cycle from Bristol to Beijing—more than 5,000 miles—on a tandem bike, because he wanted to bring people along to share the experience with him. Luke will not only be joined by family and friends for certain legs of his trip, but also by other young people who are living with cancer. “This trip is something I’m going to enjoy,” says Luke. “I’s going to be the richest and most fulfilling experience that I can have.”

8 . Whether it be a person, an animal, or even an insect, a mother’s instincts (本能) are never wrong. This idea rings true for a mother cat who acted fast and sought out help when her kittens were in trouble. This mother cat’s quick thinking may have just saved her babies.

In the urban district of Izmir in western Turkey, a cat walked into a regular hospital bolding a kitten in her mouth. As the mother cat moved through the hospital, people were surprised to see such a sight, but let her pass. The mother cat asked for help, crying for a long time. She was familiar to the hospital staff, who had been leaving her food and water outside, but they were unaware that she had given birth to kittens.

The mother cat was concerned for her young because they weren’t able to open their eyes. After the doctors looked at the kittens, they noticed that they were suffering from eye infections. One of the doctors recalls, “We consulted with vets (兽医) and gave medicine as described. When the kittens opened their eyes a short time later, we were excited.” Later, they were sent to an animal hospital for further care. The cats are now up for adoption and will hopefully find loving forever homes.

When it comes to mother cats and kittens, kittens completely depend on mothers for the first few months of their lives. Because they are blind and almost deaf until about two or three weeks old, the mother cat must protect them from any threat or danger. Without the mother cat’s help, the kittens may not make it to adulthood.

As shown by the mother cat in Turkey, a mother’s love and protection knows no bounds. Whether the mom is a human or a cat, mothers will always look out for their babies and make sure they are safe and healthy.

9 . Marilyn managed to walk no further with her recent knee injury. I had a good _________ to stay with her at Irene’s home. The rest of our group walked back to Cathie’s to wait since we met up with Carlos’ _________ tire.

The spare one was anyhow also flat, so a trip to the farther-away town became a _________, which meant a brief stay with Irene and her daughter Lupita. _________, neither Marilyn nor I speak much Spanish and they speak little English. It appeared as though we were bound to pass an _________ period of time.

Things at times turn out to be no worse than expected. Lupita showed us how to make a rubber band bracelet (手链). She gave Marilyn and me a few she had _________ done. I secretly took one of the bracelets off my wrist into Lupita’s bag of finished ones.

While Lupita was sent to the store, which we found out later was to get some cheese for lunch.I taught Irene ho w to make a peace dove. She was a very quick learner. Even though the way of dealing with that _________ inside fold still confused her, she got the _______ of it soon.

When Lupita returned, Irene went up the concrete stair to the kitchen area, where we could hear her mixing, patting and frying empanadas. Lupita stayed and kept us _________. We made origami doves, hearts and even a little dog named Palomo — which means dove or pigeon.

Invited to share a simple, yet so generously prepared and shared lunch of homemade empanadas, we sat at the table, ____________ the language of food, creativity, kindness and   ____________.

A cock took a break from its ____________ outside the back door. Doves that____________ in the trees showed their ____________ to the harmonious scene, as we shared a meal of peace and ____________.