2 . Ella loved her new life in Alaska, except for one thing — Grandma wasn’t happy.

Before they moved here, Ella lived with Dad and Grandma in Kansas. Every day Ella and Grandma cooked, gardened or sewed (缝纫) together.

Then Dad got a job in Alaska and would take ________ with him. Grandma, thought Alaska wasn’t a good place for a child. She wanted Ella to stay, ________ Dad didn’t agree. Finally Grandma decided to go, too. Ella was overjoyed. She couldn’t ________ living anywhere without Grandma.

By autumn, they were in Alaska. Ella had never had so much ________. She made some friends and rode in the snowfall. Grandma, however, didn’t share Ella’s joy. She didn’t like the cold and ________ stayed at home. She often said she ________ the garden of sunflowers back in Kansas.

Ella was ________ and wished to make Grandma happy. She went to her new friend Laura for ________. Laura’s mom Helen suggested, “We can make your grandma a sunflower quilt that will be cheery and warm.” “Good idea!” Ella said.

Ella then secretly ________ some brightest cloth from Grandma’s bag and sewed the sunflower quilt every afternoon in Laura’s house. It was slow going but enjoyable. She wanted to give Grandma a ________.

But Grandma seemed sadder and sadder, always talking about the ________ and friends in Kansas. One night Ella heard Grandma ________. She decided to take Grandma to Laura’s house the next day.

When Grandma saw the quilt they were making for ________ these days, she was moved to tears. She ________ and helped with the sewing. They chatted and laughed. Ella hadn’t heard Grandma sound so ________ since they left Kansas.

3 . In the post-war era, re-gifting and returning gifts to shops were commonly occurring.My mother and Aunt Florence ran a_________. For them finding desirable stock (储备物) for the store was an adventure. But the greatest_________of all was getting the wanted items without taking too many_________ones ‘paired’ with them. This pairing resulted in a highly saleable item being paired with something that had to be heavily discounted just to move it off the shelves_________at a loss.

One item I particularly remember was an ugly ornament (饰物) framed in a horseshoe.My mother was shocked by its_________ . My aunt patiently explained she had to buy it to_________some attractive crockery sets (瓷器套装) in high demand. She had paid ten pounds for it and hoped to get five pounds for it. After briefly_________ it at ten pounds, she put it on our bargain table, expecting the crockery sets would sell quickly and cover the_________ on it.Several days later she managed to sell the ornament for three pounds to a value d customer who _________to give it to a neighbour, who loved horses.

The following Saturday, our family was invited to a 21st birthday party, and my father was     __________with buying a suitable gift from the jeweler in town. However, he delayed his __________because he had his car repaired. As a result, he __________a wrapped present from our own store’s stock. Little did he know that it was the __________ .

At the party, as the presents were__________, my mother held my shoulder tightly when she saw the ornament. The__________of our family, the gift’s original purchaser, and the recipient’s (接受者) family were a mix of shock and__________. My father, realizing his mistake,__________that he thought it was a collector’s item due to the ten pound price tag.

The next day, realizing my mother discovered the ornament which had been sold had been returned by Sheila, the recipient’s mother, who __________a ten pound refund , Aunt Florence burst into laughter, though the relationship between the__________owners of the ornament sourced.

How a Powerful Dream Taught Me to Respect My Sister

It was Friday about 4: 15 pm. I had just gotten back from school; I sat down on a table to do my homework. “Hi, Mom.” “Daniela, I need to talk with you.” “About what?” “Your dad and I have been thinking really hard about this, and you are getting a new sister.” “What, but what about me?” I asked. “I don’t want a sister. Don’t you love me?” “Yes, but...”

Without letting her finish, I rushed to my room crying. I closed my door and went to my bed. I had so much anger that I threw my glass cup on the floor. “What happened here?” Mom asked to herself. My mom came in a few minutes later. She said that the way I was acting wasn’t the right way to act. My mom started talking about how my new sister was having a really hard time. She said that her parents had unfortunately died in an earthquake, so she had to go to a foster(寄养的) home. A few days later, she got adopted(领养) by a family who treated her badly. They didn’t give her enough food or water and she had to do all the housework until one day she got tired of being treated poorly and escaped to a shelter, and that is where they found her. But whatever she said, I just couldn’t agree.

That night I had a terrible dream. I dreamed an earthquake happened and when the shaking stopped, my house and parents were nowhere to see. I became homeless and was brought to a farm, staying there with a horrible woman who never gave me food. Later I found an opportunity to run away from the farm. Then the woman ran after me and I ran harder till suddenly I opened my eyes, finding myself still on the bed. “OMG! What just happened?” I asked myself, full of fear.

The dream changed me and I started to reflect on myself.

The next morning Dad drove alone to the shelter and brought my new sister home.

One day two years ago, my mother came home from work and announced that she had found a pet for the family. My father, little sister, and I eyed her in doubt.

My sister asked what kind of dog it was. My mother said it was a poodle (贵宾犬) named Pepe. I couldn’t believe she wanted a poodle — especially one with such an ordinary name. But she had made up her mind. “Actually, I’m doing a co-worker a favor,” she said. “The woman who owns Pepe says he hates to be alone and needs children to play with him.”

Pepe arrived the next night. His short tail shook happily. I didn’t get very close to him, thinking he should have stayed with his previous owner. My little sister played with him until bedtime, and he would come to me and begged for more attention. I always ignored him. But no matter how I treated him, he’d always like to be with me. He has always been waiting for me at the front door at the end of the day, smiling happily. He seems to know that I will be coming home from school at that time. Every day, he asks me with his eyes to play with him or take him somewhere. At night, he will wait until I fall asleep, leave his bed by the wall heater, walk down the hall and jump onto the end of my bed.

One night, while everyone was sleeping, I was in a half dream state. My throat hurt, my eyes pained, and some animal was crying in my ear. I opened my eyes and saw fog in my room. I wondered who left the window open. Pepe cried and bit my pajama sleeve (睡衣袖). Then I woke up and realized that it wasn’t fog in my room — it was smoke.

7 . On Christmas Eve morning I awoke with a mission: to find my lost cat, Baby-Girl. As I got ready, I could hear icy rain pelting the windows. Baby-Girl was somewhere in the storm, I could just feel it. Sure, it had been months since she’d disappeared, but I still had faith. This was the season for miracles, after all.

My dad and I spent the last holiday searching for her in the park nearby. Dad was the family’s “realist,” which meant he spent time trying to prepare me for the worst. “She’s either been hit by a car or been taken in by someone,” he said. I rolled my eyes. He could do with a little more faith!

Though I couldn’t explain it, I knew I’d see Baby-Girl again. She could survive all on her own. Even after I lived without her and the weeks stretched into months, deep down I had this feeling that we’d be reunited one day.

Now, again for the holidays, I made up my mind to pick up my search. I grabbed Baby-Girl’s cat carrier and loaded it into the car, then asked my dad to drive me to the shelter.

“Sharon, be realistic!” my dad said as we headed to the garage. “She’s been gone too long. You’re not going to find her.”

“Well, I just have a feeling,” I said. “Don’t you believe in Christmas miracle?”

At the shelter, a staff member took us to see the cats. We walked through rows of cages. My eyes scanned cats of all colors and sizes. None of them was my Baby-Girl. Then I noticed a room farther back. I pushed ahead. “Sweetheart, that’s where they keep the cats that just came in,” Dad said.

I insisted on stepping into the room. Suddenly, there came a familiar meow (猫叫). I followed it and my eyes fell on a little cat with big green eyes. Skinnier than I remembered, it was Baby-Girl! My eyes welled up with tears. I opened the cage door. Baby-Girl practically jumped into my arms.

Long ago, in a city lived two boys, Ted and Nick. Ted was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and never did a day’s hard work. Nick was from a poor family, and often helped his parents when they were busy. Despite all of this, they always played with each other and had much fun. They became best friends.

As time went by, both of them grew up and went to different cities. Busy with their work and life, they didn’t have much time to meet each other and catch up.

One day, Nick fell seriously ill and had a fever. The doctor advised him to lie in bed, having a good rest. When Ted got to know it, he went to Nick’s house to meet him.

But with an important meeting to attend, he didn’t stay there for long and talk much with Nick. Instead he just took some money out of his pocket and gave it to his friend and left.

Nick felt very bad but didn’t say anything to him. After some time, Nick got well and worked hard to earn money day and night. He even found a part-time job.

Once Nick earned enough money, he went to Ted to return his money. Nick said, “Thank you for coming to see me when I was ill. And thank you for your money. Now I’ve earned enough.”

It happened that two months later Ted got ill and coughed again and again. He suffered a lot and felt so bad. The doctor suggested him bed rest after taking medicine.

As soon as Nick got the news of Ted’s illness,

Before Nick left, Ted thanked him again and again for his company and care, but