1 . Father's secret

My father grew up in a fatherless home. At that time, the family struggled hard to ______ .The childhood experiences caused my father to be extremely mean.

When we children knew that other children got spending money from their parents, we made the ______ of asking father for some. His face turned cold, "If you are old enough to ask, you are old enough to ______ ," he shouted. So, we went about the neighborhood seeking odd (临时的) jobs.

There was a period of time when ______ of us had a car, so we had to ride the bus home. ______ the bus stopped more than two miles from home, Dad never met us. If someone ______ , he'd say in his loudest voice, "That's what your ______ are for!" When I went to senior high school, I had to ______ a long way each time I came home. The walk didn't ______ me as much as the fear of walking alone. I also felt that my father didn't care about my ______ That feeling was ______ one spring evening.

It had been a quite difficult week at school. Tests and long hours in labs had left me ______ . As other students were ______ at their stops, I looked out of the window ______ . Finally, the bus pulled into my stop, and I ______ off, beginning the long journey home.

On that evening, I saw something gray moving along the hedge (树篱) towards my house. Upon a closer watch, I ______ it was the top of my father's head. Then I knew, each time I'd come home, he had ______ behind the hedge, watching, until I arrived safely. He did ______ after all.

After that, that spot of gray became my focus, I could hardly wait to watch for its ______ movement on my way home. Upon reaching home I would find my father sitting in his chair, "So, it's you!" he'd say, pretending to be ______ ."

I replied, "Yes, Dad, it's me. I'm home."