1 . When I was a boy there were no smart phones or computers. Still, I never felt ________. The fields, hills and woodlands around my home were the perfect playground. I can remember once hiking to a nearby ________ and walking slowly around it. At the back of it I was amazed to find an old dirt road that I had never seen before. It was full of muddy tyre tracks and deep woods bordered it on both sides, but ________ it still seemed like a fine adventure.

I ________ on and on for what seemed like hours. I was sure my guardian angel was ________ In my ears to turn around and ________ back home but I was ________ and even a bit stupid, so I walked on. There was still neither a car nor a house ________. My legs were getting tired. I noticed that the sun was starting to go down and I grew ________. I didn’t want to end up ________ on this road in the dark of night, and I was worried that it would be dark ________ I could make my way back to the lake again.

I continued to walk on with the fear growing inside of me. My heart was ________ faster and my legs were aching more seriously than before. When I ________ one last corner and saw a house that I ________. I jumped up and down and laughed out loud. I knew the way home! It was still over a mile away, but my ________ felt like feathers. I ________ into the house with a big smile just in time for dinner. Then I ended my adventure with a good night’s sleep.

I remembered this recently when I saw a sign, ________, “All roads lead home”. This is true. I also remembered a sage (圣人) compared life to a journey. Are we going to make this life a ________ trip or are we going to make the life a terrible one? It ________ our own choice.

All roads no matter how they twist and turn, can ________ us home in our hearts. May you always walk your path with love! May you always help your fellow travelers along the way!

2 . Just several days ago, a violent storm hit our community. I looked out of the window and witnessed a tree being ____ by the fierce winds. The branches bent, and swayed back and forth, thanks to their ____ to avoid breaking. The leaves desperately stuck to the branches because their life ____ the tree. The powerful trunk that ____ the tree upright bent slightly backwards from the force in a battle to ____ its position.

After the storm had passed, the tree gracefully returned to its ____ position standing tall among the chaos. It managed to ____ the storm. It didn’t look the same as leaves had shed from its branches and the soil had loosened a bit, but what ____ is that the tree won the fight for its life.

For a long time I couldn’t understand why this tree ____ my attention the way it did. As time passed, it became ____ that it wasn’t just about the tree but about the roots, which, although unseen, dig deep into the soil providing ____ and nutrition. The roots allow the tree to be able to take a ____ because they are there to support them.

I couldn’t but ask myself how deep the roots are in my life. ____, the next time you catch your kids ___, when the job is driving you crazy, when you are underpaid and the ____ is tight, and when the storms of life are raging, go back to your roots. Life is full of ____. They will make you sway, make you ___, make you lose some leaves but the deeper your roots the stronger you stand.

Faced with ____ you might bend but don’t break. No matter how hard the wind blows don’t let life ___ you into an uncomfortable position. Your ____ lies in your roots.