Round table

The most affectionate memory of my childhood is about     1     round table.

When I was still little, my entire family would reunite on almost every traditional festival to have dinner. While the grown-ups were discussing about something     2     our comprehension, we kids would be scuttling around or even crouching under the table to play hide and seek.

When I got a bit older, my aunt brought back her boyfriend, a tall and shy man, and my grandma joyfully added another seat to the round table. It seemed a little bit     3     (crowded), but we all felt closer to this new family member.

When I was 12, my grandpa passed away because of cancer, but when the entire family reunite once again, his chair, his bowl and his chopsticks remain the same.     4     his seat was empty, it felt like that he had never left us.

We all have a table like this in our homes, which is a symbol of the reunion of our families,     5     (represent) our sentiment and attachment to our families. As a matter of fact, in China, almost everything can be solved over a round table. The marriage vows between a loving couple, the mourning of the deceased, the negotiations between business partners and a state banquet to another president from another country     6     all happen on a same round table. So I started to wonder     7     is this round table to us and its true significance starts to unfold in front of me.

The food on the table may change with time; the people sitting beside it may come and go; the reasons why we come together may be various, but the sensation behind it remains, year after year, the same.

Every year, an annual epic migration takes place in China. Hundreds of people, men and women, young and old, the rich and the poor, the dead and the alive, will find a way to go back home and go to the round table     8     (reunite) with their families.

The power that drives him to do so has been a power that has been sustaining Chinese civilization for thousands of years. And the lives of us, or even the history of our nation have been the stories of looking for a running to the round table     9     we belong. The round table     10     (be) a symbol of the Chinese sensation. It was. It is. And it will always be.

Honesty, my mum always used to tell me, is the best policy. But when it comes to medicine, I had assumed it was important to always be honest with my patients. After all, the doctor-patient relationship is based on trust, and therefore honesty is essential, or so I thought.

I had just started working in geriatrics(老年病科). Mr. McMahon     1    （bring） in when his body was found very swollen（浮肿的）. I took a medical history     2    his daughter who had accompanied him in the ambulance. She'd been his main care for years. I stood     3     (look) at him as she gave a detailed history. "Has he lost any weight recently?" I asked, "Well, it's funny you should mention that, but yes." She said slowly. There was silence for a few moments. "Why? What are you worried about?" she asked. She was obviously very involved in his care and it was only fair that I told     4     the truth. "Well, we need to prove it's not cancer." I said and talked briefly about some of the tests I was going to order.

Half an hour later, a nurse called me: "Mr. McMahon's daughter broke down－she said you told her he had cancer." My heart sank. By the time I arrived at the ward, my consultant was already there, explaining that we still had to run lots of tests and that it was by no means confirmed     5     he had cancer. I stood silently at the end of the bed. My consultant was obviously angry with me and as we left Mr. McMahon, she turned to me. "Why on earth did you do that?" she asked in disbelief. I looked at her and bit my lip. "She asked me what I was worried about and I told her." I said, hanging my head. "And give her more     6     (worry) about?" replied my consultant. "You don't say the word 'cancer' until it's confirmed.     7     you suspect it, think very carefully before you tell people."

    8     it turned out, it wasn't cancer. But I did learn that when someone is stressed and worried about their loved one they're sometimes selective in     9     they hear－and as a doctor it's important to be mindful of this. In being truthful, I'd made the situation     10     (bad).