3 . Alice, age 9:"Mom, do I have to brush my hair today?"

Me: Um, yes, it would be great if you could brush your hair every day!

In Alice's world, brushing her hair was an inconvenient nuisance(令人讨厌的事).I knew back then that this feeling would not last forever. One day I would pry (撬开) her hairbrush out of her hand and tear her away from the mirror. Five years later, my prediction has come true.

At age 14, there is no such thing for Alice as a spur-of-the-moment(一时兴起的) trip outside of the house. She is, indeed, obsessed with her physical appearance. Hair has to be brushed, makeup applied, and clothes changed many times before she can even think about leaving the house.

We have spoken at length about how looks don't matter and that being a good, kind and compassionate person in this world is way more important than any aesthetic(审美观).Each time we have this conversation, Alice reminds me that she knows technically looks aren't important. But when she looks good on the outside, she feels more confident on the inside. In turn, that makes her a kinder, more compassionate and more understanding person.

So while I will never be happy to see my daughter try on many shirts only to pick the first one she tried, or spend an hour getting ready for an event when the rest of the family were ready in 10 minutes, I know this is something she needs to do. Creating an identity for herself as an individual outside of her family unit is a natural and necessary part of the teenage process.

And just as she learned over the years that hair-brushing is probably a good idea, so will she hopefully learn that sometimes it's okay to go out in a less-than-perfect outfit or without makeup. Somewhere deep down,her freewheeling 9-year-old self still knows that.

4 . Faced with a medical emergency, most people would freeze or panic, ______ a child. But Suzie McCash, then just four, not only kept a calm head but took ________ action to save her mom’s life.

Suzie, from North Tyneside, had just returned home with her mom Rowena. But as soon as Rowena ________ through the door of their house, she began to feel dizzy. Rowena ______ from a life-theatening allergy to salicylates (水杨酸盐), ______ in oranges and almonds. Within minutes, she had collapsed in the hallway, ______ to breathe.

With dad Wiliam at work, it was ______ little Suzie to save her mom’s life.

She carefully described her mother’ s situation to the ______ call operator, “Mommy had an allergic shock. I then got her medicine to make her feel ______.” Then Suzie was asked if she could ______ the front door of her home, and replied, “I can’t really reach the lock, but I’ll have a ______.” When doctors and nurses arrived, Suzie managed to let them in, and they were able to give lifesaving ______ to Rowena.

“Her dad and I told her she must have ______ because we have no idea how she managed to open the front door on her own!” Rowena later said. “When she was little she loved playing ______, which helped her stay calm and remember what to do in an emergency. I’m so _____ Suzie saved my life.”

6 . Yesterday, my 15-year-old brother Tommy had a fight with my 12-year-old brother Kevin. Later, I heard Kevin crying (哭) in his room. I _________ outside his room and asked, “Kevin, do you want to talk?” No one spoke. I tried again. Still _________ happened.

So, I took some cards and wrote, “If you don’t, you can write your problems on them, and we can try to find some good _________ to solve them.”

An hour later I was still sitting on the floor outside his _________ with two pieces of paper in my hands. One was new and the other was from Kevin. As I _________ it, tears (眼泪) came to my eyes. It said, “Nobody in this family _________ me. Tommy thought I was too noisy and Dad wished to have another kid because I can’t study well. You’re _________ around to stay with me.”

He was right about my part. I wrote back, “Kevin, I do love you and you know that. I’m here for you and everyone loves you in this _________.” After a while, a piece of _________ appeared with “Thanks for loving me” on it.

From then on, Kevin and I have a __________ relationship. When one of us feels that the other is unhappy, we’ll smile and say “Write it on a piece of paper”.

9 . When I was in high school, I spent most of my holidays going back to my hometown to enjoy life with my family. Being a member of my family _________ me happiness.

My brother was born when I was a senior high school student. It is _________ that children’s eyes are bright and _________. I looked at my brother’s eyes that _________ looked around the world, and I felt his curiosity about _________. He wasn’t even_________ to grab a bug and play with it. When he _________ the cuckoo (布谷鸟) call, he immediately learned to _________ it. And he would shake his _________ to learn how to fly like a butterfly. Before that, I never realized that a child’s ____________ ability was so amazing.

One time, my little brother ____________ the stones on the ground to look for the ants underneath (在······底下). He ____________ his snacks with the ants, looked up at me and said, “Sister, the ants are ____________!” He is learning to share.

As a sister who loves her brother so much, I came to realize the feeling of my parents’ ____________. I want to ____________ the best to my brother and accompany him while growing up.

This summer we went to visit my father in Scotland.He lives about 3 hours from Glasgow, but had arranged for us     1     (meet) him in the Highlands, a little place called Acharacle, near Fort William. We drove up from Yorkshire where I had visited my sister, spent the night in Glasgow, and continued our journey the     2     (follow) day.

Acharacle is a very remote, beautiful area. It’s a tiny village, with houses     3     (hide) all around it in the trees. It is very close to     4     sea, so that is where we spent most of our time.Several beaches there are unspoilt, and all of     5     are so clean. I took Robert and Domini with me to one of the     6     (small) beaches to play in the white sand. As soon as we got there, they ran over to a rock pool and discovered a school of trapped fish.It was as if they     7     (discover) treasure. They could scoop up     8     (hand) of them with delight.I even did. They stayed in this rock pool for what seemed like ages，    9     their sleeves were wet and they started to get cold. Then we walked along the beach, collecting shells which we now have at home. Catching fish in Scotland is fun,     10     (especial) when you can do it with your hands.