1 . Quite often my mother would _________ me to set the family table with the “good china.” Because this _________ with such frequency, I never _________ these occasions. I assumed it was just my mother’s desire.

One evening as I was setting the table, Marge, a neighbor woman, _________ unexpectedly. She _________ on the door, and mother, busy at the stove, invited her to come in. Marge entered the kitchen and, _________ at the beautifully set table, remarked, “Oh, I see you’re expecting _________. I’ll come back another time.”

“No, it’s all right,” replied my mother. “We’re not expecting company.”

“Well then,” said Marge with a(n) _________ look on her face, “why would you have the good china out?”

“Because,” my mom answered, “I’ve prepared my family’s favorite meal. If you _________ your best table for special guests when you prepare a meal, why not for your own __________?”

“Well yes, but your beautiful china will get chips,” responded Marge.

“Oh well,” said Mom __________, “a few chips in the china is a small __________ to pay for the way we always feel as we gather as a family at the dinner table. Besides, all these chips have a story to tell, now don’t they?”

Mom walked to the cupboard and __________ a plate. Holding it up she said, “See this chip? This plate was broken the day we brought our newborn son home. Trying to be __________, my six-year-old daughter dropped that plate as she carried it to the sink. I’ll never forget that day.”

We all laughed. At that moment, I knew for sure that the china held for mother a number of love __________ about our family.

2 . In seventh grade, my mum suggested I join the golf league. _______ the fact that I had been taking golf lessons since I could walk, I had never played a real match of golf. And she _______ me to join a league? I was sure she had lost her _______. But as always, my mum _______ in the end. I played on the middle-school golf team in seventh grade… and eighth. When the summer before high school came, I was _______ to play on the high-school team.

At a time when most teenagers try to spend the smallest time possible with their _______, I was growing closer than ever to mine. That summer I _______ almost every Sunday morning on the golf course with my dad, and too many afternoons there with my mum. This incredible _______ with my parents continued during my high-school years. Mum and I thought it was because of the hours we spent together on the _______ course. We talked about things in the middle of a round of golf that we ________ would at home, where she is Mum and I am an annoying teenager. On the golf course, we are just two people who ________ golf.

Golfing has ________ a part of me over the past years. In the summer my friends know the place to find me is on the golf course. Golf has ________ me and made me into the person I am today. And I have to admit that all of it is ________ my mum making me join that middle-school golf league. In fact, she was ________ — as usual.

3 . When I was a boy growing up, we had a potato garden half the size of a football field. I remember planting it was a family _________. First Dad would use a push tool to _________ the earth. Then Mom would go down the rows, _________ dropping seed (种子) potatoes into the freshly turned earth. Next it would be my _________ — dropping some fertilizer (化肥) in between each of the potatoes. Lastly, my brothers would push earth back over the potatoes to let them _________ all summer.

In fall, when we were digging out the potatoes, I would be _________ to find how much the potatoes had grown. They would fill one bag after another and would _________ us all the year through.

With so many potatoes to cook, Mom and Nana had to be _________. Mom would make mashed (捣碎的) potatoes one day and then use the leftover potatoes to _________ potato cakes the next. Nana would cook them __________ on Sundays for a long time in her red soup to serve with noodles and meat balls. She would also cook them in the cooker with chicken, __________ with other food materials.

Years later, my daughter tried to recreate Nana’s chicken and potatoes just this last Sunday evening. When it was cooking, the smells were __________ and when I tasted it, I was filled with loving __________ from my childhood. The happiest part of it all, though, wasn’t those old memories but creating a(n) __________ one with my daughter and sons. What a pleasant and loving __________ my daughter prepared!

4 . “Mom.” Eric pulled gently at his mom’s sleeve. Eric’s mom turned to Eric briefly, showing him a hand gesture to wait before pointing at her work phone. Eric knew he’d be _______ a long time once his mom started talking to her colleagues.

He returned to the living room. Dad was also _______ on his phone now! Eric curled up on the couch. It was nearly time to go to the playground. He didn’t want to wait any longer.

Finally, Erie’s dad sat beside him on the couch. “I’m _______, but we can always go tomorrow.”

“But you always say that, and it never _______!” Eric jumped off the couch.

“We’ll make it up to you this weekend.” Mom entered the room and put a hand on his shoulder. “Santa will visit the mall to collect _______ from all the kids. Would you like to go to see him?”

Eric spent the next few days working on his letter to Santa. On Saturday morning, he woke up _______ to go to the mall and see Santa. He entered the kitchen, where he _______ to find his parents, but instead, Grandma Annie was there.

Grandma smiled at him. “Your mom and dad had to work today, so they asked me to _______ you. I hear we will deliver your letter to Santa at the _______!”

“No, I don’t want to go anymore.” Eric turned away.

Late that evening, Erie’s parents came home. Grandma Annie said to them, “I know you both have to work very hard, but it’s important to make ________ for your children.”

Eric’s mom and dad looked at each other, feeling ________.

After Grandma Annie ________, Eric’s mom and dad went to his room. Eric was already asleep, with tear marks on his soft cheeks. His mom ________ a letter to Santa in his hand.

They ________ out the paper. There was only one item on Eric’s wish list, and it brought them to ________. “Dear Santa, can you give my mom and dad a lot of money so they can spend more time with me instead of working all the time. I miss them so much.”

5 . In China, there are a lot of traditional festivals like Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Day and Tomb-Sweeping Day. Mid-Autumn Day is very popular._________ that day, Chinese people usually get together and_________moon cakes. The moon cakes are round_________usually have some meat or nuts in it. They also eat nice food and drink some juice. After that, they often_________TV. Today is Mid-Autumn Day. In my family, my father is_________his car, he will drive to work tomorrow. He loves his_________very much. My mother is looking at the moon, and_________me a story of Chang’e. She likes the big moon. My sister Lingling is_________her American friend Jenny. Jenny is 14 years old, too. She is now in New York in_________with her parents. She is telling__________what she is doing on Mid-Autumn Day. We all love our Mid-Autumn Day.

6 . I made bread yesterday because I was missing my mom. As I poured over the oil, I _______ the time Mom taught me to make bread.

I was about sixteen and I asked her for a _______ for her bread. She told me she didn’t have one but she would guide me through the _______.

So I went through the process under her _______ eyes. When the water had _______, I mixed those and started adding flour, putting the dry masses into the mixture. I kept adding _______ until I couldn’t stir in anymore. Mom watched and checked from time to time to _______ the movement or to feel the shape and thickness, encouraging me to _______ it too.

As the right standard was reached, I _______ the entire mass and put it in the bowl to rise. I gave it a good pat with my hand.

Mom looked at me ________ and asked, “Why did you do that?”

I shrugged and said smilingly, “Because you always do it. Why do you do it?”

________ to a friend yesterday afternoon she suggested getting a bread maker. My answer was a swift NO! The joy is ________ the process. For me, it slows down my ________ and the process is calming in the movements.

My small batch(一团生面) produced six loaves. There was satisfaction knowing they came from my own hands—and ________ in knowing that I had extra loaves to ________ with family and friends.

7 . When I was growing up, my family was so poor that when I was 7, we had borrowed from every _________ person in my hometown, sold our valuables, and so on, just to _________ as my parents were both _________. When my dad finally got hold of a job as a janitor, my mother started working as well. Finally after we had gotten on our _________ and were comfortably living, she became a stay-at-home mom. At the time our total _________ for my parents and my brother and I, was roughly 23K a year.

That’s not enough to have a maid _________ you lobster in the halls of a big house. But it is _________ to see a loving parent present you with a home-cooked meal and nothing but _________ in their hearts. Now, as I get _________ to turn 18 in late August, I have a father and a brother. I wondered to myself why I didn’t ____________ as many of my friends did with depression or ____________ thoughts, and so on. It wasn’t because I found a religion, or because I started getting ____________.

I was given a ____________. Not only that, but I was given parents who loved me ____________ and would give anything for my ____________. I knew that when I went home and closed the door behind me, my dad was in his room ____________ (working the graveyard shift is a pain), and my mom was making sure I came home to a meal, a smile, and open ____________.

Parents. Love your children. ____________ for them. Let them know that their problems are your problems and that you ____________ them no matter what will happen. Children. Love your parents, help them and most of all, ____________ them. If you’re reading this, that probably means in less than a decade you won’t come home from school every day to see their smiling faces or loving embrace.

8 . Making a family

For years, Dad had avoided getting a dog. Whenever the _________ came up, Dad complained, “Dogs are a pain. I don’t want to be _________.”   Despite his strong opposition, Mom brought home a puppy named Chip, a cute ball that _________ us all.

For me, at age thirteen, Chip brought out my _________ side. I fed, brushed and walked him every day. I also learned that when we take care of what is important to us, we _________ the benefits. And this _________ stayed with me as I grew. At that time, Chip meant a loyal (忠诚的) companion, someone to _________ me at the door when I returned, and someone to kiss my face when I was sad.

Chip even _________ Dad. It was nearly a month before Chip’s _________ personality won him over. Dad was the first to __________ him to sit on the sofa. He even made chew toys for Chip to play with.

Most __________, Chip brought us together as a family. After dinner, instead of escaping to our bedrooms as before, we all __________ Chip into the family room. We’d teach him new __________ or perfect his old ones. We’d recall stories of the cute things he’d done that day. The key is that we’d do this together.

People sometimes complain that dog lovers are __________ humanity; rather, their pets stimulate the __________ of their humanity.

9 . Family rules are positive statements about how your family wants to look after and treat its members. Household rules let everyone in the family know how to behave. They help family members achieve a balance between getting what they want and ____ the needs of others. They can also help children and teenagers feel safe and secure. ____, everyone in your family can get along better, and live a peaceful life.

Who should be ____ in making family rules?

It's important to involve all members of the family as much as possible when developing family rules. Children as young as three can help with the rule making, although parents,   undoubtedly, still play a(an) ____ role. As children get older, they can take a bigger part in deciding what the rules should be, as well as the ____ for breaking them. Preteens and teenagers get a lot of ____out of being involved in making rules because it gives them the chance to ____ the responsibility for their own behavior. And it is more likely for them to observe the rules made with their full involvement -this is a chance for them to know what ____ is.

What should the family rules be about?

Choose the most important things to make rules about — ____, a rule about not physically hurting each other would be a must for most families. You might also develop rules about safety, manners, politeness, daily____and respect for each other. Rules ____ from family to family. The standards you create will be influenced by your beliefs, ____ your situation and your child's maturity and needs.

What types of family rules can be made?

Rules come in different shapes and sizes. But all good rules have something in ____: they are specific and easy to understand.

"Do" rules are good teaching tools, and they’re best in most situations because they guide your child's behavior in a(an) ____ way. Here are some examples: Sit down to eat; speak in a(an) ____ voice; fasten your seat belt in the car. It's better to have more “do” rules than "don’t" ones.

10 . Friday night meant a family dinner for me at home. There would be discussions and laughter. Even so, I______those moments.

Preparations for the dinner would begin______that day. As both my parents worked, sometimes I would be given instructions to______the chicken in the oven (烤箱) after school. I would repeat the______process like a cooking machine. The only______was my mother’s chicken soup. Once the dinner was cooking, the table would be_______ . A white lace cloth, the good china, napkins. Though I failed to see any______, I had to light the candles with my mom.

Years later, my father passed away, and then my mother insisted on going to live in a care home. I seemed to be totally______from the boring tradition, but I didn’t feel______ . I missed the chicken soup. Although I have her recipe, I’ve never actually______the soup myself. I missed the warm-lighted candles. Standing together, we’d make______with our hands around the lit candles, bringing the light into our hearts.

That’s why I accepted______when my husband advised to______the tradition “I can help with the soup.” If there’s one thing I’ve______, these family traditions are really worth cherishing before they______, from the chicken soup recipes to lighting candles.