Bob’s problems began during his formative years. His parents got divorced when he was young, and neither of his parents wanted to raise him or his brother and sister, so he     1     (bring) up by a foster family chosen by a social worker in the community.

Unfortunately, his foster father was a strict authoritarian and often beat him. Bob rebelled against this strict upbringing, and by the time he was eight years old, he     2     (run) wild, stealing from shops and playing truant. When he reached adolescence, sometime around his thirteenth birthday, he had already appeared in court several times, charged     3     juvenile crimes. The judge blamed his foster parents,     4     (explain) that children needed responsible parents and guardians who would look after them properly. The foster father didn’t agree with the judge and objected to this, pointing out that Bob’s two brothers and sister were well-adjusted children who behaved at home and worked well at school.

This has raised some interesting questions about the modern family system.     5     it is true that parents should not be too lenient with children by letting them do     6     they want,     7     too over-protective by sheltering them from the realities of life, it is also true that they should not be too strict. It has also highlighted the disadvantages of the modern nuclear family     8     the child has only its mother and father to rely on or the single-parent family, in which the mother or father has to struggle particularly hard     9     (support) their dependents.     

In fact, many people believe that we     10     return to traditional family values and the extended family: extensive research has shown that children from these families are generally better behaved and have a better chance of success in later life.

It is just past five o’clock on the Chinese New Year’s Eve, and the dinner table     1     (cover) with white china plates and bowls, full of all sorts of dishes: chicken, duck, pork, fish and vegetables. Luo Yan, 29, lifts the cover of a large bowl     2     (breathe) in the rich smell of the soup his wife and mother have prepared. Luo Yan’s son, Bofeng,     3    (happy) takes a bite of the chicken his grandfather has selected for him.

Have you ever forgotten     1    (lock) the door of your house? Or, have you ever forgotten to switch off the TV     2    computer? These kinds of things happen       3     us all the time, waste resources, and can sometimes lead to       4     (problem). However,   in the not-too-distant future, we     5    (live) in smart homes     6     will lock the door for us when we       7     away and remember to switch off the TV when we forget. These smart homes will keep us     8     (security), save us energy, and provide     9     more comfortable environment     10     (live) in.

Over 37, 000 children     1     (age)11 to 13 were reported to be more positive about their future when     2     (ask) about their family relationships during a survey between 2016 and 2019.

These children,     3     family relationships are healthy, are more likely to flourish because they have an internal sense of safety. This sense of safety is     4     allows children to understand and accept who they are. Not having to worry about home life also means     5     (child)devoting more mental energy to learning and     6     (social).

Child psychologist Whitaker says the     7     (good)thing parents and other caregivers can do is get involved in some simple activities such as doing chores together. You don’t     8     (necessity)need to fill those moments with chatter. Silence is also     9     powerful form of communication. Being present, open, interested and     10       (attention) at these times is the foundation of family connections.

I will tell you a story     1     is very interesting. It is about a good man    2     is called Tom. Tom married a girl     3     name is Jane. They live in a house     4       was built by Tom’s father. It is an old house     5     Tom was born. Tom likes to write stories and Jane loves all the stories     6     Tom writes. Tom once said he would never forget the day     7     he met Jane. Tom believes that Jane is the most beautiful girl     8       he has ever met. They are really a happy couple. Their children grow up in a family     9     their parents treat them like friends. We all admire the way     10       Tom treats his children.

A study of 207 Victorian children found household (家庭的)     1     (task) like making meals and caring for plants are connected with better planning and problem-solving ability. The lead researcher Deanna Tepper said the study’s results suggest children could benefit greatly     2     doing chores.

The study    3     (conduct) in 2020. Collected from children aged 5 to 13, the results show 86 percent of the kids put their dirty clothes in a basket and clean up after playing, but only 59 percent make their own bed.     4     (old) children are more likely to do chores than younger ones.

“Parents may be able to use some chores     5     (encourage) the development of executive (执行的) ability,” Ms. Tepper said. “Doing more jobs around the house may help kids achieve    6     (excellent) at school. Children who have a habit of     7     (cook) family meals may be more likely to do other things very well.”

Ms. Tepper said making a meal was linked to better working memory and the ability to think before acting. “    8     (typical), these skills begin to develop in early childhood,” Ms. Tepper said. “Delays (延迟) in the development of executive functioning can lead to difficulty in planning and problem-solving as adults,     9     may have harmful effects later in life on their reading performance and mathematical ability. Therefore,     10     is helpful to get kids to do chores.”

The nicotine in tobacco is     1     (harm) to people's lungs.     2    , my father used to smoke cigarettes far too often, which disturbed me greatly. One day I spoke to     3     health consultant at my school. He said my father should make a monthly plan     4     (smoke) less, otherwise he may need surgery in the future. I'm so glad my father agreed to make a plan and break this bad habit!

When a grandchild comes along for the first time, it’s important to have the right help. In our case, a lovely young couple seems    1    (absolute) perfect in bringing up our grandson. The new baby appears to really like them,    2    certainly takes away the worry for us grandparents.

Here’s the deal: we get the young couple to do most of the difficult work, like    3    (feed) the baby and changing nappies. He even lives    4    their house, which makes things a lot    5    (easy). We arrive for the good times, such as when the grandson is available to lie in our arms and glancing up at the world as if to comprehend its wonder.

Why, you may ask, would a young couple be willing    6    (do) all the hard work, while the grandparents enjoy the good times? It’s a fair question. When we arrive,     7    couple has usually been up, all night with dark circles. The grandchild, though, is full of energy. We, the grandparents, take    8    (turn) to rock him and he wriggles (扭动)in our arms. An hour    9    two later,when things are about to turn tricky, we hand him back to them and disappear down the steps.

Could these different work conditions really    10    (consider) fair? The young couple seems happy enough. The grandchild looks like them both, which may have helped.

Samovar, a very special teapot, plays a big part in Russian history and is a central part of Russian family life. There is a very old samovar in my home,    1    belonged to m great-grandmother's great-grandmother. The story of how she bought it has been passed down     2     generation to generation. Every time we have a special occasion in my family, the samovar     3     (take)out.The samovar symbolizes     4     (happy),and that's one thing want to keep in my family forever!

Sivert is $1, 800 richer, and all it took was for him to stay away from social media during most of his teenage     1     (year).

When the boy was 12, his mom, Lorna, told him if he didn’t use social media for the next six years, she     2     (give) him $1, 800 on his 18th birthday. Sivert happily accepted the offer. “I thought it was awesome.”

Sivert held up his end of the deal, and on his     3     (eighteen) birthday, his mom presented him with $1, 800.     4     the distraction of social media, Sivert was able to focus more on sports and getting good grades, while also     5     (avoid) “all the unnecessary drama that was on the social media.”

He’s not sure     6     he’ll spend his money on, but Sivert did figure out how to break his social media dry spell: he got an Instagram account. There’s “    7     (definite) a learning curve,” he said. “I see my friends fly through their social media apps and I can’t do that quite yet.”

Lorna is glad her son appears to have     8     “different perspective” on social media. “We are certainly not against social media, but it’s the     9     (health) using of it that matters,” she said. “It’s about not letting yourself get weighed down by it, or     10     (addict) to it, or affected by things that people post.”