When my mother visits us from Korea, she spends countless hours preparing homemade meals every day.

She thoughtfully plates and _________ our family at the table. She pours the soup for her little granddaughters first, carefully checking its temperature to _________ it will not burn their tongues. She adds more salt and pepper into mine and her son-in-law has the most substantial portion (份). It is remarkable how effortlessly she makes a meal that feels _________ for each of us.

However, her cooking begins much earlier at the grocery store. She becomes the most cruel _________ of vegetables. “Iceberg lettuce goes bad soon.” “Those tomatoes _________ to be firmer, redder.” What’s more, all of our family’s wants are _________ imprinted inside her brain and _________ her hands as she adds items to the basket.

When you put so much _________ into a meal, it becomes a ritual (仪式). It is the only time when everyone _________, sits down and takes the time to taste each bite. The dining table __________ into the centre of the family’s conversation and connection. As we __________ each other’s struggles and victories, we offer support and advice. We update each other on our work projects and __________ ideas for future vacation plans.

In a fast-paced era, creating a homemade meal might seem highly __________. However, my 68-year-old mother treats it with such __________. I know it’s her way of expressing __________— that extra ingredient that goes into cur every meal.

I joined a language exchange program online last year and had the chance to meet Lucy, a girl from England. We gradually became ________ with each other. At first, it was ________ to talk to someone I had never met before, but as time went by, our conversations continued ________ .

Being a teenager could be challenging, but having someone like Lucy, who ________ me even from thousands of miles away, made it easier. However, little did I know that she had been fighting with depression for many years. When she finally opened up and shared her ________ with me, I was both shocked and grateful that she ________ me enough to tell me that.

From that day on, I tried to ________ her regularly and encouraged her to seek professional help. Finally, Lucy started seeing a doctor, and then she made progress in ________ her condition. But later, with increased learning tasks, we both became ________, so our conversations became less frequent. One Sunday night, I surfed the Internet and found that Lucy had cleaned up all her social media posts. I was anxious and tried to ________ her, but there was no response. I completely ________ her. Weeks turned into months, and I gave up the ________ of hearing from her again. Surprisingly, Lucy sent me an email one day. In her message, she apologised and explained her sudden ________. Also, she thanked me for my help during her darkest moments. Her words touched my heart, and I realized the influence our ________ had made on both of us.

Even though we are ________ by distance and time zones, our friendship remains strong and continues to thrive.

It was a summer vacation, and I was at a zoo with my family. Because of my extremely pointy nose, when we ________ a group of flamingos (火烈鸟) standing around a pond, my brother shouted at me, “ Hey, look! Your real ________!” Then they asked me to stand in front of my new-found relatives. “Now turn your face to the ________, sweetie,” my mother shot a picture.

When I was 14, the performer Ashlee Simpson got a________ nose job. I looked at her before-and-after pictures, and I was ________ to get one for myself. I told this to my mom but she disapproved. When I________ her to take me to see a plastic surgeon, she would say, “If you believe you’re beautiful, people will see you that way.”

She must have had enough of me, ________ she finally agreed to book me an appointment. Full of ________, I walked into the doctor’s office. He turned my head up and down while a nurse took a photo of my face. The doctor played around with my nose’s appearance with the computer. ________, he showed me his finished work. I had seen that nose on so many other people and I ________ the person looking back at me on that screen. I made excuses to get out of making another appointment and excited the office, never ________ a nose job again.

Looking at the old photo, I'm smiling with________. Had I had that plastic surgery, I would definitely lose my ________ and uniqueness. My mom’s words consistently serve as a ________ that don’t let appearance cast a shadow on our confidence and we should learn to ________ and love who we are.