At 19, Vancouverite Karina Zhou launched her first book, Kai’s Tea Eggs, earlier this week.

Zhou first _________ the story as an entry for a picture book illustration contest. She _________ the gold award. Getting it out there for the world to see was the natural next _________: “Because it did so well in that contest, I really want to publish this,” she says. Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree _________ her style, and inspiration often struck as she _________ the pages of other books. “I went to every _________ I could find and sat in the kid’s sections (区域) for a long time.” she says.

Much of Kai’s Tea Eggs was drawn from Zhou’s _________. “The story is inspired by a day when I _________ tea eggs for a multicultural event at my primary school — it was a really _________ experience and everyone liked the food,” she remarks. Her book recreates that __________ through the main character Kai: a sweet child, who, with the __________ of a friendly dragon named Ming, finds the courage to embrace (接纳) and explores the foods of her Chinese heritage.

Zhou-noticed a pattern when sharing the story with people from different __________. Many said that they could __________ the experience of the main character Kai, who feels __________ about sharing the food of her Chinese culture. “Everyone has gone through the anxiety in their own unique way,” Zhou notes.

The book is Zhou’s first, but she has plans for more: “I do want to __________ finding stories that are meaningful and that I think need to be in this world right now,” she says.

As a writer, I often receive mails from readers. The other day, in _______ one of my essays, I received a message that read, “I’m so proud of you and your accomplishments. I _______ your opinion, and remember that you were my student at Hibbing High School.”

It was signed Margaret Leibfried, who was my English teacher at a critical time in my life, and helped me believe that I could become a writer.

Thirty years ago, I entered high school as a _______ boy, since I was the school’s only non-white (非白人的) student. In the 10th grade, I managed to _______ being laughed at, but then found being ignored almost _______ painful. I spent a lot of time alone, reading and writing stories.

Ms. Leibfried taught American literature. She noticed my interest in reading and writing, and took the time to draw me out (使畅所欲言). She even offered reading suggestions.

That year’s big project was a book report, which was for us to read aloud to the class. However, Ms. Leibfried suggested I do something “a little _______”. She said I could pick a passage from a book, memorize it, and _______ it in front of the class.

On the morning of the _______, I remember my palms (手掌) _______ badly as I walked to the front of the class and began to recite.

When I finished, to my surprise, the class ________ applause. I felt, maybe for the first time, confident.

My next teacher, Mrs. Borman, surprised everyone when she excused (免除) me from her grammar class, saying my time should be spent more ________ writing in the library. I took the work seriously, and ________ an essay to Seventeen Magazine. When they published it, it was big news for the school.

I can now appreciate how much ________ it must have taken for those teachers to let me deviate (偏离) so broadly from the lesson plan. If we want to understand how much teachers are worth, we should remember how we were ________ by our own schooldays. Good teaching helps make productive adults — a(n) ________ that won’t show up in each team’s scores and statistics.

The habit of reading is one of the greatest resources of mankind: we enjoy reading books that belong to us much more than if they are borrowed. Some people regard a borrowed book as a _________ in the house. It must be treated with care and considerate formality. _________ attitudes are forbidden. Because the book is borrowed, it tolerates no damage which means it must not _________ while under your roof. While reading the book, you are not allowed to make any mark or underline the important _________ when a flash of creative idea emerge. This is huge _________ to one’s imagination.

_________, your own books belong to you and you can treat them with so much closeness that you are not afraid to mark it up or to place it in a dirty place. Your own books are there for use, not for _________. You don’t need to display them in front of others. Private ownership also encourages _________ marking. A good reason for marking instructive passages in books is that this practice enables you to remember more easily the significant sayings, to _________ them quickly and then review them more frequently in the future.

Given the importance of owned books to a man, everyone should begin collecting a private library, making up his own __________ property. One should have his own bookshelves, which should not be having doors, glass windows, or keys. They should be free and __________ to the hand as well as the eye. Like the jewellery to a woman, the best moral __________ to a man is books. They are more varied in colour and appearance than any wall-paper. Their variety indicates __________ out of brains of different book writers. The knowledge that books are in plain view is also stimulating. Your body and mind are both __________. With books at hand, your mind is free to land any __________ or even strange possibility, which eventually gives birth to new discoveries or inventions.