An 8-year-old boy achieved the wish of his late (已故的) mother to climb Jade Mountain. Tzou Ze Gang, along with his father, _________ their two-day climbing _________ on August 18. Along the way the boy _________ a photo of his late mother. They _________ to reach the top of Jade Mountain on August 20. Standing at 3, 952 meters above sea level, Jade Mountain is seen as the _________ mountain in Taiwan.

Tzou was only 4 years old when he first _________ Jade Mountain and he had dreamed of climbing it ever since. For the locals, the mountain is _________ believed the home of the Goddess of Life.

The boy was _________ by the mountain and promised his mother that they would both climb it one day. _________, years later his mother had to __________ leg surgery (手术), which made her unable to __________ the mountain. “When you __________ the world in the future, you can bring Mummy’s things along,” his mother told him. Unluckily, she __________ last year. Tzou’s father __________ the child during their training by saying, “Jade Mountain is the highest point in Taiwan. I’m sure we’ll be __________ to Mummy over there.”

The climb was __________ for Tzou. He felt __________ and was out of breath (气喘吁吁). He __________ felt sick even after resting. But Tzou’s father said Tzou felt much better when they were on their last __________, adding that the final 200 meters was a piece of cake for him.

Upon reaching the top, Tzou pulled out his mother’s __________ and shouted, “Mummy! We’ve reached the top. I carried you to the top of Jade Mountain!”

My father was in the navy, which meant that my mother was married to both my father and the sea. As was often the_________, we had to pack our belongings into boxes and_________ those we had grown to love. We would arrive at our new home and find ourselves once again_________ at the pier (码头) waving good-bye to my father as his ship pulled him away from us. My mother would turn my brother and me around before the ship was out of sight, wipe our tears, and take us back home to start the process of_________ in the new environment again.

Throughout the years of changing_________, schools and friends, there remained one constant in my childhood—my mother. For both my brother and me, she was the cook, maid and teacher. She played these roles while_________some type of part-time job. Leaving a promising career is just one of the _________which my mother made for my family as we moved around the world with our father every three years or so. While she had to deal with only a small budget, my mother somehow managed to make each house the very home that is safe and _________.

This probably sounds like a depressing way to live, _________ with two small children: “single” parenthood, short-term friendships, and the inability to __________ a career or establish a home. But it was not for my mother. She turned this __________ into adventure for us all! Each relocation was a chance to __________ another part of the world. My mother__________each new culture, climate and neighborhood. Each new house was a __________ to rearrange furniture, make curtains and hang pictures. Every part-time job was an opportunity to learn something new and work with interesting people.

No matter how difficult the life was, she was always having a __________ attitude. She always had strength in the face of struggle and change. My mother was so brave all those years of my childhood—she was my island in a sea of change. She is my hero.

Eleven years ago, it seemed as if the world came to an end. My husband of 19 years, the father of my two sons, was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Over the_______of seven months, Bill went from_______easily at tennis to needing my help to go to the bathroom.

It was the best seven months of my life. Maybe I don't actually_______ that. But it was certainly the time when I felt most_______. During those seven months, I came to_______that whatever else I did in my life, nothing would_______ more than taking care of my husband. I discovered that the minor complaint of an annoying coworker, or a flat tire pales in _______with the beauty of sincere laughter, the_______of a bakery. There were moments of _______ laughter, and tenderness in every day. I found I could train myself to see beauty____________bother.

In the days after Bill's diagnosis and brain surgery, being his caregiver also meant being fully____________ as much as possible. During his last weekend, when we had dinner together a relative visited. I ____________that she'd changed her appearance, and not in a good way. It was the kind of____________ I'd usually keep to ____________. Just then, Bill voiced ____________ what I’d been thinking, in that truthful way he had, and I found myself ____________out loud. I thought I could       live with this man forever, but he____________   in four days.

Eleven years later, I haven't made much achievements. ____________every day, I try to be the person I became during those seven months. I try to be a little less judgmental, a little more generous, a little more ____________ for the small moments in life.

I am a better person for having been Bill's caregiver. It was his last, best ____________ to me.