Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word: for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.
The art of growing bald gracefully
There are three important days in every bald(ing) man’s life: The day you realize you’re losing your hair, the day you realize you should shave off what remains, and the day you finally do. 【小题1】 (grow) bald gracefully is about reducing the gap between these milestones as far as possible. I learned this the hard way.
My fear 【小题2】 all hairless men look the same is reinforced by the fact that people keep saying I look like my dad. No one 【小题3】 (note) this resemblance before. Now, suddenly, we`re like two shiny-headed. bearded peas in a pod. There is a certain poetic justice here, and I suffer regular flashbacks to the bald jokes I’d tell at my dad’s expense.
Whether he’s 【小题4】 (blame) for my hairline is matter of debate. Studies of identical twins have found that heredity (遗传) factors account for around 80% of men’s tendency to go bald, 【小题5】 the genetics are poorly understood. An old wives’ tale dictates that hair loss is passed down via the mother, 【小题6】 means your maternal grandfather’s hairline is the best predictor of your own.
Lifestyle factors can play a part, and I often wonder whether my fate was hastened by eating trans fats and not sleeping enough, or by living in big cities during some of its most seriously 【小题7】 (pollute) years. But my hairline’s retreat was likely predestined. As such, I am at peace with it. Although I didn’t grow bald gracefully, I can still aspire to be bald with grace.
Anton was the first among my friends 【小题8】 (go) bald. While I had the luxury of holding out until aged 35, he was 18 when he first found clumps of hair on the pillow. Anton’s advice for me and fellow newcomers is as follows: Moisturize (滋润) your head daily, shave it every few days and wear hats to protect against the sun and heat loss alike. If you have a beard, keep it 【小题9】 (brush); if you’re muscly, be aware of terrifying people and disarm them with a smile. And remember, he concluded, the way you carry yourself matters more than 【小题10】 is — or isn’t — growing from the top of your head.
