My father used to judge restaurants by their bread baskets. His reasoning: If you can't get little things right, how can you be_______ with big things?

I feel that way about commas (逗号). One sign that something has gone wrong in a piece of writing is the sight of commas_______ used around the page. My _______ students often insert a comma wherever they might pause between words to take in air. Then again, another sign of poor writings is the opposite: a comma desert, no pauses to be_______ .

Such abuses usually _______ that my students don't grasp the usage of this mark. But commas are _______. They are like the fine stitches (缝线) on an expertly sewn garment: invisible, yet vital to holding the_______ together. In dialogue, commas can _______ life or death: ''Kill ducks! '' vs ''Kill, ducks! '' Their absence or _______ creates or destroys a great article.

Then again, I shouldn't judge my students so severely.   I also failed to ________ the quiet dignity of the comma unit, in graduate school,________ I taught writing to first-year students. I remember the program head, a firm, white-haired woman, fixing me with her stare and saying, ''You have no idea where the commas go or why. '' I felt ________ . How could I have misunderstood something so basic?

Well, the thing is, commas aren't so basic and learning to________ them to their full potential takes years. Oscar Wilde once joked about what a ____________day of writing involved: spending the morning __________ a comma, and in the afternoon, on mature reflection, putting it back in.

It was pouring rain. I was starving and decided to________to a McDonald’s near a hospital. When I went to order, I saw a young man, about 20, dirty, and_________He had a loosely wrapped dirty bandage around his right hand; I noticed this_______I am a nurse. He was talking to the glass door, as the wind and rain blew.

Before my order came up, he had ______outside, holding an empty plastic bag, and sat on the ground. I knew that it was freezing out there, even if it was California. I_______looking at him, then I noticed a wet $20 bill______ the double glass doors.

I walked outside. He was, again, speaking to things or_______that you and I could not see, that is, not part of our ______. I kept asking him, “Is this your $20?” He was confused, then he jumped up, ______holding his empty plastic bag. I led him to the______, telling him that I wanted him to ______.

The other patients shied away from him, making a wide________around him. I guided him to the counter to     ______. Several workers said, “We don’t want to give him anything.” “But he has_______now,” I told them. Somehow the young man ordered, then seemed extremely_______as to what to do.

I guided him to a seat, handed his food. ______his soda, and brought him lots of ketchup(番茄酱). Again, all other tables around him vacated(空出)their seats and looked at me_______. I opened his sandwiches, and set his meal up. I wish I had a______end to this true story,______, at that point, it was all I could ______, as I had to get back to work.

My husband Larry and I have always had our basic values in common. However, our _________ are so different; I love the arts, and he’s really _________ of sports, especially hockey (曲棍球). There have been times I’ve been wanting to sell my season ticket online, but I’d _________ do that. Instead, if Larry wanted to go, we went.

On our hockey nights, _________ enjoying the good seats on which we watched the game, I’d complain (抱怨) “It’s cold in here!” My husband would offer me his jacket, but I wouldn’t _________ it.

When the game started, I would take out my phone. Most of the time, I’d be texting or daydreaming. Sometimes, my texting would be interrupted (打断) when the home team _________. I knew they scored because everyone jumped up and _________, even the women.

I started to wonder. Why was I the only one NOT enjoying myself? Would I like this sport if I gave it a _________? How about trying to change my _________ about hockey?

I decided to __________ have a try for my husband’s sake, if not for my own.

It took a few games, but soon I __________ who the most famous player was, who had been traded and from where. When the other team scored, I felt __________ with the rest of my crowd. Soon I was asking questions like “What’s a hat trick (帽子戏法) ?”

My husband couldn’t __________ it when he saw me getting involved (参与). I was surprised myself! The cold no longer bothered (烦扰) me. I didn’t __________ looking at the clock, counting the minutes until we got out. Time flew. The game was over before I knew it.

We went to the next game and __________ going often. Today, one would never guess I had fallen in love with hockey.