“Dear department, I would like your approval if I can have a unicorn (独角兽) in my backyard if I can find one. Please send me a letter in response.” In mid-November, Joyce wrote a letter to the local department of animal care and control with a(n) _______ request.

Director Annabelle Bradshaw wrote back a few weeks later with good news. She said the department does in fact license unicorns under certain _______. Those include polishing the unicorn’s horn (角) at least once a month, giving it _______ access to sunlight, moonlight and rainbows, and feeding it watermelons at least once a week.

_______ that Joyce would meet all the requirements, Bradshaw sent her a “preapproved unicorn license” for her future pet. “It is always   _______ to hear from young people who consider providing a loving home to animals.” Bradshaw wrote. She deals with a lot of “emotionally exhausting” issues on the job. So Joyce’s letter has _______ brightened her spirits. The first-grader also _______ her for wanting to ask permission in the first place, and doing her research to figure out how to go about that.

Joyce’s mother didn’t want to _______ her when she asked for a unicorn at first, so advised it might come down to getting approval. Joyce agreed and she _______ and an hour later she came back and said, “Will you help me ________ this?”

While the letter was received and replied to in a matter of weeks, Joyce thought the license would be a perfect present for her birthday this month.

I was brought up with rules of what I could and could not wear. But as a teenager, I longed for the clothes I wasn't _______ I once tried on a dress. I remember the ______ , looking at a reflection that didn't seem like me. I thought clothes meant could pretend(假装) to be someone else.

When I was studying in Paris, my obsession(着迷) with clothes got______. Making friends was hard. When I bought clothes, I felt my anxiety would______   .   Every time I went shopping, I reasoned the money that people spent on ______ , I could spend on clothes.

After my father died, I felt deeply alone, trying to process the ______ by buying clothes. I didn't feel excited any more from the ______ . I just did it because it was something to do. I didn't have to think about how________I felt. I bought a wardrobe （衣柜）because I had________so many clothes.

Eventually, I got married. When my husband and I moved into our new home, a small but warm house, there was one big problem---there________wouldn't be enough room for my clothes which ______ me of my loneliness, and how I had tried to _______   it. So I let friends select whatever they liked.

I used to _______what I needed to survive in the world with material goods. I still love shopping but I _______carefully when I buy things. The act of _______clothes is a way for me to be myself.

When studying at the university of Pittsburgh, I went home every weekend. “Look, I got a best sportsman’s jacket!” I said. Dad _________ took his eyes off the TV. I had wanted Dad to be _________ me all my life, but that never happened. I shook off my _________ and went back to Pittburgh. A month later, Mom called and said that Dad’s diabetes (糖尿病) had gotten _________. “I’m coming home to help you,” I said.

I _________ a college near home. Every Sunday, I went home and helped Dad. He was not satisfied with everything I did. “It’s not you,” Mom explained. “His _________ makes him feel bad about himself, his anger was _________ his frustration (沮丧).” I was so surprised to hear that. Now I saw his pain went beyond the _________ pain, which made me try harder to _________ him. One day we were watching a __________ game. “I’ll bet you $2 million that Dallas wins,” I said. “You don’t have $2 million,” he __________. After that, every time we watched the game, we made __________ bets. Dad laughed more easily and accepted my help more willingly. Our relationship was __________. The night before I attended the national football league draft (选拔赛), Dad and I were sitting in the living room. “It doesn’t __________ if you make it or not,” he said. “I am proud of you.” Maybe our __________ would never be perfect. But I would never doubt that he loved me.