My grandfather once said, “To know yourself, you have to know those who came before you.” He didn’t just say those words; he_______by them. In 1996, my grandfather moved to the United States to care for me and my sister. The decision to leave behind 65 years of family relationships was_______. And he was forced to fit his entire life into two suitcases---one with clothes and books; the other with the_______of long-lost relatives. As we looked through the photos, I saw his face_______with a strong desire to return to those happy times.

Some of the photographs were from the nineteenth century, and everyone in them had long departed from the Earth. Looking at faces in the_______photos, I realized that I couldn’t look at these people as_______because I knew nothing about them. I had_______any connection with my ancestors, and_______a part of myself.

My grandpa_______to let this happen. “The most important thing you have in this world is your family,” he told me, “and when I’m gone, the most________thing I can leave you is your heritage(遗产).” Over the next two years, he committed hundreds of hours to achieving that goal. He made it his________to write down everything he could discover about our ancestors________future generations would know. He made many long-distance phone calls, annoying indifferent relatives. Two years and 250 pages later, he still________to write.

Through my grandpa I’ve________so much about my ancestors.________, I’ve re-evaluated the importance that family has in my life. Those seemingly distant________in the old photographs have come to life with warm familiarity. Last summer, I even made the trip to Russia to________my relatives.

I’ve learned that my________is a part of me no matter where I live. An ocean cannot separate me from the________I have to my other family members. The trip has given me an opportunity to stay with my family. I have seen the________of spending time with my grandpa.

About a decade ago, my seven-year-old daughter was in our car on her way to school. This particular day we drove ________ many homeless people who were asking for help. She asked why the same people were asking for help every day and why no one was ________. 

I really did not have an________ answer to this question. So I decided to ask her how she thought she could help. 

This beautiful little girl had so many ideas________ of her that I couldn’t keep up. There were a few good ideas flying past me just as the time did that morning. The next day on the morning trip to school my daughter asked me to stop at each corner where a homeless person stood. I asked why but was ________ informed to wait and see. 

I________ my window and asked the gentleman to come over. My daughter ________ him 50 cents and told him she would see him every morning. This ________ for 3 blocks. I asked her where all of the money came from and she quickly ________ me that her classmates took up a collection of ________ and coins for her to pass on to the “people on the corner”. 

Every school day for 2 more wonderful years we stopped and offered________ or a good morning wish to the “people on the ________”. She could always get everyone to smile ________ just for a quick second. 

Times have changed, and many________ giving money to homeless people on the corner but everyone ________ be acknowledged, so my “people on the corner” can get a “good morning” and a smile every day. I get the same in return every day.

My son was ten at the time and we were on a late night family car trip to Cleveland for the get-together the next day. I was taking my _______ at the wheel while my husband and my little daughter _______.My son, full of energy, was wide awake in the back seat. I _______ to stay awake, too, and I didn’t want to _______ the radio, so I asked him to talk to me to help keep me _______.“Sure, Mom,” he said, “what do you want to _______?” I told him I’d talk about anything he wanted to talk _______.“How about frogs?” he asked. I said that would be _______,and for the next hour or so we talked about the _______ between frogs and toads(蟾蜍),and ________—basketball and soccer. He was quite ________ when we talked about Michael Jordan and Michael Jackson and how they got to be so famous. Now and then he would ________,but we’d continue to talk as I drove down the ________ road. 

About an hour and a half later, when I finally________,the bright lights woke everyone, and the magic of our discussion ________.But I knew I had taken the first step toward changing a bad listening habit with someone I love very much.