The family walked out into the night feeling very 【小题1】 (sleep) after being woken by an alarm clock at 2 a. m. We took our chairs 【小题2】 were set out on the driveway facing northeast. Leaning (倚靠) back, we allowed our eyes to adjust (适应) to the stars covering the sky.

The Perseid meteor shower (流星雨), one of the greatest shows on earth 【小题3】 (be) in progress. We kept our voices very low so as not to disturb the 【小题4】 (silent), but every few minutes someone would cry out, “Ohhhh... there’s another one!” or “Did you see that one?”

We felt lucky to have such 【小题5】   front row seat to the sight of so many shooting stars with each affording the opportunity 【小题6】 (make) a wish.

In a soft voice I whispered to Elise, my 8-year-old great-niece: “ 【小题7】 you are older and perhaps a mother yourself, and you are watching the shooting stars with your children, think of your loved ones looking down from the heavens, 【小题8】 (smile) and sending wave of light. ”

We’ve been hosting and will continue to host visiting family 【小题9】 (member) for the next few weeks. As the meteor shower 【小题10】 (slow) disappears, we will keep the star-seats ready. Who knows who might want to say hello?

The world, I discovered, was not all that interested. I wandered around my early twenties, paying rent and 【小题1】 (wonder) why the lights were not turning green for me. My dream was to be a famous musician, but after several years of dark, empty nightclubs, broken promises, bands that kept breaking up and producers 【小题2】 seemed excited about everyone but 【小题3】 (I), the dream failed.

At 【小题4】 same time, I had my first serious encounter with 【小题5】 (die). My favorite uncle, my mother’s brother, the man who had taught me music, taught me to drive, thrown me a football—that one adult whom I targeted as a child and said, “that’s who I want to be when I grow up”—died of cancer 【小题6】 the age of forty-four. He was a short, handsome man with a thick mustache, and I was with him for the last year of his life, living in an apartment just below his. I watched his strong body become 【小题7】 (weak) than before, saw him suffer, night after night, doubled over at the dinner table, pressing on his stomach. His eyes 【小题8】 (shut), and his mouth twisted in pain. The rest of us—my aunt, his two young sons, me—stood there 【小题9】 (silent), cleaning the plates, turning our eyes away from this. It was the most helpless I 【小题10】 (feel) ever in my life.

Heated 【小题1】 (argue) and cold silences are common between teenagers and their parents.

Teenagers’ physical changes may result in such family tensions. You may feel anxious that you are developing at a different rate to your friends, 【小题2】 (shoot) up in height or getting left far behind. When it all gets too much, your parents are often the 【小题3】 (one) targets of your anger.

【小题4】 sometimes it may seem impossible to get along as a family, you can take action to improve the situation. The key 【小题5】 keeping the peace is regular and honest communication. When you 【小题6】 (agree) with your parents, take a minute to calm down and try to understand the situation from their point of view. Perhaps they have experienced something similar and do not want you to go through 【小题7】 same pain. After you have thought it through, explain your actions and feelings 【小题8】 (calm), listen carefully, and address their concerns. Through this kind of healthy discussion, you will learn when to back down and when 【小题9】 (ask) your parents to relax their control.

Just remember that it is completely normal to struggle with the stress that parent-child tensions create, and 【小题10】 you and your parents can work together to improve your relationship.