You have probably used a microwave (微波) oven to heat up food at home, but do you know who invented it? It was _________ by an American engineer and inventor named Percy Lebaron Spencer.

Spencer was born in the US in 1894. When he was a baby, he was _________ to live with his aunt and uncle after his father’s sudden death. _________, when Spencer was seven, his uncle died. As a result, Spencer had to _________ school and started to work at an early age. Although life was _________ to him, it brought him a lot of pleasure.

When Spencer was eighteen, he _________ the army. He discovered the force of microwave technology by accident in the army. This led to his invention of the micro-wave oven. In 1967, the first microwave oven for home use was invented. It became very _________. It often appeared on customers’ shopping lists.

Spencer’s invention of the microwave oven has made people’s _________ much easier. He is thought to be a hero. And people all over the world look up to him.

How are you getting along these days? I was quite glad to _______ you by phone yesterday. As I told you, I am in Rome today. Let me tell you something about the places my friends and I have visited.

We started in England and we _______ two days in London and one day in Canterbury. We saw a lot of great history and the only bad thing was the _______―it rained all the time when we were there. Luckily, _______ when we got to Paris, it was sunny! We _______ stayed in the center of the city for one morning because my friends wanted to visit Paris Disneyland _______ is in the east of Paris.

Well, I have to say I _______ American Disneyland. But in Paris Disneyland we met some nice people from Canada. One of them, Clive, will study in your university next year. Clive and his wife _______ us when we got to Germany by train. They went to Denmark but we went to Munich. After that, we went to Switzerland. Staying there was very _______, so we couldn’t stay there for a long time. That’s why we’re in Italy now!

OK, that’s ________ for today.

Best wishes to you! Please write back soon.

Yours,

Peter

The end of my sophomore (大学二年级) year was near. One day, Mom called me, hoping my summer break would be spent with grandparents. They were both in their ______, and I knew they really needed help around the farm.

So I packed my car after the final exam and started my life on the farm. Weeks passed. I ______ daily work with Grandpa gradually. Grandma often told me stories about her childhood, family and the early years after she and Grandpa had married.

On the last Saturday in June, I went fishing with my grandfather. ______, we saw one of the swans was dead by the pond. Grandpa had given the pair of swans to Grandma on their fiftieth anniversary of marriage. “Why don’t we buy another one?” I suggested. But grandpa said, “no... it’s not that ______. Because swans mate for life. There’s ______ we can do for the one that’s left. He has to work it out for himself.” A few days later, we drove by the pond and found the other swan lying near the same place where we had found the first one. It, too, was dead.

Then July 3 came. That was the day Grandma ______. She died of a stroke (中风) suddenly that morning. The funeral was held the next day. Grandpa had insisted on ______ it as soon as possible.

After the funeral, Grandpa asked all the people to get back to their own lives. Grandpa was not a man who could share his sadness with others, and we were all worried about him. During the rest of the summer, we stayed busy working. I thought there was something different about Grandpa but couldn’t tell exactly ______ it was.

September was near, and I had to leave. ______ I drove down the driveway, he waved to me and then walked to the gate to start the morning check.

One and a half months later, Mom called me at university on a windy ______ day to tell me Grandpa had died. He died of a stroke, the same as Grandma.