Growing up, I understood one thing about my dad: He knew everything. This was our ________: I asked him questions and he told me the answers.

During my teenage years, he taught me how to survive in the real world. When I moved out on my own, I called him at least once a week, asking him about ________ that I met in my life. ________ then, I needed him less. My husband had most of the knowledge I hadn’t; for everything else, we turned to Google.

I don’t know when it happened, but our conversations got brief and short. I loved my dad, of course, but I wondered at times if maybe he had already shared ________ I needed to know. Maybe, ________ knowing a man for 40 years, there’s nothing left to say.

Last summer, I stayed with my parents for three weeks. Dad asked me to help him rebuild bulkhead (隔板) for their house. Although I agreed, I was still unwilling. It was hard, tiring work. When we ________ the new pieces of the bulkhead, I was surprised that Dad knew ________ what went where. I looked at him and asked, “How do you know how to build a bulkhead?” The heavy hammer (锤子) ________ in midair. Then he said, “I spent a summer in college building them on the Jersey Shore.” As his explanations eventually removed my puzzles, I realized that it was not that there was nothing left to say, but just that I’d spent my life asking him ________ questions.

Since then, conversations between Dad and me have filled our life again, which I ________ more than before. To me, they are real daughter-and-father communications, coming from the bottom of heart.

Karen found out that she was going to have another baby. Like any good mother, she did ________ she could do to help her 3-year-old son, Michael, prepare for a new life. The new baby was going be a girl, and Michael sang to his ________ in Mommy’s stomach from morning till night every day.

Finally, Michael’s sister was born, ________ she was sick and was sent to the hospital. The days went by and the little baby got ________. The doctor told the parents, “There is very little ________ . Be prepared for the worst.” They kept the baby girl in the ICU. Michael, however, kept ________ his parents to let him see his sister. “I want to ________ to her,” he said. Two weeks passed. It seemed that the worst time would come for the baby. Karen decided to take Michael to his sister. She thought this might be the ________ time for him to see her alive. When Karen led Michael to his sisters bedside, he ________ the baby and began to sing softly in the ________ voice of a 3-year-old boy, Michael sang, “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are grey.” ________ the baby girl moved and her pulse rate (脉搏) became calm. All the people were shocked to see that.

“Keep on singing, Michael,” Karen ________ him with tears in her eyes. “You never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine ________,”Little by little, as Michael sang to his sister, the baby was relaxed.

After a few days, the little girl was ________ enough to go home! Women’s Day Magazine called ________ “the miracle (奇迹) of a brother’s song”.

Never give up the people you love!

My name is Carl. I’m very happy today _________ it’s my twelfth birthday.

In the evening, my mother cooks some delicious food for my birthday and makes a Cake. After dinner, I know it’s time to _________ gifts from my family. _________ will they give me? A model car? No, I don’t like it now. _________ a box of chocolate (巧克力)? No, I don’t want to eat it. What will the gifts be?

My mother comes in my room and puts a beautiful _________ on my desk. It can make me get up early. I think it’s very _________.

My _________ comes after my mother. He says to me, “I know you enjoy _________. Here is a new pen for you.” I say thanks to my father. The pen is beautiful. I like it very much.

When I am looking at the pen, my sister takes out a book and speaks to me, “I want to give the book to you. I wish you can learn something (某物) from _________. ”

The clock, the pen and the book are so nice! I’m happy to get them __________ my birthday.