My father often works very hard. And he has1to see a movies. Here I'll tell you2about him.

    One afternoon, when he finished his work and3go home, he found a film ticket under the4on his desk. He thought he5to have not much work to do that day and6was quite wonderful to pass the7at the cinema. So he came back home and8finished his supper. Then he said9to us and left.But to our10, he came back about half an hour later, I11him what was the matter. He smiled and told us about12funny thing that had happened at the cinema.When my father was sitting in his seat, a 13came to my father's and said that the seat was14. My father was surprised. He took out the ticket15looked at it carefully. It was Row17,16. And then he looked at the seat. It was the same. So he asked her17her ticket. She took out the ticket at once and the seat shown in it was Row 17, Seat 3. 

    18? What's the matter with all this? While they were wondering(想知道), suddenly the woman said, “The19of the tickets are different.” So they looked at the ticket more carefully. After a while, my father said, “Oh,20, I made a mistake. My ticket is for the film a month ago. Take this seat, please.” With these words, he left the cinema.

    In 1975 my father had just begun building his second hospital in the Himalayas when tragedy（悲剧） struck our family. My mother and youngest sister Belinda were flying into the mountains to join him when their small airplane 1.

    It was years before Dad fully 2. Only through more adventures and projects in Nepal could he3 it. He has now built 42 schools and hospitals there.

    As I grew up, some of Dad's restlessness seemed to 4 me. I know many people think that being Edmund Hillary's son, I cannot help 5 mountains. Well, I am, at the age of 48, a mountain man. I have been on more than 30 mountaineering expeditions（探险）. And yes, I have climbed Everest twice. I am 6 because I have all that my father taught me, too.

    On one awful day in 1995, it was his 7 that saved my life. I was in a group of eight climbers just below the top of K2 in the Himalayas. We had just another 400 meters left to climb. But the 8 was going from bad to worse, and something didn't feel 9.

    At that time I heard my father's voice inside my head: “Down. Go down. Don't let the others 10 you to continue.”

    Then, from 11 I heard the voice of a fellow climber. “Come up,” she called. “Use the red rope.”

    Again my father's 12: “Don't do it. It's not 13.”

    Finally I told my climbing partner that I was going down. He too was feeling 14, but decided to go on ahead anyway.

    As I headed down, I looked back at my fellow climbers who were all climbing toward the 15. Soon black clouds appeared between us, and I 16them.

    Fear makes you careful. As my father always told me, 17 is not something that you should deny(否认). It is something you should 18. When I woke up in my tent the next morning it was silent and still all around. I found out that I was the only one who had managed to 19 what had to be done. The seven above had 20.

    My father sold everything we owned, took all the money and disappeared from our lives. My mother suddenly found herself 1 to care for five boys. I worried about the situation, but my mother stayed2 ， and assured us that she would keep us together as a 3and safe from harm. Although small in size, she could 4heavy horse ­ drawn plows. Besides, she 5found time to help us with homework.

    As Christmas approaching, my mother didn't seem to smile as much. I 6she had no money to buy us presents. Considering myself practically grown, I hid my7.

    One day, my mother took a saw (锯) into the forest and 8with some tree branches. She left them in the barn (畜棚) and didn't tell her 9children what they were for. She worked on her project10I was in school, but I looked 11into the barn when I had a chance. Several days later, I still couldn't 12her purpose. When later I saw she used nails and paint, I 13that she must be making presents.

    By Christmas week, my mother was her 14happy self again. Her project was apparently 15 ， and she obviously kept it secret because I'd looked everywhere without16.

    On Christmas Eve, I lay awake for a long time,17 Christmas morning.

    The next morning, my mother handed out the handmade presents happily in front of her delighted kids. Many difficult years would follow that particular Christmas, but I never again doubted my mother's 18to care for us. We were never hungry, and she made sure we got a(n)19 in school. She taught us to have faith in our own abilities. That faith still 20me.

    I have a home away from home — my school, Hamden High. Sometimes after 13 hours of school and sports, I consider 1 there overnight, sleeping in the band room. But I feel most at home at Room Cl03, the costume shop, which my acting friends and I call home. The couch there has been a second 2 for me.

    I have been on the costume crew for four years. I 3 my first play set in Italy in the 1960s. With the help of my costume teacher, I 4 my first costume successfully. On stage, it sparkled and made the 5 of the queen come to life. I felt 6, realizing that I'd do this forever and help create 7 through cloth and color.

    My costume teacher 8 my abilities to select designs, colors and fabrics that will 9 each character. So she asks me to take charge of the ensemble (全套戏服）. 10 a hard task, I welcome it! I  11 the long nights spent cutting the patterns. I feel like an older sister to the younger  12.Through my four years of theater, I have  13 my theater family and the young actors treat me as their older sister. I would feel  14 each time a family member leaves and we will cry.

    I will leave my Hamden High theater family and make my new 15 at UCONN, a school where I can 16 these feelings again. I look forward to learning new 17 in something I truly love and wish to 18 for the rest of my life. In UCONN, I will also help the actors on stage to 19 as if their characters come to life. 20, I will find a comfortable couch in a new band room to sleep on.

    Experts say boredom is good for kids. It forces them to be creative,1their imaginations, and helps them discover new things. A(n)2in point is 13－year－old Luke Thrill from Dubuque, Iowa.

    Luke was3of playing video games and riding his bike, so he decided to build a tiny house in his backyard instead. He made money from cutting lawns(草坪) and4exchanged some services, such as gaining the help of an electrical engineer5sweeping his garage. Luke also6spare materials from his grandmother's house and other7materials from his neighbors for some of the windows and the door.

    The 89－square－foot home cost $1, 500 to build and818 months. Inside there's a kitchenette, a back sitting room, a table and a mounted(镶嵌的) TV, and an upstairs bedroom can be easily9by stairway.

    Although Luke did the10and learned how to do all the work, he had his father's11throughout the project. Greg Thrill was very happy that his son learned to stay on12and deal with grown－ups.13, he had some simple rules when Luke14the house: “You15the money. You build it. And you own it.”

    Luke is now in love with16. He has a YouTube channel and hopes to17other kids to start building.18, he wants to build a bigger tiny house to live in, but for now, he19in his new home a few nights a week, does homework there, and uses it to take a20from his twin brother.

Eighty-year-old retired tailor, James McKay, spent Saturday night in prison after hitting 30-year-old Keith Smith over the head with his walking stick. McKay's wife, Laurene said that, while McKay is usually a（n）1 and pleasant person, he had been driven to this act of2 by literally getting wet just once too often. He could no longer3 it.

Smith lives above the McKays. He is a（n）4 gardener, and also a fish collector. Unfortunately, the water he5 over his balcony（平台）every day ended up on the McKay's floor, or too often, on the unsuspecting McKays themselves.

"For the last two weeks, since Smith moved into the flat above us, we dared not go onto our6 ," said Laurene. She added that it wasn't only the water7 their balcony from Smith watering his plants that8 them, but also the way he cleaned his fish9 . "We'd be sitting there happily reading our newspapers, when suddenly so much water would come from above that we'd be as wet as if we had10 with our clothes on! We could hardly11 the smell of fish!"

And on Saturday evening it was just too12 , "It was James' birthday," Laurene recalled, "and it was such a beautiful night to enjoy the starry night13 . I made him a birthday cake. The candles were a great sight as you can14 , but James didn't get to blow them out." Instead,

Smith15 one of his larger tanks over his balcony and both the McKays and the cake were wet through. "I have never seen him move so fast and I couldn't stop him. He was up there in a（n）16 ."

Smith is not going to take things further with the police. He has also17 to change his ways from now on. And what of James McKay? As he left the18 station,a large crowd of supporters sang him "Happy Birthday". "Definitely the most exciting birthday ever!" said the19 old man. "The best since my20 , I'd say!"