At a gathering, we were all telling stories of our most embarrassing moments. It came around to Frank.

    Frank began to tell us of his childhood. "I1in San Pedro. My Dad was a fisherman, and he loved the sea. He had his own boat, but it was2making a living on the sea. He worked hard and would stay out until he caught enough to3 the family."

    He looked at us and said, "I 4you could have met my Dad. He was a big man, and he was strong from pulling the nets and fighting the seas for the 5. When you got close to him, he6like the ocean. He would wear his old coat and his overalls. No matter how much my mother7them, they would still smell of the sea and of fish."

    Frank's voice dropped a bit. "When the weather was bad he would 8me to school. He had this old truck that was older than he was. 9he would drive toward the school, I would shrink down into the seat hoping to disappear. He would10 right in front of the school gate, and it seemed like everybody11 be standing around and watching. Then he would12over and give me a big kiss on the cheek and tell me to be a good boy. It was so13for me. I was twelve years old, and my Dad would lean over and kiss me goodbye!"

    He14and then went on, "I remember the day when I said 'No' "

    It was the first time I had ever talked to him that15, and he had this surprised look on his face. I said, "Dad, I'm too16for a goodbye kiss. "

    My Dad looked at me for the longest time, and his eyes started to tear up. I had never seen him17.

    He turned and looked out the windshield(挡风玻璃). "You're right, " he said. "You are a big boy....a man. I won't kiss you anymore. "

    Frank got a sad look on his face, and the tears began to18in his eyes, as he spoke. "It wasn't long after that when my Dad went to sea and never came back." Tears were running down Frank's cheeks. He spoke again. "Guys, you don't know what I would19to have my Dad give me just one more kiss on the cheek....to feel his rough old face....to smell the ocean on him....to feel his arm around my neck. I wish I had been a man then. If I had been a20, I would never have told my Dad I was too old for a goodbye kiss."

    One night, when I was eight, my mother gently asked me a question I would never forget. “Sweetie, my company wants to 1 me but needs me to work in Brazil. This is like your teacher telling you that you've done 2 and allowing you to skip a grade(跳级), but you'll have to 3your friends. Would you say yes to your teacher？”She gave me a hug and asked me to think about it. I was puzzled. The question kept me 4 for the rest of the night. I had said “yes” but for the first time, I realized the5 decisions adults had to make.

    For almost four years, my mother would call us from Brazil every day. Every evening I'd 6 wait for the phone to ring and then tell her every detail of my day. A phone call, however, could never replace her 7 and it was difficult not to feel lonely at times.

    During my fourth grade Christmas break, we flew to Rio to visit her. Looking at her large 8 apartment, I became 9 how lonely my mother must have been in Brazil herself. It was then 10 I started to appreciate the tough choices she had to make on 11 family and work. 12 difficult decisions, she used to tell me, you wouldn't know whether you made the right choice, but you could always make the best out of the situation, with passion(热情) and a 13 attitude.

    Back home, I 14 myself that what my mother could do, I could, too. If she 15 to live in Rio all by herself, I, too, could learn to be 16. I learnt how to take care of myself and set high but achievable17.

    My mother is now back with us. But I will never forget what the 18 has really taught me. Sacrifices(牺牲) 19 in the end. The separation(分离) between us has proved to be a 20 for me.

    My head was so full of digital noise that my brain was about to explode. As a writer, I was 1 to admit my love of books had been replaced by a brain that simply could not sit 2. So, this year I 3 to return to books before the Internet broke my brain.

    My goal was 52 books. It seemed like an impossible 4. A 400-page book will take the 5 person around eight hours to read. Finding the time to read was a challenge but I 6it anyway. I treated my mind like a misbehaving child who needs some rules laid down. Then I read for an hour or two at a time without 7 each day. It was something I hadn't done in years.

    In The Distracted Mind, Larry Rosen says that the more we 8spending time away from our electronic devices, the 9and more focused we become. And this is what I found. Again, I would 10 bring myself back to the page, 11 the urge to reach for that screen. I took inspiration from a book On Quiet, in which the author 12 how buying a safe（保险箱）to lock away her family devices for long periods had opened up a space to reflect.

    For me, finding that quiet time 13 finding time just to read. It was a  14  moment between me and my book when I ordinarily would have reached for my15. I read on the tram, in bed at night and on lunch 16.

    With my re-gained 17 for books, I created a space 18 I could press pause and find inspiration, knowledge and 19. In our fast-paced world, reading for the sake of reading is not selfish but a powerful way to 20 and be ourselves.

    A lawyer and a woman were sitting next to each other during a long flight. The lawyer asked her if she would like to play a fun game. The woman was1and just wanted to take a nap(小睡), so she politely refused.2, the lawyer continued to explain how the game3, "Now I ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, you4me..."

    Again, she politely refused and tried to get some5. The lawyer thought he would easily win the game, so he made another6, "If you don't know the answer you7pay me ＄5, but if I don't know the answer, I will pay you $50."

    This8the woman's attention. Figuring that there would be no9unless she played, she finally10to play the game. The lawyer asked the first question, "What's the distance from the earth to the moon?"

    The woman didn't say a word, reached into her purse, pulled out a five-dollar bill and11it to the lawyer. Now it was the woman's12. She asked the lawyer, "What13a hill with three legs and comes down with four?"

    The lawyer looked at her with a(n)14look. He took out his laptop computer and began15. Disappointed, he sent e-mails to everyone he knew, with no16. After one hour, he17at last. He woke the woman and handed her $50. The woman took the $50 and turned away to get back to sleep.

    The lawyer18the woman again and asked, "So what is the19?"

    Again without a(n)20, the woman reached into her purse for a bill. She handed the lawyer $5, and went back to sleep.

When I was in second grade, my single greatest fantasy was to fly like a bird. As I grew older, I 1 flying off as part of my childhood imagination, being 2 beyond possibility. But two days after my eighteenth birthday, my childhood fantasy should become a 3.

Once the engines came to 4, I knew there was no 5. In 20 minutes I would be 6 out of this airplane. As I looked out of the window, I could see my brothers videotaping the plane as it 7, and now they were only 8 figures standing next to the runway. Looking across at my jump mate, 9 he had successfully completed over 2,400 jumps, I could see from the look in his eyes that he was still 10. I realized that I was too.

As the door 11, the wind screamed past my ears. Generally, I do not 12 out loud when I am frightened, but as my feet fell from the plane, my mind was experiencing 1, 000 13 per second. After a few seconds, I found myself 14, "Why did I do this?" The only responses that came to my mind were more questions. Did I jump because of the endless lure(吸引) of the sky? Was it to test my 15? Was it to seek a new adventure? 16 through the sky at 165 miles per hour, I did not find my answer.

Finally, I17with a thump (砰然声) as my family ran to greet me. As I 18 the field and drew in my first breath, I knew that having my feet on the ground again would take on a new meaning. Since entering high school, I have felt the need to 19 myself and to constantly push my limits. In this respect, skydiving(特技跳伞) has 20 another door for me to explore and I will continue to leap at the chance to face a challenge.

Some dreams take longer to come true than others, but with the help of 21st-century social media and her great-grandson, at the age of 110, one British woman is 1 hers at long last.

At the end of World War I, Amy Hawkins was a 7-year-old child who loved nothing more than to 2. As a teen, Hawkins set her 3 on becoming an entertainer. Hawkins was on her way, touring the country with a dance troupe (歌舞团) — until her ambition was 4 by her mom, who didn't see it as a respectable 5 for a young lady.

All these years later, the 110-year-old lady lives at home in Monmouth, South Wales, surrounded by her loved ones. The four-generation family unit includes her granddaughter, Hannah Freeman, and Freeman's 14-year-old son, Sacha. Even though she's no longer doing it 6, Hawkins has never stopped singing.

"She's like a clock, once you wind her up she won't stop," Freeman said in an interview. "She just keeps asking, 'Would you 7 another one?'."

On Hawkins' 110th birthday, Sacha 8 his great-gran singing one of her favorite WWI tunes. When Freeman jokingly suggested Sacha post it to TikTok, neither of them could have 9 the overwhelmingly positive response it would receive, reaching 100,000 views and a large number of emotional praises in just days.

Some journeys take longer than others. Sometimes, we're detoured (绕路) along the way. Dreams can and do come true every day. While it's been a long time coming, Amy Hawkins is 10 a whole new generation of fans.