Merril Bingham passed away in February 2016. He was a(n)1to me in many ways. He retired(退休)four years ago. Before his retirement we remained close an talked 2. Among the many things that3me that him was his devotion to family and model of fatherhood.

    Merril was quite an athlete and he developed a love for4which lasted his entire life. As I attended Merril's funeral(葬礼), I was more impressed than ever at the5he played as a father to 8 children, who spoke at the funeral and6stories about their dad. I must 7 that, as I sat there, I wondered8my children would have as many great memories of their dad as Merril's 9_did of him.

    One daughter remembered that the morning she was to 10, her dad was up early in the kitchen. When she came into the kitchen, he said, “Hey, you're getting married today! Take it easy! What do you want for breakfasts?” He then made a 11breakfast and they enjoyed it together, making her 12.

    A son talked about fishing trips and 13as they worked in the yard together. He 14the importance of having the open, communicative relationship that15him to have confidence in his dad. This son also developed a love for golf and talked about loving the time when he could 169 or 18 holes with his dad together.

    The memories of the children were about time17together, not about money, or things that18less. I need to share my faith with my children in a(n)19way. Being overbearing(霸道的)doesn't work, 20being a loving example of a father does.

    One year my children came home from school asking where we were going on your summer vacation. It seemed that all the other kids were1 where they were spending the summer. I couldn't 2to take them anywhere but I didn't want to tell them that so I just said, “It's a surprise!” They were 3. That bought me a little more 4.

    I called several amusement 5to see if there was a half-price event during the summer but no such 6. I tried everything, with no success, so I called some of the other moms to find that most were in the same7that I was. We decided to8 something fun for our kids to do. We had a meeting, all five of us, and9 what is now called a “playcation”.

    One mother was a  10, so on Mondays the kids would all go to her house. They would play games using plants and11. They also planted vegetables and12 them grow over the summer.

    Another mother had Bible 13 on Tuesdays. She asked some questions about Bible. The kid who answered  14got a penny, which they all turned in at the end to buy their goodie bags(礼品袋).

    At our house on Wednesdays, I made an outdoor 15training with my spare tires. The kids also walked a balance beam and raced through large cardboard boxes taped together.

    On 16they had arts and crafts across the street. Fridays were17by a wonderful single dad with a metal detector(金属探测器)who took everyone out treasure18 .

    The summer was a big19 . Okay, it wasn't Disney World,20 the kids didn't miss anything. My son actually asked me, “Can we do this again next year?”

    LoAnna and Kris' kids were playing outside on a sunny Saturday. Suddenly LoAnna heard a huge sound, She 1outside to see a wide mud, sand, and rock 2down the hill. She phoned Kris 3and Kris sped back home. But traffic had come to a 4. Kris had to run.

    Suddenly, he heard a woman screaming for help. As he 5the sound through mud, he only saw an arm reaching up, holding a boy. Kris kept her talking while 6the wood, metal trapping the mother and child. Finally, he was able to 7the baby. By this time, other citizens had 8it to the site. With others taking the 9in rescuing the woman, Kris continued his way home.

    Soon. he heard a(n) 10moan(呻吟) from the ruins again. The man buried was about twice Kris' weight and, 11, he'd have to wait for more help. Hearing a helicopter above, Kris climbed up on the roof, and led a rescuer to the trapped man. 12the rest of the helicopter crew arrived, Kris left to find his 13. Hours later, Kris reached home. His truck was 14, and so were LoAnna and the others. He 15cars and houses nearby to find other 16and then walked back to the rescue team. Not long after he arrived, his truck came into 17. LoAnna pulled over and ran to him. He hugged her tightly and spoke 18, “Let's go home.”

    Over the next several weeks, 43 bodies were 19Just nine survivors were luckily pulled from the mud, all of them on that day. Kris was 20by the Red Cross for his heroic deeds.

    April 1st is a day on which, in some countries, people try to play tricks on others. If one 1 in tricking someone, one laughs and says: "April Fool!" and then the person who was tricked 2 laughs, too.

    One April 1st, a country bus was going along a 3 road when it 4 down and stopped. The driver5 turned switches and pressed buttons, but nothing happened. 6 he turned to the passengers with a 7 look on his face and said: "This poor bus is getting 8 . It isn't going as well as it used to. There is only one thing to do if we want to get home today. I'll 9three. I want you all to lean(倾斜) 10 suddenly as hard as you can . This should 11 the bus started again, but if it doesn't, I'm afraid there's nothing else I can do. Now, all of you lean back as 12 as you can in your seats and get ready."

    The passengers all obeyed and waited 13.

    Then the driver turned to his 14and asked:" Are you ready?" The passengers 15 had enough 16 to answer: "yes."

"One! Two! Three!" counted the driver. The passengers all leant forward suddenly— and the bus started 17 at a great speed.

    The passengers breathed more 18 and began to smile with relief. But their smile turned to 19 and laughter when the driver 20 cried: "April Fool!"

    I learned about life from an ant farm. When I was seven years old, my family tried to 1 an ant farm at home. First, we put clean sand in a thin glass box, and then we brought some ants from the backyard and placed them into the 2 home.

    Shortly after the new 3 were dropped into the glass structure, they got to work making tunnels. I was amazed that each one knew 4 what to do. After hours of staring, I realized that the ants had particular given jobs. With my mom's help, I kept a journal of what happened each day and 5 the ants. My favorite was the biggest, Cinderella. I drew a picture of her in my journal, which I still have.

    On day five a disaster 6 the ant farm. While I was 7 the ants, I had put my face so close to the structure that I accidentally tipped it over, 8 in all the tunnels. Although the ants 9 their earthquake, one by one they began to die. I was 10 as I watched them give up their tunnel-building to carry the bodies to a corner of the farm. My mother reported that the ants were dying of "frustration"—feeling annoyed and impatient as they couldn't control the situation. They simply could not 11 the reality that their tunnels had been destroyed. Cinderella was the last to die; she did so while carrying a dead ant on her back.

    Although much time has passed, I still think of that ant farm. Mom had hoped it would teach me about the natural world, 12it taught me much more. 13 the years, I came to realize the ants were a study in the benefits of 14. Working together, they were able to create a(n) 15 world for themselves. I also learned that they should be 16 for their hard work. Day in and day out, each labored at their task. The ant farm demonstrated that teamwork and perseverance are indeed two key 17 to success. But there was an even larger lesson that I did not 18 until recently: Disaster is a natural part of life, and must be 19. Unlike the ants, humans cannot give up when they face 20. Unlike the ants, we have to realize that if a tunnel caves in, we just have to build another.

It is a special cross-country race. The competitors' vehicles are made{#blank#}1{#/blank#}fruits and vegetables like carrots eggplants, grapefruits, pumpkins and oranges. They are the creations of pupils from the Shanghai World Foreign Language Primary School.

According to Chen You, the science class teacher,{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(base) knowledge had been taught within 6 classes to students before they drew sketches and{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(choose) vegetables to make a food car.

Although students were encouraged{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(design) their cars together with parents, all the cars should be made in the class. After{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(bring) piles of ingredients as well as tools the children began their innovation. Some cut the carrot slices to make them round, and some others assembled (组装) their car components together.

In addition to the{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(compete), students are required to reflect on the {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(difficulty) they encountered making their vehicles,{#blank#}8{#/blank#}things they have learned from the activity and the improvements they think the course can make.

{#blank#}9{#/blank#}touched the teachers most was the unity and friendship among the children. For example, although the contest was fierce (激烈的), students felt {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(excite) for the champion car as if they themselves had stood out, and when a girl's car fell apart their friends comforted her and helped reassemble the car.