The 30 miles of steep（陡峭的）roads that snake through the mountains of Logan Canyon in Utah are enough to make most drivers' hands sweat. But Andersen, a 46-year-old father of four, wasn't expecting any trouble on the road last New Year's Eve, when he set off for a ski trip to the Bear River Mountains with nine-year-old daughter Mia, four-year-old son Baylor, and nine-year-old neighbour Kenya. Andersen had driven through the Logan Canyon hundreds of times over the years.

The weather was fine-but the higher they drove, the more slippery the roads became. Rounding a sharp U-turn at mile marker 473, Andersen saw a truck that had skated off the road and immediately tapped his brakes. In an instant, the car was sliding at 25 miles per hour towards the shoulder of the highway, then rolling down a steep ten-foot dam towards the extremely cold Logan River. As it hit the water, the car tipped towards the passenger side, hesitated, and then rolled onto its roof and sank into the river.

There was no time to tell the kids what to do. The crash had broken a few windows, and within seconds, the upside-down car was filled with water. "It was frightening how fast we were completely underwater, "remembers Andersen, a soft-spoken product development manager. "You're thinking, is this how it's all going to end？"

Having lost the sense of direction, Andersen began to search the freezing water for the kids. Miahad been right next to him in the front seat；now, in the blackness, he couldn't find her. "I thought, if I didn't get out, maybe none of us were going to get out." Andersen got out of his seat belt, swam through a broken window, and, deeply and quickly, breathed air at the surface. That's when he saw a group of men, about ten in all, appear at the top of the dam. One after another, they raced down into the water. Leading all the three children to safety, they began to shout at the father, "Who else is in the car？"Andersen says respectfully, "It was like the sight of angels（天使）."

   I now remember the day as if it were just yesterday. It was the early morning hours and I had _____ to my dad several hours before. We hung up the phone and I _____ my night time routine, getting my daughter ready for _____ and doing the same for myself. I went to sleep that night and the phone rang around 1:30 a.m. I saw that it was my brother _____ I thought he had probably been drunk so I hung _____ up. My brother gets drunk and calls me _____ Then the phone rang again and I answered. He asked me if I knew what was _____ because our cousin had called him and told him to call our aunt because she _____ to talk to him. She said there was no _____ at my parents’ house. At that point I started to ______ but I had to stay strong for my brother. I called the hospital and I asked if they had a ______ by the name of Ray Green. They said yes and nothing else. My mother called me back after a few minutes and told me that my father had ______.

I’m still so lost that sometimes I pick up the ______ to call my dad and then I remember he’s not there for me to make a phone call to. ______, I see something that would have made him ______ and I laugh twice for him too. My mother is so much ______ than I am. She is back at work and going on with her life and I’ve done the ______ but not like her. I know she ______ my father dearly but she is strong and keeps on so that everybody else can ______ her lead. So that is what I’m trying to do: stay strong and keep my ______ up.

   My daughter is a single parent. She works hard to_____ for herself and her three young sons. She carefully controlled how much money they spent and_____ to plan for the little luxuries（奢侈品）. When her eldest son，David，wanted a_____ so that he could do an after-school newspaper delivery job，she_____ and soon，he was the proud_____ of a good second-hand bike.

One afternoon，my_____ asked David to go to a local shop. He rode his bicycle，but foolishly left it outside the shop_____ locking it up. When David came out of the shop，it was_____. He walked home in_____ and then，together with his frustrated mother，went to the local police station to report the______ .

Imagine their______ when they arrived at the station：David’s bike was in a car’s boot（行李箱）.The_____ told them how he’d seen a group of kids______ the bike once my grandson went inside the shop.

The driver—in his late teens himself-called out to them to“leave that bike______”. Despite this，one member of the group______ on the bicycle and rode it away while the others followed. Not to be ______，the teen got in his car，drove after them and______ that they give the stolen bike back.

He was______ to be able to return it to my grandson together with a lecture about the bad result of______ to use the bike lock. ______，in all the excitement，he slipped away，without even giving them his name or telephone number.

   When I was 17, I paid a long visit to Iowa to see a college I was thinking of attending. While the _______ was fun for the most part, I was feeling depressed and _______. I was realizing that I wouldn't be seeing my family _______ if I went to school here. I was also _______ the forests in Appalachian mountains of my home. I loved how the leaves turned a thousand _______ of green in spring and then became a sea of colors in autumn. I loved the _______ of the forget-me-nots and countless wild flowers that grew on the hillsides.

Here in Iowa everything was _______. The grass looked brown and _______. All that I could smell was a_______ of corn, mud, and pigs. One day I lay down on the ground. Eyes closed, I ________ being back home over and over again. When I ________ opened them, however, I saw something that ________ my soul: a prairie (草原) sunset. It seemed to fill the whole sky from the________. Gold, red, purple and pink clouds all flowed together and________ an amazing picture. It was so huge that I was________. In comparison with it, our mountain sunsets ________. I was filled with wonder and a sense of ________. I realized too that I had been picky and________. This place too had its own special ________

Over the years to come I learned something else. Each of us has a special beauty too —everyone has their own________talents and abilities to share.