When I was in high school, most of my friends had bicycle. I hoped I could also have it. One day I saw a second-hand bicycle, that was only one hundred yuan. I asked my father the money, and he said he could only give me half of the money. I should earn the other half by myself. So I went to sell newspapers after the school. My father was pleasing when I showed him the money a month late. He gave me the other fifty. You can imagine how happily I felt when I ride to school on my own bicycle.

   I was surprised when I received a short message from my father wishing me a happy birthday.

I had _____ to hear from my mother，my grandmother and my other relatives，but never from my father. Lying in bed，_____ of my father flooded back.

When I was a little boy，I regarded my father as a（n）_____  able to do anything. _____ ，things slowly began to _____ .The more I learned，the more I doubted what he said. The gap between us _____ and，at last，I didn't even like communicating with him.

My father，in my mind，had no _____ in talking with me. Dinner was the only time we were together. He had no time to watch TV with me. He would tell me to ask my mother _____ I needed something. He even refused to answer my _____ when I phoned from school. I got ______ the changes. I thought that perhaps my father no longer ______ me.

Over time, however, I began to wonder whether my ______ was right. One day, my mother told me that each time I called, my father was always ______ beside her. Suddenly, I hated myself for my ______ behavior toward him.

I planned thousands of times to ______ to my father. In the end, however, I was always too embarrassed about what I had done.

But that Saturday, I was so ______ by his short message. I ______ then that my father's love for me had never disappeared. I decided to send a ______ “Thank you, my dear father.”

Two days later, when I returned home, my mother told me that my father had been so ______ when he received my reply. She said he had ______ from morning till night. At that moment, I felt truly happy.

When I was a kid, the very thing that aroused my interest about New Year's Eve was trying to stay wake until midnight. My parents didn't force me to go to bed early. However, I usually fell asleep before the New Year arrives. It wasn't until my 10th birthday when I could stay up late but was able to cheer with the rest of the family. I woke up happily next morning. When asking if I wanted to make a New Year's wish, I said I would try to fight less with my brother. Unfortunately, the wish was lasted only until dinner time. The reason was that my brother and me got into an argue about who would set the table.

   Determined to keep my private life from the census taker（人口普查员），I locked the front door. After several more days of _________to answer the door，one afternoon I _________ to my car. The census taker，who had been _________all week to catch me，spotted me and ran up to _________.I told the man firmly I would not answer his questions. He glared at me and _________ walked away.

A week went by. All my neighbours had _________their census questions，and the census taker _________. Then one afternoon there came a knock at the door. I answered the door and found a middle-aged lady. Suddenly，I realized my _________."I'm Carla with the US Census Bureau，"she said，_________herself the way the former one had. Only there was something __________：she was smiling.

So I let her in, offered her a bottle of water, and waited for the __________. But first, she asked about my family. __________she told me about her own family and something else. I __________ a lot about Carla, as she was in no hurry to get to the __________. She was pleasant and relaxed. And so was I. After about an hour, she put away her _________ and thanked me for the water, __________as she got into her car. I realized I didn't __________her visit at all.

Carla would call every few months, asking if our __________had changed. We always talked about our families and lives __________we were friends.