I believe that families are not only blood relatives, but sometimes people who show up and love you when no one else will.
In May 1977, I was living in a Howard Johnson’s motel off Interstate 10 in Houston. My dad and I  1  a room with two double beds and the bathroom was too 2  for a 15-year-old girl and her father. Dad’s second marriage was   3   and my stepmother had   4  us both out of the house the previous week. Dad had no  5_   of what to do with me. And that’s when my other family   6  .
Barbara and Roland Beach took me into their home   7   their only daughter, Su, my best friend, asked them to. I   8  with them for the next seven years.
Barb washed my skirts the same as Su’s. She   9   I had lunch money, doctors’ appointments, help with homework and nightly hugs. Barbara and Roland attended every football game where Su and I were being cheerleaders. As far as I could tell, for the Beaches there was no 10 between Su and me; I was their daughter, too.
When Su and I 11  college they kept my room the same for the entire four years I attended school. Recently, Barb presented me with an insurance they _12_ when I first moved in with them and had continued to pay on for 23 years.
The Beaches knew 13  about me when they took me in – they had heard the whole story from Su.        When I was seven, my mother died and from then on my father relied on other people to _14  his kids. Before I went to live with the Beaches I had believed that life was entirely   15__ and that love was shaky and untrustworthy. I had believed that the only person who would take care of me was me.
   16  the Beaches, I would have become a bitter, cynical (愤世嫉俗的) woman. They gave me a(n) 17  that allowed me to grow and change. They kept me from being paralyzed(麻痹的) by my _18 , and they gave me the confidence to open my heart.
Now I   19 family. For me, it wasn’t the family that was there on the day I was 20  , but the one that was there for me when I was living in a Howard Johnson’s on Interstate

I believe that families are not only blood relatives, but sometimes people who show up and love you when no one else will.

In May 1977, I was living in a Howard Johnson’s motel off Interstate 10 in Houston. My dad and I 36 a room with two double beds and the bathroom was too 37 for a 15-year-old girl and her father. Dad’s second marriage was 　38 and my stepmother had 　39 us both out of the house the previous week. Dad had no 　40_ of what to do with me. And that’s when my other family 　41 .

Barbara and Roland Beach took me into their home 　42 　their only daughter, Su, my best friend, asked them to. I 　43 with them for the next seven years.

Barb washed my skirts the same as Su’s. She 　44 I had lunch money, doctors’ appointments, help with homework and nightly hugs. Barbara and Roland attended every football game where Su and I were being cheerleaders. As far as I could tell, for the Beaches there was no 45 between Su and me; I was their daughter, too.

When Su and I 46 college they kept my room the same for the entire four years I attended school. Recently, Barb presented me with an insurance they _47_ when I first moved in with them and had continued to pay on for 23 years.

The Beaches knew 48 about me when they took me in – they had heard the whole story from Su. When I was seven, my mother died and from then on my father relied on other people to _49 his kids. Before I went to live with the Beaches I had believed that life was entirely 　50__ and that love was shaky and untrustworthy. I had believed that the only person who would take care of me was me.

51 the Beaches, I would have become a bitter, cynical (愤世嫉俗的) woman. They gave me a(n) 52 that allowed me to grow and change. They kept me from being paralyzed(麻痹的) by my _53 , and they gave me the confidence to open my heart.

Now I 　54 family. For me, it wasn’t the family that was there on the day I was 55 , but the one that was there for me when I was living in a Howard Johnson’s on Interstate 10.

36. A. lived B. shared C. possessed D. bought

37. A. cheap B. noisy C. small D. limited

38. A. in trouble B. in sight C. in place D. in parts

39. A. struck B. took C. kicked D. knocked

40. A. plan B. choice C. chance D. idea

41. A. looked after B. showed up C. turned over D. came across

42. A. so B. because C. until D. while

43. A. worked B. traveled C. lived D. learned

44. A. worked out B. called up C. watched out D. made sure

45. A. change B. problem C. conflict D. difference

46. A. set off B. left for C. entered into D.admitted into

47. A. paid B. bought C. had D. owned

48. A. all B. little C. something D. nothing

49. A. supply B. teach C. encourage D. raise

50. A. different B. unfair C. easy D. hopeful

51. A. Thanks to B. In spite of C. Except for D. But for

52. A. home B. house C. ability D. lesson

53. A. choice B. failure C. past D. present

54. A. doubt about B. call on C. center on D. believe in

55. A. born B. accepted C. educated D. deserted

“Long time no see” is a very interesting sentence. When I first read this sentence in an American friend’s e-mail, I laughed. I thought it was a perfect ___36___ of Chinglish.

  Obviously, it is a word―for―word literal translation of the Chinese greeting with ___37___ English grammar and structure. Later on, my friend told me that it is a standard American ___38____. I was too amazed to believe her. Her words could not ___39___ me at all. So I did a ____40___ on www.google.com. To my surprise, there are over 60 thousand web pages ___41___ “Long time no see”. This sentence has been ____42___ used in e-mails, letters, newspapers, books, and all other possible places. Though it is ____43____ informal, it is part of the language that Americans use daily. ____44___, if you type this phrase in Microsoft Word, the ____45___ will tell you that the grammar needs to be corrected.

   Nobody knows the ___46___ of this sentence. Some people believe that it comes from Charlie Chan movies. In the 1930s, Hollywood moviemakers successfully ____47___ a world famous Chinese detective named Charlie Chan on the wide screens. Detective Chan liked to teach Americans Chinese wisdom____48___ quoting Confucius (). “Long time no see” was his trademark. Soon after the first Charlie Chan movie was released, “long time no see” became a (n) ____49___ phrase in the real world ____50___ the popularity of these movies.

   Some people ____51___ America to a huge melting pot. All kinds of cultures are ____52___ in the pot, so the color and taste of them all is ____53___. Chinese Americans, though a minority ethnic group in the United States, also ____54___ to these changes! Language is usually the first thing to be ____55___ in the melting pot.