It was Mother’s Day, the day we celebrate everything mothers are and everything we do．But I’ll 1 that Sunday in 2000 was bittersweet for me．As a single mother I 2 to think of my shortcomings－how many evenings I couldn’t spend with my children, and how many things I couldn’t 3 my waitress’ salary to buy．
But what 4 kids I had!My daughter Maria was a senior in college, and Denny was home visiting from his freshman year at Harvard University．They were 5 impolite enough to complain, but there was so much more I 6 I had done for them．I just hoped they 7 ．
As I walked into the 8 quietly to start breakfast, I was greeted by a vase 9 a dozen red roses!When had Denny possibly slipped down to leave them?But even their delicate beauty was overshadowed by the note sitting beside them, in the quick, manly 10 of an eighteen-year-old．It was about a story that happened between Denny and me long ago．It 11 ：
She took a day off from her busy 12 to take the boy to see his hero in the flesh at the stadium．It took 3.5 hours just to get there, and they had to be there early 13 he could see his hero take batting practice． 14 their arrival, she took her hard-earned money to buy an overpriced T-shirt on which was 15 his hero making a diving catch．After the game, of course he had to 16 his hero’s signature, so she stayed with the little boy 17 one in the morning…
It took me long enough to 18 it, but I finally know who the 19 hero is．Mom, I love you!
And suddenly, it was a 20 Mother’s Day, after all．
It was Mother’s Day, the day we celebrate everything mothers are and everything we do．But I’ll 1 that Sunday in 2000 was bittersweet for me．As a single mother I 2 to think of my shortcomings－how many evenings I couldn’t spend with my children, and how many things I couldn’t 3 my waitress’ salary to buy．
But what 4 kids I had!My daughter Maria was a senior in college, and Denny was home visiting from his freshman year at Harvard University．They were 5 impolite enough to complain, but there was so much more I 6 I had done for them．I just hoped they 7 ．
As I walked into the 8 quietly to start breakfast, I was greeted by a vase 9 a dozen red roses!When had Denny possibly slipped down to leave them?But even their delicate beauty was overshadowed by the note sitting beside them, in the quick, manly 10 of an eighteen-year-old．It was about a story that happened between Denny and me long ago．It 11 ：
She took a day off from her busy 12 to take the boy to see his hero in the flesh at the stadium．It took 3.5 hours just to get there, and they had to be there early 13 he could see his hero take batting practice． 14 their arrival, she took her hard-earned money to buy an overpriced T-shirt on which was 15 his hero making a diving catch．After the game, of course he had to 16 his hero’s signature, so she stayed with the little boy 17 one in the morning…
It took me long enough to 18 it, but I finally know who the 19 hero is．Mom, I love you!
And suddenly, it was a 20 Mother’s Day, after all．
Pagoda Street is a street like many others－not very 1 , not very wide, 2 wide enough for two buses 3 ．But it is a 4 street all the time, 5 during rush hours．People come and go, 6 to work．When a bus comes, the 7 at the bus stop 8 to rush and push to get 9 ．There are a lot of 10 , buses, trucks, bikes and 11 tractors．The place is noisy and 12 , and the noise of the tractors is deafening． 13 it is not so 14 when the rush hours are 15 ．Old people come out to sit 16 the door-steps and have a smoke and chat．Housewives go shopping 17 bags or baskets on their arms．When friends meet, they 18 to exchange a few words of 19 ．There are also children playing ball games．They don’t 20 the dust or the passing cars．It certainly is not a good place for ball games, but where else can they play?
It was Mother’s Day, the day we celebrate everything mothers are and everything we do．But I’ll 1 that Sunday in 2000 was bittersweet for me．As a single mother I 2 to think of my shortcomings－how many evenings I couldn’t spend with my children, and how many things I couldn’t 3 my waitress’ salary to buy．
But what 4 kids I had!My daughter Maria was a senior in college, and Denny was home visiting from his freshman year at Harvard University．They were 5 impolite enough to complain, but there was so much more I 6 I had done for them．I just hoped they 7 ．
As I walked into the 8 quietly to start breakfast, I was greeted by a vase 9 a dozen red roses!When had Denny possibly slipped down to leave them?But even their fancy beauty was overshadowed by the note sitting beside them, in the quick, manly 10 of an eighteen-year-old．It was about a story that happened between Denny and me long ago．It 11 ：
She took a day off from her busy 12 to take the boy to see his hero in the flesh at the stadium．It took 3.5 hours just to get there, and they had to be there early 13 he could see his hero take batting practice． 14 their arrival, she took her hard-earned money to buy an overpriced T-shirt on which was 15 his hero making a diving catch．After the game, of course he had to 16 his hero’s signature, so she stayed with the little boy 17 one in the morning…
It took me long enough to 18 it, but I finally know who the 19 hero is．Mom, I love you!
And suddenly, it was a 20 Mother’s Day, after all．
People have always communicated(交流)with 1 ．In the past when they couldn’t write, they used simple symbols(记号)to send their message．Some groups of North America Indians were experts 2 messages．For example, a small stone on top of a large one meant “This is the way．”If there was another small stone on the right, it meant “Turn right．”Some grass with a knot(结)meant “Danger” 3 ．
Maybe you know that in the forests of Africa, it 4 to travel from village．But drum(鼓) 5 from many kilometers away．So, some groups of Africans made their drums 6 like people．
The Incas(印加人)of South America used to send messages by typing knots in a rope．Messages have been found, but 7 can understand 8 they mean．And the Egyptians used pictures as a kind of 9 but only 10 people 11 to understand them．
Today, we also use 12 ．When we are in a car and we see a red light, we stop the car．When a mother says to her child,“Eat your cake!” the child eats the cake sometimes．The red light and the words of the mother are 13 ．And it is a 14 that the basic means of communication between people is, of course, sounds．
Maybe you know that there are more than 3000 languages in the world today．And about 13 of 15 are spoken by large groups of people．Languages of the world are both similar(相似) 16 different．They are similar because we can talk and write about the same things and they are different because we talk and write about these things in 17 ways and we use different 18 ．
It is 19 that we have to learn a second language 20 communicate with people who do not speak our language．