We always celebrated my Dad’s November birthday on Thanksgiving Day, even after he entered a nursing home. As years went on, these events took on a(n)   21   meaning – a traditional birthday party for Dad, and a personal   22   for all that he had done for me in my life.

When we knew that it might be Dad’s   23   birthday, the whole family decided to come together for a huge birthday celebration at the nursing home. It was a crowded party __24_all of us sitting around him. Dad was a wonderful   25   , and here was a biggest audience he’d ever had.

During a quiet moment, I announced that it was now Dad’s turn to   26   stories from us. I wanted everyone to tell Dad what we loved about him.   27  , we told stories from our hearts,   28   Dad listened with wet, flashing blue eyes. We   29   all kinds of lost memories – stories about when we were little, stories about when Dad was young and stories that are shared as family   30  . Even the littlest grandchildren couldn’t   31   to tell their grandfather why they loved him. For a man who had been kind to so many people in his life, here was our   32   to honor him.

A few months later, at Dad’s memorial service, we fully realized what we had given Dad that night. Those were the stories people normally tell at a   33  . They are told, then, full of tears, with the hope that the departed will somehow hear the outpouring of love._34_ we had given those loving   35   to Dad when he was   36  , told through laughter, accompanied by hugs and joy. I’m sure the stories and memories   37   over in his mind during his last months and days.

Words do    38  , and they are enough. We need to say them, to speak them   39   to the ones we love, for everyone else to hear. That’s the way to   40   love, and our chance to honor a person in life.

21. A. double        B. original     C. complex       D. modern

22. A. congratulation     B. thanking    C. wish          D. apology   

23. A. late       B. last       C. living   D. lost

24. A. by         B. as    C. though    D. with

25. A. writer       B. listener     C. storyteller      D. reader

26. A. listen to        B. hear of      C. make up      D. talk about

27. A. Little by little     B. Now and then  

C. All at once       D. One after another

28. A. while           B. because          C. if          D. before

29. A. regretted    B. recorded    C. recalled  D. remembered

30. A. thoughts    B. possessions   C. tales        D. treasures

31. A. afford      B. wait      C. offer          D. help

32. A. task       B. duty       C. chance       D. decision

33. A. burial     B. party      C. meeting      D. wedding

34. A. Or        B. And        C. So            D. But

35. A. kindness     B. memories     C. care         D. hugs

36. A. healthy      B. old       C. young       D. alive

37. A. rolled   B. went C. flied    D. came

38. A. benefit      B. work        C. matter           D. mean

39. A. properly     B. publicly     C. clearly      D. correctly

40.   A. give back       B. search for   C. hand over        D. fall in