Families are becoming smaller in size around the world.In many countries，families are having（1）f

ewer

ewer

than two children.
   Smaller families mean many children now group up with fewer cousins.This is hard to（2）i

magine

magine

，as I come from a large extended family with 23 cousins on one side and 25 in the other.
   Sometimes when I can't sleep，I test my mental acuity （敏感度） by trying to name all my relatives.Then in the morning I get up and wonder if I should make an appointment with a doctor.
   Of course，almost all of those cousins have（3）m

arried

arried

and had children and now their children are having children.
   With extended families growing so large and spreading so far，get-togethers have nearly become a thing of the past.
   One of the last gathering on my father's side was at the home of a cousin （4）w

ho

ho

has a place in the country on the top of a hill.A tent was set up with long tables creaking （咯吱作響） under the （5）w

eight

eight

of fried chicken，potato salad and chocolate cake.A fishing hole waited nearby for the kids.Vehicles poured in from every （6）d

irection

irection

，parking on the drive，the grass，wherever they could find a spot.There are talking，laughing and joking and food.
   While such gathering had grown infrequent，we were all happy to be together.
   Although some of us had not seen one （7）a

nother

nother

since so-and-so's wedding or somebody's father's funeral，most people were still easy to recognize.Three sisters who sat together all had the same beautiful skin their mother had.
   The cousin with bright blue eyes who raced her horse as a teenager （8）s

till

till

had bright blue eyes.An older cousin who gave me piano lesson when I was young and naughty （9）s

eemed

eemed

to have forgiven me.We share a gene pool （基因庫） of people who work hard and laugh often.
   It was very dark when the last set of taillights （尾燈） disappeared into the night.As we gathered our things，said our goodbyes and （10）p

repared

repared

to leave，a cousin called to me saying， "Don't forget where you come from."
   I never could，and I'd never.