It was Friday, the thirty-⁠first of May, and it was Shirley’s birthday, her twentieth birthday. Shirley could 30 ______ believe it, but it was true. And she suddenly, and wonderfully, felt quite grown up, very grown up, in fact. Last night her father had 31 ______ her a lovely young lady, and she had beamed at him, hugged him, and told him she was so happy to have him and Alice, have them as her parents. There was no one luckier than she was; Shirley believed that with all her 32 ______.

Last night, over dinner, Alice and Victor praised her and were talking much about how proud they were of her and what she had become, and she had experienced an enormous rush of love and gratitude toward them. Her father had added that she had a wonderful life ahead of her, and she believed him. He always 33 ______ her the truth.

Her dream of going to Cambridge had come true and for the past year she had been living her childhood dream, 34 ______ lectures. She 35 ______ every moment of living in that ancient city of shining spires, gracious quadrangles, and beautiful architecture. It was an extraordinary experience to be in that place of great learning, and she would 36 ______ it with love long after she had left. She was reading English and French history, her favourite subjects, and one day she hoped to be a historian and give lectures herself and write books.