At nine o’clock（……点钟）/əˈklɒk/ on Saturday, Mia's family began to get ready for（为……做好准备）/gɪt ˈrɛdi fər/ her grandmother（祖母；外祖母）/ˈgrændˌməðər/'s birthday（生日）/ˈbərθˌdeɪ/ party（聚会）/ˈpɑrti/. Her uncle（叔伯舅姨父）/ˈəŋkəl/ and his（你好）/haɪ/ wife（妻子）/waɪf/ would arrive with their baby（婴儿）/ˈbeɪbi/ at noon. The little girl（女孩）/gərl/ was asleep（睡着的）/əsˈlip/, so everyone worked quietly. Mia chose a pink balloon（气球）/bəˈlun/, a candle（蜡烛）/ˈkændəl/, and a lovely（可爱的）/ˈləvli/ doll（玩偶）/dɑl/ as a gift（礼物）/gɪft/. Leo offered to help with（帮助做……）/hɛlp wɪθ/ each chore（家务）/ʧɔr/ while their parents did the heavier（更重的）/ˈhɛviər/ housework（家务劳动）/ˈhaʊsˌwərk/.

The living room was not ready. A coat lay across the sofa（沙发）/ˈsoʊfə/, and Christmas（圣诞节）/ˈkrɪsməs/ paper from an old box was everywhere. Mia put away（收好）/pʊt əˈweɪ/ the paper, helped Leo take out（取出；带出去）/teɪk aʊt/ the baby bath（洗澡）/bæθ/, and helped him hang（悬挂）/hæŋ/ the balloons. Their mother smiled and said, “Let us keep the table clear. Your grandmother should not have to do everyday（日常的）/ˈɛvriˈdeɪ/ work at her own party.”

A family album（相册）/ˈælbəm/ caused one small problem. Mia wanted a page about every relative（亲戚）/ˈrɛlətɪv/, but two names were missing. One photograph（照片）/ˈfoʊtəˌgræf/ showed a young（年轻的）/jəŋ/ couple（夫妻；一对）/ˈkəpəl/ before they married（结婚）/ˈmɛri/. Another showed Grandmother holding Mia's cousin（堂（表）兄弟姐妹）/ˈkəzən/ after his birth（出生）/bərθ/. “Whose photograph is this, hers（她的）/hərz/ or Aunt May's?” Leo asked. Mia checked the date and wrote（写下）/roʊt/, "Dear（亲爱的）/dɪr/ Grandmother, congratulations（祝贺）/kənˌgræʧəˈleɪʃən/ and much love（爱）/ləv/ from all of us."

By eleven, the room looked nice（美好的）/nis/. Mia herself（她自己）/hərˈsɛlf/ placed a rose beside the album. Her father told（告诉）/toʊld/ a funny（有趣的）/ˈfəni/ joke（笑话）/ʤoʊk/ about his luck（运气）/lək/ as a kid（孩子）/kɪd/, but Mother reminded her husband（丈夫）/ˈhəzbənd/ to finish the dining chairs. Soon a lady（女士）/ˈleɪdi/ at the door called, “Hi, is this the birthday house?” It was their cousin, followed by an uncle, his wife, and the sleepy（困倦的）/sˈlipi/ baby.

The guests gave Grandmother a kiss（亲吻）/kɪs/ and their best wishes（祝愿）/wɪʃ/. She laughed at the album and called it wonderful（精彩的）/ˈwəndərfəl/. No one was a madam（女士）/ˈmædəm/ or a formal（正式的）/ˈfɔrməl/ guest here; everyone was family. After they celebrated（庆祝）/ˈsɛləˌbreɪt/, the baby woke and waved goodbye（再见）/ˌgʊdˈbaɪ/ to sleep. Mia felt（感觉到）/fɛlt/ that a good party did not need an expensive gift. People could spend time（花时间）/spɛnd taɪm/ at home（在家）/æt hoʊm/ with those they loved, and that was enough.