English practice 31
The following paragraphs may or may not be in the most logical order. Each paragraph is numbered in brackets, and question 14 will ask you to choose where Paragraph 5 should most logically be placed.
A Window into History
[1]
One very long summer during high school, my mom volunteered me to help Grandpa research our family tree. Great, I thought, imagining hours spent pawing through dusty, rotting boxes and listening to boring stories about people I didn't know.1 "You'll be surprised," my mom promised. "Family histories can be very interesting."
[2]
In truth, Grandpa didn't want to limit my work to just research. Hoping to also preserve2 our family memories. He'd discovered a computer program that helps digitally scan old pictures, and letters3 to preserve their contents before they crumble from old age. Grandpa wanted me to help him connect the scanner and set up the computer program. He could type documents and send emails, but he had4 never used a scanner.
[3]
[1] Instead of sorting through dusty boxes as I had imagined, we spent a lot of time in my grandpa's bright, tidy computer room. [2] The scanner hummed happily, turning my relatives precious memories5 into permanent digital images. [3]?A scanner is a device which makes electronic copies of actual items. [4] I worked happily while Grandpa shared stories that turned out not to be boring at all. 
[4]
Perusing through her7 belongings, I felt I was opening a window into the world of my relatives, a world long since gone. Grandpa showed me a bundle of yellowed letters he had send8 to Grandma from the front lines of World War II, and I could almost smell the gunpowder. I turned the brittle pages of my great-grandmother's recipe book and could envision her sitting in her immaculate kitchen penning9 meticulously every entry. All of the people who had been merely names to me now had faces to match and lives lived.
[5]
I asked Grandpa to tell the story behind every picture and letter we scanned. Besides, the10 stories helped me not only understand but also relate to my relatives. Like me, they had celebrated achievements, overcome failures, pulled silly pranks, played sports, and,11 attended concerts. I became so hungry for more information that Grandpa needed additional props to keep me satisfied. He showed me a chest filled with random stuff, all covered in dust. 
[6]
As the new school year approached, Grandpa admitted, "I probably could have done this project myself. I just wanted someone to share it with." I can't thank him enough for sharing the experience and making me appreciate the family members who have made me the person I am. I will cherish family memories and mementoes and hope that someday, I will be able to pass them down to my own grandchildren.13