Mom and Dad arrived back from vacation a day earlier 【小题1】 expected. They could 【小题2】 wait to surprise the boys but found the house was in a mess with garbage all over the places. Their dog, Spot, was tired 【小题3】 hungry. But the money for dog food was gone. So they shouted at their elder son Daniel. Daniel felt angry 【小题4】 he wasn’t given a chance to tell the truth.
In fact, 【小题5】 their parents were away from home, their dog fell ill. The boys used the money to take it to the hospital and they had no time to clean the house.
Daniel shouted and ran into【小题6】 bedroom. He shut the door angrily. Daniel’s younger brother Eric advised him to explain everything to their parents. Daniel didn’t think they deserved an explanation, saying that why they didn’t ask him what happened instead of shouting at him.
Mom felt that there may be a reason 【小题7】 the house was a mess and they may be too hard on Daniel. 【小题8】 , Dad said that Daniel was too rude and should be punished.than
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(答案→)than
解析：文章讲述了父母休假回来后发现家里一片狼藉，长子似乎没有承担被嘱托的责任的故事。
【小题1】than。这句话的意思是，父母比预期时间早一天从休假返回。Than表示比较。
【小题2】 not。这句话的意思是，他们等不及要给孩子们一个惊喜。Could not wait to是固定搭配，表示等不及要做…。
【小题3】 and。这句话的意思是，他们的狗又累又饿。连词And表示并列关系。
【小题4】 because。这句话的意思是，Daniel因为自己没有机会解释事实而感到愤怒。Because的意思是因为。
【小题5】when。这句话的意思是，当父母不在家的时候，狗生病了。When表示当…时候。
【小题6】his/the/a。这句话的意思是Daniel大喊着冲进他的/那个/一间卧室。His/the/a为指示代词或冠词。
【小题7】why。这句话的意思是母亲认为房间一团糟是有原因的。A reason why是固定搭配。
【小题8】however。这句话的意思是，但父亲认为Daniel太粗鲁了，需要接受惩罚。However表示转折。