【推荐2】You never know what nature has prepared for you as a gift. Years ago, when walking alone on a beach in remote southwest Florida, I was so _______ to hear splashes（水溅声）coming from the water. As I walked in the _______ of the sounds, I saw a manatee(海牛)show its head out of the water, _______ a great snuffling(带鼻音的) breath. It seemed that it was in _______ and trying to get out of it.

I’d never seen a _______ like this before. I wanted to ask for help, but there was no one _______. So I went into the shallow water and went toward the animal. I came_______ enough to make out the manatee. Then, a second manatee, much smaller, appeared beside it._______, the other manatees were also moving toward me. Soon I was _______ by several manatees. I could clearly see the larger manatee ________ the little one up with her flipper(鳍状肢) and pushed it to the surface beside me.

As the two slipped underwater, two other manatees moved up from behind, one on either side, ________ gently against my body as they swam past. They circled and ________ the action, this time ________ by the mother and her baby. I held my hand out touching their back as they passed me. Since they obviously enjoyed touching me, I began ________ each of them as they swam by.

I stood there enjoying the scene, ________ to move, until finally the rising tide ________ me back to the shore. Later I knew exactly what took place that morning. The manatees involved me in their celebration of a birth and I was welcome to meet the ________ member of their family.

During that unexpected scene, I felt more involved in the rhythms of ________ on our earth than ever. Each year, I head for that ________ for a quiet little birthday picnic on the shore. After all, you never know who might ________ up for your party.

【推荐3】People believe that having pets is overall a good thing for children. But does this belief hold up to _______? The new field of human-animal interaction aims to find out.

Ten years ago, when psychologist Joan Smith reviewed the literature on child-animal relationships, she reported that interacting with animals led young children to better understand biology than pet-less children. Kindergartners who had cared for goldfish were more _______ when responding to questions like “Does a goldfish have a heart?” They also more easily _______ biological information from one species to another, inferring that baby frogs get bigger just like goldfish do. She also reports that those kids who turned to their pets for emotional support were less _______ than these who didn’t.

The past ten years have seen some advances, but literature on the topic is still rather _______. A recent paper by researcher Meg Brown at Lakeside University _______ some important information to the discussion.

She turned to a data-set that includes information from 7, 000 kids, ranging in _______ from thirteen to nineteen years. For the study, both pet owning and other types of _______ activities, like horseback riding, were considered as human-animal interaction experience.

She found that adolescents with animal experience were more likely to see themselves as important _______ to their communities, such as doing community service. She also found that the higher the level of ________ between a teenager and animals, the higher they scored on measurements of emotional connectedness in general. While causality(因果关系) cannot be determined, Brown says that it is at least ________ that children and adolescents can learn about healthy social relationships from their experiences of interacting with animals. “If a connection exists between the skills required for these relationships, then it might be useful to make use of animal relationships as a way to ________ the development of social skills,” she says.

Brown is aware of the limitations of her study. It can’t reach any conclusions about the causal role of animals in kids’ lives, and it’s limited to ________ nationwide. Besides, the study was not designed to ________ any potential negative effects of human-animal interaction experiences. Some other studies, for example, have shown that pet owners have higher levels of ________, like depression, than non-pet owners.

【推荐1】Many animals move from one place to another at certain times of the year. This _________ movement is called migration. They migrate to find food, _________ , or in search of warmer weather. One of the most _________ migrations in nature is that of the North American monarch butterfly.

Every autumn, millions of these beautiful insects with fine black and orange wings _________ a long and difficult journey. Somehow they manage to travel around 4,000 kilometres south and find their way to California or Mexico. However, until recently no one _________ how they did this.

A team of scientists led by Professor Eli Shlizerman at the University of Washington has now found the answer. They have found out that the monarch is able to _________ the time of day. It uses its eyes to measure the _________ of the sun. These two pieces of _________ — the time of day and the point where the sun is in the sky — allow the butterfly to _________ the way to go. ____________ , it manages to reach the places where it will spend the winter.

The ____________ to the mystery of the monarch’s amazing ability comes at a time when it is in serious trouble. Its population has ____________ by as much as 90 per cent in the last few years. Sadly, human ____________ is the main reason why the number of monarch butterflies is falling. In many of the places where the butterfly can be found, people are ____________ the natural environment. They ____________ trees and use chemicals that kill the plants that monarch caterpillars eat.

The ____________ on the monarch’s behaviour has however led to a greater awareness of this ____________ . People have been working together to ____________ its migration and make sure that there are enough plants for it to ____________ . If this works, there may come a time when the number of monarch butterflies increases once again, The more we know about this lovely creature, the greater the chance it will ____________ and keep its place in the natural world for a long time to come.

【推荐3】One of Asia’s best-known tourist attractions is taking a major stand for animals.

Following the____from animal activist groups, Apsara, the management authority for the Angkor Archaeological Park in Siem Reap, Cambodia announced in June 2019 it would____   elephant rides in early 2020. Now, the process has already_____.

Local outlet the Khmer Times reports that on November 15, two of the 14 elephants______ at the park, site of the______Angkor Wat temple, have been _____to the nearby Bos Thom community____ . Long Kosal, an Apsara press representative, told the Khmer Times that the remaining dozen_____would be relocated to the same forest by “early next year.” “The elephant is a big animal, but it is also_____and can be hurt easily. We don’t want to see the animals being used for tourism ____anymore,” Kosal said. “We want them to live in their natural surroundings.”

In 2016, an elephant named Sambo died at Angkor, drawing worldwide_____. Her death was_____a combination of heat stroke and_____from ferrying so many human beings around. Two years later, the World Wildlife Fund_____an in-depth report on the present situation of the Asian elephant, noting that the species ___had declined by 50% in just three generations.

According to Angkor Enterprise, which manages park admissions, the UNESCO-listed site is     ____a decline in tourist numbers. Its ____report says 1.8 million foreign tourists____   passes to the temple complex from January to September—a 13.7% decline over the same 10-month period in 2018. While there‟s no predicting whether Cambodia‟s ban on Angkor elephant rides will ___visitor numbers, it comes at a time when more and more_____   and tourism organizations around the world have moved to eliminate animal-related attractions.

【推荐1】I had offered to watch my 3- year-old daughter, Mary, so that my wife could go out with a friend. I was getting some work done _____ Mary appeared to be having a good time in the other room. But suddenly it got a little too ____ and I shouted out, “ What are you doing, Mary?” No response. I _____my question and heard her say, “ Oh… nothing.”   Nothing?   I was eager to know what “nothing” ___?

I got up from my desk quickly and ____ out into the living room, then I told her to turn around. She _____. I pulled out my big, mean, authoritative Daddy ___ , “ Young lady, I told you to turn around!”

___ , she turned toward me. In her   ____   was what was left of my wife’s new lipstick（口红）. And every square inch of her face was ____ with the colour of bright red!

As she looked up at me with ___ eyes, lips trembling. It was just a matter of my picking out which old______I was going to use on her so that she would know what a ____ girl she had been. But before I could let loose, I ____ at the sweatshirt my wife had put on her only an hour before. In big ____ it said, “I AM A PERFECT LITTLE ANGEL!”   I looked back up into her tearful eyes and _____ seeing a bad girl who didn’t listen, I saw a child of God… a ____ little angel full of worth, value and a wonderful nature.

“Sweat-heart, you ____ beautiful! Let’s take a ____ so Mommy can see how special you look.” I took the picture and thanked God that I didn’t ____ the opportunity to make sure what a perfect little angel he had given me.

【推荐2】New Distractions (使人分心的事)

Madeline’s family vacation to the beach was usually the highlight of her summer. This year, however, her parents announced a new _____ no phones allowed for the entire week. “No distractions,” they said. “But my friends will be _____ updates,” Madeline protested. “They’ll have to _____,” her mom said. “What if something bad happens?” Madeline changed her _____ Her mom shook her head as she opened a drawer. Madeline saw that her parents’ phones were already in it. Madeline had to _____ her phone in, too. The drive to the beach house took most of the day. That night after dinner, Madeline wandered into the kitchen, where her father was _____ dishes. “Still hungry?” he asked. “No,” she answered. Then she gave him a _____ look and said in her sweetest voice, “Couldn’t I have my phone back? Just so I can tell everyone what a(n) _____ time I’m having?” “Can’t,” he said. “It’s not here. Remember? _____ out the bookcase in the living room,” he suggested. “Might find something you like.” She walked into the living room and spotted a jigsaw puzzle (拼图玩具) on the bookcase. She took it, put the pieces on the table, and began to _____ them. After what seemed like minutes, she looked up. It was past ten o'clock. She had been _____ for almost two hours! The puzzle was less than half done. It would have been nice to _____ a picture of the puzzle with   her friends, she thought. The next morning, a golden sun was rising over the blue ocean. The sky was cloudless. The scene _____ Madeline of a photo that Brandi had shared. Her friends had oohed and ahhed over it. This view was even better. It would leave everyone _____ Madeline’s hand _____ to the bedside   table, but there was nothing there.

That evening, Madeline lost herself in the jigsaw puzzle again. She felt a little excited every time the shapes _____. Soon, all that were left were a few gaps. She quickly put the remaining pieces into place. The puzzle was _____.

She stepped back to _____ the finished puzzle. The picture showed an old painting of several farmhands working in a brown field and there was a giant rainbow arching across the sky.

Madeline enjoyed the puzzle for a few minutes, trying to _____ the image in her mind. Then, she quietly started taking it _____. That, she thought, was just for me.

【推荐3】As I walked through a parking lot on a cold night, I saw a homeless man. He was settling in to ________ against the wall surrounding a trash bin. Though I knew as a woman, it was ________ for me to ask g strange man if he needed ________, I turned and walked back.

“Sir,” I began, “I live over there.” I pointed to my complex and ________ that the police officer in the community said they would try to help the homeless find ________ if we called. I asked if it was okay to ________ the police, and he said that it was. ________ I do not carry a cellphone, I ________ a call at a nearby business. I was afraid the police would pass by and not see him. I did not want him to be ________. When I returned, I asked if it was okay for me to ________ with him. Again, he calmly ________. He then asked, “Do you think they’ll find me an apartment?”

“I do believe so” is my ________ to him. I did not have any money or food with me—________ .two water bottles. I smiled, pulled out one of the water bottles and ________ it to him. He took the bottle and then sat up, as if he wanted to respect the ________ I made. He thought for a moment and then began drinking small sips of the water.

When the officers arrived, they ________ me that he would have housing and even thanked me. To my ________, I was unwilling to leave the man. I realized an unexpected ________ was born. It was the calm man whose name I never knew that ________ me that though there will always be people who are better able to do ________, sometimes you must stop because you are the one who is there.