【推荐1】Soon the fire was burning bright, and everyone’s spirits lifted. The kids _________ when Dad handed them each a piece of candy, and Mrs. Clark looked on with a(n) _________ that probably hadn’t crossed her face since her husband died last year.

“God bless you,” she said. Dad _________ that everyone try on the shoes before we left. I was _________ when they all fit, and I wondered _________ he had known what sizes to get. Dad _________ each of the kids in his big arms and gave them a hug. They became attached to(依恋)him and didn’t want us to _________.

At the door, Dad invited Mrs. Clark and the children _________ for Christmas dinner the next day. With a look of deep _________, Mrs. Clark nodded.

On the way back home, Dad explained that he and Mom had ____________ money here and there all year long to buy me a dress for Christmas. But yesterday, when he had seen little Jake with his feet ____________ in gunnysacks(黄麻袋),Dad knew what he had to do. “I ____________ that money on some shoes and a little candy for those children. I hope you understand,” he said.

I understood very ____________. My father had given me a gift much ____________ than a dress. He gave me the look on Mrs. Clark’s face, the smiles of her three children, and the best Christmas ____________ of my life.

【推荐2】April Fool’s Day

April Fool’s Day is a western festival. No one _______ exactly when and how April Fool’s Day began. However, there are some stories about _______ it came into being. One story _______ like this: in the sixteenth century France, the start of the new year was on April first. It was celebrated in much the same way _______ it is today with parties and dancing into the late hours of the night.

Then in 1562, Pope (教皇) Gregory introduced a new calendar for the Christian world, and the new year fell on January first. There were some people, _______， who hadn’t heard or didn’t believe the _______ in the date, so they _______ to celebrate New Year’s Day on April first. Others played tricks on them and called them “April fools”. They tried to make them believe that something false was _______. In France today, April first is called “April Fish”. French children fool their friends by taping a paper fish to their friends’ _______. When the “young fool” ________ this trick, the prankster (恶作剧者) shouts “April Fish!”

Today Americans play small tricks on friends and strangers alike on the first of April. One ________ trick on April Fool’s Day is pointing down to a friend’s shoe and saying, “Your shoelace is untied.” School children might tell a classmate that school has been canceled (取消). ________ the trick is, if you fail for the joke the prankster shouts “April Fool!”

In Britain today, on the first of April, even ________ newspapers, radio and TV programs tell big lies. You might read a science ________ showing that doctors have found a way to cure (治愈) AIDS, or you would probably listen to a piece of news about a UFO ________ on an island.

【推荐3】I’d never been crazy about Christmas. My husband John and the kids had always done their best to infuse(使充满) me with the holiday ___ , but this Christmas their efforts would be especially ___ .

My salary had reduced and John’s government salary was _______, too. There wasn’t much money to go around, and _______ were just impossible. John was _______ a brave face as usual. But for me our financial hardship brought back ___   memories of my childhood.

“I got a Make and Bake set for Christmas!” one girl shouted. “I got clothes!” another girl said. “What did you get, Lori?” someone asked. “So many presents.” I lied. My parents gave me plenty of love, but love was the ____     thing I had. Mom and Dad always had trouble making ends meet. I’d long since ____   Christmas just wasn’t for me.

John was ______ the tree for just the right branch to ______ the red glass bulb with the “Merry Christmas” writing. It was a precious _______ of his childhood, and he took great pleasure in hanging it on our tree every year. A few days earlier, the tree _______ and several ornaments( 装 饰 物 ) broke, but this one was unique because of the memories it held for him. It was fine if I didn’t have any Christmas spirit, but it was a different ____ for John. He took a step back to admire the replacement I’d finally found after endless searching on foot and surfing the Internet.

I worked hard to make things right for John because I loved to see my Christmas-loving husband full of holiday joy. I _______ one of the tree lights so it shone directly on John’s beloved ornament. The words on it sparkled(闪烁). After all this time, I finally understood its ______ . Christmas was the season to show my love for my family. How could anyone not like Christmas?

【推荐1】A recent survey in the United States showed that the average family spent more money on its pets than on its children. Although rather shocking, it should not________ anyone who has seen the doggy parlors(客厅) where loved pets rest. Are Americans unique in treating their little friends in this way? No, the English, too, are ________to their pets.

This can clearly be seen when we look at pet foods, which often contain more vitamins than human food or, at least, are ________less nutritious. They certainly cost much. Last year the British public spent two hundred million pounds on pet food alone,________ veterinary(兽医的) bills or animal furniture. It is difficult not to feel________with this when one considers what the same amount could do for victims of starvation and poverty, so it is ________ for me to get hot under the collar when I read an old man left all his money to his dog home.

There are a variety of reasons why I find the popularity of British pets ________. They cause physical problems. An example of this is New York where they have great difficulty getting rid of the mess that dogs leave on the streets. Many people find this funny, but in a number of large cities it is a major problem. Animals can cause disease, too. It is the threat of rabies (狂犬病)--- a disease with no known cure --- that has made the English government establish strict ________ on animals coming into the United Kingdom. When the Spanish government recently ________ a number of homeless dogs as protection against the same threat, English tourists immediately wrote letters to the newspapers ________ about mass murder.

Another problem is the ________ of pet owners. Most little children want a dog or a cat, and they continually pester (纠缠) their mothers and fathers until they get one. It is only when the sweet little thing has been brought home that the parents realize how much time and money must be spent on "Rover" or "Bonzo". Then they just _______ it. This brings me to my last point. Pets, which run free, are often not ________at all. English farmers lose hundreds of sheep a year, killed by someone's pet and you must have read of children being hurt by some pets of their own.

________, I would only suggest that we have got our________ wrong and that something should be done about it. In my view, it's time we stopped being sentimental about pets. We are supposed to shift the emphasis from our four-legged friends to human beings, especially those in need.

【推荐3】All our food comes directly or indirectly from soil. The soil which is dark in colour is humus（腐质土）. Humus includes plenty of useful materials_________from dead plants and waste_________from animals. Soil_________its food. If we do not_________it with any,_________will not grow well on it. Animal_________is the best food for soil, and chemical_________are good, too. A change of crop every year in the same soil will also do_________.

When soil is too_________,winds blow it away, and the land will soon look like a_________. Farmers can prevent this_________growing trees. This will weaken the_________of the wind. After a heavy rain. the_________carries the humus down to the river. This often happens________the fields are on the hillsides. Farmers can level their fields and make them_________.

At the beginning of the 21st_________there have been about 7,000_________people on earth. We now ought to_______every bit of the soil._________,where will such a large_________grow their food?