【推荐1】I became a gardener when I was twelve. My early _________ of gardening may not have originated from my love for nature. It was to _________ my parents.

At that time, we had a big yard in which a beautiful maple tree stood. But my mother often looked with _________at this work of natural art. Those golden leaves seemed like tons of rubbish to her, “something else to _________!” Seeing the neighbors busy with gardening, my father ever thought it a waste of time.

At that age, I always did something _________ to whatever my parents did! If gardening were something they found _________ , I would plant a garden!

I planted some lily (百合花) seeds in the yard. But they failed to _________ to sunflower seeds and roses. Wild _________ joy, I found the first rose bloom (开花). One by one, the flowers bloomed their heads off. _________, I was touched by this land of wonder. I kept on planting my garden and continued to enjoy the pleasure gardening. Plants make such good companions: they breathe, they bloom, they __________ to care and love.

Today I become known as Mrs. Greenthumbs, and now I could say it is my affection for nature that makes me a real gardener.

【推荐3】Mary, 16, was suffering from cancer. As a father, Mitchell always stayed home to care for her. He said the _________left them financially worse off. Then a group called Growing Hope   _______in with $1,800 to help with his living costs.

_______, he wanted to pay it back. In his youth, he had been a _________. So at age 40, Mitchell took up the _________again, participating in two fights in Fairfax. During this time, he   _________ his daughter. And for six months he did little but mourn.

One day, Mitchell _________ a Mark Twain quote —The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you _______ why. “After I read that quote, I was going to spend the rest of my life helping kids with cancer and their families,” he said.

Mitchell thought of creating a foundation, yet boxing did not seem_______any more for fundraising due to his age. Then he found that ________ could be a source to raise money. In the Corps Marathon he cut a striking figure on the course. ________ by this success, he set his sight higher. He __________ each of the miles of the race to a different child with cancer, and he carried their________ with him. Years after his daughter’s death, Mitchell now________ up in the morning knowing his________.

【推荐2】Last month I took my son Tom to see his grandparents in the countryside. When we arrived, my father and mother were so ________ to see us.

At lunch table, Tom told me proudly, “Dad, in the yard, our dog ran after a hen. Finally the hen was ________ to a corner. The ________ hen, when she found no other way out, ________flew up to the roof and escaped successfully. Dad, why can a hen fly?" I ________ for a while and said, "Maybe because of love, It is the love that ________ her inner power and she flies!" He seemed to have ________.

Last weekend we visited Tom's grandparents again. I heard Tom ________ from the yard," Dad! The dog is running after the chicken!" I ran out of the house ________. The hen ran to a group of ________followed by the dog. The hen stopped and turned around suddenly and________the dog angrily, with her two wings ________ her children.

I ran fast and ________ between the dog and the hen, shouting at the dog to drive it away." Dad, why didn't the hen fly away? She knows she can't ________ the dog." asked Tom. I thought for a while and said, "Maybe because of love, the love to her ________ more than her own life." Tom thought for a long time and nodded.

In fact, in our life, we will do the same as the hen did.

【推荐3】For a herder (放牧人) in Africa, the hardest part of the job is searching for cattle lost in the bush. But for Andrew, a herder at a farm in Zimbabwe, it’s not a_________. Once he_________Toro, he knows the rest of the herd is nearby. That’s because Toro isn’t an ordinary member of the herd. He’s a giraffe. In_________weather, cattle rest in the shade under his belly to keep cool. And because of his height, Toro can spot lions long before they come close to the herd.

Toro’s_________situation came about after his mother was killed by lions. Toro survived the attack, but he was left with no one to protect him or give him milk. About two days later, some herders spotted and rescued him. With the_________of the Department of Wildlife, the herders moved Toro to Andrew’s farm. Since giraffes and cattle are both plant-eating animals that live in_________, their behaviors are much the same. Toro was accepted into the herd and_________among the cattle as they ate grass.

Toro doesn’t always behave like the other members of his new herd. Like many kinds of animals, cattle_________leadership. Standing more than 13 feet tall, Toro is more than three times taller than the_________bull, but Toro__________tries to be “the boss”. “He is very used to their __________,” Andrew said. When the herd enters the kraal (家畜栏), the cows and bulls__________each other. “But thanks to his height, Toro does not need to join the__________,” said Andrew.

When asked if Toro would ever be__________to the wild, Munetsi, an officer of the Department of Wildlife said no. “In the wild, he would find it difficult to be accepted into another herd or defend himself from being killed by other animals,” he added. “He seems very much at home and is respected by the__________.”