It was December 30th. Anna and Alex were helping Mom make banana cakes. They cut up the ________, put the eggs and sugar in the flour(面粉), poured the milk in and mixed them all up.

When they were almost done, Anna asked, “Mom, why are we making so many ________?” “I want to take some over to Mrs. Brown across the street,” said Mom. “Her husband died of a serious illness a few days ago. She only has her dog Wangwang in the house.”

Mom put the cakes in the oven(烤箱) and the children helped ________ the mess. The cakes were finally done. They all waited ________ until the cakes cooled down. Then they put some on a plate and walked to the opposite house.

When Mrs. Brown opened the door, Anna said, “Mrs. Brown, we have brought you some banana cakes.” “Thank you. ________ smell delicious,” Mrs. Brown said, “Wangwang and I are feeling a little ________ these days. It’s kind of you to come.”

“Would you like to ________ us tomorrow for New Year’s dinner? Take Wangwang, too.” asked Mom. “Well, I’m not sure,” said Mrs. Brown. “Please say yes,” said Alex. “Come to our house, ________ it will be great fun,” said Anna.

Anna was ________. They never had such a pleasant dinner. Mrs. Brown thanked them for inviting Wangwang and her, saying she felt better. ________ was doubled when shared.

Darrius was born with three fingers on his right hand and one on his left hand. He had to work hard to do things that were easy for others. Every time his classmates tried to help, he would say, “Thanks, but I can do it myself.”

When Darrius was 10, he told his father that he liked piano music very much. “It’s too bad you can’t play,” his father said. But the boy took that as a challenge(挑战). “I will show people that I can,” he said to himself.

Darrius’s favourite piano music is River Flows in You by Yiruma, a Korean musician. It took Darrius a year to learn it. “I have to come up with my own way with only 4 fingers,” he said. When he succeeded, he felt so proud. Later he was lucky enough to play the music together with Yiruma at a famous concert hall! Yiruma encouraged Darrius to follow his dream of playing his own music. Darrius has made it. And his music is popular today.

“I may have a disability,” he says, “but I don’t let it hold me back from anything.”

When Ariel rode her bike to the Wildlife Park, she planned to go hiking and bird-watching. Suddenly she saw a swan(天鹅) in the grass. Ariel had worked at the Wild Bird Aid(援助) Center, so she knew that swans can be fierce(凶猛的). But as she got close to this one, it didn’t move.

She knew that the bird needed help. Ariel covered her jacket over the bird’s head to keep it calm, carefully picked it up, and held it in her arms. She decided to send it to the aid center. But the center was very far. She didn’t know how to carry the swan there. Luckily, some strangers took them to a nearby subway station by car.

On the subway, Ariel called the center on the way, and Higginbotham, an animal-care manager, met her at the subway station and drove them to the center. There, doctors found that the swan was poisoned(中毒).

The swan was carefully treated at the center. People all expected good news from her. But sadly, she died two months later, because of too much poison in her body.

“It’s a sad story, but the real story is just how far some people would go to save swan in the big city. In all, Ariel travelled two hours,” says Higginbotham. “That’s the spirit we want in everyone.”

A．	B．
C．	D．