On a hot and wet summer day, Nura and her dad found a place to cool off at the city museum. Suddenly the lights went out, leaving the room completely ________.

“Dad, what’s going on?” Nura called out loudly.

“Don’t worry. The lights might come back on soon.” Dad said ________ to comfort (安慰) Nura. In a moment, a worker waved the flashlight at them and said, “Excuse me, sir. There is a power cut (停电) across the city. We have to ________ the museum. I will walk you to the gate.”

Nura and her dad stopped at their favorite shop for ice cream. The shop owner refused when Nura’s dad tried to _________. “Forget about it,” he said, “It will all be soup soon, anyway!”

After Nura and her dad arrived home, they found the neighbors ________ their apartments. Everyone shared ice water, talking and laughing about the hot weather.

“I can’t ________ the heat in my room.” Mrs. Fong said, fanning herself with a newspaper.

A woman who lived downstairs was standing in the doorway. “If the power doesn’t come on soon, I’ll have to ________ all the food,” she said.

“The meat in the ________ will go bad without power,” said Nura’s dad. “Let’s take out the grill (烤架) to cook it.”

“I’ll see what I have,” the woman in the doorway said. “I’ll make sure to bring enough for everyone.”

As they had their _________, night fell over the city. The air was thick and hot, but Nura didn’t mind anymore. She had enjoyed ________ ice cream, and she had shared a meal with her neighbors. She smiled to herself and continued to watch the stars.

I dreamed of becoming an artist when I was a little girl. My mom knew this and she gave me some crayons. They quickly became my treasure.

Unfortunately, my little sister Emily also loved them. For three days, she would ask to play with my crayons. One day before she got up, I kept my crayons in my room. Then I went to school, thinking that she wouldn’t enter my room.

When I got home, I couldn’t find my crayons. My rainbow-colored treasures were missing!

I searched the house for Emily, and found her in the basement (地下室). She was drawing something with my crayons. I shouted at her, grabbed (抢夺) the crayons and ran back up to my room, shutting the door with a loud noise. I sat there for at least half an hour.

Later, I heard Emily’s footsteps coming up the stairs. I noticed a folded piece of paper being pushed under the door.

Once it reached my side of the door, I picked it up. As I read the words on the cover, my anger disappeared. Tears began to well up in my eyes. On the paper were the words “Best Sister”. Inside was a picture Emily had drawn of herself, which was a birthday gift for me.

My sister used my crayons to make something special for me. I realized that I had owned the greatest treasure in the world.

I opened the door, reached out to Emily and gave her a big hug.

Elephants are the largest of all land animals. However, there are not many of them left in the world. Today, the earth is home to three kinds of elephants, the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant and the Asian elephant. World Elephant Day falls on August 12 each year.     33    

In Yunnan, China, a monitoring (监控) system keeps an eye on elephants with the help of cameras and drones (无人机). Elephant observers (观察员) are also important.     34     They also pay attention to the animals’ health. When an elephant gets hurt, elephant doctors will come to help.

    35     Sometimes, they visit villages and eat corn, rice and fruit. Although people can get money from the government for their losses, it’s still a big problem. In recent years, China set up many “elephant canteens (食堂)” in different places. There, people plant food that elephants love to eat.

Thanks to China’s hard work, the number of elephants in China rose up to about 300 by the end of 2021.     36     Chinese government is now building a national park for elephants. China has made a great home for these big friends!

Matt, a seven-year-old boy, was interested after seeing the wooden box on the sidewalk. His friend Lisa told him that it was called “Little Library”. People built boxes and put books in them. Other people would take books to read and add books they had already read.

The idea excited Matt and he decided to make his own so that kids could trade books. But Lisa worried that kids might not see it. Matt wanted to have a try, anyway. Lisa agreed and went for tools, while Matt ran to collect books.

With the help of Matt’s father, they built a wooden box. They put a door on it and placed their small library in front of the yard. Matt put two books in the box and said, “Now I just have to wait.”

Matt ran out three times that day to check. But each time, his books were untouched. The next days, Matt kept checking the box, but his books were still there.

“No kids saw it, and no one wants to trade books,” Matt said in a low voice.

The next two days, Matt gave up checking the box. Lisa noticed his low spirits and encouraged him to take a look in case someone decided to trade.

They went to the box and Lisa opened the small door. There lied two new books and Matt’s books were gone! There was a card in the box, too. “Dear friend, thanks for your books, and I hope you like mine,” it said.