1 .

Did you know that carrier pigeons can be trained to help people, too?

Carrier pigeons can help to _________ messages to people. It is common to see it in many TV plays. Write down what you want to tell on the paper and tie the paper onto the pigeon’s leg. Then the pigeon _________ with the paper. In the past, it was a faster way than sending a letter.

The next use of carrier pigeons is to save people.

From high up in the sky, special trained pigeons can find orange life jackets in the sea. Sometimes it is _________ for humans to find people lost at sea when the weather is bad. However, pigeons can fly quickly over the water to look for people.

_________ use is about “spy (侦查) pigeons”. There would be small cameras on their feet. When a pigeon flies high, the camera is able to take photos of the things below. This _________ us to see where the enemies (敌人) are and what they are doing.

So next time you see a pigeon, stop and watch it closely.

2 . On the side of the road in the Hoh Xil Nature Reserve (可可西里自然保护区) in Qinghai, you might see a fat wolf (狼). It wags the tail (摇尾巴) in front of the passing cars, hoping to get a meal.

However, the wolf was skin and bones a few months ago. It’s said that the old hungry wolf had to leave other wolves because it was not good at hunting (catching animals for food). But that all changed after a passing driver gave it some snacks to eat and put a video of it online. It made the wolf very popular, and a lot of people came to the reserve to provide it with food.

After that, the wolf started asking passing drivers for snacks. The snacks are high in sugar and salt. The wolf gets fatter and the change makes it look like a pet dog. Later, more wolves joined it.

People care about wild (野生的) animals, but their acts of feeding wild animals can be bad for both animals and themselves. It is hard for people to know if wild animals may hurt them or not, so it is better not to get close to wild animals.

5 . Pandas are not only a national treasure, but also have played an important role in China’s diplomacy (外交). The “panda diplomacy” began for the first time in Tang Dynasty (朝代), when Empress Wu Zetian sent a pair of pandas to Japanese king to show China’s friendship with Japan.

China restarted panda diplomacy in the 1950s when China sent two pandas to the Moscow Zoo. By 1982, China had given 23 pandas to nine different countries and truly helped to improve the understanding between different countries. However, most of them died. So China stopped giving away pandas in the 1980s. Instead, the pandas are lent to other countries. They would return to China after 10 years.

Why is it hard for pandas to survive (存活) in other countries? According to Xinhua, their eating habit is the main reason. Their nutrition mostly comes from bamboo shoots (竹笋). Adult pandas eat about 40 kilograms of bamboo every day. Pandas can also be very picky. How picky? Well, they refuse to eat bamboo shoots after the bamboo shoots have blossomed (开花).

Calgary Zoo in Canada said that because of COVID-19, they couldn’t provide enough fresh bamboo for pandas. This may mean that they have to send pandas back though they deeply hope these pandas continue to serve as close friends between China and Canada. “Our people do love pandas. We see it as a good way to keep connection with China. We are willing to do more to develop it,” Steven Monfort, director of the zoo, told China Daily.

6 . Susan Jones often noticed people walking with guide dogs in her city. She was always     1     (interest) in how the guide dogs do their work. She finally     2     (find) the answer when she heard about the Seeing Eye program, whose purpose is to train dogs to be guides for blind people.

Last year, Susan and her family became Seeing Eye     3     (volunteer). They adopted (收养)     4     young Seeing Eye dog. “We spent a lot of time staying with him,” explained Susan. It     5     (take) at least two years to teach Seeing Eye dogs all the skills they needed to guide a disabled person.

During the first month of life, the little dogs live     6     a normal family. When the dog is about one year old, it leaves     7     (it) home. A professional trainer and a blind person teach the dog the skills. After a long     8     difficult training period, the dog and the blind person finally team up.

Susan said there was a deep     9     (feel) between her and the little dog. “It was always hard when the time came to say goodbye,” she said. “But we knew that the little dog was going to help someone who     10     (strong) needed it. I feel good about having had a small part in giving the gift of independence to someone who cannot see.”

7 . One day an elephant walked into a forest to look for friends.

He saw a _____. “Will you be my friend?” asked the elephant. The monkey answered, “You are too big. You can not swing (荡) from _____ like me.” _____, the elephant met a frog. “Will you be my friend?” he asked. The frog said, “You are too big to jump like me.” The elephant was very _____.

The next day, the elephant saw all the _____ in the forest running for their life. The elephant asked, “What’s the matter?” The monkey cried, “There is a tiger in the forest. He’s trying to eat us all up!” The animals all _____ to hide.

The elephant decided to _____ everyone. He walked up to the tiger and said, “Please, Mr. Tiger, do not eat up these poor animals.” “Mind your business (事情)!” shouted the tiger. The elephant had no choice but to give the tiger a heavy kick (踢). The tiger ran for his life _____.

The elephant went back into the forest to tell the _____ news to everyone. All the animals ______ the elephant. They said, “You are just the right size to be our friend.”

Elephants are the largest animals on land.     1     They carry big trees, take people from place to place, and are even used in wars.

    2     Because it seems too strong to get hurt. In fact, that’s wrong. Sometimes, a small thing can also be very dangerous for the elephant.

People say elephants are afraid of mice.     3     In fact, elephants have very poor eyesight, so they usually cannot see a mouse even if one comes very close to them.     4     Actually, no study shows that elephants have a better memory than any other animal.

People also believe that when it is time for elephants to die, they will stay in a so-called “elephant graveyard (墓地)”. Often, people try to find such places to get ivories.     5     Actually, when elephants are old or get sick, they will stay in deep and secret caves until they get better or die.

10 .

Magpies are _______ all over the world and you can see this kind of birds easily at any place. They often show the common meaning of luck, no matter which culture they are in. In the UK, there is a poem (诗) about what seeing a different _______ of magpies means: one for sorrow (悲伤); two for joy; three for a girl; four for a boy; five for silver (银子); six for gold; seven for a secret (秘密) _______ to be told. Three and four usually show the baby is going to be a girl or a boy. Five and six mean that the person is probably going to be rich soon. Seven means that you will _______ keep your secret to yourself. They are all good symbols, except for (除了) seeing just one bird, which means bad luck. But there is a way _______. By just saluting (向……敬礼) the bird you can get good luck back again.