A dog entered a butcher’s shop with a note in his mouth. The note read, “$10 of lamb chops, please.”

The butcher was very    1     (surprise). He took the money, put a bag of chops in the     2    (dog) mouth, and then he closed the shop     3     (quick). He followed the dog and watched him wait for a green light. Then the dog crossed the road to a bus stop. He checked the timetable and sat     4     the bench. When a bus arrived, the dog checked the number and got on it.

As the bus traveled out into the countryside, the dog enjoyed the scenery. After     5    while, he stood on his back paws     6     (push) the “stop” button. Then the butcher followed     7     (he) off.

The dog ran up to a house and dropped his bag on the ground. He went back down the path, took a big run, and     8    (throw) himself against the door. No answer. He repeated the action a few times. Then a big man opened the door     9     started complaining about the dog and beating him.

Seeing this, the butcher ran up and shouted at the man, “What are you doing? This dog is a genius!” The man replied, “Genius? No way! He has forgotten his key for the     10     (four) time this month!”

The wolf and the fox want to eat the rabbit, but it isn’t easy     1     (catch) him.

One day the wolf says to the fox, “You go home     2     lie(躺) in bed. I’ll tell the rabbit that you are dead. When he comes to look     3     you, you can jump up and catch him.” “That’s a good idea,” says the fox. The fox goes home at once. The wolf goes to the     4     (rabbit) house and knocks at the door. “     5     is it? ” asks the rabbit.

“It’s the wolf. I come to tell you that the fox is dead.” Then the wolf goes away.

The rabbit goes to the fox’s house. He     6     (look) in through the window and sees the fox lying in bed with his     7     (eye) closed. He thinks, “Is the fox really dead? If he’s not dead, he’ll catch me when I go near him.” So he says, “The wolf says that the fox is dead. But he doesn’t look like a dead fox. The mouth of     8     dead fox is always open.” When the fox hears this, he thinks, “I’ll show him that I’m dead.” So he opens     9     (he) mouth.

The rabbit knows that the fox isn’t dead, and he runs away     10     (quick).

4 . I was looking through my old photos last Sunday. One photo     1     (catch) my eyes. In the photo, I was sitting in a chair, hugging Duke, my     2     (good) friend in the world.

Duke was an interesting name for such     3     little dog, but he was my friend from the moment I could walk. When I went outside     4     (play) games, he would drive our cats up to the trees and then walk off with a feeling of pride. When he was hungry, he would carry his food dish in his mouth and dropped it at my mom’s     5     (foot). When I was sick, he refused to leave my bed until I got better than before.

I learned a lot from Duke. I learned that a short     6     noon could be good for you.I learned that the simplest dinner could be delicious     7     you eat it with great enjoyment. I learned that life can be good when you live it with love and joy.     8     (sad), I also learned that life is short, especially if you are a dog. I’d never forget     9     (say) goodbye to him on his last day in the world.

To me, Duke is like a teacher who has taught me how to love and how to     10     (love).

As we celebrate the Year of the Sheep some of you may have heard some superstitions (迷信) about this animal sign.

It is s    1     that people born in the Year of the Sheep have a difficult life. That’s probably b    2     sheep are gentle and kind. Therefore many Chinese people would try to a    3     getting married or giving birth during the Year of the Sheep. But is this all really true?

Of course it doesn’t make sense according to folklore expert, Wang Juan. In ancient China, “yang” was connected to good l    4     and happiness. In the book Shuowenjiezi–the first Chinese dictionary to e    5     characters—the writer Xu Shen from Eastern Han dynasty said that “yang” means “xiang”. And now many Chinese characters with “yang” also means s    6     good for example “xian” and “mei”.

Today many f    7     people who were born in the Year of the Sheep live very good l    8    , including US Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang.

What kind of life you will have d    9     on many things including how hard you study now and the career you want when you grow up. In fact animal signs are of little i    10    . The really important thing for you is to develop a good personality along with your own skills.

White Fang began hunting for his own food, but he was not good at hunting yet. He s    1     needed food from his mother. One day, his mother b    2     home a lynx kitten. He was eating it, when he heard a great n    3     from the mouth of the cave. The kitten’s mother followed the she-wolf to the cave. The she-wolf and the she-lynx started to f    4    . The lynx cut with her claws and teeth, the she-wolf with her teeth. The next moment, the two mothers stopped, and b    5     they rushed together again, White Fang joined in, biting the lynx’s legs. It was not a big bite, but it was e    6     to give his mother the chance she needed. At last the lynx was dead, but the she-wolf was b    7     hurt. She lay by the dead animal’s side for a day and a night w    8     moving.

Since then, White Fang learned what life was about. It was about meat. There was no life without meat. Animal had to eat other animals to survive. The law was: EAT OR BE E    9    . It was a hard life, but the cub was h    10    . He felt very much alive.

Some people like koalas because they’re cute. Some people like dogs because they can help do many things. But I like rabbits because they’re fun. I have a pet rabbit. His name is Robbie. He is as     1     as milk. He has long ears. His back legs are     2     than his front legs, so he can run very quickly. He has a small nose     3     he can smell very well with it. He has bigger front teeth. Do you know     4     his favorite food is? Yes, it’s carrots. He eats five carrots every day. Robbie sleeps in a box. I have to clean the box every morning because he loves to be clean. Do you like rabbits? What are your favorite     5    ? Can you tell me?