1 . A crow (乌鸦) became rabbits’ friend. It all began when Andrew Silverwood heard of a helpless ______ crow lying injured on a busy road. Without ______, Andrew decided to begin a crow rescue mission, knowing that the bird’s chance of survival was ______ in such a busy street.

Upon ______ the location, Andrew found the baby bird had fallen from his nest. In most situations, the best ______ for the baby bird would be to return the animal to his nest. However, as the nest sat high upon a tree, Andrew had no means of ______ the bird with his family. Besides, the crow had a broken leg, which would require ______ for the animal to survive. Then he took the crow home.

The Silverwoods ______ intended to provide care for the crow until he could be released back into the wild. However, fate had ______ plans in store for the crow, as Andrew soon found there was an unexpected ______ between the crow and his rabbits. The pet rabbits welcomed the crow into their cage, leading to a heartwarming and unconventional ______.

As days turned into weeks, the crow ______ the rabbit family. Surprisingly, the crow took on the characteristics of his rabbit companions.

Despite their differences, this little crow, his human parents, and his rabbit friends ______ happily. Their heartwarming tales serve as a gentle ______ that every living being deserves love and care, regardless of their ______.

2 . Every weekend my parents give me $100. I bet you think I’m really spoiled (宠坏的). Think again!

It all started when I wanted a really cool _________. I asked my parents to buy it for me but they said I would have to buy with my own money. “But it’s only $100!” I _________. An hour later, my parents _________ there would be a family meeting at dinner.

They _________ the meeting with the words, “We’ve been thinking about how to give you more _________ in our family.” They brought up several “new ways” I could “have more say.” One way was to allow me to _________ for the family. Each Saturday, I was to be given $100 — along with a shopping _________. It was up to me to buy everything on it. Whatever money was _________, whether two dollars or thirty, was mine and I could _________ however I wanted — whether to buy toys, books, jackets, or even a bicycle. My parents’ $100-a-week plan gives me real __________ to shop for the best bargains (特价商品). I __________ prices on every single item on my list before I __________ what to put in my basket.

My parents’ clever plan has turned me into a __________ shopper. Now, when I finally save enough money, that cool bicycle doesn’t just ________ a mere purchase; it stands as a symbol of my __________ success.

3 . A few weeks earlier, my pastor (牧师) had called upon me to be one of ten team leaders to help with the church’s upcoming fundraiser for building improvements. Though I said yes, this was definitely outside my _________.

Each team leader needed to find five to seven people to _________. I already had three team members. I only needed a couple more. _________ the crowd, I noticed Beth. I thought she might have time for the project. I explained everything to her. She listened _________ and agreed that the church needed some _________, and then she said, “I’ll happily donate towards the improvements, but I had the _________ to say no.”

I stood there shocked by her _________. I wasn’t upset about her refusal. _________, I was completely awed (充满敬畏的) by the way in which she _________ it. “I’m giving myself the right to say no.” It had never __________ me that I could say no when asked to help out or volunteer for a project. I was afraid that by saying no, they would __________ me.

Beth had just opened up an entirely new world to me, and I __________ it was time that I gave myself right to say no as well. The next time I was asked to __________ in a project that I didn’t feel was a good fit, I __________, just like Beth had taught me. I discovered that there were no hard __________ when I said no, and it gave me the necessary free time to do a better job with other projects.

4 . It started with a bit of discomfort on the head. Annoying as it was, I was _________ to take up my doctor’s time with such a silly complaint and have a wasted journey only to be _________ that it would heal by itself. Still, I turned to my laptop.

As soon as I’d _________ ‘online self-diagnosis’, the search engine provided over 11.5 million _________. On one site that provided free _________, I answered the questions and reached a description matching my _________. After clicking on ‘More Information’, I was shocked by what I’d never _________. The worst outcome was a brain cancer. I couldn’t be more _________.

I headed off to the doctor for what I thought would be a series of tests but which turned out to be a valuable lesson in not _________ everything you read online. It took him less than a minute to guess at and __________ head lice (虱子). I was __________ to know that I would be safe and sound, and horrified to know that my head was being occupied.

While a doctor makes a diagnosis __________ your appearance and medical history, a search engine relies __________ on algorithms (算法) according to popularity or numbers of key words and comes up with results which can be __________. One minute you’re under attack from a late cancer, the next you’ve just caught a cold. Time spent going to the doctor’s for __________ of mind suddenly seems fair enough.

5 . Yesterday, Sophie, who gained fame for surviving two horrific accidents in her childhood, announced on the Internet that she is expecting her first child. “The biggest_________of all will be arriving in September!” she wrote.

Friends, family and supporters were quick to_________the mum-to-be with love and _________in the comment section.

“Oh Sophie, you have been a part of our consciousness since you were little. I have followed your _________from each tragedy along your journey. My wife and I were _________by your life experiences but the strength _________by you is most impressive. You darling, are a(n)_________and now an inspiring mum. We are all_________for you both.” Sophie’s friend said.

Sophie and her husband Joseph have_________each other since they were six years old, but didn’t start dating until after __________from their universities. They took their__________to the next level and became married in 2023.

“She has always been the__________person I’ve ever known. I could know from our first handshake, a very firm hold,” Joseph told the interviewer “Strong, confident and generous, those three words best__________Sophie. That’s what I__________when I’m with her.”

Now they are eagerly__________the arrival of their own happiness. Hearty congratulations to the expectant parents-to-be!

6 . When it comes to her passion for travel, Luisa Yu doesn’t take “no” for an answer. If she did, she might not have _________ the beautiful beaches in Somalia at age 77.

“Everyone said, ‘Don’t go to Somalia. That’s _________.’” Yu told NPR “If I want to go somewhere, nobody can _________ me. I like challenge — it’s more exciting.”

Thanks to her _________, the 79-year-old has now traveled to all 193 countries, a goal she’s _________ for more than 50 years.

Yu caught the travel passion _________. Growing up in the Philippines, she was inspired by the movies she watched as a kid. She made up her mind to visit the natural landscapes she saw on _________.

“I saw all the beautiful lakes and wild animals,” she said. “That’s how I started dreaming that one day I was going to see the _________.”

Her first step in _________ that dream came in her early 20s, when she arrived in the US as an exchange student. During her stay in the US, she __________ the country by bike.

The round-the-world travel wasn’t __________. She waited 15 years to get her green card to be able to travel internationally. There were times when she worked as many as three jobs at a time to save up enough money for __________.

Eventually, she became a part-time travel agent, which offered her more freedom and opportunities to see different places, including __________ to countries that are too difficult for tourists to visit.

The __________ traveler’s advice for us?

“Don’t wait for anybody,” she said. “If you keep on waiting, it will never __________.”

7 . “Do you mind if I join you?” A young man’s voice made me look up from my breakfast.

“That’s fine,” I said.

“It’s really crowded in here,” he said, flashing a nice smile.

Looking around, I realized there wasn’t one _________ table. As I watched the guy put hot sauce on his sausage, my mind spun with the _________ of my visit to a doctor the day before. I’d covered _________ through a snowstorm to see him, but he didn’t have answers to my problems.

My breakfast companion noticed me _________. “Traveling far?” he asked.

“Yes.” I hoped he didn’t have any more questions for me. He seemed nice enough, but I was in no _________ for small talk. I dipped my head back toward my plate and _________ my mouth with a bite of toast to signal the _________ of our conversation.

To my _________, the young man reached into his backpack and pulled out a notebook. He wrote as he ate. After a few moments of silence, I started to feel bad about _________ his words.

“Are you a writer?” I asked, __________ my voice.

“No ma’am,” he said. “I’m working on a list for my mom. She’s fighting lung cancer and I’m making her a smile list.” I could feel his __________ in the silence.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said, feeling even __________. “What is a smile list?”

“Oh, just little __________ to comfort her.”

“Would it be too __________ to ask you to read me some of your “smiles”?

“No, not at all,” he said. Then, looking down and scanning his notebook, he read:

● Watching the sunrise

● Finding a shiny penny

● Sharing a table at breakfast with a __________ lady

8 . Bang! Somewhere, someone set off fireworks. After hearing the loud noise, ten-year-old Rosie, ran back towards her ________, Steve Harper. Rosie, ________ from a rescue shelter, was easily shocked by loud sounds when she first arrived, but soon fell in love with the Harpers’ sons and ________ with Steve. But Rosie’s ________ of loud noises always continued and never ________. After the second bang on that Friday afternoon, she took off and ________ disappeared from sight with a silver ring shining around her neck.

Nowhere can Steve find Rosie. Steve had less than five minutes to begin worrying when his phone rang. “Is that black-and-white dog yours, Mr. Harper? She’s just ________ herself over. It seems that she were a criminal.” On the other end the voice came, and the caller was half ________.

Closed-circuit television showed Rosie walking into the police station, ________ around for a few seconds as if she were looking for food, and ________ seating herself in the waiting room just like a lady. A few minutes later, staff ________, gave her some water and called Steve, whose phone number was on Rosie’s ________.

Steve supposed why Rosie knew just where to ________: the waiting room chairs closely resemble those at the local vet. “Maybe she saw the chairs and thought, Oh, this is what I do. I sit and wait.”

Steve headed to fetch Rosie from the ________ and the dog was overjoyed. On their way home, Steve hugged her and stroked her curry hair. Finally they arrived home, safe and ________.

9 . Have you ever felt the need to grab a pen and start writing your thoughts on paper? Words—beautiful and fascinating. But you know what is better than putting your imagination somewhere? In my case, to win the competition for the best novelist.

That was a small tournament organized by my school annually to _______ our creative writing and vivid imagination. Since I had a burning passion for _______, I decided to show my power. I thought no one could _______ me.

I finished a long story and e-mailed it. As I _______ the email every day, my eyes were wandering to _______ the line “Congratulations! It is a great pleasure to inform you that…” _______, no such thing came.

I was not accepted. I _______ my abilities. The next day at school, I tried my best to be _______, avoiding the usual contact. But in the corridor, I _______ Stacy Williams, my school rival. Could she be the ________? I started walking sneakily. In class, I was just looking out of the window at the ________ clouds which were a reflection of my soul.

Thankfully, a film that night—Forrest Gump lifted my ________. I wouldn’t let a stupid competition ________ my future. I could win on the next one or even at a better tournament. The important thing was to ________ my head and face my challenges without losing hope when everything seemed ________.

10 . About four weeks ago, our dear little Persian cat Ashleigh Faith died at the age of 16, for which we felt sad. We _________ her when she was five weeks old and bottle-fed her until she was able to _________ on her own. She was _________, weighing only six pounds at her heaviest weight. She was our baby, _________ all over the USA with us in our motorhome, then _________ at our home in Custer. She left a huge hole in our _________, and she had been my constant companion during the _________months of my stay in hospital.

Recently, our neighbor called and _________ asked if we knew anyone who did cat-sitting, as her mother was ill and she had to _________ her. She couldn’t __________ her cat Bella with her. My husband __________ said, “We’d love to take care of Bella.” We visit Bella each morning and afternoon, and she has been so __________ for us after our loss. Bella is ten months old, and very __________. We take Ashleigh’s laser light toy and Bella loves chasing(追逐)the red dot all over the house. She now __________ us at the window, and then races to the door to __________ us. Spending time with Bella is just what we need, and it helps our neighbor know that we take good care of her cat.