1 . Simba was our first dog. When we saw him at the shelter, he was about three months old, _______ scared and would shy away if anyone came to pet him. However, with time and _______, Simba grew fast and made us laugh more times than I could count.

When Simba was sixteen, he developed hyperthyroidism (甲亢). He was slowly growing weaker. _______, he spent his days just _______ in his bed in the back yard, watching the birds in the feeder.

One morning, a white dove (鸽子) landed on the wall next to the house. The dove walked back and forth along the wall and _______ Simba for hours. By sunset, he was eating out of my hand. He _______ every morning thereafter. He was _______ by Simba and spent most of the day walking around his bed, _______ the other birds away from the feeder, and sitting in the bushes above Simba’s head _______ his dove songs. We never gave the dove a name and just ________ it was a “he” We called him “Simba’s friend.” The dove returned daily for four ________.

Then, the day came when Simba ________ peacefully. Two days later, Simba’s friend ________ at sunset and never returned. I always thought that he came for the food and stayed for the ________ that he shared with Simba, but I think he really came to bring ________ to our beloved Simba in his final days.

2 . One spring morning, I was searching for gold on an Island in Alaska. Abruptly, I froze in my tracks. No more than 20 paces in the bog (沼泽) was a huge wolf ______ in a trap.

______ at my approach, the wolf backed away. It was a ______. Somewhere in a den (兽穴) her starved pups must be awaiting her.

I ______ she hadn't been trapped long. Her baby wolves were probably still ______. But I suspected that if I tried to release her, she would ______ me.

So I decided to search for her babies. I looked for ______ that might lead me to her den. ______, with the remaining snow, I eventually spotted pups' ______ and then the den hidden among rocks.

No sound inside. Wolf pups are shy and ______. So I began copying the high-pitched (声音尖锐的) sound of a mother wolf inviting the young. No ______. Moments later, I tried again and heads popped out.

I extended my hands. They tentatively ______ my fingers. Hunger had overcome their natural ______. Then one by one, I placed them in a fur bag and ______ back. Catching sight of me, the mother wolf stood up right. Possibly ______ the smell of her young, she let out a sad whine (哀嚎). I let go of the pups, and they ______ to her.

With her young to ______, she became aggressive. What next? I ______. I fetched an iron bar. Using a rock as the supporting point, I unlocked the chain. Having gained ______, she howled at me with her head low showing ______. Watching the family disappear in the forest, I let out a sigh of relief.