Once upon a time, there was an old farmer whom planted a plot of rice. Before he planted the seeds, every day he goes to the field to watch them grow. He saw the young plants break through the soil and grow much more taller each day. But she still thought they were growing too slow. Suddenly he hit upon a idea that, one by one, he pulled up the young plants by half an inch, such that the young plants could grow faster. The next early morning, the old farmer couldn't wait check his “achievement” and he was heart-broken to see all the pulled-up young plants dying.

3 . When Gogo was just a young pup, his owner Xiao Mei hoped the dog might one day become a service dog and help people. But Gogo had other plans, at least for the first part. He failed at service dog training, but he went on to help millions of people around the world learn how to trust, how to love, and how to surf.

According to Xiao Mei, the dog seemed naturally suited to life as a service dog. He was great with people, especially kids, and he had plenty of energy. But birds were his weakness. He just couldn't seem to stop running after them. And that's not a good quality for a service dog that needs to focus on the person he's helping.

Xiao Mei said at the beginning she was disappointed when Gogo didn't succeed at service dog school. But to her amazement, at just 8 weeks old, Gogo climbed on to a board that had been left in a children's pool, showing his special talent for balance. Gogo let his true skills shine through. Soon, Gogo was making a mark as the beach-loving dog who could hang ten on a surfboard. However, he wasn't finished showing off his special talents yet.

“One day at the beach, he jumped on a surfboard with a 14-year-old boy who had spinal cord injuries,” Xiao Mei said. “It was at that moment that his life purpose to surf with people who are disabled was realized. He's just such an inspiration to everyone — he's got such a strong connection to people, and we see such improvements in the people who he surfs with.”

Gogo now surfs daily with children and adults with special needs. He specializes in helping military veterans with PTSD and children with autism by connecting with them in ways that no one else can.

5 . After watching a race, Carole and Verne King returned late at a stormy night to their hotel, where dogs are allowed. They discovered Katie, their 7-year-old border collie (牧羊犬), was _________. Apparently, she was probably frightened by the _________ and rushed nervously out.

Where would they find it in this town of 23,000 citizens, _________ by forests and fields? The couple spent the next 57 days _________ searching. “I go to bed every night feeling terrible.” Verne King said. “Will she be cold? Has she eaten anything today? We are in _________.” Carole King also started jogging and biking around the neighborhood, hoping her sweat would _________ to the dogs. They placed used T-shirts, Katie’s blanket and dog bowls in carefully _________ places. Even more, they put on night-vision glasses and stayed out in the cold for hours. But they didn’t see any _________.

By the second weekend, Carole was losing _________ and began to cry. But her husband __________ her to stay another week. Some of her new __________ encouraged her and helped her to search for it.

One morning, a resident called and said she looked out of the window and __________ Katie was in her backyard. Carol King __________ with a friend. When they arrived, a woman __________ to a dog under a nearby tree. It was a border collie. They started calling Katie’s name. The dog was __________, and recognized Carol. Katie ran at full speed and __________ herself into Carol King’s arms.

Carol King said “I cried, __________ her and holding her close to my arms. I can’t wait to put her in the car. ” Katie soon fell __________ in the front seat. She was tired and has __________ 15 pounds. They took her to the emergency vet, who was moved to tears when he learned Katie had __________ a lot and so many people had been trying to find her.

6 . You may think that light pollution isn’t something extraordinarily important. You may believe that every other type of pollution has a larger impact on the environment than light pollution does. But light pollution is serious.

Light pollution, or “sky glow”, is the glow you can see at night above cities and towns. Light pollution is a problem that has been accompanying man ever since he started his first fire some 15,000 years ago. Light pollution is the light that comes from streetlights, buildings, parking lots and any other source of light that is reflected or directed into the atmosphere.

Urban light pollution means that one-fifth of the world’s population can no longer see the Milky Way with the naked eye(肉眼). Many city kids, even if they did look through the orange smog above their heads, would probably see only a handful of stars. We have lost our view of the stars, and we have mucked up our night-time environment as well. Astronomers are calling for the dark places on Earth to be preserved as national parks.

Lots of people find the ever-brightening night annoying, and animals that are programmed to prefer the dark may avoid a brightened habitat. Sea turtles can get lost searching for a beach to lay eggs, and their hatchlings(孵化的幼仔)may confuse over-lit beachfront resorts for the ocean horizon, wasting precious energy needed to find the sea and escape predators(食肉动物). Because their necks aren’t yet long enough to see things far away, baby turtles rely on the mirror image of the moon to guide them to the sea, to begin their new life. A car may even hit a particular turtle, which was thinking the light from a nearby city was moonlight reflecting off the ocean waves. Birds that live in and around cities can die because of sky glow, too. The bright lights can blind them, leading to countless collisions with buildings and other tall structures.

On an individual level, people can help reduce much sky glow by using lighting only when necessary. The stars above us are priceless heritage— for not only for astronomers but for all humans. More of our children should be able to look up at night and see the Milk Way.

7 . On Nov. 24, near Yellowstone's northeast entrance, Spitfire, a female grey wolf, was shot and killed by a hunter as she approached a group of cottages.

"It was a legal harvest," Abby Nelson, a wolf management specialist said. "The facts are obviously a little bit harder for people to bear, but that pack has showed signs of habituation. They just stand there and have no fear. Wolf hunters can easily pick the one they want."

The carefree relation that some Yellowstone wolves have built with humans is reportedly attractive for hunters who look for an easy kill.

In the overnight, yet another famous Yellowstone wolf met a violent end outside the park, officials are actively rethinking how to manage wildlife habituation.

Smith, a wolf biologist for Yellowstone, says, "Now we're thinking of pounding them," Park officials might use fireworks, and paintball or beanbag guns when they approach humans in the park. "If you get close to people, you're going to get attacked."

If you think this sounds cruel, you're not alone. Seeing these creatures from the roads that wind through the park not only allows tourists to witness something amazing, but also to reconnect with nature in a way that is better than any conservation campaign. But there's a growing sense that the present policy of doing nothing isn't working; more wolves will unnecessarily die and the broken record of hunters scoring easy kills will go on.

As Smith adds, urging people to keep wolves wild when meeting them halfway is a big ask. Still, he's hopeful to preserve the world's best place to observe free-ranging wolves; it's a policy change that tourists can be involved in.

"... perhaps Spitfire's death will accomplish some good, and we'll all come together to do a better job on managing crowds and roads and wolves in Yellowstone, " Smith said.

Last Friday a storm swept through two villages in the New Territories,    1    (destroy) fourteen homes. Seven others were so badly damaged    2    their owners had to leave them, and fifteen others had broken windows or roofs. One person was killed, several were    3    (serious) hurt and taken to hospital,and a number of other people received smaller hurt. Altogether over two hundred people were homeless after the storm.

A farmer,Mr.Tan,said that the storm began early    4    the morning and lasted for over an hour.

“I    5    (eat) with my wife and children,” he said, “when we heard a loud noise. A few minutes later our house fell down on top of us.We tried our best    6    (climb) out but then I saw that one of my children was    7    (miss). I went back inside and found him, safe    8    very frightened.”

Mrs.Woo Mei Fong said that her husband had just left for work when she    9    (feel) that her house was moving. She ran outside at once with her children.

Soldiers helped to take people out of the flooded area and the welfare department brought    10    (they) food, clothes and shelter.

10 . Josh Hill, a biology teacher at Mar Vista High School in California, US, often gets sick after swimming in the ocean at Imperial Beach in California.

He and a group of students are raising awareness(意识)about water pollution by taking weekly water samples(样本)of the ocean and publishing their results online.

Every Thursday, Hill and his students collect water from the ocean. Students then take the samples to their school and test them for levels of bacteria. Usually, samples closer to the border have higher levels of bacteria, Hill said.

“Water quality is usually the worst at the southern end and it increasingly gets better,” he said.

Hill collects the samples on Thursdays so that students can publish the results on the Surfrider Foundation’s website in time for the weekend. The Surfrider Foundation has give Mar Vista lab equipment and promote the students’ results on its site.

Most of Hill’s students grew up in Imperial Beach. Many have gotten sick from the water or know someone who has.

Cameron Bell, 17, who is currently applying to college, wants to pursue a STEM career. He appreciates the fact the he can get lab experience at school. “Our research really impacts our community because it’s keeping people safe,” he said.

On a recent Thursday morning, Anthony Gass, 15, collected some samples. Before he got into the water, his classmates helped him put on waterproof(防水的)clothes and tie a rope around his waist to protect him from the onrush of water.

Hill said the protection probably wasn’t necessary, but that it was better to be safe than to be sorry. “We just want to make sure we protect the students,” he said.