2 . Yang He, a 64-year-old man from Yichang, Hubei, has observed the changes in finless porpoises (江豚) population with his camera for six years. As a(n) _________ of the finless porpoise, he has taken more than 100,000 photos of them so far.

Every day, Yang wakes up early and drives to the _________ of the Yangtze River. He waits _________ there for hours for finless porpoises to capture (捕捉) their _________ with his camera. Yang _________ finless porpoises very well. They are just like his children. As soon as one of them comes out from the water, he can tell which family it _________ .

The Yangtze finless porpoise is so _________ to the Yangtze River that any change in the health of its living environment can support or _________ its survival. “When I was a teenager, I could see many finless porpoises. I would often observe them _________ boats in the river,” Yang says. “But __________ human activities, finless porpoises became fewer.”

However, the situation has changed as __________ measures have been taken to protect the species. In 2017, Yang was __________ enough to take a photo of a finless porpoise after a long waiting. In 2019, he was able to take more photos, including images of the porpoises __________ fish near the riverbank.

Thanks to his camera, he once discovered and __________ a porpoise whose tail became entangled (缠住) with a rope. “I will make it my life’s work to __________ this amazing creature.” Yang says.

3 . David lost his beloved dog Baya before Christmas two years ago. Baya was active and cute. David’s family spent many days _________ for their furry (毛茸茸的) family member. The kids said they wouldn’t want any _________ from Santa Claus. They just wanted to get their dog back. All attempts to find her turned out to be _________. Baya was nowhere to be found. It seemed that the family wouldn’t have any more _________.

Two years later, a homeless dog _________ alone on a busy road. Someone _________ it to the Animal Protection Association (协会). Thanks to the microchip (芯片) planted in the dog, the association was able to _________ the owner. They _________ David. When David got a phone call that they were going to get Baya back, the family were pretty _________.

Obviously, Baya is __________ to living in this home. She is quite __________ of where her feeding bowl is. Even though Baya isn’t the dog she used to be, David is confident she’ll become her old __________ again. He said, “She was a very healthy and __________ dog. She’s not like that anymore, but we’re going to get her back. Our whole family are taking __________ of her. Kids play with her happily. She’s __________ her joyful nature. We will love her even more.”

4 . Dressed in a kachhad, a traditional Nepalese clothes, Umesh Balal walked into his meetings at the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) on climate change in Dubai with a sense of determination.

Balal, who has physical disability, was there to publicly _________ inclusion of disability rights in the climate change conference, an aspect that he said has long been _________ by organizers of the world’s largest annual meeting on climate issues.

As a student, Balal was _________ about science and involved himself in research on environmental science. Those were his first few interactions that _________ the climate related issues to him. Being from a mountainous region, Balal _________ more about how climate change had _________ people there, which led him to develop climate anxiety.

The more Balan _________ himself to climate science, the more he learned about the impact of climate change. People with more resources have better chances of _________ the climate crisis. But the less developed countries, for the _________ communities, usually don’t have the same opportunities, which will push them further into the __________

And it is even harder for people with __________. Many people with disabilities in Nepal don’t have __________ to proper education or opportunities for growth. As a result, they aren’t able to advocate for their rights.   

In an interview, Balan said, “__________, I am honored that I come from a supportive family, where I had a chance of good education which __________ me to grow in life. This is what I __________for others, to change the way they live their lives.”

6 . For Aravind Tharunsri and Thaaragai Aarathana, every day is Environment Day and every hour is Earth Hour. And they are on a mission to ______ oceans.

Thaaragai was never afraid of water. She started floating even when under one. Being a passionate diver, Aravind always wanted to make his daughter ______ diving. His vision came true when she became ______ to dive in shallow waters. She first started training in small tubs, then in swimming pools and ______ made a smooth transition to the ocean.

Now, Thaaragai can call attention to the issue of ______ marine species and draw our ______ to her ongoing battle against water pollution. She ______ a record in Assist World Records Attempt for swimming an 18-km stretch under the theme “Save the Ocean”. With help and encouragement from her father, Thaaragai also made a short documentary on marine ______ and presented it in various schools to spread awareness.

The eight-year-old girl ______ her birthday with a diving adventure. She spotted jellyfish, grouper and corals. The diving session didn’t end there as the young girl started spotting plastics. She didn’t have the heart to the ______ them. Both father and daughter ______ as much as they could. The young ______ has also been on a mission to clean up the beaches and the ocean as well as to ______ awareness of marine pollution.

Thaaragai hopes more kids can join. “Why wait for Ocean’s Day or Environment Day? Every day is important when we ______ against climate change. I’m ______ to do my duty as a citizen and I hope you too will join me,” the young diver said.

7 . Janet Kelly and her husband, DaQuan Davis, were out shopping one afternoon when DaQuan’s brother, Demetrius, called in a panic. Some children playing with a lighter in the downstairs apartment ______ a fire, and the whole house was on fire. ______, Janet’s two youngest children were still inside. But when they got back, they learned that their children were ______.

That’s when Janet ______ that their dog, named Blue, had played a big role in ______ their youngest daughter. Demetrius ______ the older one of the two children out first, but when he ______ for the younger one, the smoke was ______ and things were falling all around him, Blue had ______ Demetrius outside, and then he ran back into the house for the younger child. “He was circling around my daughter and ______. Firefighters arrived in minutes. They followed Blue’s sounds to ______ the child,” Janet said.

The family were especially ______ to Blue. “He’s the sweetest dog,” Janet said. “Blue will bark at strangers, but once he knows you’re OK, he’ll drop onto his back for belly rubs.” Blue has clearly been affected by the ______ and he now barks whenever he sees candles or someone lighting a cigarette. ______, Blue has become a bit of a ______ for the family. Blue, you’re the ultimate good boy

8 . The distinctive smell of wet dogs was a reminder of the Christmas vacation when I was twelve. My cousins from Ohio were _________. We had gotten many gifts and were also blessed with fresh _________. The four of us spent as much time as possible sliding down the short white hill to the shallow _________. Naturally, we tested the ice on it the first day, and we knew we could slide across it and _________ our ride.

On the third day of our festivities, we were so _________ to play that we did not check the ice. A few degrees of _________ added a small layer of water to our slide, increasing our speed and _________. Seconds after, my brother Peter slid into the pond, he was _________ in the icy water. Peter was only eight and not a good swimmer, _________ dressed in a winter coat and boots.

We all __________. I jumped down the slope to reach him, but our __________ was faster to jump into the water, grab Peter by his waving hand, and pull him to shore. We managed to __________ Peter with our coats and get him back to the house in record time. Drinking hot juice by the fire, we patted and hugged the __________ dog. The dog took all day to __________. His wet-dog smell kept longer and returned often, __________ us of his heroics and our own Christmas miracle.

9 . Romero is an 84-year-old man. He owes his _______ to his pet dog, Palomo, who took _______ to him after he got lost in the desert for a week.

On November 27, Romero left his home for a short trip, but he didn’t come back _______. His family wasn’t _______ at first as he used to visit nearby villages in the area and would be back a few days later. However, after four days, the man’s niece, Ramona, panicked and _______ it to the local authorities.

The police with trained dogs were brought in to _______ Romero. They searched the area around, but a week after his _______, Romero was nowhere to be found. That’s when the old man’s faithful dog, Palomo, was brought in as the last _______.

According to one member of the search team, the brown dog _______ them through hills and valleys and finally to the place in the desert where Romero had been ________. His niece told the authorities that Romero sometimes had poor memory and that ________ his getting lost on his trip.

The ________ weak man was rushed to the hospital where he spent two days getting back on his feet. One officer posted online that “Palomo ________ by the hospital door day and night waiting for the ________ of its beloved Romero. The unconditional love of his pet allowed Romero to be ________ with his family”. A photo of Palomo staying by Romero’s side after he carne back home was along with these words.

10 . After observing a few big falls from a tree, the Morgan family knew that there were two baby squirrels that needed a bit of extra ________. When the Morgans saw a dead squirrel nearby, they ________ that these two sweethearts were likely orphans. Father Keith and his daughter Riley took the ________ to offer help. They moved the babies into a rabbit cage to bring them back to health. They became ________ family members, receiving the names Chip and Dale.

Keith did a bit of research, and the family ________ the babies Pedialyte (电解质水) to help them. While Chip ________ passed away despite the extra care, Dale held on tightly. He responded well to the food and care the Morgans ________ and soon got strong enough to leave the cage.

But then something ________ happened. Dale the squirrel kept coming back!

“Little by little he would go up in a tree, climb up to play, and then come back down to stay with us,” Riley ________. “OK. If he wants to stick around, we’ll build him a ________ in the trees. Riley’s a big Whataburger (a fast food restaurant) fan and we decided to ________ that design into Dale’s home,” said father Keith.

On July 10, Keith uploaded a picture of the squirrel home to a Whataburger group online, and the content ________ steam. Over a thousand people shared the ________, and the comment section was full of delight and awe. While Dale hasn’t stopped home to ________ in a while, the Morgan family knows he’s out there making the most of his life. Dale serves as a(n) ________ that a little extra care can make a big difference!