1 . Heat waves area fact of summer. When one hits, Manhattan turns into a concrete desert; even my dog is affected. The moment Millie_________the temperature outside our building, she makes a(n)_________and heads back home. Today is going to be a day when_________happens, which makes me satisfied.

I recalled the_________Saturday last year, which was perfect for an outing. “Come on, Mil,” I requested her, “You need exercise!” She gave me a begging look and then_________in the direction of the city park, moving slowly, on purpose. I tried to speed up but ___________

Finally we arrived. Millie settled herself for a nap (打盹) in the _________, under the bench where I was sitting checking my phone. Napping was not_________! I glanced up and scanned the surroundings for a ball I could throw.

I saw dogs were everywhere, relaxing, stretching or just sitting_________with their people. Owners read books,__________themselves, or napped, heads leaning to one side. A breeze gently blew from the Hudson River, causing trees to__________. Otherwise, all was quiet.

Millie was right. What was all the__________about, especially in such a good day? Take a__________. I switched off my phone, slipped it into my pocket and__________my eyes.

A day when nothing happened and I felt____________.

2 . 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 ________.

3 . “You can get a kitten,” I promised my daughter Cali after her father and I divorced (离婚). After _________ in our new apartment, we headed to North Bay Animal Services.

One orange-and-white kitten drew Cali’s _________.

“_________, we’ve got two of those,” said the attendant. “They are _________, Caramel and Butter.”

“Can we take them both?” Cali _________.

“We have to follow the _________ of our new apartment,” I said. “Only one cat, remember?”

“I know,” Cali _________.

We brought Caramel home. Caramel seemed _________ without his twin and Cali cried for it. Two weeks later we drove back to the _________, hoping our landlord wouldn’t realize there were two of them because they looked __________.

However, we were told Butter was __________ four days ago.

Two years later I had a new boyfriend Brain. The first time I went to his home, I saw a flash of orange and white. Caramel? I thought, __________.

“That’s my daughter’s cat Butter,” Brian said.

After comparing the adoption papers, I __________ Butter was Caramel’s twin!

“They might not __________ each other after two years,” Brian said. But when brought together, Caramel and Butter nuzzled (依偎) each other with __________.

Today Caramel and his brother are inseparable. As are Brian and I, and our daughters after our marriage.

4 . Tenzing Bodosa was awoken at midnight by a sound outside. He got up and saw several wild _________ in his farm. For many farmers, seeing such animals appear in the farm is _________. However, for Bodosa, who ran a large tea farm in the state of Assam, India, it meant everything was working _________.

The Asian elephants has been listed as a(n) _________ species by International Union for Conservation of Nature and their population has _________ by half in the past decades for various reasons. One is _________ to the vast tea farms, which elephants regard as parts of their forest habitats and their migratory routes over centuries.

“Sadly, in India, _________ between humans and wild elephants often end up _________,” said Bodosa. “I decided that there must be a way for us to live _________.” Then Bodosa began a natural tea farm in 2007.

To create an elephant-friendly area for elephants, Bodosa planted organic grass, fruits and tea. He also provided them with easy __________ by making sure there were no fences or other __________ to restrict wild elephants’ movement.

Gradually, his tea farm __________ other animals’ visiting. Many human visitors followed, too, and some even volunteered here. Bodosa’s tea farm was __________ as “the world’s first elephant-friendly tea farm”. He has also trained many farmers in organic farming. “We have to work hard to __________ the lives of both wild elephants and humans,” Bodosa said. The tea from such farms does have an economical and __________ impact on Assam.

9 . Keith Walker has been homeless since he was 13 years old. His dog, Bravo is the one constant in this 53-year-old life these days. Never certain of his own _________, Walker arranged with Gracie Hamlin, founder of W-Underdogs, to let Bravo spend his nights at the _________ .

On December 18, as Walker arrived to take Bravo for a walk, he found the shelter in flames. He was really _________ to go in there with all that smoke. But Bravo was just in there and he wouldn’t have been here _________ him, so he knew he had to save all those other animals.

The firefighters at the scene had called Animal Control to _________ rescuing the home’s animal residents, but with the fire raging (迅速蔓延), Walker refused to wait. He pulled every one of the animals — six dogs and 10 cats - to _________ .

The fire ultimately caused the shelter to be uninhabitable. _________ , the animals were already _________ to be moved into W-Underdogs’ new Atlanta-based shelter in a week’s time.

As word of Walker’s bravery spread, a GoFundMe campaign was _________ to make life a little more certain for the “Atlanta Animal Shelter Hero” and his __________, Bravo. “Mr. Walker, you’re an extraordinary gentleman, __________ your life to save all the animals in the shelter, which would have been far more __________ ,” commented a donor who made a $50 contribution. “I can’t wait to see you on the news in a fresh apartment with a new start. You’ve __________ it.” That comment was applauded by __________ . So far, more than $37,000 has been raised.

The campaign’s founder has promised that all money __________ will be used for making a better future for the man who risked his own life to save the lives of helpless animals.

10 . A family in England rescued a baby hare and now receives daily visits from her after releasing her back into the wild. At the beginning of the lockdown, Natasha and her family _______ a baby hare in their garden. Having _______ seen an adult hare that had died a day before, the _______ realized it was an orphan (孤儿).

Natasha _______ to take her to an animal rescue, _______ was unable due to the pandemic (疫情). Instead, they had to take care of the hare at their _______. The family named her Clover, and _______ her for eight weeks before _______ her into fields nearby. But two months on, Clover often comes into the family’s garden, and even takes _______to break into the house.

________ she came through the back door into the house and the family didn’t ________ her at all. She went upstairs and looked into the ________ on their wardrobe just like Natasha often stands there looking at herself — it was like she’d turned up to ________ how much she had grown. The little bunny then happily hopped around the lounge (起居室). When she saw Natasha, she stretched her legs to ________ her excitedly. And things were always very much on her terms — if she didn’t want you to touch her, that was it, but if she ________ having a little hug she’d ________ and jump up and sit on your ________. Obviously, she likes Natasha and her family very much. It seems that she ________ the room to be her home. After the family released Clover towards the back of their garden, they ________ they might see her again once or twice. But to their surprise she comes back on a ________ basis pretty much to come and say hi.