1 . China Post issued (发行) a set of special zodiac (生肖) stamps in honor of 2019 Chinese Lunar New Year, or the Year of the Pig. Famous Chinese _________ Han Meilin designed (设计) the set of stamps _________ is most known for his Fuwa dolls made for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

If you, like me, were born in the Year of the Pig then you are _________, thoughtful and loyal (忠诚的). The Year of the Pig is filled with good wealth.

Now, let’s _________ a closer look at this interesting animal. Pigs were first kept by man about 9, 000 years ago, and are still a very common _________ animal in many parts of the world. We don’t just use pigs for their meat--- almost every part of the animal is used. The hair is used for artists’ brushes. The fat is used _________ floor wax (蜡), rubber (橡胶) and plastics.

Pigs have also been important in the world of entertainment. In 25 the film Babe starred (使主演) a loveable talking pig as its main character. The film _________ an Oscar Award. In England you can even go to watch pig racing. A farmer, Rob Shepherd, has been raising money _________ charity by holding pig races an his farm. _________ seems that people don’t just want to eat pigs!

Pigs also play an important role in the English language. For example, if someone say that he __________ to the sun one day, you can says “Pigs might fly!” to him. Hungry? Well then, you can say “pig out” and eat lots of food.

5 . We have all heard of giant pandas, and know that they are endangered. When one bears babies, it makes national ________ news, and the pictures of the panda babies are ________ circulated. But it now seems that the giant panda is not________ of itself.

The lovely animals have ________ a classic test of self-awareness. They cannot ________ themselves in the mirror. Researchers use the mirror recognition test to ________ whether children or animals have a ________ of self-awareness.

In the test, an animal is presented ________ a mirror. Researchers then watch to see ________ it notices a mark on its face,which is only ________ in the mirror. If the animal notices the mark, it often ________ it. Human children often pass the test when they are only two years old.

Many other animals have passed the mirror test, including monkeys, Asian elephants and even pigeons. But when researchers tested pandas, ________ of them did the same thing as those animals did. ________, each panda behaved as if its ________ in the mirror were another panda altogether. They acted as if they were ________ by what they saw in the mirror, scratching their feet and walking _________

The ________ of this research will help design better areas for animals in captivity(圈养) . For example, one-directional glass sometimes used in the areas may ________ pandas to feel stressed when they see their own images in the ________. That’s because they might believe it to be another panda, ________ themselves.

7 . Nougat and Clarence became best friends almost as soon as Nougat moved into the retirement home. Nougat likes to rest his head on the back of Clarence as often as he gets the ____. The dogs live at Vintage Pet Rescue, a non-profit organization that ____ elder animals from local shelters (收容所) that are ____ to find a new home. The organization aims to give dogs a comfortable, loving environment at the ____ of their lives.

Kristen Peralta, the founder of Vintage Pet Rescue, takes care of 27 mostly senior dogs. While she and her husband have unofficially been ____ older dogs for some time, Peralta turned her passion into a full-time job in 2017.

In some ways, elder dogs may be less ____ to care for because they prefer sitting still than little ones. But their futures aren’t always so ____. There are many organizations, like Peralta’s, ____ on rescuing elderly pets and giving them protection outside of animal shelters, in part because senior dogs in shelters have a(n) ____ rate of just 25 percent, while younger dogs have a 60 percent rate.

A life spent ____ two dozen older dogs can be very busy. Peralta ____ vet appointments at least once a week, gives out individual medications and does a lot of bathing and petting. But the work is rewarding, and she thinks it’s helping to show more and more people are beginning to ____ just how special senior dogs are. “You can just tell how much they ____ it when they’re helped in trouble,” Peralta said. “They’re ____ that they’re with you and you love them. It’s so special to know that you saved a dog’s life and that you’re going to make a ____to the rest of its life.”

8 . My daughter has been crazy about raising a pet for a long time.

Last spring I bought two newly-hatched chickens for her. She got _______ and took good care of them. _______, a few days later, both chickens died. She _______ into tears because of their death. I helped her _______ the two chickens under a tree behind our house. I thought it would be the _______ of her ideas.

_______ , I was wrong. Children are children _______. The failure hasn't _______ my daughter in any way. She still tried to keep a small animal or even a snail.

One day last winter, I _________ under the eaves (屋檐) of the house a family of sparrows. My daughter and I could ________ the sparrows as our "pets", but we didn't.

So I told her to scatter(撒) the grains in the windowsill. A few minutes later, the sparrows came to land on the windowsill ________ and pecked(啄) at the rice. Suddenly my daughter asked me, “Mum, can we catch and ________ the sparrows, and let them live with us in the room? How ________ it is for them to live outside.”

"Oh, my dear, I do not think it's a good ________ . You know, " I explained to her. “the sparrow is a bird that loves ________. No one can keep them in a cage. If they are caught, they will ________ quickly. They are ________ to living outside. Moreover, they have warm nest under the eaves."

From then on, we have set up a kind of relationship with the sparrow family. We feed them frequently and _______ them as pet birds. However, we don’t need to posses them. We ________ seeing these little birds flying and jumping among branches, leaves and flowers in the________ mornings.