1 . I was quite young when I married. My wife shared with me my love for animals and she got several ________ pets, including one cat.

The black cat was beautiful. We named him Pluto. I liked him best so that I often fed him alone. Our friendship ________ for several years, during which, however, my wife and my job ________ me. Gradually, ________ became my new friend; I became quick to ________; I forgot how to smile and laugh.

One night I came home quite late from the inn. Walking with ________ steps, I made my way with effort into the house. As I entered, I saw Pluto was trying to stay out of my way to ________ me, which made me angry beyond ________. I lifted my foot and gave him a heavy kick ________. The cat burst into a tragic scream, like a ________ cutting through the peaceful dark sky.

It seemed a ring ________ me. I followed up the cry, calling “Pluto”. No response. Turn on the light, and I found him, curled up below a chair. I felt regretful and ________, attempting to comfort it. No response. I knew I had made an ________ mistake.

I made my efforts to ________ him in my manner, feeding him alone and eventually quit drinking. Maybe sometimes some evil things inside ourselves pushed us to do wrong, but we must bear in mind that we ought to treasure what is ________ us accompanying us in our lives.

2 . Almost as soon as I adopted Troy, a cute puppy, in the winter, I felt I’d made a terrible mistake. Troy was turning out to be very ________ from the little dog that had led me to expect. Not only was he ________ up to be far bigger than the promised 30—40 pounds, but he was extremely ________.

Troy would run around the apartment like lightning, ________ things over. I found myself running after Troy all day long. With time, I realized how ________ unprepared I was for dog parenting. Troy always tested my ________. I wished I could return to the free days before I had this huge ________ . Finally, I________ him wildly one day. That brought huge shame. I realized I had let my anger________ me.

I decided to reach out for help. The dog trainer ________ me skills to redirect Troy’s energy. With the snow ________ from the road, things started to get better. Troy went to the park and made puppy friends. He can better ________ my words. I changed, too. I was no longer quick to anger but instead learned to deal with situations with ________.

The first few months were hard, but I finally made my ________ with that little one. Troy taught me lessons I hold dear now. It’s easy to let our ________ get the best of us, but it takes strength and self-awareness to find healthier ways to deal with them.

3 . After my diagnosis (诊断) with a cancer, I loved the ________ of having something new and green around. My wife, Hannah, bought me what she said was a lucky bamboo plant in a deep-green pottery bowl. We placed the plant in the living room. I ________ every time I looked at it from the sofa where I spent most of my time.

I told Hannah I wanted to ________ the plant myself. I was pleased when it didn’t immediately turn yellow or brown or ________ all its leaves.

The cancer ________ my ability to walk, and the treatment left me ________, making it hard for me to perform everyday tasks. Since my diagnosis in August 2018, far too often, it seemed that I had to depend on help from other people. The huge ________ left me feeling upset. ________, caring for the plant gave me a sense of ________ at a time when I sometimes felt ________.

Before I fell sick, I had worked as a family doctor. I was used to being the one who ________ care, not the one who received it. Watering the plant, as small an act as it was, connected me to my old _______ and taught me I could still be a caregiver. Plants and ________ could still depend on me.

Over the next few months, I recovered from surgery and ________ work. Now I keep a few pots of lucky bamboo in my clinic. Sometimes, I will give one to my patients, telling them, “Take care of it. It ________ you!”

4 . My son Timmy was born with several rare developmental disabilities. By age 13, he had had at least 10 surgeries on his legs and feet. Balancing and walking was very ________ for Timmy, and he needed a great deal of help with mobility.

Meeting Janice, who ________ treat Timmy, changed Timmy’s life. Janice and Timmy ________ an immediate bond. That bond led us to get our Larry, the biggest dog I’ve ever seen. Janice, being so ________ with my son and her dogs, knew Timmy and Larry would make a perfect ________.Larry, not usually easy to bond with, was ________ like glue to my son the minute they walked in the door.

Larry has changed Timmy, s life so much for the better. Not only does Larry give my son ________ for his mobility issues by keeping him steady on his feet and protecting him from ________, but he is also his best friend. If Timmy is sleeping, Larry does not ________ his side. If Timmy does not feel ________, Larry still will not leave his side, even to ________ or go out.

Larry slows to Timmy’s pace and watches every ________ he makes. They walk along together in perfect steps. It is truly ________ to watch the two of them together. This year, Timmy and Larry began their journey in high school together. The ________ that Larry gives Timmy is priceless. Larry is always there to support Timmy for mobility, for falling, for companionship, and is his best ________.

5 . Bella, a 14-year-old cat from Huntingdon, UK, has claimed the Guinness Record for the world’s loudest purr (猫叫声) by a domestic cat, with a noisy purr______at 54.59 decibels (分贝).

The Spink family has had Bella for almost 15 years, and they’ve always______that she might have the world’s loudest purr. Friends and family would always ______her loud purring, and Nicole Spink’s late husband would ______that she was louder than the TV.

One day, they decided to put Bella’s purring to the test―they ______a smartphone app to measure the cat’s purr and were blown away by the______. She was louder than the Guinness World record for the loudest purr by a domestic cat, so they applied for an official record______.

Measuring sound with a smartphone app and having it measured by a sound engineer can bring about totally______ results, but in this case, the Spinks were lucky to have their measurements______. After feasting on a bowl of her favorite food, Bella got to enjoy some much-needed petting by her owner and she produced some ______loud purring.

The standardized class-1 sound meter recorded Bella’s ______pur at 54.59 decibels. That was more than enough to beat the 50-decibel requirement to______the Guinness Record.

It’s important to note that while Bella has ______the record for the loudest purr by a living domestic cat, she doesn’t have the loudest purr in history. That ______belongs to the late Smokey and Merlin, two cats who purred at the ______noise level of 67.8 dB, a full 13.21 louder than Bella.

6 . From the age of eight, I attended a little boarding school on the Derbyshire-Staffordshire border. On Sunday afternoons, the _______ would leave us to wander the edge of the grounds where we were supposed to _______ time chatting or playing sports but my _______ was to climb over the fences and disappear into the landscape. Often, much to the teachers’ annoyance, no one knew where to _______ me.

That was the point. To walk to a(n) _______ place and, for a moment, feel the world as something new brought with it a feeling I would desire. The habit _______ with me. By my mid-20s, I was a _______ walker. Walking became a way of life that, _______, gave shape to a wandering decade and I would ease myself into new _______ the world over by setting out on foot to get ________ and then find myself again in the backstreets of Ahmedabad or Isfhanan, Ramallah or Bari.

Now I have established my home in the landscape of Devon. Here, walking ________ me and my dog Dharma as an essential daily practice. The world outside our front door is an ________ the tiring, routine aspects of our lives. It’s a place where we watch the seasons change and ________ the movement of the sun and the light around the moon. We walk the same ________, day after day, but every minute of every hour can feel like ________.

7 . Simply finishing a marathon is a big achievement, but one woman in Thailand didn’t just run all 26.2 miles — she also _________ a little dog, Chombueng!

Runner Klongsanun was _________ a local marathon on Jan. 20th, 2023 when around mile seven, she noticed a seemingly _________ young dog along the roadside.

While other runners reportedly passed by the dog, Klongsanun, a dog lover, decided to pick it up and finish the _________. However, she still had 19 more miles to go. For anyone running a marathon, carrying any kind of _________ for 19 miles can make a marathon even more _________ and tiring. But instead of putting the dog down or _________ it to a looker-on to hold, the _________ Klongsanun crossed the finish line with the tiny dog in her arms.

After the race, Klongsanun _________ to take the dog home. Klongsanun even went back to the area where she first __________ Chombueng to make sure there weren’t any other dogs in need of __________, but she didn’t find any other animals.

“It was __________ a challenge to run almost 20 miles carrying a dog. __________, I did it because he is pitiful,” said Klongsanun. It looks like Chombueng has found a(n) __________ family while Klongsanun has a marathon __________ she’ll never forget.

8 . It is 8:30 a.m. at the Chengdu Research Base. Panda keepers are preparing milk for the baby pandas’ breakfast. At 9:00 a.m., they find that most of the babies are already awake and _________. When the babies see the keepers, they run over to them with _________ and some of the young pandas even walk into their friends and _________! They’re so cute and lovely, and the keepers takes care of them like they’re their own babies._________, many people around the world love these black and white animals. Pandas have become so _________ that they are now a symbol of China.

Scientists say there are now fewer than 2,000 pandas living in the forests. _________ 300 or so live in zoos or research centers in China and other countries. Pandas do not have _________ babies, maybe only one every two years. The babies often _________ illnesses and do not live very long. Adult pandas spend more than 12 hours a day _________ about 10 kilos of bamboo. Many years ago, there were a lot more bamboo forests and pandas in China, but then humans started to __________ these forests. As the forests get smaller and other human activities __________ more problems, pandas cannot find enough to eat and they are having __________ babies.

An education program in Chengdu teaches children about pandas and other __________ wild animals. They send people to schools to tell children about the importance of __________ these animals. And the Chinese government is trying hard to help save the pandas. Scientists are doing research to better __________ the habits of pandas. We all hope that in the future there will be a lot more pandas.

9 . Owning chickens may be nothing special for you, but in the life of a chicken, we catch a glimpse (一瞥) of an important truth.

You see, when a hen lays her egg, she labors to make sure the _______are just right to promote life for that little chick. She must lay it in a ________spot. She also must apply heat to the egg for it to _______.

In the life of this baby chick though, there comes a point that is necessary but that is often _______. As the egg begins to crack and slowly break _______, what you will not see is the mother hen ________the chick to get the shell off. No matter how hard the chick________, pushes and strains (拉紧) itself, the mother hen will not do the ________ for it.

At this point, someone can see the _______of this chick and think the mother does not _______ her young. This person can then seek to help the chick and ________ the pieces of the shell. However, if such a thing really happens, often this person ________ does not save the chick’s life but rather ________ its death.

This ________ stage is essential for the chick. It will produce within the chick the ________ that will allow it to live and thrive (茁壮成长).

10 . A little dog, saved by the East Haven fire department, has been adopted by the fire station. This dog greets everyone with love, ________ the firefighters after a hard day on duty. ________ that, he is acting as a best friend, town star and mascot (吉祥物) in his new home.

The six month old dog was ________ from inside a hot car that was parked in the sun, with its windows all tightly closed. The inside temperature of the ________ car was 122 degrees Fahrenheit on that August day. Yet the dog was healthy after the ________ .

Everyone fell in love with this dog and wanted him. When it was finally ________ that the fire department could keep him, the next important ________ was giving him a proper name.

The entire town ________ selecting a name. Some 7,500 locals voted from a list of ________ and Riggs, a common word for a fire truck, was ________ . Riggs fit right in with the firefighters, nursing staff, and fire chief Matthew Marcarelli.

Marcarelli describes how seeing Riggs actually changes the ________ of tired staff after a long day of ________ . And they became more cheerful. He says that station supported dogs are becoming increasingly ________ as they help with the mental health of ________ . Marcarelli says that “ this is because of the growing effects of job related ________ and its impact on firefighters for their wellbeing and men tal health. Riggs can actually melt the toughest heart.”

Everyone at the station house ________ this small, furry friend. Even the most hard-nosed firefighter’s heart can be ________ when he meets Riggs. A firefighter said that having Riggs ________ changes his mental state. And he ________ that even after the worst day, coming back and seeing this dog at the top of the stairs makes the ________ go away.