2 . If seven days of living with noisy dogs seems like a lot, imagine being there for 400. That’s how long a little dog named Queen lived inside a shelter. When Queen was 3 years old, she’d still somehow been _________ time and again during those long months. Then Scott Poore decided to _________.

Scott runs a(n) _________ that creates fundraisers to help animal shelters. Once he heard about how _________ Queen had become from living in the shelter for so long, he decided to do what he could to draw some attention to the _________ dog.

After he met her, he was even more determined to help her find her forever _________. He ended up spending plenty of one-on-one time with her after he publicly _________ into Queen’s kennel (狗窝).

As you can _________, animal shelters are not a great place to get any rest. Scott admitted he barely _________ during his days in the kennel. But all of Scott’s efforts were __________ when a father and son saw a report about Queen and her new roommate and decided to __________ and take her home.

As for why he didn’t __________ Queen himself, he reminded people that his charity came in contact with so many __________ animals every single day. Once Queen had found her people, this dog __________ moved on to find the next animal that __________ needs him.

“What helps me get through the emotional __________ of my work is I move very quickly to the next animal that needs my help,” he explained.

We’re so __________ to people like Scott Poore for __________ those without voices. Being willing to give up your own __________ for an animal’s happiness is the ultimate good __________. Thank you, Scott!

4 . The misery of my bike commute in Calgary, Alberta, is the river valley hill. It’s not particularly steep, but at about a mile long, I rarely climbed up without arriving with sweat. Studies have shown the prospect of arriving at work sweaty is one of the biggest _________ to getting would-be bike commuters out of their cars. That’s especially true in a city like Los Angeles, where _________ may face long routes , hills or hot streets with a lack of shade.

“Pedelec”, or pedal electric-assisted bikes like the one I rode, can end that worry. They look and act like traditional bicycles, but their motors make pedaling much easier when required. Sometimes called the most energy-efficient motorized mode of transportation ever built, they’re also incredibly green. The biggest barrier may be the outdated attitude that sees bikes only as a recreational athletic opportunity rather than a practical _________ option.

At a time when cities across North America are struggling to combat crippling traffic and reduce climate emissions, e-bikes have the _________ to ease the both problems. And yet ridership has yet to truly _______.About 152,000 e-bikes were sold last year in the U.S., a figure that would be more than 5 million if Americans used them at the same rate as western Europeans.   

Many of the barriers to e-bike _________in North America are legislative. Patchwork rules treat e-bikes more like mopeds than traditional pedal bikes in some jurisdictions,meaning they are _______from bike lanes and from boarding public transportation.

Few places on the continent, _________, are better poised to break through barriers than California. Legislation was approved last year to encourage e-bike use, by legally differentiating the cycles from mopeds. In an attempt to head off worries about turbocharged machines flying down sidewalks and bike lanes at unsafe speeds, the law classifies bikes into different tiers to _______ lower-speed e-bikes, which top out at 20 mph, from faster-moving “speed pedelecs”, which are restricted from protected bike paths.

Amid these legislative ________, e-bikes have become more accessible to consumer. Finding them in bike shops isn’t as __________ as it once was, and their cost has fallen as the price of lithium-ion batteries has dropped. Today, a decent e-bike, while still __________, is comparable in price to a high-end mountain bike. After years of ____________over mixing pedal and motor power, cycling advocacy organizations also are finally throwing their support behind e-bikes. Dave Snyder, the executive director of the California Bicycle Coalition, __________ the state’s new legislation based partly on the __________that e-bikes help out those who“just can’t ride as far or as fast as they need to”.

6 . A powerful earthquake with a ___________ of 7.8 struck southern Turkey and northern Syria on February 6th, 2023. The quake caused widespread destruction, killing over 40,000 people and obliterating entire cities. The aftermath of the disaster was captured in before and after photographs, revealing the extensive damage and the immense task of ___________.

During the terrifying 65 seconds before dawn on that fateful day, large sections of cities in southeast Turkey were ___________ by the ground, resulting in a death toll exceeding 50,000. Bridges ___________, roads and airport runways cracked, and millions of lives in 11 Turkish provinces were thrown into chaos as the rest of the country awoke to the horrifying reality. The initial earthquake, which was felt as far ___________ as Egypt, was followed by thousands of ___________, including one with a magnitude of 7.5 later that day.

Over 850,000 buildings were reduced to ___________ in the initial quake and its aftershocks. In the Syrian border province of Hatay, where the ancient city of Antioch (now known as Antakya) once stood as a ___________ of Muslim and Christian civilizations, only 250,000 of the original 1.7 million residents ___________.

The disaster posed a significant political challenge for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who faced re-election that year. Criticized for the slow response of ____________, which left many initial survivors ____________ beneath rubble in freezing temperatures, the seasoned leader pledged to construct 650,000 housing units within a year.

Eleven months after the disaster, the construction of 307,000 housing units has commenced, with 46,000 already ____________, according to data from the environment and urbanization ministry. In the ____________, families who chose to stay in the disaster zone and were unable to secure alternative accommodation have been provided with metal container ____________, similar in size to small studios. These containers have access to running water and electricity, offering a safe and warm environment. However, families have few remaining ____________, and their immediate future remains uncertain.

7 . The Palace Museum, a massive 720,000 square meter complex, has _________ an important mission to create zero waste. Since beginning this effort in January 2020, it has made big strides in ___________ waste and encouraging green habits.

One key change is the reduction of trash bins in public areas. There are now only 110 sets compared to 310 in early 2020. This change shows the museum’s ___________ to cutting waste while protecting its 600-year-old history.

Beyond waste reduction, the museum is also creative with ___________. For example, it has “Funiu ci jiu” sculptures made from 92% recycled waste. These sculptures, ___________ in the Cining Palace area, show how waste can become beautiful art. ___________, over 32,000 plastic bottles have been recycled to make unique cultural products since June 2021. This effort not only ___________ waste but also cuts carbon emissions by 931 kilograms, helping the environmental ___________.

The museum’s zero waste program is based on science and careful planning. Training staff, ___________ zero waste offices, and testing composting methods have helped the museum reach a 45% ____________ rate.

The success of this program is clear with the ____________ of 3,000 staff, 40,000 guides, and 21 million visitors. By leading the way in waste reduction and green practices, the Palace Museum inspires others to follow ____________ .

In short, the museum’s journey to zero waste ____________ heritage protection, environmental care, and ____________ ideas. Its strong commitment and leading efforts set an example for other cultural sites around the world, proving that ____________ and cultural preservation can work together.

8 . Nuclear pollution is a serious global   ___________, brought to the forefront by major accidents at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima. These events have demonstrated the significant health and environmental risks _________by nuclear disasters. Not only have they caused immediate health problems, such as radiation sickness and increased cancer rates, but they have also _________lasting environmental damage and genetic changes in affected communities. As a result, nuclear pollution remains a pressing concern for governments, scholars, and individuals worldwide.

When nuclear accidents occur in coastal areas, the _________environment becomes a critical concern due to the crucial role that oceans play in _________the climate, ensuring food security, and supporting the livelihoods of billions of people globally. In recent years, the increasing threats to marine ecosystems from ocean pollution have _________public awareness of the need to protect the marine environment. Studies have shown that human activities pose a _________threat to marine environments, emphasizing the importance of improving environmental management and taking measures to mitigate environmental risks.

Following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, efforts to cool the reactors by pumping in seawater resulted in the _________of a significant amount of nuclear waste in the water storage tank at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. _________attempts to manage this waste, the Japanese government’s decision to release nearly 1.26 million tons of nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean over the next 40 years has faced opposition __________neighboring countries, local ____________, and international environmental organizations.

This __________poses serious risks to marine life, fisheries, and human health. Radioactive isotopes present in the wastewater, such as tritium, carbon-14, cobalt-60, and strontium-90, can accumulate in marine organisms and ultimately affect human populations through the food ____________. Therefore, there is an/a ____________need for further research and mitigation measures to __________the widespread impacts of nuclear pollution on the environment and human health.

10 . Flooding was fairly usual for a Queensland summer. This time, however, there had been a lot of rain and flash flooding further north which _________ ran down to the river.

My younger brother was getting _________ and thought we should evacuate. We spent hours trying to _________ him down. The water had never gotten to less than 1 to 2 meters away from our street level. After a few more _________, the water levels were getting much higher than we’d seen before and we thought it best if we moved our cars to the higher _________ just in case it got to the street level. Later, we _________ a lot of furniture and electronics upstairs.

Finally, we decided to _________. The water was getting close to the street level, which only meant another foot from _________ our bottom floor. We left to spend the _________ with my cousin who lived in a neighborhood close by. We heard that the water had __________ further, but had no idea how far as it was dark and we couldn’t see anything from our cousin’s house.

The __________ moment was when we finally got to see our house. There is a high school behind our house, which __________ at the base of this large hill, with an elevated sports oval (高架椭圆形体育场) right behind our house. The water at its __________ was about 2 inches from being level with the oval. We __________ it to survey our house. Seeing water lapping (轻拍) at the windows of our bedroom on the second floor of our house was the most unbelievable __________ I had ever seen.