1 . Linda Ellerton never thought she’d see her cat Whiskas again. However, the pair have been reunited recently, more than 10 years after the beloved cat went _________.

Whiskas, who is 16 years old, was _________ by a local citizen called Ted Smith in his backyard in Chilton Moorher. _________ the cat might have lost her way home, Ted took her to an animal rescue center. The charity treated the cat carefully and then posted some _________ of the cat online, trying to find her a home.

Whiskas was adopted by Linda in 2007. After living with Linda for 6 years, she _________ one night. The family spent months _________ her but failed. With no hope of seeing their _________ again, they moved to another place. Linda, who lost Whiskas ten years ago, was _________ when seeing the photos for the first time.

“When I saw the post online, I thought it can’t _________ be Whiskas after all these years,” she said, adding: “I thought the photos looked like her, but it had been so __________ and we’d never thought we’d see her again. We __________ thought she had found somewhere else to live after that night.”

David Dawon, one member of the organization who helped the cat said: “It was __________ that we were able to help them find each other. It was a very __________ story.”

It’s thought that Whiskas spent her time as a stray (流浪猫) for the past ten years, and has since developed a __________, which will require ongoing treatment. Despite her __________, Whiskas is now recovering well and living with the family.

2 . My friend Megan texted about a puppy needing a home, attaching photos. As an animal shelter owner, I am always looking to _________ my family. After buying land in 2017, I opened Charlotte’s Freedom Farm, named after my first _________, a lamb with one ear. With the profits from my four pet supply stores, I have _________ up to 200 animals.

The puppy, Winnie, was deserted for its bad front legs, but instantly _________ my heart with his big brown eyes and floppy ears. His unique appearance _________ me of a kangaroo, so I started an Instagram page for him, @winnie_ theroo.

At Pawsability, Winnie received _________ wheels, allowing him to move freely and merrily. _________ by his journey, I wrote a book, “Winnie’s Warriors,” sharing his story and those of other _________ dogs at the farm. While some people initially _________ him, they quickly realize that Winnie and his friends are living their best lives on the farm. His Instagram following continues to __________, with fans finding inspiration in his __________. He brings joy and laughter into our lives every day.

As Winnie’s family member, I am incredibly __________ of him. He has __________ me so much about love, acceptance and resilience. Animals like Winnie __________ to be celebrated and cherished, as they have displayed the __________ that exists even in the face of hardships.

3 . Cats bring bad luck. Cats cannot be trusted. This is what I was taught when I was growing up. I ______ cats.

And then I married a woman who was brought up with cats. So it was unavoidable that she would want us to ______ one. My parents-in-law lived with Maggie, a big cat that made me quite ______. When we used to take our baby daughter to their home, I watched Maggie ______. Whenever she went near my daughter, I ran to ensure that Maggie did not ______ her. My wife always laughed and told me Maggie wouldn’t hurt our daughter.

______ from my wife to get a cat became greater after we had two more children. Under pressure, I finally gave in and ______. And then Masala came to our home. Our children loved the new “ ______”. They played with Masala and slept with her. At first, I was a bit ______. I was not sure what would happen next. But slowly I started liking that small animal.

We were happy with life. But then, something ______ happened, and my wife got lung cancer. This terrible time was also when I came to really ______ the cat. Masala provided my wife with good ______ . She stayed by my wife’s bedside around the clock. My wife fought the disease bravely but didn’t ______ at last. After my wife died, Masala also ______ me during my darkest days. Her warm welcome after I came home meant a lot to me. Masala helped me ______my prejudices (偏见) against cats. She really taught me a lesson.

5 . Many of the world’s islands were previously unexplored places, but over time, people have come to these places with far-reaching effects, including deforestation, over-hunting and the introduction of invasive species. _______, most of the bird species disappeared.

While the death of many birds since the 1500s has been _______, our knowledge of the fate of species before this relies on fossils (化石), and these records are limited because birds’ lightweight bones are _______ over time. This conceals the true _______ of global extinctions.

Researchers now believe 1,430 bird species — almost 12 per cent — have died out over modern human history since around 130,000 years ago, with the vast majority of them becoming extinct directly or indirectly _______ human activity.

The study, led by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) and published in Nature Communications, used statistical modelling to _______ the undiscovered bird extinctions.

Lead author Dr Rob Cooke, an ecological modeler at UKCEH, says:“Our study demonstrates there has been a far higher _______ impact on diversity than previously recognized. Humans quickly destroyed bird populations through habitat loss, over-exploitation, and the introduction of rats, pigs, and dogs, which attacked the birds’ nests, and _______ with birds for food. We show that many species became extinct before written records and left no _______, lost from history.”

Dr Søren Faurby of the University of Gothenburg, a co-author of the study, adds: “These historic extinctions have had a major impact on the current biodiversity crisis. The world may not only have lost many fascinating birds but also their varied ________ roles, which are likely to have included key functions such as pollination (授粉). This will have had knock-on effects on ecosystems, so, ________ bird extinctions, we will have lost a lot of plants and animals that ________ these species for survival.”

Observations and fossils show 640 bird species have been driven extinct — 90 per cent of these on islands ________ by people. These ________ from the iconic (标志性的) Dodo of Mauritius to the Great Auk of the North Atlantic to the lesser-known Saint Helena Giant Hoopoe. But the researchers estimate there have been further 790 unknown extinctions, meaning a total of 1,430 lost species — leaving just under 11,000 today. Therefore, from the perspective of protecting species ________, the protection of birds is an urgent issue for mankind.

6 . Rebecca, a wildlife camerawoman, was filming a documentary for the BBC in the Pacific Ocean when she saw something that made her cry: hundreds of  _______   had died because they had  _______  eaten some of the tons of plastic thrown into the sea. Beaches in Honolulu and other Pacific islands were _______ plastic toys, bottles, keyboards, pens, cigarette lighters . Seabirds as well as  other  animals like whales, dolphins, seals, turtles were suffering  _______  thrown-away plastic. The sea and the environment become more and more polluted.

At this point most of us would have felt sad and _______ but Rebecca did differently. In her hometown of Modbury she showed her _______ from the island to local shopkeepers and asked them to do one thing to help—stop using plastic _______ in their shops. To Rebecca's surprise, the shopkeepers_______ and Modbury became the first plastic-bag-free town in Britain. Shops offered  _______ cotton bags or biodegradable(可降解) bags. People in the town got used to taking a shopping bag with them to the supermarket—just like their grandparents had done before plastic bags were  invented . Later, other towns in Britain followed Modbury's  ________ . The small town of Hebden Bridge became the second plastic-bag-free town when four women there saw Rebecca's film and  ________  to act and the people there are happy to change things.

More and more towns around are becoming plastic-bag-free. Now "the bag for life" is part of the national________, and the task of reducing the use of plastic bags has become law. Since October 2015, all shops in the UK must________ five pence for each plastic bag used by each shopper. It's not enough, of course, ________  it's a good start. It also shows us that there is something we can do and that one person ________ a strong enough belief can make a big change to protect the oceans and save the seabirds and sea animals.

9 . As an only child, Renae often felt _________. But that all changed when she turned ten. For her birthday, Renae’s grandmother _________ her with a lovely puppy named Chloe. From then on, the two were _________. Every bit of love Renae gave, the little dog returned more. “She was such a sweet dog,” Renae says. “She’d lick your face forever if you didn’t stop her.”

When Renae was 14, her father got a new job and the house needed to be free of noise. “Chloe liked barking,” Renae says. “I didn’t want to lose my dog but I didn’t have any _________ as a kid.” With no easier _________, the family sent Chloe to a humane society(动物保护协会). Though they were _________ that the dog would find a new home with people who loved her, they couldn’t know for sure. “I called the humane society to try to _________ what happened to her, but they couldn’t tell me anything. So, I never knew,” Renae says _________.

Later, Renae grew up, got married, and had a child. But her family didn’t feel quite _________. Remembering the joy that having a dog had brought her as a kid, Renae wanted her daughter to __________ the same. She had it in her mind that she would __________ a puppy. One day she saw a post on Facebook about a senior dog that needed a new home. The dog in the photograph looked like Chloe-she was even named Chloe. In an __________ it was decided: she would adopt it. “When we met, she ran up to me and started __________ my face. I was crying,” Renae says. “I just knew in my heart that it was her.” After years of thinking she’d never see her dog again, Renae is __________ to have her back. “I get so excited to come home and see her,” she says. “__________ Chloe, she’s made herself right at home,” Renae says. “And why shouldn’t she? She knows that she’ll be with me forever.”

10 . It was snowing hard. Gus Kiebel, a county wildlife officer, was driving home from work when he ________ the pair in the flash of his headlights. The father-to-be scanned the roadside so that his struggling ________ might rest safely for the night. He looked over at her ________. They needed a warm ________ from the bitter wind.

Gus parked his truck and ________ the animals. He stretched out his hands to the beagles (比格犬), which made no effort to ________. Then he dialed the number from the dogs’ tags (标牌). A man answered and immediately grew ________ when Gus told him why he was calling. “I gave those dogs away,” the man said. “They’re not mine anymore.” Then he hung up.

Obviously, these beagles were ________. Then he brought the tired beagles home. As a boy, owning beagles had been his ________, but keeping this pair was out of the question now—the Kiebels already had a family dog. So he ________ the League for Animal Welfare to drop them off—on one ________. “I’m not signing the dogs over to you if you’re going to ________ them,” he said. The shelter workers promised him they’d keep the couple together.

In the following days, Gus phoned the shelter ________ to check up on them. Soon, the beagles were adopted as a pair, to a loving family. It’s a simple story, but it ________ the best of our nature. And when kindness weighs more than ________, it becomes the greatest miracle of all.