4 . In 1945，Sergeant (中士) John Gonsalves was sent to Germany soon after the Second World War ended, and he couldn’t wait to return home. In the meantime, he decided to send a letter to his _________, but the letter never arrived._________, it never arrived on time. Somehow, this lost letter from 1945 was_________in 2021._________workers did everything they could to deliver it to the _________of John’s family as soon as possible.

Although John_________in 2015 at the age of 92, he was_________by his wife, Angelina Gonsalves and their five sons.

“The mailman came and said, ‘Was your husband once in the_________?’ And I said, ‘Yes, he was,’ And he said, ‘Well, I think I have a letter for you,’” Angelina_________ . “I couldn’t believe it. And then I__________that it was his__________, you know? It was just so__________.”

In the two-page letter, John gave his mom a(n)__________on what life had been like at the station in Bad Orb, Germany. Most__________, though, John expressed his love for his__________, wishing them well and letting them know he was looking forward to returning home. He ended the letter with, “Love and__________, your son, John. I will be seeing you soon,I hope.”

Although the letter is 76 years late, it couldn’t have arrived at a__________time. It reached John’s family during the Christmas season, one of his favorite holidays.

“It was a joy to see her__________light up as she was reading his__________,” Brian Gonsalves, one of their sons, said. “He was a good man. He really was,” Angelina said, “Everybody loved him. That was__________. It seemed that he came back to me.”

6 . In the last school year, nearly 1 in every 10 students in New York City public schools was homeless, according to new data released on Wednesday. A total of 104,383 children lacked permanent housing during the 2021-22 school year across districts, an increase of about 3.3 percent from the previous school year, according to an annual report released by Advocates for Children New York,a nonprofit organization that annually collects data on homeless students.

About 28 percent or more than 29,000 students were living in city shelters, while nearly 5 percent or about 5,500 students were considered “Unaltered”, living in cars, parks and abandoned buildings, according to the report. Nearly 360 children lived in hotels or motels. About 69,000 children were “doubled up”, meaning they stayed with extended family and friends after losing permanent housing or facing economic difficulties, the report found.

Meanwhile,the country’s largest school district has been losing students,with roughly 120,000 leaving over the last five years. Public school enrollment(入学) has dropped by nearly 9.5 percent since the pandemic started.

“While the city works to address the issue of homelessness, we also must ensure that students who are homeless get to class every day and receive the targeted support they need to succeed in school,” Kim Sweet, executive director of Advocates for Children, said.

During the last school year, almost 2 in 3 students living in shelters were considered “chronically (经常反复发生地) absent”, which means they missed at least 10 percent of school days. Chronic absence hurts students’ academic performance. In the 2020-21 school year, 70 percent of students who were homeless graduated, compared with 81 percent of all students. They were also more than three times more likely to drop out of high school than their classmates who do have housing.

“If we want to break this bad cycle of poverty and homelessness, we have to make sure we’re prioritizing education of students in temporary housing,”Jennifer Pringle, director of Project Learning in Temporary Housing for Advocates for Children, told The New York Times.“The consequences are just awful and without a coordinated(协调一致的), targeted response, we’re not going to see a change.”

7 . After just one sniff of a catnip plant, many cats start acting in truly strange ways. Entertainment value aside, this herb has proven benefits for cats—but that still leaves us wondering what exactly the effect is on our furry friends.

Cats like catnip for two reasons: smelling it stimulates their senses, and eating it calms them down. Many cats react to catnip by rolling around, rubbing against everything, and eventually becoming unconscious. This is due to an active substance in a kind of volatile(易挥发的)oil found in the leaves of the catnip herb. It attaches to receptors(受体)inside the cat’s nose and drives its sensory neurons(感觉神经元)crazy, according to Daniel Rotman, CEO of Pretty Litter.

When a cat eats the herb, however, it has a calming effect.” If the catnip is swallowed, it causes tiredness and works as a drug that makes cats calm or sleepy. For cats that sniff catnip and rub against the plants, they’ll get more of the stimulating effects,” Rotman said. “Both smelling and swallowing catnip is safe for your cat.”

Catnip’s effects on your cat will only last a short time—about 5 to 30 minutes, says Rotman. This is all dependent on your individual kitty, because studies show that only two-thirds of adult cats are affected by the herb. “About 50 percent of cats seem to be affected by catnip, and the behavior that results from eating or smelling it varies widely between individuals,” Rotman says.

If you have a house cat, you probably worry about its not getting enough stimulation. After all, you can’t be around to play with them every moment they’re awake. Studies show that cats, like the other animals, need mental and physical exercise to be happy, and an interesting experience like sniffing or eating catnip could be part of that enrichment. Kitties that don’t receive enough stimulation could develop aggressive, depressed, or anxious behavior. Just make sure you don’t give your cat too much catnip, as it can lead to dizziness or other symptoms.

8 . Ahlam Sarai,a 54-year-old Syrian woman,finally realized her dream of opening the first vegetarian(素食的)restaurant in her hometown of Sweida.

Sarai’s dream began more than 1l years ago, when she was inspired by her two children, who had decided to become vegetarians, and tried to cook appealing food without meat or other animal products. After becoming a master cook of vegetarian dishes, an idea came to her mind, which was “Why don’t I open a restaurant to cook vegetarian dishes for people?”

However, Sarai tried running the business from home at first due to a lack of money and resources needed to open a restaurant. She promoted her home-made vegetarian dishes on social media and delivered the food by bus. When Sarai’s business grew, she met her current partner and opened a restaurant which has grown larger in the past year and attracted more customers. She also brought in a young dessert chef, a vegetarian who makes desserts with natural sweeteners(甜味剂)such as grapes and molasses(糖浆). Now every morning,Sarai comes to the kitchen, puts on a head covering and gloves,and cooks various vegetarian dishes for her customers.

The Syrian woman hopes to spread the idea of vegetarianism in her country, where meat is the main ingredient in the majority of the local cuisines, by creating a special place for vegetarians who may feel uncomfortable when dining out with friends.

Zeir Atrash, a 22-year-old regular customer of Sarai’s restaurant, said that she felt a sense of belonging after the vegetarian restaurant was opened in Sweida, as she used to feel embarrassed when going to normal restaurants with her friends.

Nowadays, even restaurants in the capital Damascus have started to order food from Sarai’s restaurant in Sweida to cater to(迎合)the vegetarians and other customers curious about this kind of food. It is worth noting that non-vegetarian eaters are attracted partly by the much lower prices Sarai’s restaurant offers, since many are struggling with their livelihoods in the tough economic situation.

9 . Follow these tips to start a book drive in your neighbourhood or school. Before your book drive. Identify your volunteers. Recruit a committee of volunteers to assist you with planning and pick-ups on collection days.

Decide on the logistics(组织工作).

* Determine where to hold the book drive.

Good locations include:small retail businesses or local schools. You don’t have to choose just one. You can ask businesses all over your area to collect books for the drive.

* Choose an appropriate time to hold the book drive. Join forces with an already-scheduled community event,or take advantage of a national celebration.

* At each collection location，ask for approval from management(管理层),and place boxes in a highly visible area.

* Determine what type of books you want to collect and what age group you are targeting. Your range can be as wide or narrow as you like.

* Determine the length of your book drive. A typical one lasts 2～3 weeks.

* Select who is going to receive the books.

Organize your materials. You will need boxes to distribute to business storage space for the collected books and flyer(传单)to advertise your drive.

Plan a kick-off event. Host a party,and ask each attendee to bring a book.

During your book drive

Motivate people. Organize a competition to inspire friends,neighbors,other parents,club members to donate books. Keep track of which location or which individual contributes the most books. Recognize the donors with certificates or awards.

Spread the word. The most successful way to gather books is to ask your personal networks to contribute. Make these requests in person or by phone. To reach a large audience:Hang flyer in grocery stores and schools (with permission).

After your book drive

Sort your books. Count the number of books you collected, and sort them by age range or where they will be donated.

Review. Get your committee together to consider what worked and what didn’t. Document changes to make your next book drive even better.

Score and Ability