1 . Forest & Bird, a conservation organization in New Zealand, held a contest for Bird of the Century and invited people in the country and abroad to _________ their favorite threatened species. Comedian and talk show host John Oliver _________ Forest & Bird if he could campaign for the puteketeke, a native water bird with eye-catching black-brown feather (羽毛) around its _________. The organization _________.

To get _________ for the species, Oliver started a worldwide campaign, which focused on its _________ feather surrounding its neck, romantic mating ceremony and heart-warming parenting style.

“The puteketeke are fantastic couples and _________ parents who always carry their babieson their backs!” read one of the ads.

His effort _________. The puteketeke began at the bottom of the _________. But it __________ the contest with 290, 374 votes after Oliver started the campaign on its behalf. By comparison, the much more __________ bird kiwi just got 12, 904 votes.

According to Forest & Bird, there are fewer than 3,000 of the bird across New Zealand a few decades ago. But the __________ has been increasing thanks in part to conservation efforts.

Usually called Bird of the Year, the annual __________ is held to raise awareness about the plight (困境) of the nation’s native __________, 80% of which are on the threatened species list. This year, the contest was named Bird of the Century to celebrate the group’s __________ birthday.

2 . Drew Bason thought he would be a medical technician. His mom was in medicine, and he always thought he would ______ in her footsteps. But life had a ______ plan for him.

“I always wanted to cook,” he admitted. “I had eleven uncles and they were always ______ with my father. I was around it a lot.” So, he decided not to pursue healthcare. ______, Drew signed in a community college culinary (烹饪的) program and got a ______ as a chef.

But not long after, the pandemic (疫情) began, and Drew ______ his job. Without a steady income, taking care of his 10-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son was a(n) ______. But one day, walking through the Brightmoor neighborhood in Detroit, he ______ the City Covenant Church, and soon found out about their meal program. “I knew I could come here to get a(n) ______,” he said “It took some of the ______ off.”

But Drew did not want to just ______ food home. He knew he could use his skills to help out. So, he started ______ at the church to cook meals. “It takes a lot of ______ to eat the food of someone that you don’t know,” he said. “So it’s an honor to give some of it back and help our community. I really ______ the opportunity.”

Now, Drew is working at a nearby restaurant, but he still volunteers at the church. “Food is ______ and I love cooking,” he said.

3 . A lottery (彩票) winner in Kentucky won a six-figure jackpot (头奖). However, she wasn’t the only one who _________ — she celebrated her win by _________ gift cards at a local store.

Crystal Dunn of Louisville won the game’s $146,351.74 progressive jackpot. “I saw that and didn’t believe it _________,” Dunn told the lottery board. “I never thought I would win something like this, but this goes to show it can _________ ,” she continued.

Dunn traveled to the headquarters of the Kentucky Lottery Corporation to _________ her jackpot on 8 July. After taxes, she _________ a check for $103,909.73. Dunn said she _________ to use the money to buy a car and pay off bills. But she made it _________ that she would spread a little _________ before she returned home with her winnings.

She stopped by Meijer — a supercenter store chain in Kentucky — to __________ a part of her jackpot. Dunn purchased $2,000 in gift cards and handed them out to __________ .

“Many were excited, but a few were __________, thinking I was wanting something __________,” Dunn reportedly told the lottery board. “I got a(n) __________ gift and I believe in paying it forward and I want to pass it along,” she continued. “Actually, sharing is caring and giving is more __________ than receiving. I’ve worked hard for everything I’ve had. This is a pretty amazing gift.”

6 . In the United States, Christmas is a very important day. Many needy families are seeking assistance every year on the occasion of Christmas so they can get _________ toys and gifts for their children. And the charities and organizations come forward to _________ those poor families and bring joy to the poor children. Every year many free gifts and toys are indeed _________. This is very kind and _________ work for poor families as well as for children. Here is a family who have been _________ their love on this special day.

Three decades ago, Norah Wilkinson started a Christmas _________ that her family is keeping alive five years after her _________. It all came from the _________ grandmother’s simple motto(座右铭), “It’s nice to be nice.” Back in 1990, this _________ led her to start spending ￡10 a year on presents for children who’d __________ have nothing to open on Christmas day, according to The Mirror.

Although Norah passed away five years ago, at the great age of 92, her grandchildren wanted to __________ up the tradition. So Norah’s seven children and their children have managed to __________ an amazing ￡250,000 worth of gifts that will be handed out to more than 5,000 families for Christmas.

This year, more than ever, many families are __________ to put food on the table. Yet, thanks to the generous strangers and this hard-working and caring family, thousands of children will soon have a smile on their face.

The work of the grandchildren and their parents is totally __________ and it’s wonderful to see how much of an inspiration from a grandmother can be in life and death, and how a simple desire to be kind can snowball into a __________ to help thousands.

9 . I was getting more excited as we got off the train at beautiful Grand Central Station. After a tour at the Museum of Modern Art, we _______ Radio City Music Hall and the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. In one of the _______ in the area, I found a tiny boxed set of Peter Rabbit books, perfect for my _______. Was there anything like Christmas in New York? Having experienced an exciting and tiring tour, we called a _______ back to Grand Central Station.

On the way home I realized that my handbag was gone—lost or _______, I had no idea. All the magic of this special day _______. I glumly(闷闷不乐地) imagined a crowded Department of Motor Vehicles and all the phone calls that I’d have to make to get my _______ cards replaced with new ones. And I’d never _______ all those precious photos of my daughters.

The days slipped by while I got rides to college and _______ going to the DMV(车管所) at such a busy time of year. Then I got an unexpected ________, a box with the return address of Radio City Music Hall. ________, I opened it and shouted in a joyful ________.

There was my old handbag, with everything ________ good inside—license, cards and photos—and one thing that hadn’t been there ________, a handwritten note, saying, “I found this handbag lying under the seat of my taxi by ________. Merry Christmas!”

10 . Once upon a time, there was a man who worked very hard just to keep food on the table for his family. A few days before Christmas, he _________ his five year-old daughter after _________ that she had used up the family’s only roll of expensive gold wrapping paper.

As money was tight, he became even angrier when on Christmas Eve he saw that she had used all of the gold paper to _________ one shoebox. He was also concerned about where she had gotten _________ to buy what was in the shoebox.

The next morning the little girl, _________ excitement, brought the gift box to her father and said, “This is for you, Daddy!” Holding the box, the father was embarrassed by his earlier behavior, _________ what he had done to her.

But when he _________ the shoebox, he found there was nothing. “Don’t you know, young lady,” he said _________, “when you give someone a _________, there’s supposed to be something inside the package!”

The little girl __________ him with sad tears rolling from her eyes and whispered, “Daddy, it’s not empty. I blew kisses into it until it was __________.” He fell on his knees and put his arms around the girl and begged her to __________ him for his unnecessary anger.

An accident took the girl’s life only a short time later. It is said that the father __________ this little gold box by his bed for all his life. Whenever he was __________ or faced difficult problems, he would open the box, take out an imaginary kiss, and __________ his daughter’s love.