1 . A four-year-old dog named Kob became a hero in its neighborhood by discovering a possibly life-threatening gas leak (泄漏) in its owner’s front yard.

This dog’s actions not only _______ its surroundings, but also stressed the importance of the behavior of our furry friends.

The story began when Kob, _______ by 28-year-old Chanell Bell, started digging a large hole in the yard. At first, Bell thought this was typical dog _______, but as the hole grew larger, she became _______. Recognizing that Kob’s actions were unusual, she trusted the dog’s judgment, considering its normally well-behaved nature.

After _______ a recent gas leak in her home, Chanel _______ a gas detecting (探测) tool. She followed her sense and chose to use the tool to _______ the newly dug hole by Kob.

Finding gas coming out of the hole, Bell _______ contacted the authorities about the issue.

“If it wasn’t found, the _______ would have continued to escape into our homes,” Bell said. “We were told it could have caused ________ health effects like breathing issues, brain damage, and even ________. They told me that something as simple as ________ a light could have caused a burst!”

During the repairs, workers ________three main gas leaks in Bell’s neighborhood caused by aging ________. It took the workers over three days to repair the leaks and replace the old equipment.

Throughout the repairs, the workers________ Kob for saving the neighborhood.

2 . Marcus is a handsome and athletic kid. He plays tennis and _________ the state tournament every year. Marcus’s neighbor, Conrad, is also _________ to compete, but he has rheumatoid arthritis (类风湿性关节炎). Although it pains him just to walk, he _________ painful days at school walking to the sports field. He loves watching his school compete so he doesn’t _________ a game.

Marcus has known Conrad since primary school. They’ve always been _________. He sees Conrad in pain and his _________ at not being able to play sports. So, every day alter school, Marcus _________ his classmates to go to Conrad’s for a moment of discussion about the game competition. The discussion is as _________ as a real high school game, which makes Conrad forget the hurt.

Finally, the doctors found a new _________ to reduce the pain. Conrad walks without much pain, and then begins running, but he still has to learn the __________ of running. After a childhood of walking carefully and taking __________ steps, Conrad has to train his walking like a kid again and stay in shape. He pushes himself every day，building his lungs and doing leg lifts repeatedly for his leg __________. He knows what pain feels like, but running for Conrad is no longer __________.

To Conrad’s delight, he gets a chance to join the cross country team. Conrad doesn’t win, not once, but Marcus is there, __________ for him who always finishes in the middle of the competitors, breathing in wind and waving his hands __________.

3 . One day, a young man, Cesar Larios, visited a tall building to move something for his boss. The building is too tall, so taking the lift is quite _________.

_________, the lift stopped working. The young man was _________ inside the lift. Inside the lift, Rita Jung, an elderly _________, got into the same trouble as him. She knew it would be difficult for her since she could not stand for a long time and immediately _________ out her worry. Rita _________ she would feel very uncomfortable or even a(n) _________ in her knees if she stood there too long.

While waiting for the workers to make the lift _________, the old woman knew she had no choice but to endure (忍耐). What she didn’t know was that the person who was in the lift with her knew exactly what she _________ at the moment. Cesar worried she would feel uncomfortable if she had nothing to __________ while waiting for the doors to open. Without much thinking, he went down on his knees and did what he knew was the __________ thing.

Cesar offered to be Rita’s human bench, and the elderly woman felt so __________ for the guy’s kindness. She took the offer and sat on Cesar’s back to __________ her comfort and keep her knees from aching.

The story broke out when Cesar’s boss __________ the incident on the Internet. People are praising Cesar for his __________ heart and saying that chivalry (体贴) and kindness are definitely still alive.

4 . “If I wasn’t looking at you, I’d have thought you were white.”

I often get comments like that from classmates, friends and _________ my family members. Sometimes I laugh back, but the comments also _________ my feelings.

I’m a descendant (后裔) of Africans _________ in a black family in a largely black neighborhood. For people around me, being black is an _________. If you’re black, you listen to hip-hop, R&B and reggae. _________, it appears as if you’re from another planet. I do a lot of things that my peers don’t _________ with being black. They laugh at me because I _________ certain black rappers. They _________ me about watching TV shows whose characters are mostly white. They _________ call me “Oreo”: black on the outside, white on the inside.

It’s not just friends who __________ me “white”. One time, I was reciting some lyrics from a rap song and tried to move like the singer, thinking I was doing well __________ my sister’s hard laughter broke my __________. It hurt that even my own sister didn’t __________ me as black enough.

__________ about who I was, I wondered if I could __________ myself into someone my peers would recognize as a __________ black girl. So I put on big hoop earrings with hair dyed. I was __________ to fit in with the culture. However, it __________ wasn’t me.

Now, I’m more __________ of who I want to be: me. I even call myself “Princess Oreo”. It’s not that I’m purposely __________ white. Instead, I just like what I like.

5 . There are some books that I will never take off my daughter’s bookshelf. Most of those books are_________, books.

Picture books create concrete (具体的) images in readers’ minds. They come alive when they’re being_________. My daughter, 8 years old, is a_________reader. She can sit down with almost any book and read it all by herself for hours._________, I still read to her. When it’s bedtime, she asks me to_________her a picture book, which gives us lots of joy.

Picture books are the campfire (篝火) story of the reading world. Picture books are so_________that they are able to bring people together easily. They’re_________enough to be compelling (引人入胜的) or short enough to hold your interest. They’re better than other books when it comes to the_________of language. They can tell complete stories in thirty-two pages or less. Reading a thirty-two-page book is not a(n)_________for a girl who can read a 500-page book on her own. However, reading isn’t always about challenging oneself. Sometimes reading is about sharing a__________with a loved one.

Some picture books aren’t fit for my daughter as she__________. But the ones that really draw her in and need to be read aloud will always be__________for her. So this is why I’ll never stop reading picture books with my__________. We’re reading together because it__________us pleasure. That’s why I’ll always keep picture books on her__________.

6 . One day Gary and his partner were diving in the sea when two Atlantic seals appeared out of nowhere and took them by surprise.

The two divers were well-trained and had been taught not to _________ animals in their natural habitat, so they tried to stay as _________ as possible. However, the seals were so curious and playful that they began _________ them slowly. Gary realized this would be a _________ chance, so he took his camera out and _________ what could happen next.

It seemed like a _________ at the time. The seals swam closer and closer and James and his partner _________ the seals were just babies! The two divers could not believe their eyes, nor would they miss out this once-in-a-lifetime _________. To keep on filming, they stayed calm and gentle in order not to _________ the baby seals away. Luckily, the seals didn’t leave but started going around the divers, __________ they wanted to make friends with them. One of the seals held out its flippers (鱼鳍) and shook “__________” with the divers, who could __________ believe what was happening to them.

The record of the whole scene went viral and became very __________ on the Internet. Gary hopes to convey a clear __________ that the underwater world is beautiful and impressive, but at the same time it suffers from pollution and __________. When you see these photos and videos, could you tolerate someone wanting to destroy it?

7 . At the door of a flower shop, a gentleman stopped the car. He planned to_________ a bunch of flowers and asked the shopkeeper to _________ them to his mother, who was far away in his hometown.

The gentleman was about to _________ the shop when he saw a little girl crying on the road. The gentleman asked her: “Why are you crying?” “I want to buy a rose for my mother, but I can’t _________ it.” said the girl. Hearing that, the gentleman showed sympathy(同情) , and then he _________ the girl’s hand and enter the flower shop. He ordered the bouquet (花束) for his mother and _________a rose for the girl. Holding the rose, the girl was so _________ to the gentleman. Leaving the shop, the gentleman asked the girl if she would like a _________ home.

“Will you really drive me home?” she asked. “Of course,” the gentleman _________.

“Then drive me to my mother. But the place is very __________.”

The gentleman drove along the mountain road and finally came to the cemetery. The little girl put the flower __________ close to a new grave. In order to __________ a rose to her mother who had died a month before, she took a long journey.

The gentleman returned to the flower shop. He __________ the bouquet that would be mailed to his mother but bought a big bunch of fresh flowers instead. He __________ drove to his mother’s home, a five-hour drive. He would present the flowers to his mother __________.