1 . My dad screamed, “Walk the dog. son!” So I also_______, “Emily! Come on girl, time to _______!”As she bounded (跳跃) towards me, I smiled slightly at the way she _______since her legs were too small to keep balance, I _______ down to greet her, giving her head a gentle kiss before we went out. I walked down the block, Emily bounding quickly ahead of me, _______to reach the park. We arrived at the end of the street, stopping just across from the _______and waiting for the light to change, Emily bounding in _______. I took a deep breath, but it seemed those several seconds were too long for the happy puppy at my feet. Emily suddenly got free from my_______and dashed towards the pavement.

I moved to run after her, but a car was shooting fast in front of me. By the time it had left my _______, so had Emily. I crossed the street after her, calling, “Emily! Emily! Come here, girl!” but she________. I could feel the ________enveloping me as I found her gone.

But when I came back home, I was________out. I walked to the front door to ring the doorbell but no one answered. I sat down on the front steps, tears in my eyes and I________in the cold, pulling my coat tighter.________, I was unsure of what to do next when suddenly I realized the meaning of ________since I felt lonely without the company of my dog.

4 . 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 . We have an English corner in our classroom. Every morning many of my classmates come to the corner. My teacher Miss Zhang comes here, too. At the corner, we all speak English.

The corner started last year. At first, there were only _________ students because many were _________ to speak English. After several weeks, more and more students came here. At first, some students just _________ to the other students. I was one of them. I was afraid to speak English. I thought someone would _________ me, but I wanted to speak. I always spoke English in my heart. My teacher went on saying, “Don’t be afraid. Open your mouth.” I tried and tried to open my mouth. At last, I said, “Hello!” to the teacher. The teacher was very _________. She said “Hello!” to me at once. From _________ on, I began to speak English. I work hard at English and I try my best _________ more. I learn _________ my teacher and my classmates at the corner. Now I can speak a little English. Every Sunday morning, I come to the corner _________.

It’s a good __________ to speak English. Please join us.

7 . My beloved grandma, had never left Australia and now never would due to cancer.

Planted _______ in the armchair, she had no alternative but to “travel” via the travel program on TV. I _______ the sadness and thought hard. It finally _______ me that I could ask strangers on the internet for help. I _______ the post:

My Nanny has cancer and she will never see the world. Please send her postcards so she can see the world from her armchair. I can offer nothing but gratitude.

I _______ not to breathe a word of this; should nothing come, I couldn’t bear to carry her _______ along with my own. Days _______ weeks and Nanny’s health declined rapidly, my suffering growing unbearable.

Finally, about six weeks after my post, a dog-eared, _______ postcard from UK wandered into our humble little letterbox. It was to me a ray of light and from that day, our letterbox became the _______ for postcards from all over the world and a hotel, ________ travel-weary cards. My dream of armchair travels became a reality.

In the months that followed, thanks to those cards, my Nanny had a private “flight” to board, travelling far and wide, satisfied and ________ . Cancer could not stop us. Our very last flight ________ on a warm morning. My dearest travel ________ bought a different ticket for this trip and began to explore another world.

I have ________ from great loss, knowing that her journey ahead would be a brilliant one with so many ________ from the strangers.

8 . Michael was just 14 weeks old when he suddenly suffered from heart failure at his parents’ home in Bristol, England back in March 2021. _________, doctors managed to save the baby and he _________ the heart attack. Michael’s mother Emma managed to capture the heart-warming _________ when Michael woke up from the coma (昏迷) and smiled at his father. The baby woke up from a five day coma.

Now, the _________ has helped to finance the _________ that will save his life. “To be _________, it’s got to be the happiest moment of my life. We feel so _________ him,” Emma said. Michael’s parents were then told that the boy’s best chance of survival was to get the tumour (肿瘤) _________ at Boston Children’s Hospital. Since the condition is so rare, no one in the United Kingdom can _________ the surgery. So, the Labuschagnes set up a GoFundMe page to finance their son’s operation. After Michael’s heart-melting smile __________ the Internet, the campaign reached its original __________ and raised more than $253,000 for his care.

“We really don’t know how we can thank you all. This has lifted a big __________ from our family, and we can ask the doctors to __________ Michael as early as possible!” she added. “We have stopped actively fundraising (募捐) __________ we have reached our target. Any additional donations after all of Michael’s cost have been __________ will be donated to another family in a similar situation.”

9 . In the heart of the city, nested between the towering skyscrapers, stood a little library that had withstood the test of _______. Every brick and book in that building held stories not just from the pages, but of the countless souls who had walked its _______.

Anna, a young writer, often visited this oasis (绿洲) of knowledge. She was on the _______ of publishing her first book but was facing the crippling self-doubt that often troubles creators. One evening, as she wandered between the shelves, she happened to see an old, dusty _______. It was a journal from the 1800s, written by a then-unknown writer named Lillian.

As Anna skimmed through the pages, she was _______ by Lillian’s struggles which mirrored her own. Lillian wrote of her rejections, her moments of despair, and the nights she wanted to give up. But she also wrote of her _______ moments, where the words flowed like a river and the stories took a life of their own.

The final entry was dated a day before Lillian’s first book was published. It read, “To the future dreamers who may find this: Remember, every _______ has its dawn. Your struggles are merely the dark before the morning light. Keep writing, keep dreaming, and one day, your stories will light up someone’s _______ just as you have lit up mine.”

Anna felt a connection to Lillian across the centuries. With renewed _______, she left the library, ready to face the challenges ahead. For in her heart, she carried Lillian’s story — a beacon of hope and a testament to the timeless journey of ________.

10 . Tommy hated school and was always looking for excuses not to go.

If he sneezed, he _________ his mother to write a note to tell his _________ that he had a cold. If he had a headache, he asked his mother to take him to the doctor _________ school hours.

He spent _______ time at home than he did at school. On the days that he did go to school, he _______ for excuse to come home early.

One day he came home from school in the middle of the _______.

His father was _______.

“You are home early,” he said. “Is the school closed today?”

“_______, Dad,” Tommy said. “It’s open. I came early.”

“_______ did you do that?” his father asked him. “ What did you ________ to the teacher?”

“I told her that I had a ________ baby brother and that I had to come home and help ________.” “But your mother has had ________,” his father said, “a boy and a girl. You have ________ a baby brother and a baby sister.”

“Yes, I know, Dad,” Tommy said. “I’m ________ up my baby sister for next week.“