1 . Sometimes, animals act just as humans do. Officer Burgess found a mother duck pecking (啄) on his car. He figured she just wanted ________. But the pecking continued.

Officer Burgess grew ________when the duck ignored the food he threw out of the window. Instead, the duck________away just a bit, then stopped, looked back, and returned to the ________for some more pecking and screaming.

After the duck’s doing so for a second time, Officer Burgess ________got out of his car to follow the duck. But he wasn’t prepared for what he was about to ________!

“She led me about 100 yards away to this grassy________near a lake where I saw one of her ________all tangled up (缠住) in some string. His little feet were ________” the officer explained. “She led me straight to him.”

Officer Burgess thought the mother duck might ________him if he tried to touch her baby, so he________the animal rescue center for help. The rescue group didn’t have any staff readily_______to assist, but a policewoman, Officer Cecilia Charron, decided she’d lend a ________.

When Officer Charron arrived, she went straight to work on carefully ________the little one. “The mother duck just________，like she knew. It was amazing,” Officer Burgess recalled. Once freed, the baby ran to its mama, and they safely________away.

It was an unbelievable ________for the shocked officers, and Officer Charron ________ teared up a bit.

Officer Burgess said, “I honestly don’t know why I decided to _______her, but I did. It makes me wonder-do they know to ________humans when they need help?”

2 . Five years ago, my husband and I bought a farm.

As we restore the land, I feel my well-being _______ . I think the farm is also working its magic on our son. Since he was 20, he has lived with mental illness. Just when it couldn’t get any worse, an unexpected _______ occurred in my life. We _______ the farm.

It has taken a couple of years to _______ the land, seed the lawn and build garden beds. The farm was holding our _______ together. Before my son went to treatment, we planted a “guild” (同一目的协会) in the old farm to support the health of trees by grouping other helpful plants around them. We dug around the _______ trees and placed in garlic, wildflowers, etc and the garden seems to grow well.

We also learned how to _______ others. Our workman worked steadily and helped when I asked. Asking for help is a principle in the recovery community, a lesson my son is _______ . The desire to recover this land has _______ in me. I have seen this ________ towards restoration in my son as well. It truly does take a village to rebuild a farm and a(an) ________ . And my son has found his own kind of guild that ________ him.

Owning a farm was never our ________ , but it came when our family needed a ________ project. Digging is an act of faith, hope and ________ of what will appear next.

3 . Today we see writing all around us. We would be _________ without writing.

The earliest people have no _________ of writing. However, writing _________ over thousands of years in different cultures around the world.

_________ writing existed, drawings were used as a form of _________. Rock drawings have been found in many places. One rock drawing in a mountainous area of New Mexico _________ a mountain goat standing up and a man riding a horse upside down. Experts believe that the drawing was a _________ to riders that the road was dangerous.

Modern forms of writing began when people _________ to use symbols, such as letters, words, to stand for _________. At first, they used __________ that stood for words. __________, a picture might show a hunter, the tools the hunter used, and a pair of deer the hunter killed. __________ developments took place in Mesopotamia, where people learned to use the same symbols to stand for different words. The writing used by ancient Egyptians also used __________ known as hieroglyphs (象形文字).

Even greater advances were __________ in China about 3500 years ago. The Chinese used tens of thousands of signs. With their systems, they could __________ new words. This, __________, was a different system. To make writing __________, things had to be simplified in some way. The __________ was the development of alphabets. The Phoenicians (腓尼基人) are __________ considered to have developed one of the first useful alphabets. The Phoenicians alphabet used about 20 or 30 signs. They were well on their way to at least one type of modern writing __________, as we know, the modern English alphabet uses 26 letters.

4 . The world would be a better place if we all had children’s eyes. This is not because children’s eyes are too sharp to allow any blot (污点, 瑕疵) to pass without being ______, but because adults have too many conflicting concerns to keep their eyes open to all wrongdoings.

Not long before, an examination, intended to ______ some police officers to higher positions, was held in Gansu province. Someone ______with a good idea that 18 primary pupils could be invited to act as invigilators (监考人). At that age, students would do as they are told and act fearlessly. ______, they caught 25 officers cheating on the spot, which has caused a stir (轰动, 搅动) and ______the question of whether adult invigilators would _______their duties as well.

The implication of this event goes ______its impact on the work style of local police officers and the examinations. Most people said what these children have done points to the sad fact of ______being less trustworthy. If adults acted as invigilators, they would quite ______turn a blind eye to cheating.

We Chinese have been holding the ______that human nature was good at birth: as ______of blot as a sheet of blank paper, which can be ______with content (good or bad) in the process of growing up. Everything should be done on the basis of certain principles (原则). ______, nowadays the repeated reports of cheating in examinations, selling ranks and ______and embezzling (挪用) public funds paint a ______picture of common social morals. Adults have become too concerned with their own personal gains to ______basic sense of principles. When no one ______ any principle and the only concern is personal interest, everyone will ______not only those who first break the rules.

Besides, cheats are unfair to honest examinees, and when the success of cheats _______more people to cheat, the consequences will be disastrous.

In a word, we adults need to have our eyes as ______as children’s on matters of principle.

5 . Miss Chan, our class teacher, is my favorite teacher. We are going to_______ this school and I will miss her very much.

Miss Chan is very patient. Whenever we_______ questions in class, she explains to us very carefully. She is also_______ because she cares much about us. She often says to us. “Tell me immediately if you feel unhappy. Share your_______with me and do not just try to solve it by yourself.”

Miss Clran is very generous(慷慨的). One day, she gave each of us a book, Three Days to See, and told _______ we should read more. She once chose our monitor as the most helpful student, and gave him a set of stationery(文具) as a _______. When she is free, she _______ helps us with our studies and we’ve made great progress.

Not only do all of us like Miss Chan, but Miss Chan also likes my class because she thinks all of us are _______. She always says she thinks herself very _______ to be the teacher of my class. In fact, Miss Chan is thoughtful体贴的) teacher I have ever met. She always thinks about our feelings. I hope I will go to a high school with________ as good as Miss Chan.

6 . The Shirt of a Happy Man

Once upon a time, in a rich and beautiful country, there lived an unhappy king. He slept _________ and didn’t feel like eating. The queen and his people worried about him very much. One day, a doctor was called in to examine the king. But he couldn’t find _________ with his body. It was all in his mind. He said the king needed the shirt of a happy person to wear. Then the prime minister, the king’s banker and the palace singer were called to the palace. But they all had _________ worries. They weren’t happy, either. The prime minister thought many people were trying to   _________, then he would lose his power. The banker was afraid _________ his money. The singer said he couldn’t get freedom because he always worried about being followed by _________._______, the king’s top general was told to go out and find a happy man in three days’ time.

Two days passed, the general still couldn’t find a happy man. Everyone had their own problems. Just as he was about to give up, he saw a poor man _________ happily on the street. The general didn’t understand why the poor man was so happy, though he seemed to have _________power, money or fame. So he went up to the poor man and asked him about the reason. The poor man said he was happy because he had everything he wanted, and he didn’t want to have what he couldn’t have. Hearing this, the general was excited. The poor man was the Happy Man. So he asked the poor man to give his shirt   ________ the king. “Shirt?” said the poor man in surprise, “I don’t own any shirts!”

7 . Most of the time, we know what weather is heading our way — thanks to meteorologists (气象学家). Will it be sunny or rainy, hot or cold? Every day, people turn to the TV, computer or radio to _________.

For some, a(n) _________ in weather starts early. It did for Samantha Gibbons, a 10-year-old from the USA. She says she loves watching the weather. Every week, Samantha studies the science behind weather _________ the Internet. In January, she was the youngest kid to attend the 2015 American Meteorological Society (AMS) Annual Meeting. During the Q&A discussion at the event (晕轮) appears. One expert answered her question. “I was very _______ to take part in the meeting! It was like I was meant to be there,” said Samantha.

Not only does Samantha study the numbers behind weather, but she also _________ speaking on air. As a member of her school’s broadcast club, she helps produce the school’s morning programs. “I love being on TV, “ she said.

On September 3, 2014, Samantha _________ her first TV show on NBC Channel 12 in Phoenix, USA. Before her _________, she woke up at 4 a.m. to arrive at the station by 5:30 a.m., a typical _________ for many meteorologists. “To prepare, I practiced in front of the mirror,” said Samantha. “I learned I needed a lot of practice on camera!” Her future plans are simple: do well in school and practice _______.

What’s her ________ for other kids interested in becoming meteorologists? “Ask lots of questions,” said Samantha. “Always believe what you’re doing and keep pursuing (追求) your dream.”

8 . The World Health Organization says it believes between 80,000 and 180,000 health care workers may have died from COVID-19 in the period between January,2020 and May, 2021. In a ______ issued Thursday, the group ______ those deaths are tragic loss and an irreplaceable gap ______ the world’s pandemic response. It said the reported ______ of infections and deaths among health ______ workers has gone down ______ time but added that more work needs to be done to ______ the risk of infection in the health carework place. It said as of September, 2021 ______ data from 119 countries, only an average of two and five health care workers were ______ vaccinated. It said fewer than one in ten are fully vaccinated in the African and Western Pacific regions ______ 22 mostly high-income countries report that above 80 percent of their personnel are fully vaccinated. WHO said it is deeply concerned about the probable number of deaths, the overall low rate of vaccinations and the vaccinein equities among health care workers in low- and middle-income countries.

9 . We are now in the 22nd century. With the development of science and technology, people can change their bodies ________ the way they want.

As years went by, Mr. Smith was bored of his look. Several months ago, Mr. Smith went to a body engineering shop and _______ a small nose. Small noses were very ________ these years. After the operation, he looked at himself in the mirror (镜子) and found that his ________ hair no longer fit his new look. Then he wanted a change to long hair. When he was leaving, the shop keeper ________ told him that the shop had a special offer on ears. At last, Mr. Smith went out of the shop with a small nose, long hair and two new ears.

In the next few weeks, Mr. Smith’s interest in his ________ kept growing. He bought new eyes, new hands and new feet. After that, he looked very young for his age, and _______ different. He felt satisfied with himself. ________ , the change in the face and fingerprints brought him much trouble. He was _______ to enter places like railway stations and airports. In the end, he decided to have his old body back! To his surprise, Mrs. Smith was unhappy with his ________ because she could not bear (忍受) the bad smell of his old feet.

10 . Linda likes to knit (针织). Since she suffered a stroke (中风) five years ago,_______has been a way for her to focus her mind and keep her_______busy.

Every day she knits a snowman and she sells it for a pound. Every_______goes to the local Children’s Hospital. The first year she knitted 160 snowmen, and then she got to 200 and she made another 200. At the moment she has knitted over 800_______.

Linda’s stroke took most of her eyesight away and made her almost_______but nothing can stop_______. She’s just handed over a 300-pound check to Derian House,an organization for charity (慈善机构), which offers care to children across the North West of England. It costs nearly five million pounds a year to _______ care like this. Less than 10% of that comes _______ the government. For the rest they depend_______donations (捐赠) like Linda’s. Every penny is important to the organization. So it doesn’t matter how much money people________to it.

Derian House exists to make money for seriously ill________and their families and to help them in their most terribly________times. So it’s easy to see why Linda will always be________her knitting wherever she is. “Every time I pick up a needle, I’m________the children, and that’s so important to me,” said Linda.

This Christmas angel (天使) is going on Linda’s tree, but there are some who would say that the real________is Linda herself.