Rain is pouring down today, and it brings back sweet memories of our dog, Bambi.

Like all dogs, she was full     1     energy and wonder. Our boys described that she looked just like     2     young deer, Bambi, in the movie they had watched recently. The name     3     (fit) her perfectly at that time.

Bambi also had all the fine physical characteristics of the German Shepherd. She was strong, yet gentle and shy. She wouldn’t stop     4     (play) with my boys until they were completely tired.

When Bambi was almost two years old, a full-grown dog, she became quite protective of us, never failing to watch my     5     (child). She would sit in front of the front door, and managed     6     (drive) away many welcome and unwelcome guests.

Once, our washing machine was broken and a repairman     7     (call) to come to fix it. As he went close to our front door, Bambi jumped up     8     barked loudly to him.     9     (lucky), the babysitter and boys returned from their walk at that time and rescued the poor     10     (scare) repairman from our guard dog.

For centuries, West Lake has been well-known both for its landscape and for cultural heritage surviving yet illustrating the past dynasties. In ancient times, it     1     (call) Wulin Waters, Golden Buffalo Lake, Qiantang Lake and Xizi Lake. The landscape area of West Lake includes the     2     (surround) hills, nearby historical sites as well as the lake     3     (it). West Lake covers approximately 60 square kilometers,     4     consists of 5.68 square kilometers of water area. West Lake is the centerpiece of the natural fascination with hills on three sides, quiet     5     charming.

Besides its impressive scenery, West Lake has abundant cultural heritage and legends     6     (pass) down from generation to generation, combining natural     7     (feature), past personages (名人), history and art in the local area. More than ninety theme parks and scenic spots dot around the lake area such as the Ten Views and some     8     (new) named tourist spots. West Lake holds great     9     (attract) for tourists in all seasons whether it rains or shines. In the whole landscape area, there are more than one hundred scenic spots open     10     the tourists at present. Each year there are 0.5 million of foreign guests and 12 million domestic visitors coming to West Lake.

My family lives by the Pacific Ocean, and my son, Ryan, has always loved marine animals. When he was three, Ryan came to the recycling center with me. He had fun     1     (feed) cans and bottles into the machine, especially once he realized that the more we recycled, the     2     (little) they would end up as litter on the beach. When I let him keep the $3 we got back for the returns, he was even more     3     (excite).

The next day, Ryan announced he was starting a recycling business: Ryan’s Recycling. He and my wife delivered trash bags to each of     4     houses on our street and asked our neighbors to save their cans and bottles     5    him. The neighbors also asked their friends to save     6     (they) bottles. Ryan, now 10, has 300     7     (customer). An average weekend includes a dozen pickups and three trips to the recycling center. So far, Ryan     8     (keep) 770,000 cans and bottles off the beach and out of the ocean.

Ryan is saving the refund money to buy a truck and hopes to expand his business     9     he grows up. Recycling allows us     10     (spend) time together and do some good to the ocean’s animals.

Bird-and-flower painting, called huaniaohua in Chinese, is a kind of     1     (tradition) Chinese painting. The huaniaohua was named after its subject matter. It gained     2     (popular) in the Tang Dynasty, matured by the end of that period     3     during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, and     4    (full) reached its peak during the Song Dynasty. Most huaniaohua paintings belong to the scholar-artist style of Chinese painting. The huaniaohua became popular in East Asia, and it     5    (introduce) into Japan during the 14th century.

According to Chinese tradition, the huaniaohua,     6     is considered one of the treasures of Chinese culture, covers “flowers, birds, fish, and insects”; thus, it can deal     7     a wide range of natural     8     (topic).

The huaniaohua paintings are inspired by the beauty of the flowers and birds     9     (find) in nature. The intended purpose of the huaniaohua is not simply to imitate (模仿) nature, but to use different painting styles     10     (express) the personality and ideas of the artist. In Chinese culture, different types of birds and flowers hold their own symbolic meanings.