One day Miss Brown said something that hurt her best friend for many years. She was very upset about     1     she had done. She tried her best to take her words back, but failed. In order to find a     2     (solve), she went to a wiser for advice.

The wiser said, “Calm     3     (you) down first. Tonight, take your best feather pillows and put every single feather on the door step of each house in the town before the sun rises.”

Miss Brown went home     4    (immediate). All night long, she labored alone in the cold. Finally     5     sky was getting light. She put the last feather on the step of the last house. Just before daybreak, she returned to the wiser. However, she was very     6     (confuse) when the wiser asked her to go back and refill her pillows with the feather     7     had been put on the steps.

“I'm afraid that it's impossible! So far, each feather     8     (blow) away by the wind.” answered Miss Brown.

Then the wiser said, “Each of your words is like a feather in the wind. Once     9     (speak), it will never return to your mouth. Do remember to be responsible     10     what you said.”

4 . Everyone in your family should have a “Go Bag”—a collection of things you would want if you have to leave in a hurry. Here are some tips for you to prepare a “Go Bag”.

    1    

For your go bag, you want a bag that is large enough to carry the necessary items but not be filled too much. It should also be strong enough to carry all of the items without getting damaged in some way.

What to pack in your go bag.

Food and water. You need to bring a 3-day supply of food for every person. Canned foods are the best choice. They can last a long time.     2     Every person also need water of about 4kg. If possible, you can also boil water to make it drinkable.

Clothing and blankets.     3     Therefore, you’ll need to bring warm clothing and blankets that will help you if you have to stay outdoors. It’s especially useful when you meet with bad weather conditions.

Camping supplies. If you expect that you’ll need to sleep outdoors, consider bringing camping supplies like a tent and sleeping bags for each member of your family. Some basic tools are also needed.     4    

Where to store your go bag.

You should put you go bag in a place that is easily reachable because you often use it in a hurry.     5     If so, food can be well preserved.

5 . We have been living in a hotel for the past couple of months and this hotel allows pets ____________ of the rooms. My son, Michael, who is an animal ___________, tries to make sure that all of the animals in the hotel are taken care of ____________ this is what he loves to do.

Last night, he noticed that a dog was ____________ in a car that was parked at the hotel. He went to the hotel office to see what he could do to ____________ the owner of the car and of course they could not give out ____________ information. So Michael ___________ it upon himself to stay outside with the dog to make sure it was ___________ in the car.

The owner saw Michael standing around his car and ____________ that he was trying to do something wrong, so he called ____________ on him. When the police arrived, Michael told them that he was ____________ about the dog because it was left locked up in the car all ___________ . The owner ____________ he did not know that the hotel ____________ pets in the rooms, which is why he had kept the dog in his car.

After that, the owner said ____________ to my son for his mistake. He even wanted to ____________ Michael for looking out for his dog, but my son refused. ____________ he thought Michael was doing wrong at first, he was so ____________ that Michael cared so much for someone else’s pet. ___________, the unexpected incident was settled in a peaceful way. More importantly, the dog was taken to the owner’s room and under good ____________ from then on. Amazing!

6 . E-bikes are becoming more and more popular. It opens cycling to older people, those with disabilities, people who live in hilly cities where regular cycling requires serious effort.

Three things are needed to make e-bikes popular—a safe place to ride, good affordable bikes and a secure place to park. Safety comes first. For bike lanes (车道) to work, the network has to be continuous, not just forcing cyclists into the middle of a busy street. It should be well protected so that the cyclists won't feel they'll be knocked down by cars. It's necessary to provide good affordable e-bikes to customers either in physical stores or in online stores. Only in this way can people consider buying one as their means of transportation. Parking remains an avoidable problem if we want to encourage more people to ride e-bikes. In Netherlands or Copenhagen, large bike parking lots at train and bus stations encourage varieties of transport. People can easily find bike parking everywhere. This is going to be needed in other cities too for e-bikes to really become a form of transportation.

As a matter of fact, people have found that e-bikes are effective transportation choices. A recent study shows that people who ride e-bikes increase their travel distance from 2. 1 to 9. 2 km per day on average. That is sure to do good to their health. It's also believed that if just 15% of a city’s population turn to e-bikes, it would reduce the carbon emissions (排放) from transportation by 12%.

All of these lead me to conclude that e-bikes are a far better way of dealing with transportation emissions than electric cars. They won't work for everyone, but they don't have to.

7 . On a cold winter day, Don took his dogs, Milo and Duke, out for their usual morning walk at Bark Park. But this peaceful walk was interrupted by Mike, an anxious dog owner who was missing his best friend. His small gray dog, Jackson, had gotten lost somewhere in the park- and he'd already been gone for quite some time. Small dogs don't do very well in cold weather. Knowing that there was no time to waste, Don and his own dogs immediately started searching the park. Unfortunately, Jackson was nowhere to be found.

If Don hadn't had his own dogs with him, Jackson might never have been found in time. Don was about to give up on the search and was already heading back to his car. But as Don and his dogs were crossing the bridge, Milo suddenly noticed something in the water. Thinking that his dog had seen a duck or something else, Don tried to pull on the leash, but Milo wouldn't listen. Duke joined in, and the two dogs insisted that something was going on.

Don looked out across the bridge and saw a small, gray shape struggling in the icy river. The reality of the situation clicked, and Don immediately began running down to the water's edge. Don called 911, but he knew that help wouldn't arrive in time. Without even sparing a thought for himself, the brave man jumped into the water and moved straight towards the terrified dog. Jackson was trapped in ice and barely holding himself above water. Don used his arms to break the ice and quickly pulled the dog into his arms. The two swam out of the water and back onto dry land. Mike was waiting for Jackson and rushed him straight to a nearby vet clinic. It's reported that Jackson didn't suffer any harm from the incident and is as cheerful as ever.

8 . One night, security guard Aina found a wallet that had been left behind in a customer's cart at the grocery store where he works.

Instead of leaving it in the lost and found, the 22-year-old sent the wallet to the total stranger at her home! While that is impressive in and of itself, what's even more amazing is that he had to ride over 3 miles on his bike to get there because he doesn't have a car.

Aina was able to return the wallet to Chloe, who had forgotten the important item while trying to load her baby and groceries into the car. She couldn't believe Aina's thoughtfulness, so after he left their home, Chloe's husband, Gray, took to Facebook to give the security guard some praise.

“He rode his bicycle to return her wallet. Completely full of everything important to her including cash. Nothing was so much as moved,” Gray explained. “Words cannot do this gentleman justice. He truly is what is right in this world.” From there, the power of social media took over! Gray's post spread quickly for all the right reasons, which gave his business partner, Greg Gaudet, the idea to start a GoFundMe to buy Aina a new car! In just two weeks, they had raised over $25,000—enough to buy Aina a 2017 VW Jetta and cover his insurance and gas costs for six to 12 months!

Aina was completely blown away by the surprise! After all, this was never what he intended when he rode so far to return Chloe's wallet. “I lost stuff before too,” he said. “I would greatly want someone to come forward and do the same if I lost something.”

9 . Wonderful children's books are being written every year. Below you'll find some of the best new children's books for 2021.

Ways to Make Sunshine

by Renée Watson

Ryan lives with her parents in Washington happily. But when Ryan's dad loses his job, things start to change. Her family has to sell their car and move into a smaller house. What's worse, Ryan has to deal with the pressures of the fourth grade. But she knows how to make the best out of a bad situation. For ages 6 and up.

Freedom, We Sing

by Amyra Leon

This is a book that explains what freedom means. “Is it a place? Is it a thought? Can it be bought?” Through conversations with a mother and her young daughter, this book discusses the ways in which people all over the world are finding ways to live freely. For ages 4 and up.

My Place

by Nadia Wheatley

Have you ever wondered who lived in your house before you did? This book lets you look at the past and see what Australia was like many generations ago. It tells the story of 21 children who have lived on one piece of land in the middle of Sydney from 1788 until 1988.For ages 5-11.

Matilda

by Roald Dahl

Matilda is a gifted child who loves to learn. But she is ignored by her parents and relatives. The only one who recognizes her talents is her kind teacher, Miss Honey. Matilda just played jokes on the bullies in her life. She's too smart to get caught. This story will connect with every kid who has ever felt ignored. For ages 8 and up.