1 . Two years ago, I lost my wallet. I made the poor decision of keeping my identity card, my credit card, a large amount of money and other various things inside my_________. I worried about anyone who got my wallet would take_________from my bank account, and I was also _________that my identity card would be used to do something___________

About a week ___________, a police officer knocked on my door and_________my wallet. Someone handed it into_________! Much to my _________, they didn’t touch the money inside or anything. I felt so lucky that such a kind person___________my wallet and took time out of their day to try and give__________back to me.

After that, I decided that I wanted to do __________things for other people, hoping that they also could feel that way. I started to do small things to __________ people. They were small simple things, like holding the door open for others. When you make others feel __________, you will have a great day.

That’s why I__________everyone to do small nice things for others. Helping others is to help____________

2 . It is never too late to develop great study habits. However, starting making some changes is hard. Even if you want to do well enough in school and improve your grades, you’re probably having trouble getting started in the first place!     1    .

Plan your time carefully. Make a list of your weekly tasks. Make a schedule of your time. Then decide on good, regular time for studying.     2    , but it will make you more aware of how you spend your time.

Find a good place to study. Choose one place for your study area. It may be a desk or a chair at home or in the school library, but it should be comfortable and quiet. When you begin to work, you should be able to concentrate on the subject.

Skim before you read.     3    . As you preview the material, you get some idea of the passage and how it is organized.

    4    . Listening to what the teacher says in class means less work later. Taking notes helps you remember what the teacher says.

Develop a good attitude to tests. The purpose of a test is to show what you have learned about a subject.     5    . Tests provide grades, but they also let you know that you need to spend more time studying.

There are other skills that might help you with your study. Share with your classmates some of the skills you have found to be helpful.

5 . Do you think you need to shout at yourself to force yourself to finish your homework? If so, think again.    1     Research shows that practicing self-compassion (自我关怀) improves our mental and physical well-being and supports long-term success.

Self-compassion is the practice of being kind and supportive to ourselves. The opposite is being self-critical and mean to ourselves when we make a mistake.     2     These negative responses are related to depression, stress and reduced quality of life.

A 2017 study found people who practice self-compassion tend to handle stress better. Their bodies have less of a stress response when, for example, they meet with difficulties at work or school.     3     Let’s say they do poorly on a geometry test. Self-compassion helps them use the experience to make changes going forward, like seeking out a math tutor.

    4     We can start with mindfulness. First of all, practice observing our thoughts — are they understanding or critical? Don’t judge ourselves too severely then. Rather than getting caught up in how we could have done better, forgive ourselves and think about what to change while remaining respectful, and loving to ourselves.     5     We can read a novel, play a musical instrument or kick around a soccer ball with friends.

With practice, we can learn to treat ourselves with kindness and unconditional love — not tough love.

6 . It’s unlikely that we’ll see a dodo, a flightless bird, walking this earth anytime again, according to Beth Shapiro, a evolutionary molecular biologist.

“When most people think about de-extinction, they’re imagining cloning,” Shapiro said. Cloning, the approach that created Dolly, the sheep in 1996 and Elizabeth Ann, the black-footed ferret in 2020, creates an identical genetic copy of an individual by putting DNA from a living adult cell into an egg cell from which the nucleus (细胞核) has been removed. Adult cells contain all the DNA needed to develop into a living animal. Egg cells then use that DNA as a blueprint to turn themselves into many kinds of cells——skin, organs, blood and bones——the animal needs.

“But no living cells from dodos exist. Instead,” Shapiro said, “you’d have to start with a closely related animal’s genome (基因组) and then change it into one similar to dodos.” For example， mammoths (猛犸) are also extinct，but they were very closely related to modern Asian elephants, so researchers are attempting to bring mammoths back from extinction by creating a hybrid mammoth with some mammoth genes replacing part of the elephant genome in an elephant egg cell. However, there are likely millions of genetic differences between the genome of an Asian elephant and that of a mammoth according to Shapiro.

As for the dodo, its closest living relative is the Nicobar pigeon. Mammoths and Asian elephants are pretty closely related, whereas it had been more than 20 million years since the dodo and the Nicobar pigeon had any common ancestors. Genetic differences between the two bird species are therefore much greater, making it a formidable task to create a successful hybrid in the lab, Shapiro said.

Even if scientists manage to bring dodos back, the island where they once lived is a very different place nowadays, which make it impossible to reintroduce dodos without major intervention.

9 . A Happy Birthday for All

For her ninth birthday, Mary asked for some unusual birthday gifts such as soap, schoolbags and Towels. But Mary didn’t want these _________ for herself. She wanted to give them to other people.

At school, Mary’s teacher _________ her students, “You can’t always be self-centered. You have to _________ others.” Mary’s classmates had helped to _________ supplies for a school in Africa. But Mary wanted to do more. With help from _________ parents, Mary researched local charities(慈善机构)and _________ a shelter(庇护所)that helps women and children in need.

After finding out what supplies the shelter _________ , Mary included a list with each party invitation. Mary’s friends brought shelter supplies to her _________ party. Those who couldn’t come to her birthday party _________ gave gifts. She had so many gifts that they __________ her family’s truck! “It was like we were going on vacation.” Mary said with a __________ . She said it was fun to watch the pile of donations(捐赠物) __________ . Mary collected $650 in cash donations and more than $1,000 worth of __________ for the shelter in the end. __________ Mary went with her parents to send the supplies to the shelter, people there __________ her with another birthday party. They had __________ a cake for her and gave her a __________ signed(签名)by everyone there.

Mary hopes other children will hear about her __________ birthday and choose their own charity to support. “I felt really __________ when I did it,” she said. “You’re not just giving them something; you’re __________ them with their whole life.”