The turtle dove is the UK’s fastest-declining bird species, according to a recent study. The data,     1     (record) by almost 1, 000 volunteers, farmers and county bird clubs, shows there are now nearly 2, 100 pairs left, down from some 125, 000 pairs in 1970. Loss of habitats and shooting in southern Europe     2    (think)to be driving the decline. There is hope, however, as the government     3     (work) with landowners to allow more food supplies in the habitats now.

2 . I had always wanted a dog. My parents told me when I was old enough and _______, I could have one.

One day I hopped off the bus, not knowing what awaited me inside. I walked through the door, and to my _______, a white and black puppy greeted me with many puppy kisses. A very special friendship was born that day.

She was a smart dog. We _______ play for hours, spending our days learning and growing together.

Eleven years we were together, best of friends. Unfortunately, arthritis (关节炎) and old age set in on her. My parents knew what had to be done, but they let me find and make the decision myself.

She was _______ so much and the medicine didn’t seem to help anymore. She could _______ walk. I looked into those deep brown eyes and _______ it was time to let her go.

I carried her into the vet’s (兽医诊所) and placed her on the table. She leaned her head forward and gave a lick to my hand as if to say, “I understand. Stay _______.” Her tail was wagging (摆动) in a circle as always.

The vet asked before giving the final shot, “Are you sure?” With a heavy heart and tear-filled eyes, I nodded yes. The final shot was given. My eyes fixed upon her wagging tail. In a matter of seconds, it _______. The vet listened for a heartbeat, and said, “It’s over.”

I took her home and buried her in the pasture, where she loved playing and chasing rabbits. It was the _______ thing I had ever done.

Recently I went back to her grave. Growing on her grave was a single wildflower. It was swaying in a circle, just like her. I know now that, that special friend will be __________ me always.

3 . “Flying insects don’t fly directly to lights from far away because they’re attracted to them, but appear to change course toward a light if they happen to be passing by due to a strange inborn biological response,” writes Samuel Fabian, a bioengineer, in a research paper.

Until now, the leading scientific hypothesis has been that insects use the moon’s light to direct the way at night and mistake artificial lights for the moon. But this idea doesn’t explain why insects that only fly during the day also gather around lights.

To find out what really happens, Samuel’s team track the precise movements of insects in the wild around lights using a high-speed camera. This revealed two notable behaviours. First, when insects fly above lights, they often invert (转向) themselves and try to fly upside down, causing them to fall very fast. Just after insects pass under a light, they start doing a ring road. As their climb angle becomes too steep, they suddenly stop and start to fall. Second, when insects approach a light from the side, they may circle or “orbit” the light.

The videos show that the inversions sometimes result in insects falling on lights. It can appear to the naked eye as though they are flying at the lights. “Instead, insects turn their dorsum toward the light, generating flight perpendicular(垂直) to the source,” the team write. It is common to the two behaviours that the insects are keeping their backs to the light, known as the dorsal light response (DLR). This DLR is a shortcut for insects to work out which way is up and keep their bodies upright, as the moon or sun is usually more or less directly above them, and this direction allows them to maintain proper flight attitude and control. They also find that the insects fly at right angles to a light source, leading to orbiting and unstable flights as the light’s location relative to them changes as they move.

Samuel’s team suggest that a possible outcome of the research could help the construction industry to avoid the types of light that most attract insects.

Parrots usually live in large groups and they like to eat fruit. They     1     (find) in countries like Brazil, Australia and India. There are different kinds of parrots, but they all have strong beaks and feet,     2     they use for climbing and holding food. The biggest parrots can live for up to 80 years. They are     3     (noise), but they are clever birds and it is easy to teach them to talk. Some zoos have parrot shows, where you can see birds doing things they have learned.

Several mass extinction events have occurred in the course of our planet’s history. Scientists say that previously the     1     (reason) for extinction have varied, but human actions will be to blame for the sixth extinction which has already started to happen. It is clear that human activity negatively affects almost every natural thing on Earth from destroying different species of plants and animals     2     creating various types of greenhouse gases. In fact, species are being wiped out at a     3     (fast) rate now than any time in history.

Schloss and her partner set out to find out     1     people like certain colors more than others. Their studies suggest that color preference     2     (cause) by how someone feels about objects of that color. For example, people often like blue     3     it reminds them of clear skies and clean water. On the other hand, people tend to shy away from brown because they are reminded of the food that has gone bad.

8 . The bald eagle was once a dying species in the United States. This is because the bird wasn’t always held with respect. At the National Book Festival, author Jack E. Davis detailed the bald eagle’s “great conservation success story”.

The bald eagle has faced extinction twice. The first occurred in the late 19th century. “It was then that a bald eagle seen was one to be shot,” he said. He explained that the bird had been regarded as a dangerous animal, and considered a threat. But such threat tended to be overstated. Throughout the early 20th century, thousands of bald eagles were shot down. Things began to change for the bird in 1940, when the government passed its legal protection — the Bald Eagle Protection Act.

However, only five years later, the bird faced its second near extinction when DDT, an environmentally harmful insecticide (杀虫剂), was introduced at the end of World War Ⅱ. In 1963, the bald eagle hit its lowest number — totaling less than 500 nesting pairs across the U.S. “At that time, only about one-third of the nation’s water was safe for swimming and fishing,” Davis said. “That was eagle habitat, but also our habitat.” “We stepped up.” He mentioned that this situation led a nonprofit organization, Fish and Wildlife, to launch “hugely successful” eagle protection projects.

By 2007, the bald eagle was removed from the list as the species regained its health, reaching nearly 11,000 nesting pairs nationwide, and today’s number is somewhere around 500,000.

For those looking to assist in the ongoing comeback of the bald eagle and other endangered animals, Davis said, almost every state has a center that accepts donations and welcomes visitors and volunteers.

9 . Brothers Cole and Blake Meyer, aged 10 and 8, were on their bikes to go fishing in June when they saw something_______down the road from their northern Iowa home.

There were a lot of dead baby turtles,_______by cars on the main road between two wetlands, Ventura Marsh (沼泽) and Clear Lake. The two boys felt_______for them, so they climbed off their bikes and began_______other small turtles that were slowly crossing to the other side of the road. They_______one in each hand and took them across, then went back for some more.

The boys kept up their task of_______turtles for the rest of the summer. They_______watched for turtles from a nearby bike path and crossed the road themselves only when there was no_______. But sometimes they would hold up their arms to stop a car if there were turtles on the_______.

In some days they could see as many as 40 or 50 turtles________themselves in the middle of the road. There were times they went out at 8:30 in the morning and came back at 6. To reduce turtle deaths, they even put up several________saying “Careful! Turtle Crossing!” to warn the passing cars along the road.

“We do it because they’re________things—we don’t want to see them run over and killed,” the boys said.

Their mother was proud of what they were doing and was out there several times with water and snacks to show her_______. Biologist Grummer said, “It’s heartwarming that they were using their summer break to help________and protect turtles. These boys give me________for the next generation.”

Leaf-cutter ants are interesting.     1    (look) for leaves, the larger ants usually go out in groups. They bite of bits of leaves and carry them back. Watching these ants march in single file, carrying leaves, is quite a sight. These ants can carry a leaf that     2     (weigh) 20 times more than they do. The leaves     3     (collect) by the ants are not for eating. They are brought back so fungus(真菌) can grow on them. The fungus is the food for the ants.