1 . 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.

2 . 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.”