1 . The Lomax family needed a dog. Though their house was already full with seven people, they knew a dog would truly make the house a home. So they settled on a dog whom they named Jack.     1    

It was Jack’s protective instinct (本能) that would eventually save the lives of Lomax family. Indeed, if it wasn’t for him, the family may never have survived the terrible accident that would eventually befall (降临到头上) them one cold January day in 2017.

It was a night like many others. Autumn, the family’s youngest child and her mother Ashley had settled into bed in one of the bedrooms on the second floor. Jack, who rarely left Autumn’s side, had settled in there as well.     2     At some point during the night, while the family was fast asleep, a fire had started in one of the other second-floor bedrooms, Jack had picked up a whiff (些微的气味) of the smoke in the next room. In an instant, the brave dog jumped into action.

The four-legged family member knew something was wrong but had no way of telling his owners.     3     She pushed him off her and tried to roll over but he began again. Then he went to Autumn and did the same thing until both were up.

    4     She screamed at the top of her lungs as she ran from the room, alerting (使警觉) the rest of the family to the disaster that was taking place. Jack did his part again too, barking as loudly as he could. Ashley’s scream woke the four other adults and two more children.     5    

In no time at all, the fire had engulfed (吞没) nearly the entire home, but luckily, all of the Lomax had made it out alive, with Jack leading the way.

2 . The latest diet trend in America is also an ancient human activity. The activity is fasting, or not eating food for a set amount of time. Like other diets, intermittent fasting helps you lose weight by setting limits on eating. But instead of limiting what you eat, it limits when you eat.   

One of the more popular approaches to intermittent fasting is called “time-restricted feeding”. It is not as difficult as some of the other approaches, since the fasting period can include the time you are sleeping. The basic idea of time-restricted feeding is to limit eating to an eight-hour period. You then fast during the day’s other 16 hours.

Many people make the eating period shorter or longer. Some eat just one meal a day. In other approaches, people fast several days during a week. On fasting days, some people may permit themselves around 600 calories. Whatever the approach, people are not supposed to overeat when they stop fasting.

Studies on the potential health benefits of intermittent fasting are still limited, including for its effectiveness with weight loss. For now, limited research suggests it may not be any better for weight loss than reducing calorie intake over the long term.

They point to a study of 100 people where those placed in a fasting group lost about the same amount of weight as those on diets that restricted calories. The fasting group had a dropout rate of 38 percent, compared with 29 percent for the caloric-restriction diet group.

People interested in intermittent fasting should talk to their doctor before trying it. Health experts do not recommend intermittent fasting for children, people on some medications and people with a history of eating disorders.

5 . The Power of Fresh Starts

Thirty years ago，I began my first year of teaching in Grade 2.One of the most _______ students was a little boy who had a serious ADD (多动症). I had no _______ in dealing with such a case, and I _______ the year studying how to help him become a successful _______ . There were many disappointing moments, but there was something _______ about the boy who moved excitedly around my classroom.

_______ the end of the school year came near, I heard a talk. The Grade 3 teachers were _______ of having Stephen the following year. I considered it a lot, and I _______ that I would be the best person to _______ Stephen into Grade 3. My headmaster looked at me in ________ , but he agreed to my plan.

I will never forget that day when Stephen came to ask ________ he was in my class again. I looked him in the eye and said, “Well, Stephen, you’re in my ________ because I asked for you.” The little boy looked surprised. “You did? Why?” he asked. “Because I like you and want to keep ________ with you,” I answered.

Stephen just ________ at me. After a few moments, he ________ and walked back to his seat. We never spoke of it again, but the two of us had many ________ learning breakthroughs (突破) that year. I believe those ________ were more of a result of Stephen’s knowing that I had put his previous year’s mistakes behind him.

Now I come to know that when I ________ for one, I can improve his soul. Each season is a new beginning, a new way of thinking. Many students ________ a new start and are determined to act upon it. We need to pay attention to even the smallest ________ that students are looking for help.

6 . “You’re not listening!” “Let me finish!” “That’s not what I said!” After “I love you,” these are among the most common words in close relationships. During my two years researching a book on listening, I learned something unbelievable about interpersonal communication: The closer we feel toward someone, the less likely we are to listen carefully to them. It’s called the closeness-communication bias (偏见) and, over time, it can hurt, and even end relationships.

The more you know someone, the more likely you are to ignore him or her because you think you already know what he or she is going to say. It’s kind of like when you’ve traveled a certain route several times and no longer notice signposts and scenery.

Social science researchers have repeatedly proved the closeness-communication bias in the experiments where they paired subjects first with friends or spouses (配偶) and then with strangers. The researchers asked subjects to interpret what their partners were saying. While the subjects predicted they would more exactly understand those who they had close relationships with, they often understood them no better than strangers, and often worse.

The closeness-communication bias not only keeps us from listening to those we love, it can also keep us from allowing our loved ones to listen to us. It may explain why people in close relationships sometimes keep secrets from one another.

Another study shows that people often share their concerns with strangers rather than their spouses, family members or dear friends because they fear judgment.

So what can we do to avoid the closeness-communication bias? The British psychologist Robin Dunbar says the key is to talk with those closest to us every day. That means asking, “How are you?” and actually listening to the answer.

The worst thing about plastic straws (吸管) is that most of the time, they’re not a     1     (choose). Like much of the single-use plastic that     2     (come) our way, they just appear, placed in take-out bags or     3     (provide) with iced tea. And if you pick up plastic on beaches, you know that one of the most common pieces of plastic waste you’ll find is plastic straws. They’re everywhere. And once they make     4     (they) way to the sea, they’re eaten by fish or birds that mistake them for food. Straws are used once and then they are immediately thrown away and become waste, staying in the environment     5     years.

    6     (fortune) , we can do something to help. If you like to use a straw at home     7     you want to provide them at your business, there are two options. The first one is trying a reusable straw, which can     8     (wash) along with dishes. They come in stainless steel or glass. And they come in all kinds of sizes and some have fun decorations.

Another option is paper straws,     9     also come in all kinds of pretty decorative colors and patterns. You can even find them     10     (make) from recycled paper!

With so many options available, there’s no reason to add to the plastic straw waste problem.