It was a chilly autumn evening. Sarah, a tired businesswoman, left her workplace and drove home. When she turned a corner, she spotted a puppy in the middle of the road. The dog was muddy and trembling. His eyes held a glimmer of both hope and despair. Sarah couldn’t ignore the poor puppy. Approaching him cautiously, she coaxed (哄) him and brought him home.

Over the next few days, Sarah tried her best to look for the dog’s owner, but in vain. It seemed that the dog had been abandoned, with no collar or tags to identify its owner.

She determined to take care of the dog, which she named Max. She kept him in the backyard, feeding him, providing water and watching him chase his tail in the yard. The puppy trusted in her slowly with Sarah’s gentle care and patience. Sarah had a happy feeling she never had before.

As days passed, Sarah became more comfortable with Max’s presence. When she was working, Max would sit calmly by her side. When she woke up in the morning, Max would sit near her bed with a playful bark, demanding his daily walk. The early morning air was cool, and the rising sun cast a warm glow on them. Sarah realized that Max had been a great comfort to her.

As days turned into weeks, Sarah grew more attached to Max. She found herself looking forward to coming home every day, excited to see her furry friend waiting at the door. Then, she would lovingly prepare Max delicious meals. His eyes, once filled with sadness, now sparkled with gratitude. He would eagerly follow her around the house wherever she went. Max became more than just a pet; he became a loyal friend and a source of happiness for Sarah, who had discovered a newfound balance between her career and personal life. They became inseparable.

One evening, as Sarah and Max were out for their regular evening walk, something unexpected happened. A social media post attracted her attention. A lady named Emma was anxiously looking for her missing dog, Buddy.

Her heart sank as she saw the photo of a dog.

Sarah arranged the bittersweet reunion.

As a senior editor in a famous press, I always think of days twenty years before when I was 18, I lived with my grandparents, and my parents earned their living in another city, struggling to support our family. I had taken to delivering newspapers to support myself and my education.

I would be up every morning by 5 am and walk five kilometres from where I lived to the newspaper office. By 6 am, I would collect 50 copies which must have weighed over five kilograms. My delivery range spanned (横跨) three kilometres. After distributing the copies, I would rush home—another three kilometres away—cook my breakfast, and be off to my school.

One Friday morning, I got home after my deliveries, finding Afzal, a boy from the neighbourhood, at my doorstep. Afzal said his mother wanted to see me. When I asked him why, Afzal said, “She will tell you.” Tired after walking around for over 11 kilometres, I was looking forward to breakfast and some rest. I assumed his mother wished to subscribe (定期订购) to the newspaper, so I followed him to his home nearby.

A woman in her 40s opened the door. I later learned she was Afzal’s mother, Mrs Kader. She asked me to sit, pulled up her chair next to mine and gently asked, “Tell me about your routine, right from the time you wake up in the morning.” I wasn’t quite sure why she wanted to know, but I told her about my morning job in a few words. She asked me, “How many miles do you walk every day?” I replied, “A little more than 11 kilometres.” My reply shocked her.

Then she patted my back and went inside, reappearing carrying a large plate full of food for breakfast for me. It was a heart y breakfast, one that brought back memories of happy days spent with my parents. Later, as I was about to leave after thanking them, Mrs Kader asked me to wait and she went inside again.

Then Mrs Kader appeared again, with a new bicycle.

I bowed to Mrs Kader gratefully and left for school.

One day, a baby girl called Helen felt uncomfortable and she nearly died. Luckily her life     1    (save), but she could no longer see or hear. Because of that, she also found it very difficult to speak.

Before her     2    (eight) birthday, the family found her a private teacher-Anne Sullivan. Anne was always     3    (patient) teaching Helen, especially those     4     she was interested in. As a result, Helen soon learned to read and write in Braille which is a special language for the blind. She also learned to read people’s mouths by     5    (put) her fingers on them. This is a skill that very few people can have. She has the     6    (able) to express herself     7    (exact) and communicate with others well.

Helen became     8     successful scholar (学者) . While she was still at college, she wrote The Story of My Life. It soon became such a success that she got enough money to buy her own house.

After she     9    (die) in 1968, an organization was set up in her name to help the blind in the developing world. Today, Helen Keller International organization has become one of the     10    (big) organizations working with blind people overseas.

5 . Benny’s story is one of coming from the poor streets to a life of pets. The little cat was found on the streets after he was discarded out of a truck. He was saved and brought to the Wood County Humane Society, where he was able to recover from his injuries.

Benny was adopted (收养) by Anna Burwell, the adult services manager for Swanton Public Library and she started to bring him to work. Benny lives a good life at the library and takes on the role of protector. Of course, he goes home for the night and does not actually live in the library.

Benny spends his days making his way around the library, walking through the empty bottom shelves and driving the children into Storytime. In just a few weeks, he has made a perfect impression on the community.

Now, the library is considering using Benny as a treatment cat. That’s because he is a good listener and makes the children feel comfortable.

Library cats have been in the library for a long time. In fact, cats were kept in libraries during the Middle Ages to keep mice from eating the books. And they have been an important part of library life around the world ever since.

In 1745, cats were invited into the royal (皇家的) palace by Russian Empress Elisabeth to control mice in the library. The descendants (后代) of these cats still live in what is now the Hermitage Museum.

The most famous library cat was Dewey Readmore, who lived in the Spencer Public Library in lowa. He was discovered in the library’s drop box when he was only 8 weeks old in 1988 and lived there for almost 20 years.

The custom of library cats is still very much alive and well, as Benny is the newest model of the Swanton Library.

Grace’s father, Mike, couldn’t get out of bed for weeks after her mother died and when he finally did, he had lost his job. As the money ran out, the debt couldn’t be paid. It seemed like some wild beast had jumped onto her dad’s back and was killing him. So Mike sold the house and the beast on his back seemed to go with it.

Luckily, Miss Fay, who was an rich artist, was happy to give her abandoned caravan(大篷车)to them. In return, Mike had to tidy up Fay’s garden and look after her house when she was away.

Mike had once been a famous violin player. He had won competitions and been on television shows. Grace loved to watch how her father played the violin, which made her heart sing. Since her mother had died, however, the violin had stayed still and silent in its case. But now, after moving to the caravan, her father played the violin every day. He even taught Grace to play.

One day, the teacher announced that a talent scout(星探)would come to the school to look for someone to play the violin in the musical Mr Spy. Grace kept quiet because she thought she was not good enough to play for an audience. However, her friend told the teacher she had a violin and could play it.

“Get prepared for it, the talent scout will come next month,” the teacher sad. “And oh, if you are selected, the pay is good!”

After school, Grace kicked at the pebbles angrily along the way. She hated being the centre of attention. There was no way she would play the violin. No amount of money would persuade her.

As soon as she arrived at Fay’s house, Grace saw police officers outside the house. Fay and her dad were talking in low voices and they didn’t look very happy.

“What happened?” asked Grace.

“Break-in,” said her dad, “all Fay’s paintings and her painting tools have been stolen.” She looked very sad. So was Grace’s father, he kept blaming himself for not being a very good guard.

Grace was afraid that the wild beast would be onto her dad’s back again.

The big day eventually came，Grace played beyond everyone’s expectations.