4 . I was attacked by a tiger shark in late October 1997. It was near my home on the island of Kauai—a typical fall morning with friends. The waves were really good, so nothing was stopping us.

That is until a large shark came right up under me and sank his teeth into my lower leg. There had been no splashing. no noise, and I felt no pain, only great pressure on my lower body.

Then I followed my instinct: I punched the shark in the face, again and again which happens to be what the expert advice, until the shark released me. As I swam back into shore, I felt my lower right leg spasming(痉挛). When I looked down, I realized it was gone. The shark had bit my lower leg off. My friends rushed to my aid, and rushed me to hospital.

It was another day before the “fog” lifted, at which point I opened my eyes and realized I was in the hospital—a below-the-knee amputee(截肢). For the next few bedridden weeks, I spent time with my family, and considered the future.

As soon as I was given the OK by my doctors, I did what many of us might consider unthinkable: I started riding the waves again. In fact, my first time back was near the site of his attack. I was unshaken and curious—Was it because of the tides? The phase of the moon? I also recalled that the morning of the attack the water had a fishy smell. Was that what attracted the shark?

I was determined to research sharks, and I did learn something that would change my life: Humans are far more dangerous to sharks than the other way around, I tell Reader’s Digest. “I watched a documentary called Sharkwater, and I learned about the demand for shark fin soup and the fact that 70 million sharks a year are killed for their fins alone.”

My unique situation as a shark survivor empowered me to give sharks a voice. I began working with the Hawaii state legislature to help pass a ban on shark-derived products. I partnered with other like-minded shark attack survivors and marine biologists, and we headed to Washington to urge senators to create a nationwide bill protecting sharks.

8 . A man was visiting a zoo. As he was passing the _______, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that each of these _______ creatures was being held by only a small _______ tied to their front leg. It was _______ that the elephants could, at any time, break away from their _______ but, for some reason, they did not.

He saw a _______ nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to _______. “Well,” the trainer said, “when they were very _______, we would use the same size rope to _______ them. At that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they still believe the rope can still hold them ________ they never try to break free.”

The man was ________. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds, but because they believed they couldn’t, they never ________ to escape. Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging on to a ________ that we cannot do something, simply because we failed in it once before? ________ is part of learning. We should never give up the ________ in life.

9 . What makes people so special? Tool use, self-consciousness, language, and culture are high on the list, but in fact all of these characteristics can be found elsewhere in the animal kingdom. Humans and apes are close relatives, so it is perhaps not surprising that chimpanzees use tools or that gorillas (大猩猩) have a sense of fair play, even rejecting carrots (which they normally accept) when they see their neighbors getting grapes. But the qualities that we often think of as uniquely human exist not just on land, but in the ocean as well.

Among the invertebrates, octopuses (八爪鱼) are known for their intelligence, even exhibiting evidence of playfulness, tool use, and personality. But these skilled predators live alone and consequently lack culture. Dolphins, on the other hand, are large-brained, long-living, social- group-based predators, and it is here that we find the greatest similarity to human-like culture and awareness.

Culture depends on the ability of animals to pass on things they have learned to others. Many animals have culture in this sense, but what sets dolphins apart is what they pass on. Some bottlenose dolphins hold sponges in their mouths that they use as tools to sweep for fish hiding on the ocean floor. This ability is handed down through generations (especially in females), with some families — grandmother, mother, and daughter — all feeding in this highly specialized way.

Another characteristic that dolphins share with humans is their ability to recognize themselves in a mirror. When facing a mirror, most animals behave as though they are interacting with another individual. Even in humans, the ability to recognize that the image in a mirror is oneself does not occur before the age of 18 months. Dolphins not only recognize themselves, but if a black mark is put on the body of a dolphin, it will spend extra time at the mirror to look at the mark.

10 . Dad’s car pulled into the driveway. I ran to the door. Dad smiled as if he had a secret. “It feels cold to us, but it’s warm and attractive to see a frog. Are you coming?” he asked. I agreed with excitement and then put on my raincoat.

“Hey, look at this one,” Dad shined his light on a green frog the size of his thumb. The frog jumped, its four legs sticking straight out. I found my first frog on a driveway. A bright-green one with shiny skin. I wondered what it would feel like. I could see the frog breathing.

I could imagine a car running over it. I said, “Dad, can you move this one?” “You do it,” Dad said. I looked at the frog. I didn’t want to touch it. But I didn’t want it to get squashed (压扁的). I reached down. It jumped through my fingers. I tried again. Cupping one hand around the frog, I picked it up with the other hand. Its skin felt cold and soft. The frog moved. I walked to the grass and held out my hand. The frog climbed up my wrist. I laughed. Then I gently placed the frog onto the grass.

We walked a couple of blocks. We found lots of frogs-brown ones, green ones and spotted ones. I got better at finding them. If they were on the road, we moved them when traffic was clear. I actually started to like picking them up.

I was ready to go home. Then I saw something moving near a stone wall. Something bigger than a frog. Dad and I shined our lights and crouched. “Is it a lizard (蜥蜴)?” I asked. “No, it’s a salamander,” Dad said. “Hey, I just realized something,” I said. “The animals out tonight—frogs and salamanders—are amphibians (两栖动物). We’d learned about amphibians in school.” “Great observation,” Dad said.