1 . Years ago, the Johnstons lived in Costa Rica. They were ________ to see a number of stray dogs wandering around, many of them sick or injured. “There was so much ________,” Paul says. The couple wanted to help so they ________ to give the dogs shots, clean their wounds and even set their broken bones.

Paul and Alice ________ the United States in 2014, bringing 19 dogs with them. They currently have 18, but that ________ is always changing. Walking that many pups is ________, so Paul decided to ________ the train to give their pack more time out and about. With happy barking for the duration of the ________, it’s pretty clear that his passengers ________.

Every time Paul Johnston of Lehigh Acres. Florida, starts up his lawnmower, 16 of his rescue dogs come running. They know what the ________ means: a ride through the neighborhood on an eight car homemade barrel train. With one dog in each car, ________ of the crew will have to wait for the ________ departure. Paul drives the lawnmower that ________ the train, and his wife, Alice, rides her bike behind to make sure that the dogs stay ________.

Neighbors ________ the train drive by, taking videos and bringing their own dogs outside to see the ________. During the holiday season, Paul and Alices ________ the train with Christmas lights, turning it into the Wonderland Express.

But it’s the train’s year-round decorations that show the couple’s true ________. Each car displays a slogan supporting ________. “we hope seeing our train — and our dogs — will ________ people to provide a home to an animal who needs one.” Alice says.

2 . The griffon vulture (兀鹫) is an endangered species. _________, conservationists have been training cameras on some of their nests to try to _________ them.

This year they’ve been watching a family _________ on a cliff (悬崖). The pair had single chick. All was going _________ until the mother was killed when she flew into power lines, which are the biggest _________ to the huge birds.

The vultures have to fly far and wide to _________ food, and the experts knew that the father would not be able to provide enough _________ for the chick on his own. The only way to _________ the chick appeared to be to send climbers up to the nest and take it into captivity (圈养). But then someone suggested a different _________ and within a few days of the mother’s death she had a rescuer — Mama Drone (无人机). The drone has been dropping food to the chick every two or three days.

Getting to the cliff isn’t __________. It requires precision flying. They also __________ a drone that would be non-threatening to the chick and other rare __________ in the area.

XTEND is a cutting-edge drone company that __________ in giving operators a pilot’s-eye view. Virtual reality puts the __________ in the drone’s driving seat, as it were. With the company’s __________, the conservationists prepared for the mission by making a __________ of the nest site in their base. Operators __________ practice flights for hours to prepare themselves for the real thing.

And mission Mama Drone has worked out __________. All those involved got the reward they’d __________ earlier this week. The chick __________ for the first time.

3 . My husband Mike waved a stick in my face, pulling my attention back to the very important task at hand. As I looked up, I saw our dog Bagel's _______ commanding to make the next move.

From our first encounter, Bagel's stare has said everything that she could not _______ out. Twelve years after _______ Bagel, we understood each other better than ever. This summer we decided to _______ the occasion with a road trip.

We _______ ourselves on a Vancouver Island beach, more than 1,500 miles from our _______ in Northern Colorado. Maximum _______ required the whole family's involvement and participation. Bagel reminded me as she waited for me to _______ our game of fetch. Holding my eyes with hers, she threw her head back and sent her _______ directly to me: "Hey lady, you're supposed to be ________ too. It's your turn!” I took the ________ from Mike and as far as I could, ________ it into the water. Within seconds she ________ dropping the stick at my feet with a bark, “________! ”

As I watched my aging dog walk around like a puppy, I knew we had made our decision ________ but when we planned this ________ we realized that it could be one of her last. For the last couple of years, old age had finally begun to ________ energy and strength.

As she ages, it is becoming increasingly difficult to ________ the fact that Mike and I will almost ________   outlive her. And consequently, it feels more important than ever that we should celebrate, rather than ________ the limited time we have left.

4 . One afternoon, I had been clearing bush in the mountain for several hours. Feeling starved a bit, I decided to _________ myself with lunch. Sitting on a log, I unwrapped a sandwich and surveyed the scenery. My peaceful time would have been _________ if it had not been for a bee that began buzzing （嗡嗡叫）around me. Without thinking, I _________ it away.

_________ ,the bee came back and buzzed me again. Now, losing _________ I swatted （重拍） the insect to the ground and crunched it into the _________ with my boot.

Moments later the bee _________ again. This time I stood up and crushed the insect into the sand with all my 210 pounds.

Once more I sat down to my lunch. After several minutes I became aware of a _________movement near my feet. A broken but _________ living bee was weakly emerging from the sand. I leaned down and saw its right __________ was relatively complete but the left was crumpled （褶皱的）. Nevertheless, the bee kept exercising the wings slowly __________ and began to clean its sand. Next the bee struggled to __________ the left wing. I got down on my hands and knees to better see the fruitless __________. As a retired pilot, I was __________ the bee was finished.

But the bee paid no attention to my superior wisdom. At last it felt sufficiently confident to start a trial __________ but gently flew into a rise in the sand no more than three inches away. Again it lifted __________ this time flying six inches before __________ another mound （土堆）.Apparently the bee had not mastered the __________ control, like a plane without navigation.

Once more it took off, this time clearing the sand but heading straight toward a tree. Avoiding it __________, the bee checked its forward speed, circled and then flew slowly over the mirror-like surface of the pool as if to admire its own __________ As the bee disappeared, I realized that I was still on my knees.