1 . My family went to London for visiting specialists. The day before we _______ the ship, Father said goodbye gently to his five-year-old “friend”, an Australian cattle dog, Spider, who was loved by us all. Father’s friend Sandy kept him _______ while we were overseas.

Six weeks later, a _______ arrived from Sandy, giving my father the news that Spider had _______ just two weeks after we had sailed. I will always remember my father’s face _______ and his eyes filled with sadness as he read the letter. Sandy has _______ constantly on ABC radio and other local newspapers. _______ , the dog was never found later. Spider seemed to decide to _______ us elsewhere.

Finally, we made a _______. We sailed back and did everything that we could do ________ waiting. Several months passed but there was still no news concerning. My father took the ________ and kept looking for him.

One cold morning eight months after, my father had a call from an old lady who said she was putting food out “for a very old dog”. My father’s eyes were lighted up with ________. That was enough for my father to ________ immediately. When we arrived at the old lady’s house, she showed us the dog. It was Spider! My father did his special whistle (口哨) for Spider. “Woof!” he barked. Spider was capturing (捕捉) the ________ feeling that occurred when he first locked eyes with my father. To Spider, our ________ and love are the inspiration.

In Rome there was once a poor slave whose name was Androclus. His master was a cruel man, and so unkind to him that Androclus ran away. He hid himself in a wild wood for many days; but there was no food to be found, and he grew so weak and sick that he thought he would die. So one day he climbed into a cave and lay down to wait for death, and soon he was fast asleep.

After a while, a great noise woke him up. A lion had come into the cave, and was roaring loudly. Androclus was very afraid, for he felt sure that the beast would kill him. Soon, however, he saw the lion was not angry, but that his foot were hurt.

Then Androclus grew so courageous that he started to examine the lion’s paw to see what was the matter. The lion stood quite still, and rubbed his head against the man’s shoulder. He seemed to say, “I know that you will help me.”

Androclus lifted the paw from the ground, and saw that it was a long, sharp thorn that hurt the lion so much. He took the end of the thorn between his fingers; then he gave a strong, quick pull, and out it came. The lion was full of joy. He jumped about like a dog, and licked the hands and feet of his new friend.

The two became such good friends that Androclus found his new life a very happy one. One day some soldiers found Androclus in the cave and took him back to Rome. It was the law at that time that every slave who ran away from his master should fight a hungry lion. For each of these occasions, a fierce lion was locked up for a while without food, and a time was set for the fight.

When the day came, thousands of people crowded in to see the fight.

The people, who had expected to see the man killed by the lion, were filled with wonder.

7 . No matter how many times Sandy has rescued an animal, she never gets over the casual cruelty some people display toward unwanted pets. When she lost her own “angel” dog, she started Logan’s Legacy to help other pets in need.

Sandy recently received a phone call about a small dog, possibly a puppy, that had been abandoned on a street. Since she was too far to help on, she called a friend who lives nearby to get there as soon as possible. When her friend Tom arrived, he found a tiny dog curled(蜷缩)in a tight ball with the chain firmly tied to a tree. Someone had left food and water for her, but the puppy was too frightened to eat or drink. Once gathered up in a blanket and placed into the back seat of the car, she began to get weak quickly from dehydration(脱水)and exhaustion.

The moment she got some water and food, the puppy made a rapid recovery, and her lovely and sweet personality could finally shine! “We have named her CiCi,” Sandy added, “She is feeling so much better. She has been observed at my place and she is doing great. This sweet baby girl will never feel fearful again, and won’t ever be abandoned again.” After winning hearts at Sandy’s office, CiCi has been approved for adopting and will soon leave for her new life. Sandy and her fellow rescuers are trying their best to find her the perfect family to love her and treat her with the respect all living creatures deserve!

Josie and I wanted a dog more than anything else. Whenever we had time, we’d sit together and talk about dogs. “You’re so silly, Jake,” Josie would say. “Bulldogs (斗牛犬) are scary.” “Hah. Golden retrievers (金毛猎犬) are scary,” I’d say. We had this ongoing argument about what our ideal dog would be. But it made no difference—any dog would do, as long as it had a tail to wag and a friendly face.

One summer night, as we sat together beside the window, Josie saw something. “What’s that?” she said, pointing to a dark shadow on our driveway. The moon was up and everything looked either black or milky. At first all I saw was darkness. Then the shadow moved and I heard the sound of metal. Then the shadow flowed out onto the silvery driveway. With a little fright, we found ourselves stepping down to the front door. There in our yard stood a dog—a big, black dog with long, shaggy (蓬松的) hair.

Josie made a little kissing noise and held out her hand. “Here, boy!” I said. And the dog came to us slowly, taking a few steps forward, and then a step back, not sure whether to trust us. When close enough, it had a doggy smell that always made me think of dirt and grass and piles of leaves. “Don’t say ‘Here, boy’,” said Josie. “She’s a female.” Pulling back and looking, I said, “I wonder what her name is.” I felt for her collar while she sat patiently. I found no tags, but just a chain with a small old bell on it.

“I bet she’s hungry,” said Josie. “I can feel her ribs.” I ran my hand through her fur. The dog was so skinny that you could feel every bone, and her coat was twisted and full of dirt. If she belonged to someone, they weren’t taking good care of her.

“What can we give her?” Josie asked me.

The dog did something completely unexpected.

9 . In 1999, Giuliana Furci, founder and founding director of the Fungi (真菌) Foundation, developed a deep interest in fungi. They were everywhere, and the 20-year-old took particular joy in the variety of mushrooms: small and button-shaped; tall and umbrella-like; round with red caps topped with white flakes. Some were commonly found in people’s diets, for they were rich in nutrients such as vitamin, fiber, minerals and protein.

But Furci also quickly realized that these fungi went largely ignored in Chile, where there were few guidebooks and an almost total lack of policies and resources to protect them from over-harvesting and other human activities. Determined to correct this, Furci wrote a field guide and set up the Fungi Foundation—a nonprofit dedicated to fungi conservation. In her guide, special attention went to the role of fungi in the ecosystem.

“Life on the planet wouldn’t exist without fungi,” said Greg Mueller, a mushroom conservation expert. “Because of their relationship with forests and trees, we can’t survive without fungi. In terms of the health of the planet, they’re incredibly important to humans and the overall ecosystem.” Fungi can break down plants and animals, thus cycling nutrients and increasing their availability in the soil. They are also important contributors to the soil carbon stock through the same process. What’s more, fungi have been found to help degrade (降解) various pollutants, such as plastic. And mycelium (菌丝体), which is the root structure of mushrooms, is now being used to replace unsustainable materials, such as plastic and animal-based products.

Because of these, exploration of fungi was expanded at a faster pace. However, some were already listed as critically endangered. In 2010, Furci took an even bigger step—with other environmental nonprofits, she put forward a proposal for the government to systematically assess how large new developments such as housing, dams, and highways affect fungi. In 2012, a law was passed and Chile became the first country in the world to protect fungi by law.

10 . A petting zoo is also called a children’s zoo. It is a place with domesticated (家养的) animals and some wild species.     1     However, in traditional zoos where wild animals are usually viewed from behind safe enclosures (围场), contact is impossible.

Petting zoos have a long history. In addition to independent petting zoos, many general zoos have a petting zoo. In 1938, the London Zoo included the first children’s zoo in Europe and the Philadelphia Zoo was the first in North America to open a special zoo just for children.     2     All these zoos make children play with animals.

Some petting zoos are also mobile (流动的) and will travel to a home for a child’s party or event. One of the first mobile petting zoos in Australia was Kindifarm. Because of its popularity, many Australians use the term “kindy farms” to describe petting zoos. In Australia, mobile petting zoos are allowed in schools and child care centers.     3    

Petting zoos are popular with small children, who like feeding the animals. Food is supplied by the zoo.     4     Foods often fed to animals include grass.

    5     Many animals can carry diseases. Touching animals may lead to a person catching their diseases. As a result, it’s recommended that people should carefully wash their hands before and after touching the animals, even if the animals are healthy and well cared for.