1 . The beauty of love is that it can happen with the most unexpected person in the most unlikely places. In the case of a one-year-old stray puppy in Duplin County, North Carolina, that “person” happened to be a bright _________ stuffed unicorn (独角兽) at a local Dollar General store.

It is unclear how the adorable Labrador mix, now called Sisu, first caught sight of the _______ of his life. However, once he did, there was no stopping the pooch from trying to _______ it from the shelf in the store. On his first attempt, he _______ through the doors and made a beeline for the _______ aisle (通道), only to be caught by the staff. Not discouraged, Sisu made four more _______, only to be gently driven away by the shop assistants.

After Sisu attempted for the fifth time, the store owner _______ the Duplin County Animal Services. When animal control officer named Samantha Lane arrived, Sisu was sitting in the store’s parking lot _______ awaiting his next chance to get his beloved unicorn. The officer, who has a “soft spot for sad stories,” couldn’t bear to see the _______ puppy. So, she bought the $10 unicorn and placed it in the front seat of her truck. Not ________, the stray pooch willingly followed.

On March 26, 2021, the shelter staff ________ a photo of Sisu and his friend on Facebook, ________ their story as well. The heartwarming post went viral, and within five days, Sisu had found a(n) ________ home. The animal shelter, which is currently training the dog, has also ________ numerous purple unicorns from fans who want to make sure Sisu is never ________ his favorite toy again!

2 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。

7 . Dogs are man’s best friends, and they may be the heart’s best friends as well.

A group of heart disease experts from the American Heart Association (AHA) reviewed research connecting heart health with owning a dog and found that owning a dog has a likely nexus with a lower risk of heart disease for those without a history of heart problems, and with greater survival rates among heart disease patients.

The group, chaired by Dr. Glenn Levine, a professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, released a scientific statement in favor of having a dog to lower the risk of heart disease by helping people to be more physically active as well as reduce blood pressure and minimize the effects of stress. Previous studies showed that the companionship and close relationship that owners build with their dogs can boost levels of anti-stress hormones (抗应激激素) that can increase resilience (适应力) and help people to cope with stressful situations. One of the studies found, for example, that those who adopted dogs enjoyed a drop in blood pressure, while another revealed that among 5,200 adults, those who owned dogs were 54% more likely to get recommended levels of exercise and be active than non-dog owners. That trend is supported by other studies that found people who owned dogs were less likely to be overweight.

According to a report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC), dogs aren’t a panacea (灵丹妙药) against heart disease, and it’s likely that taking care of them requires their owners to get more exercise, which can reduce stress, weight and blood pressure and thus benefit the heart. “If someone adopts a pet, but still sits on the couch and smokes and eats whatever he wants and doesn’t control his blood pressure,” Levine told the Nero York Times, “that’s not a wise strategy to decrease the risk”.

8 . 100-year-old Alfred Larson has been through a lot in his lifetime, but one thing that keeps him going is bluebirds.

When Alfred retired in 1978, he wanted to find a hobby or something to do that would keep him busy and provide him with a sense of purpose. When he read a National Geographic article about crafting wooden nest boxes for bluebirds to help improve their populations, he decided to give it a try. Alfred explained that he started building nest boxes on his ranch (大牧场) using left-over pieces of wood.

More than four decades later, Alfred is still going strong and promoting bluebird conservation efforts. Alfred is now monitoring nearly 350 nest boxes on six different trails (小路) in Southwest Idaho. He said, “I settled on a simple design that was easy to build and easy to monitor. I kept adding more boxes on these trails, and these birds responded.” Alfred’s boxes give bluebirds a lot of help in survival. “Without his work, we can’t see so many bluebirds now,” said Pearman, the author of Mountain Bluebird Trail Monitoring Guide.

To celebrate his achievements, filmmaker Matthew Podolsky worked with Alfred for weeks to create a 30-minute documentary—Bluebird Man. The film explores how everything led him to the work he does today and his efforts in bluebird protection. “I remember the first trip I took to the bluebird trail with Alfred, and I was very surprised by the speed with which he moved from box to box,” said Podolsky. “He was hiking across difficult and uneven terrain (地形). I often struggled to keep up with him. Sometimes we’d check more than 100 boxes and be driving home in the dark.”

The impact he’s had on the populations of bluebirds in North America will continue.