1 . Some literary characters capture the imagination of readers. Their adventures, experiences, talents and personalities make them _______. Detective Sherlock Holmes is one of these. Author Arthur Conan Doyle created Holmes in 1887 in his works. He was brilliant. Critically, his ability to notice _______, assemble them and draw conclusions amazed everyone. He first appeared in the story “A Study in Scarlet”The story also introduced Dr. John Watson and how he came to live with Holmes and be part of his life. Watson observes that many interesting people visit Holmes at various times during the day. Holmes informs Watson he is a “_______detective”. These people are clients, including _______ from Scotland Yard, who seek his help to solve difficult cases.

Watson narrates this first case which involves the murders of two men. The story has two parts. In the first part, Holmes solves the crime and captures the killer. The second part gives the backstory as to why the killer murdered his _______. It was a revenge (报复) killing for their part in the death of the murderer’s fiancee.

The Red-headed League is on many people’s lists of their favorite stories _______ Sherlock Holmes. In this story, red-headed businessman Jabez Wilson wants Holmes’ help. Several weeks before, Wilson’s young assistant, Vincent Spaulding, had _______ him to reply to a newspaper ad. The ad offered _______ paid work to a red-headed man. Wilson gets the job and is paid 4 pounds a week for short periods of afternoon work. _______ suddenly without notice the job stops. Wilson wants Holmes’s assistance to discover what happened. Holmes ________ a description of Spaulding and goes to see him at Wilson’s shop. He notices that the knees of Spaulding’s trousers are ________. Then Holmes taps on the pavement ________Wilson’s shop. Next he calls a police inspector and the director of the bank that is behind Wilson’s shop. The four men hide in the dark bank vault (金库) and wait. Soon two men, one of whom is Spaulding, ________ from a tunnel cut into the vault’s floor and are captured. The two men had ________ the Red-headed League to keep Wilson away while they dug the ________ to the bank vault.

2 . When my mother told me stories about Emily, her grandmother, who she admired, I was all ears. My mother drew a _______ between Emily and Jacqueline Kennedy, former US president’s wife. Mom described her _______ features: a long graceful neck and a tiny waist. “Emily was just like Jacqueline,” Mom said. “But their origins wouldn’t _______: Emily was graceful, soft-spoken, but possibly born a slave.”

Emily attracted me. Not until 2005 did my research on ancestry really start to _______ , for the reason that I was no longer _______. “When does your new job start?” asked my mother. “I refuse to take a job for at least a year,” I replied. My mother had no _______ with such words. “Anyway, you should have a job.” I remained _______ and didn’t explain it. But I felt I must _______ my job to collect more stories about my _______.

I ________ my mother’s line to a place called Cane River. I found the bill of shameful slave sale for my great-great-great grandmother, who was ________ in 1850 for $ 800. I had to write the stories. This time the novel Cane River was sold in a（n） ________ way.

One day, the phone rang, “Hello, this is Oprah Winfrey, the talk show hostess.” I couldn’t believe my ears. I responded in ________, “Hello, Ms Winfrey. What can I do for you today?” She told me she selected my novel for her book club, which ________ led to Cane River on The New York Times bestseller list and a ________ readership than I expected.