I'm Elisa. Several days ago, our family were sleeping in Canada's Banff National Park when a wolf (狼) suddenly1our tent. My husband, Matt, was hurt. This is a2thing to post on my Facebook, since I haven't fully understood3it had happened yet.

It was like something out of a terrible4. Matt threw his body in front of me and the boys, and fought with the wolf as5caught his arms and hands. We were shouting for help as he was fighting with it and trying to save us. I6my body on top of the kids and Matt made the wolf not move by holding its mouth closed with his hands, but he7and the wolf started to drag(拖) Matt away, while I was catching his8trying to get him back. I don't think I'll ever be able to describe the terrible experience9.

It was then that Russ10into the picture. He kicked the wolf and it finally let go of Matt. They continued to throw huge rocks11the wolf while we ran as fast as we could to the car for safety.12, the wolf ran away. And then Russ sent us to the nearest hospital and we got the13in time.

It could have been so much worse, and we are just feeling so happy that we are all still sitting here as a14family. Matt is our hero and we are forever15that Russ came to help and saved Matt's life.

I bought two sachets(小香袋)of warm cinnamon spice(肉桂香料) while shopping today. Seeing I was fighting with my crutches(拐杖), a staff helped to push my shopping cart to the door. I gave one to him and he was really pleased.

With so many things, I decided to take a taxi to go home. The driver put my things in the big box and was really lovely with small talk.

A song came on the radio and he sang along to it. It was Stevie Nicks. He then told me that about20 years ago, he took a "Will you marry me, Stevie?" banner(横幅) to her concert. He said the band were pointing to it and laughing during the performance.

When we arrived at my house, he asked if I would be able to get the four shopping bags out of the box myself. Of course I said yes and with my strong independent nature, I said that I could manage. He was kidding though. He brought the shopping bags up to the door. As he got back into the car, something told me to gift the other sachet to him. By this stage, he was already back in his car. He rolled down the window. I told him I wasn't Stevie Nicks, but here was a gift that would make him smell sweet-smelling. He laughed and told me I was an angel (天使).

This was a lovely, fun and warm exchange. He was not smelling roses(玫瑰花), but in the Christmas season, it was much better to smell warm cinnamon spice. As for me, I would rather be an angel than Stevie Nicks, although I'm sure she's lovely.

The local government killed more than 34,000 stray dogs(流浪狗) several months ago because they were afraid that the dogs would spread rabies (狂犬病).

This caused a discussion across the country. Some people said that it was very cruel to kill dogs. There might be a better way to avoid the disease.

In the future, killing stray dogs might be seen as a crime. The Chinese government published a draft(草案) of animal rights law. It says that a person who kills a stray dog without good reasons will be put in prison(监狱). The draft also says that people who treat animals badly will be considered crimes under the criminal law

The government published the draft so that the public could read it and discuss their thoughts. People share different opinions. Some think the law is good. They say other countries like Britain and Japan have similar laws. They say we will do better at protecting animals if there is one. But others say it's not necessary to fight animal abuse with a new law.

Some people also say that the draft doesn't deal with the biggest matters facing the country's development. The country should make progress to give all people equal (平等的) rights, they say, before turning attention to animals. Another part of the draft is causing discussion. It says that people should not force animals to do something dangerous, like jumping through a ring of fire. But many people enjoy watching this kind of performance at the circus, especially kids. They say that if the animal does it properly, it will not get hurt.

Mars is an empty planet, but that could change. Someday, it might have farms where fruit and vegetables could grow.

Growing food on Mars has always seemed hard. But scientists think they have found a way to do it. They put sheets(薄膜) of material on the ground. The sheets could change the cold, dry planet into land for farming.

Robin Wordsworth worked on the sheets at Harvard University in Massachusetts. He said the sheets could let people live on another planet. On Mars, the conditions are not good, though. Most importantly, the planet is cold and dry. The soil might have polluted parts, and the air does not have much nitrogen(氮气) that plants need to grow.

The sheets do not solve all the problems. Still, they could help to set up a place for plants. The plants would grow only under the sheets. So there is less worry about harming the rest of Mars. The sheets would cover the plants.

The scientists worked with sheets about an inch thick. Those allowed light through for plants. They also warmed the ground and trapped enough heat to melt ice on Mars. Placing the sheets over icy parts of Mars could let plants alive there. Their study was printed in Nature Astronomy. The sheets could be on the ground to grow water plants and they also could be hung. That would give room to plants to grow on land below them.

Wordsworth said, "You can imagine this being used in a number of ways. It could be used for visitors to Mars. Later it could be for people who live there. However, it's a pity that the sheets are being studied in the lab."

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The balalaika(巴拉莱卡)also called the "Russian guitar", is a (传统的)Russian musical instrument, It has a long neck, a wooden triangle-shaped body and strings(弦). It's usually used to play Russian music with (手指).

Russians like the balalaika. The music played with it can be cheerful, as if the farmers were (跳舞) happily to celebrate their harvest. It can also be

energetic, as if the workers were working hard to make their country (更强壮) and richer. If a Russian moves to live or work abroad. he will (正常情况下) take a balalaika with him. When he feels lonely and sad, he will play it to cheer himself up.

The balalaika was first played by the poor. At that time, balalaikas were (生产) by the players themselves. They were simple with different numbers of strings from two to even (六).Later a Russian musician, a (先驱者) Vasily improved the balalaika. He (创建)a whole family of balalaikas of different sizes, all with three strings. The smallest is 60-70cm long. The biggest is almost 2 metres high with a leg to sit on the floor.

Today, there are (职业的) balalaika groups performing around the world. More and more people get to know the balalaika and are attracted by its Russian style music.

Strange School Rules

As students, we are all familiar with school rules. But some rules are strange. Here are two strange school rules. Do you think are reasonable?

No red ink(墨水)

Teachers usually mark our homework red ink. The bright color (use) to point out all our mistakes. However, red ink is banned (禁止) (strict) by many schools in Australia and the U.K. Some people think that red ink can influence kids' feelings the color makes them fear and puts pressure on them. They think green, pink, yellow, purple and blue are more relaxing.

hand-raising

While students are taking (course), it's common for them to raise their hands in class to answer questions. However, the raising of one's hand has been banned in a school in Nottinghamshire, England. The headmaster of the school (believe) that teachers always only see the same students raising their hands. This doesn't encourage the learning of the students who are (silent). Now, thanks to the rule, a teacher can choose any student (answer) the question. The students are becoming more active.

A doctor in the family!

After studying for a long time, my brother has now graduated and we are very lucky to have a doctor in the family! My mom and dad, my sister and I are all interested in arts and languages.    ①    -it's so difficult and takes such a long, time to study. So we're all very proud of him. As well as this, we have a doctor of our own to ask about any medical problems we have! How good is that?

   ②    He's patient and understanding. And he cares a lot about people. He has helped at car accidents and done some small operations.   ③    I can't stand the sight of blood, so I could never do what he does!

Micky says he wants to work in hospitals to help people with different illnesses.    ④    In my opinion, it's wonderful if you can have a job that you really enjoy and Micky has found one. I just hope he isn't so busy that the rest of us have to make an appointment(预约) to say hello.

注意：1）文中必须包括表格中全部内容，可适当发挥；

2）词数：80- 100；

3）短文的开头已给出，不计入总词数。

参考词汇：fashionable时尚的

短文首句：Recently, we had a discussion about whether we like to wear clothes with Chinese brands or foreign brands.