阅读下列短文，完成下列小题。

    “Save the whales!” That's what the picture on Jake Smith's bedroom wall said. Jake liked having a picture that said something important: that showed he cared. He just never expected to get a chance to save a real whale, one right in his own neighbourhood.

It was a Saturday morning when the newspaper first reported the whales' coming. A group of the animals were swimming close to the beach in Jake's hometown. All the local people rushed out to the beach to see them. They were expecting a beautiful show, better than a movie, but nothing they'd have to do anything about.

    Then one whale swam in the direction, directly towards land. It came in with the waves, and when the waves receded. Its huge body on the sand. Suddenly, Jake and his family and all the others were no longer sightseers. They had to become rescuers. A few people ran towards the animal. They pushed and tried to force the whale back into the water, but it was no use.

    An animal rescue service team soon arrived in a truck with heavy lifting machinery, to help move the animal. Jack and his family couldn't do much on the beach, so they went back to their house and made sandwiches and hot tea for the rescuers. At least, Jake thought, they could help in some way.

    Back at the beach, they offered the food to the rescuers and were happy to see that it was needed. It was getting dark. Some people lined up their cars along the beach and shined the headlights on the sand. The rescuers would not give up. After trying many times they were finally able to lift the whale into the water. Everyone cheered when it headed out to sea. It swam out about a mile and then disappeared for a moment under the sea. Then, in what looked like a jump of joy, it rose high above the water—a thank-you to those who had worked so hard to save his life.

    Andi Davise, 49, regularly crossed the trail through the Phoenix Mountains Preserve with a few other hikers before sunrise. This morning, however, she met nobody and heard only the sounds of animals.

    Some time later, Andi got to the steep slope(陡坡), she climbed up to the top by using her hands. When she finally reached the top, she noticed a dark shape several inches from her left foot. She was frightened and then looked carefully. "It's a dog and it's dead." she said to herself. It took her a few seconds to realize that the dog's eyes were open. A thin, dirty bull dog was looking at her.

    She greeted in a low and soft voice to show she was friendly. The bull dog shook when he heard her voice.

    Andi inched closer and dropped some water into the dog's mouth. He tried to stand up but failed. Something was wrong with his left front leg. Andi pulled out her phone to contact her husband, Jason, but he didn't respond. She knew that if she didn't carry the dog down the mountain, he would die.

She carefully put her arms under the dog's body. He was so weak that he fell into her chest.

    Andi had great trouble going down the steep, rocky mountainside with the 50-pound animal in her arms. Even her arms and back started aching, she didn't give up. The trip up had taken 30 minutes while going back down took twice that.

    Andi's husband received her messages at last. He and their son, Justin, jumped into the car and drove to pick up Andi.

Later that morning, an X-ray showed that the bull dog was badly hurt, he was likely to lose his left leg.

    A few days later, the Davises returned to the animal hospital. "The first thing he did was to give me a kiss, then he went right to my son." Andi said. They named the dog Elijah and brought him home that day.

    On March 14, one of science's brightest stars went dark. Stephen Hawking, the world-famous British scientist, died at 78 in Cambridge, UK.

    Hawking is considered by many to be the greatest scientist in history since Albert Einstein. He came up with the theory（理论） that the universe (宇宙) began with the Big Bang and will end in black holes. His theories became the base for a lot of later research. He also wrote books to help common people understand the universe. His most famous book is A Brief History of Time, which has sold more than 10 million copies around the world.

    Besides his scientific achievements, Hawking was also someone who had a strong will. When he was 21, he got a serious illness that stopped him from walking and talking. Later in life, he had to sit in a wheelchair and “speak” using a computerized voice. But this didn't stop him from living a meaningful and colorful life.

    He celebrated his 60th birthday by going up in a hot-air balloon; when he was 65, he took part in a zero-gravity (零重力) flight to experience weightlessness. He hoped to travel into space one day. In 2015, Hawking spoke about how he felt life was unfair when he first knew about his illness. “But now, 50 years later, I can be quietly satisfied with my life,” he said.

    Mr and Mrs Green lived in a big city. Last summer, they went to a country for their holiday. They enjoyed it very much because it was a quiet, clean place.

    One day they went for a walk early in the morning and met an old man. He lived on a farm, and he was sitting in the warm sun in front of his house. Mr Green asked him. "Do you like to live in this quiet place?''

    The old man said, "Yes, I do."

    Mr Green said, "What are the good things about it?"

    The old man answered, "Well, the people here know each other. They often come and visit me, and I often go and visit them. And there are also lots of children here. "

    Mr Green said, "That's interesting. And what are the bad things?"

    The old man thought for a moment and then said,

"Well, the same things, really. ''

    It's the Chinese New Year today. Sam gets a red packet from his grandma. That's his favourite part of the festival. He gets four dollars and goes shopping in Chinatown.

    There are a lot of interesting things on the streets — fireworks, lion dances and delicious foods. Then Sam sees an old man. The man sleeps in the street. He doesn't wear shoes. "He doesn't have a home. What a poor man!" Sam thinks.

    At a toy shop, Sam wants to buy a toy Monkey King. But it's six dollars. Sam wants to go back home and get more money. On the way, he sees the old man again. "Why not give the four dollars to him? He can use the lucky money to buy some hot food and drinks," Sam thinks.

    He gives the money to the old man and goes back home. His grandma knows his story and gives him a big hug (拥抱). What a good boy!