A hobby is a special interest or an activity that people like to do in their free time．Most people in Britain have their own{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(hobby)．

   Some people train dogs to race or keep pigeons(鸽子){#blank#}2{#/blank#}(carry)messages．Some people are crazy about plants．They put many  {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(kind)of beautiful flowers in their kitchens and living rooms．{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(other)are mad about their cars or motorbikes．They spend their weekends{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(wash)them，painting them and trying 

{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(make)them go faster．Children and teenagers are  {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(interest)in collecting things．They collect stamps，postcards or pictures of a favourite pop star．

   {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(learn)something new is also people's hobby．Some people go to evening classes to learn  {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(dance)，body building，bread making and so on．Some people learn these things by {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(they)．

    World Pangolin(穿山甲) Day is on the third Saturday of February each year. This year, it fell{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Feb.18. It's a day{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (help) people know more about pangolins.

    Pangolins are animals that live in Africa and Asia. They have scales(鳞片) on their skin and eat ants.  Pangolins are important {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (animal) because they help to protect trees in forests.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}, pangolins are now endangered. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), more than 1 million pangolins have been killed or sold in the last 10 years. Last year, IUCN added the pangolin {#blank#}5{#/blank#} the world's "endangered animals list". Now pangolins are more endangered than pandas.

    The growing trade of their scales and meat is the main reason for their decline (下降) in number. Many people in Asia and Africa eat {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(they) meat, and some even use their scales to treat sick people.

    Luckily, this situation {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (get) better. The government now stops anyone from {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (buy) and eating pangolins in China. Breaking this law will be regarded {#blank#}9{#/blank#}a crime. The trade of pangolins across the world is also not allowed.

    "I hope more people will join us to protect pangolins from such a {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(sadly) situation," Zhou Canying told Xinhua News Agency. Zhou is head of the Wildlife Protection Association of Changsha, Hunan Province.

    When Ruby, a seven-month-old elephant from Thailand, came {#blank#}1{#/blank#} the Phoenix Zoo in 1974, she was the only elephant at the zoo. Her roommates were some chickens and a goat.

    Ruby was very bored. She had no elephants around her. She was given food and everything she needed, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} she had nothing to do, When the workers at the zoo saw Ruby scratching(刮) the ground {#blank#}3{#/blank#}  A stick, they had an idea. They gave her a paint brush and some paint. With just a little bit of help from her trainer, Ruby became a {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(paint) of her own style. She produced many paintings. Her {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(expensive) painting was sold for $25, 000.

    Elephants have the brains to learn how {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (paint). But just like people, not all of {#blank#}7{#/blank#} have the interest or talent(天赋) to turn it into a "career". Ruby was one of the few who did.

    Ruby {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(die) in 1998, at the age of 25—very young for an elephant.

    There are very few elephant {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (art) left in North America. In Asia, there are programs trying to develop elephant artists. Money got from the {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(sell) of their art goes towards protecting wild(野生的) elephants.