Being a veterinarian(兽医), I had to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their boy Shane, loved Belker very much.

    I examined Belker and found him {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(die) of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do {#blank#}2{#/blank#} for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia(安乐死) procedure in their home.

    As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought {#blank#}3{#/blank#}would be good for six-year-old Shane to watch. They felt Shane might learn something.

    The next day, Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting(拍) the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood {#blank#}4{#/blank#}was happening. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(peaceful) away.

    The little boy seemed to accept it without any difficulty. We sat together after Belker's death,{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (wonder) why animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, having listened quietly, said, “I know {#blank#}7{#/blank#}.”

    {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(surprise), we all turned to him. What he said next amazed me. It has changed my life.

    He said, “People are born so that they can learn how to live {#blank#}9{#/blank#}good life—like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?”

    The six-year-old boy continued, “Well, dogs already know how to do that,{#blank#}10{#/blank#} they don't have to stay as long.”

    China has developed a unique festival food culture throughout the years. Eating dumplings is a common folk custom for many Chinese on the day of winter solstice(冬至), especially those{#blank#}1{#/blank#}live in the north.

    When midwinter comes, vital movement begins to decline and calm down. In this period,{#blank#}2{#/blank#}eaten in a right amount, some nuts such as peanuts, walnuts, and chestnuts are good for one's body.

    People in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province,{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (be) accustomed to eating wontons in midwinter. According to an old story, during the midwinter feast 2, 500 years ago, the King of Wu{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(feed) up with all kinds of costly foods and wanted to try{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(variety) things. Then, the beauty Xishi made wontons to honor the kings wish. He ate a lot and liked the food very much. Later, the people of Suzhou had wontons to celebrate the festival{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(official).

    In places such as Shanghai, people eat tangyuan, a kind of small dumpling ball{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(produce)with sticky rice flour (粉). In Yinchuan, Ningxia, people call midwinter the "Ghost Festival". On that day, it is customary for people there to eat mutton soup and the dumplings in it. They give the midwinter soup a strange name and call it "brain", which they usually share with their{#blank#}8{#/blank#}relative)

    People in Taiwan keep the custom of providing nine-layer cakes{#blank#}9{#/blank#}their ancestors. People from the same family gather at their ancestral temples to adore their ancestors in order of their ages. After{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(hold)the sacrificial ceremony, there is always a grand dinner.

    The colors red, white and blue, along {#blank#}1{#/blank#} the stars and stripes on the American flag, all represent different things. Red represents {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (strong) and bravery, white means virtue, and blue stands for hard work and {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (just). There are fifty stars on the flag, one for each state,{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (represent) the union of fifty states {#blank#}5{#/blank#} one country in a federal system. The thirteen stripes are {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (remind) people of the thirteen colonies that {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (join) together to fight for independence from Britain. Each year on 4 July, the USA celebrates Independence Day,{#blank#}8{#/blank#} the Stars and Stripes {#blank#}9{#/blank#} be seen all over the country,{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (light) by fireworks in the night sky.

    When Joe was about to start school, all signs pointed to success. Yet things turned out  {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(be) quite disappointing. The fourth grade even found him at the bottom of the class. Joe struggled day and night, but  {#blank#}2{#/blank#}made him upset was that it did not work—until one stormy afternoon.

    On that afternoon, the math teacher was introducing difficult concepts  {#blank#}3{#/blank#}dark clouds covered the sky, and the storm set in. Although she tried to make the kids concentrate, the thunder won the battle for their attention. No one grasped the concepts. Except for Joe. He understood{#blank#}4{#/blank#} and answered all the questions correctly. The teacher patted him on the back and told him to go around to the others and explain how he had managed it. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(encourage) by his newfound success, Joe moved quickly throughout the room. Soon math time  {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(follow) by the time for art. All children  {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(natural) drew dark pictures on such a day. Except for Joe.

    Since then, Joe started to work even  {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(hard) than before. His math teacher was always curious about the  {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(amaze) change: Why had that stormy day changed Joe?

    At the graduation ceremony, Joe presented the teacher with his most familiar  {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(possess) — the picture of bright yellow sun. On the picture Joe had written: This is the day I woke up to my brightness.

    Since the beginning of the 21^st century, artificial intelligence (AI) {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (find) its way in different areas in the entertainment industry. Disney, which is one of the world's leading entertainment {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (company), has decided to make use {#blank#}3{#/blank#} the technology in its theme parks, where robot cartoon characters will soon walk among guests. Disney has also its robot Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck to communicate with tourists.

    “I think AI is going to be {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (great) important for what we do," said Jon Snoddy, an official of the entertainment company. "Robot characters that can move around among our guests need to understand where they're going and know {#blank#}5{#/blank#} to behave in a world with humans.”

    However, the company also {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (know)some of the fears surrounding AI. {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (scare) kids won't be part of what we do, said Mr Snoddy. "We will go and do tests in our parks to find out what kids find {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (interest) about these things. We will carry out tests {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (make) sure the robot characters make a positive {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (impress) on kids.”

    When I was a kid, Mom used to cook food for us. One night after {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (spend) a long hard day at work, Mom placed a plate of bread jam and {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (extreme) burnt toast（烤面包） in front of my dad, I was waiting {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (see) if he noticed it. However, while eating his toast. Dad just asked me {#blank#}4{#/blank#} my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night,{#blank#}5{#/blank#} I do remember I heard Mom apologizing to Dad for burning the toast. I'll never forget what Dad said, "Honey, I love burnt toast."

    Later that night, I {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (go) to kiss Daddy good night and asked him if he really liked his toast burned. He gave me {#blank#}7{#/blank#} big hug and said, "Your mamma put in a long hard day at work today, really {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (tire). Besides, a burnt toast never hurts but cold words do!"

    What I've learned over the years {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (be) that learning to accept each other's faults is one of the most important {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (key) to creating a healthy, growing and lasting relationship.