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.”

    Once a group of 50 people was attending a seminar. Halfway {#blank#}1{#/blank#} his talk, the speaker stopped and decided  {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(create) a group activity. He went around the hall and gave each person a balloon. Each one was asked to write his or her name on the balloon {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(use) a marker pen. Then all the balloons   {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (collect) and put in another room.

    The speaker then led the group to the room full of balloons and asked them to find the balloon that had their name  {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (write) on within five minutes.  Everyone was  {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (hurry) searching for their name, bumping into each other, pushing each other around. It was chaos. At the end of the five minutes no one could find their own balloon.

    Now each person was asked to randomly collect {#blank#}7{#/blank#}balloon and give it to the person whose name was on it. Within two minutes everyone had their own balloon. When everyone quieted down, the speaker began to talk, saying that this is exactly {#blank#}8{#/blank#} was happening in our lives.

    We may like to think of {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (us) more important than others, but our happiness sometimes lies in the happiness of other people. Give them their happiness {#blank#}10{#/blank#} you will get your own happiness.

    On a clear February morning, a California black bear was set free. Looking around, he {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(skillful) climbed the nearest tree. From high above the ground, he could see the hundreds of acres{#blank#}2{#/blank#}were now his home. His eyes were filled with {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(curious)

The bear had come a long way. Last fall, the seven-month-old bear bub(幼兽) was found all alone. He had no mother to care for him. He was thin,{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (weight) only 20 pounds—-about half the normal weight for a bear that age. Luckily the bub{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(bring) to The Fund for Animals Wildlife Center in Ramona, California. At the center, the bub shared{#blank#}6{#/blank#} outdoor enclosure(围栏) with another bear. There were trees to climb and places for them to dig dens(兽穴).{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (teach) the cub to find his own food, people working at the center {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(hide) fruit in tree branches. Soon, the bear was an expert at climbing trees and "picking" the fruit. All the staff felt{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(amaze) at his adaptability.

Finally, the day had come. With his new skill and strong body, the bub was ready to be{#blank#}10{#/blank#}his own, and ready to live like a bear should— in the wild.

    As I write this, I'm sitting on a bus back to Santiago in Chile where I am working {#blank#}1{#/blank#} a writer. I've just spent the weekend in a city called La Serena north of Santiago. I was lucky enough to see the flowering desert, a natural scene that {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (occur) around every five years here in the Atacama Desert.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (follow) a particularly large amount of rainfall earlier, a(n) {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (vary) of flowers come into blossom. Bright purple flowers create {#blank#}5{#/blank#} unbelievably beautiful scene at the base of the surrounding mountains.

    {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (have) a look at this wonderful treasure of nature, we took a bus from La Serena to a nearby town and then rented a car to go to the desert. {#blank#}7{#/blank#} we saw did not disappoint us, and as expected it was even more fascinating than the pictures we had seen online. The bloom was particularly {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (impress) this year due to the strong presence of El Niño (a band of warm water in the Pacific Ocean that changes the temperatures and increases the rainfall in certain areas). The vast carpet of color {#blank#}9{#/blank#} spread into the distance towards the green hills was {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (simple) breathtaking and deserved a large amount of photos! A real reminder of the beauty our planet can provide.

    Soudee, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} is a 24-year-old Frenchman, has already been at sea for two years. He {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (travel) along Africa's west coast, through the Caribbean Sea and up to the Arctic Ocean since he set sail from the Canary Islands in 2017. Soudee is {#blank#}3{#/blank#} only person on his sailboat but he brought along a pet hen with him. Soudee met Monique, the hen, on the Canary Islands shortly before he began {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (he) around-the-world voyage. He told a BBC reporter that he knew she was the one he needed.

    While planning for his trip, Soudee had considered {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (bring) along an animal for companionship (陪伴), but not {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(necessary) a chicken. Later he told the BBC reporter, "The hen is a good {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (choose). I don't have to spend much time looking {#blank#}8{#/blank#} it and I'm able to get eggs at sea."

    The story has also become popular on social media. One Twitter user wrote this week, "This hen has a(n) {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (good) life than me." Monique and her owner plan {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (sail) to Alaska next. You can find reports about Soudee's trip on his Facebook, Instagram and YouTube pages.