From an early age, Parker always said that he would be an astronaut. But no matter {#blank#}1{#/blank#}much he studied, worked, and took tests, he never passed. Finally, he {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (grow) over the maximum(最高的) age for taking the test. He would never be able to realize his dream.

    People {#blank#}3{#/blank#} ( feel )sorry for his dream. Although he{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (tell) about having to give up his dream, Parker continued training and studying, as though he was going to sit the tests next month.

    He carried this on as he got {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (old), and when he was a very old man he heard that they were doing some very important medical experiments. For those experiments they needed {#blank#}6{#/blank#} very old astronaut. Parker, who now walked with a stick, was the only old man in the whole world who was trained to fly in a rocket.

    So Parker found {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(he) flying in space at last. The experiments were very {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (succeed). The knowledge from the experiments helped doctors to cure one of the {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(bad)sicknesses for old people, and Parker was celebrated as a hero. Photos of the astronaut with a walking stick and no{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (tooth) spread all over the world. It showed  that persistent effort always brings reward, even though that reward may not be in the form we had first expected.

    When you read the sentence, the population of the earth has grown by10 people. That may not sound much, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} it's about 14, 000 people per hour. Most of these new people are born in {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (develop) countries. These countries are found in much of Africa, South America and parts of Asia.

    In the developed countries of Europe and North America, the population is growing very {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(slow). This is {#blank#}4{#/blank#} women in these countries have, on average(平均), only one or two children. But in the developing countries, many women have five {#blank#}5{#/blank#} more children. In the developing countries, more than one billion people already live below the poverty level(贫困线). These people don't have enough food {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (eat) and they live in poor housing. Children get little or no time at school and suffer from many {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (kind) of diseases.

    The UN has said that the world's population will reach over 10 {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (billion) by the year 2100.If the number {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (make) your head spin(眩晕), you're not alone. Many experts(专家) are worrying that so fast population {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (grow) could have very bad results. It could hurt the environment and increase the number of poor people.

"You can have your pick." a friend of mine called. Her sister's cat had had a group of kittens (小猫) just weeks before. 

I didn't know if I was ready yet, but it appeared she wouldn't easily give up. "I think it would be a1 for you, Shawon. You can't miss it. "

"Okay," I finally said. "How old are the kittens?"

"They were 2 on March 22."

March 22 this year, the day I would never3 . Sue, my wife, passed away on the same day. A series of memories rushed to my mind. 

For nearly ten years, Sue had been fighting cancer (癌症) . Through the whole painful journey, Boomie, our old cat, was there. He joined Sue on the sofa while she had a short sleep, feeling completely4 from the latest treatment. His antics (滑稽的动作) could bring a smile to Sue's face when the pain was at its5 . Sue loved Boomie very much, and it was a love Boomie returned. Boomie even comforted her after she lost her6 .

The cancer had caused Sue to drop a lot of weight. That must have been7 the ring had slipped (滑落) off her finger. I8 the house high and low for the ring, but no9 .

Boomie acted strange after Sue died, refusing to eat. Nobody could help him, even a vet. He couldn't10 without Sue. He had to be put down.

Coming back to earth, I thanked my friend for her kindness and made up my mind to take this chance. 

My new kitten finally11 and I decided to name it Belle Dame-French for "beautiful lady". She kept me entertained and relieved me a lot, bringing the house back to life. 

One morning, I heard some noise coming from the dining room. What was Belle up to now? I went to12 . Sure enough, Belle was on the floor, playing with something shiny. I bent down to pick it up. Only it wasn't a13 it was the missing ring. Sue's ring was found by Belle. I was too surprised to14 that! 

"When I die, I want to come back as a cat," Sue always joked. "And if I could choose, I'd come here!" 15 , there was no better place to be a cat than our house. 

"Maybe a miracle (奇迹) just happened. Sue, my Belle Dame." I thought to myself.