The moment Aleeya opened her eyes from sleep, she knew it was Mom’s birthday. She _______ quickly and ran to the kitchen. There was no birthday _______. Then Aleeya went to the refrigerator, _______ its door and looked inside. There was no birthday cake in the refrigerator and no birthday cake _______.

She could not _______ that; she opened the door of the refrigerator again and put her head all the way in. Maybe there was a birthday cake _______ somewhere. But there was none, and she felt very _______. Just then she saw the apple butter-Mom’s ________! Aleeya took the jar of apple butter and ________ it on the table. She got a plate, a spoon, and a piece of bread. She opened the jar, took some apple butter and spread it on the bread the ________ Mom liked-not too thick, and evenly（均匀地）to the sides.

Aleeya became happy then and a gentle smile ________ over her face. It became bigger and bigger as she _____ to Mom’s room with the ________ bread. “Happy Birthday to Mom. Happy Birthday to Mom,” she _______.

Mom was ________. She took the plate and held her daughter in her arms.

“Pretend（假装）there are ________ ,” Aleeya said, “and blow them out.”

Mom closed her eyes and ________ a wish. Then she blew out the imaginary candles.

“Was it a good ________?” asked Aleeya.

“It was the best one ever in my life, my baby,”said Mom.

For 26 years，Tess Heidelberger's wedding dress was sitting in a dusty box in her basement next to her Christmas decorations. She felt it was 【小题1】 waste of money，and then thought of her plain Christmas tree skirt on the top of the Christmas decorations. So she came up 【小题2】 an idea of putting the two of 【小题3】（they）together，and wanted to turn part of her wedding dress into a tree skirt.

Tess，【小题4】（live）in Mauldin，bought the wedding dress in 1989，【小题5】 had all the features（特色）of 80s bridal style. She got married the following year. Her daughters had no interest in wearing it as they felt it was 【小题6】（complete）out-of-date. So Tess made a 【小题7】（decide）to make the dress an art project.

She got a pair of scissors and a bottle of glue and got to work. All she needed to buy were some pretty ribbons to cover the glue, because she prepared 【小题8】 (put) the plain Christmas tree skirt under the wedding dress. When everything was ready she pinned the wedding dress skirt on the plain Christmas tree skirt until it was the way she liked. Then she 【小题9】 (decorate) the dress skirt.

In all, Tess only spent an hour completing it. She was very pleased with the 【小题10】 (finish) product.

My wife Laura and I were on the beach, with three of our children, taking pictures of shore birds near our home in Alaska when we spotted a bear. The bear was thin and small, moving aimlessly.

Just a few minutes later, I heard my daughter shouting, "Dad! The bear is right behind us!" An aggressive bear will usually rush forward to frighten away its enemy but would suddenly stop at the last minute. This one was silent and its ears pinned back — the sign (迹象) of an animal that is going in for the kill. And it was a cold April day. The bear behaved abnormally, probably because of hunger.

I held my camera tripod (三脚架) in both hands to form a barrier as the bear rushed into me. Its huge head was level with my chest and shoulders, and the tripod stuck across its mouth. It bit down and I found myself supporting its weight. I knew I would not be able to hold it for long.

Even so, this was a fight I had to win: I was all that stood between the bear and my family, who would stand little chance of running faster than a brown bear.

The bear hit at the camera, cutting it off the tripod. I raised my left arm to protect my face; the beast held tightly on the tripod and pressed it into my side. My arm could not move, and I sensed that my bones were going to break.

Drawing back my free hand, I struck the bear as hard as I could for five or six times. The bear opened its mouth and I grasped its fur, trying to push it away. I was actually wrestling (扭打) with the bear at this point. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the fight ended. The bear moved back towards the forest, before returning for another attack — the first time I felt panic.

Apparently satisfied that we caused no further threat, the bear moved off, destroying a fence as it went. My arm was injured, but the outcome for us could hardly have been better. I'm proud that my family remained clear-headed when panic could have led to a very different outcome.

Last year I 【小题1】 (work) in Nepal for three months. When I had a few days off，I decided 【小题2】 (go) into the jungle (丛林) . I asked a Nepalese guide，Kamal Rai to go with me.

We started our trip at six in the morning with two elephants 【小题3】 (carry) our things. It was hot, but Kamal made me wear shoes and trousers to protect me 【小题4】 snakes. In the jungle there was a lot of wildlife, but we were trying to find tigers. We climbed onto the elephants' backs to see better. However, 【小题5】 is unusual to find tigers in the afternoon because they sleep in the daytime.

Then, in the 【小题6】 (distant), we saw a tiger, and Kamal told me to be very quiet. We moved nearer and found a dead deer, 【小题7】 was the tiger's lunch! Suddenly, I started to feel very 【小题8】 (frighten), then a huge tiger jumped out suddenly. It caught Kamal's leg between its teeth, but I managed to pull Kamal away. One of our 【小题9】 (elephant) ran at the tiger and made it go back into the grass, so we 【小题10】 (quick) ran away.  That night it was impossible to sleep!

I often remember those good old days when life was 【小题1】（simple）, and people were much more humane and gentler. Recently, to my surprise, I got an opportunity（机会）to experience that same warmth that I thought 【小题2】（disappear）from the world.

I was out shopping the other day with my husband, two daughters and one granddaughter. It was very hot, and we were all 【小题3】（obvious）tired and hungry. We entered a restaurant, 【小题4】（look）for some food and comfort. To our disappointment, all the tables 【小题5】（occupy）and no one seemed in 【小题6】 hurry to stand up. Suddenly, two young girls offered 【小题7】（give）their table to us although they had just got their order. They said they would enjoy their meal at home. We were grateful 【小题8】 them for their kindness. We thanked them sincerely. That day, I thought to 【小题9】（I）there still were some kind and polite youngsters 【小题10】 are willing to help others in this fast-moving and less caring world and my faith in humanity was brought back once again.