Carlos wanted a bulldog puppy（小狗） very much.

“That kind of dog is too ____,” said Mama. “Try to make some money. Ask our neighbors if they have ____ you can do.”

After two weeks, Carlos had saved twenty-six dollars. But it was not enough to ____ a puppy. Then, Papa pointed out a poster at the store: City Animal Shelter（收容所）Needs Your Help!

“The shelter ____ homeless pets, “Papa said. “Carlos, you need to know ____ to care for a puppy before you get one. I’m sure you can ____ a lot by working there.”

At the shelter, Miss Jones, the manager said, “We only take volunteers who work for ____. All our money is to help animals.”

“You’ll know a lot about dogs,” Papa ____ Carlos.

Carlos’s shoulders dropped. How was he ever going to get enough money for a puppy? ____, he agreed to give it a try.

Carlos started working at the shelter on Saturday. His task was sweeping. One ____ named Pepper jumped and ran around him all the time. She was fully grown, but she was as ____ as a puppy.

After several weeks, Carlos began to ____ his time with the dogs, especially Pepper. One day Carlos asked Miss Jones why Pepper was still at the shelter.

Miss Jones sighed, “We’ve had ____ finding a home for Pepper. Most people don’t want such an energetic（精力旺盛的）dog.” “I ____ I could buy her,” Carlos replied.

Miss Jones smiled, “You can’t buy her, ____ you can adopt（领养）her.” With his parents’ permission, Carlos made it at last. “I thought I wanted a bulldog puppy, but I got Pepper instead.” Carlos said.

Pepper barked with joy.

   Do video games do harm to our children? Today, many children spend a lot of their free time playing games on the Internet. In the UK, 99% of kids aged 8 to 15 play video games every week. This information tells us that the benefits and dangers of video games must be carefully considered.

For many people, video games are fun. They have bright lights, funny cartoons and exciting stories. Everywhere you look, you can see children playing these games. They play on buses and trains, in restaurants and even at school.

Video games are educational too. They make kids think in a creative way and they have to move their hands and eyes quickly. This can improve the way that a child’s brain works. What’s more, video games make children use their imagination. The player has to do many creative things, like drawing, telling stories and building things. Video games are also a good way to teach children about technology because they can learn how computers and other devices work while they play.

However, a recent study suggests that video games can also be bad for children. First, children can download many games for free. This means that parents often don’t know if their children are playing violent or scary games. Second, many children spend too much time playing games on computers and this can lead to health problems. Third, if children spend too much time playing games instead of doing homework, they can have problems at school and get bad grades. Finally, video games can affect children’s social skills. If children spend too much time playing video games by themselves, they might not learn how to play with their friends.

In conclusion, it seems clear that video games have some advantages and some disadvantages. It is up to parents to know what games their children are playing and how much time they spend on them. Parents should also make sure their children get enough exercise and spend time with other children.

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Did you have cereal（麦片）for breakfast this morning? If you did, you’re not alone. Lots of people eat cereal for breakfast every day. In fact, cereal is popular all over the world. It all started with one man, Will Keith Kellogg.

Will was born on April 7, 1860, in Battle Creek, Michigan. His first job was as a stock boy at the Battle Creek Sanitarium. A sanitarium is a special kind of place that is a little like a hospital. A sanitarium is meant for people who are ill for a long time or who are getting over a serious illness. Will had other jobs as he got older. But when he grew up, he became a manager of the sanitarium. His brother, John, was the chief doctor there.

One big problem at the sanitarium was the patients’ diets. The patients needed healthy diets, but it was also important for the food to taste good. Will was trying to find a good food choice to take the place of the bread, but it wasn’t going very well. Then, by accident,   Will found something even better. He left some wheat to cook too long. When it was rolled out, it formed large, thin flakes. He asked his brother to serve it to the patients, and they loved it! In fact, they liked it so much that they wanted breakfast flakes sent to them even after they left the sanitarium. So Will started a new business in 1884: selling packaged breakfast flakes. Before long, Kellogg’s breakfast cereal was popular in other countries, too. Today, there are many kinds of breakfast cereals. But it all started with one man and one idea.

Will did more than just create breakfast flakes. His company made a lot of money. But he always shared it with others generously. He used much of his money to help children. He also used his money to help in several other charities（慈善机构）. Will Kdllogg died in 1951. But his most famous invention is as popular as ever.

There are about 1.5 million kinds of living things on Earth, but how many do you see every day? You often see the big colourful animals, like birds, rabbits, and fish. But look more closely. Can you see the small ones, too? Insects（昆虫）make up 80 percent of all the world’s living kinds. Look on the ground. Imagine you could look under the ground, too. Many small living things with one cell live there. Life is everywhere around us, in every cubic foot (a foot= 12 inches).

David Littschwager is a photographer who wanted to find out how many living things lived in one cubic foot. So he made a 12-inch cube with a green metal frame. And then he put it in five habitats（栖息地）. He chose a tropical rainforest（Costa Rica）, a coral reef（Pacific Ocean), the Table Mountain(South Africa), a freshwater river(USA), and a small park(New York). Three weeks were spent at each place. He watched, counted, and took photos of everything down to I millimeter in size—that crawled（爬）or flew into the cube.

The results were amazing. Liittschwager found both common and rare living things. He discovered many new living kinds, like a strange transparent octopus that is the size of a fingernail! In total, more than a thousand living things were photographed. Liittchwager said the One Cubic Foot experience was like “finding treasure”. David Liittschwager also found that the highest biodiversity（生物多样性）in the reef was in the skeleton coral（珊瑚遗骨）. These skeleton coral are suitable for sea living things of all sizes to grow. Although the coral reef had the widest range of biodiversity, all the other habitats were full of life. Even the city park!

One evening, Grandad said, “I once had a friend called Day. His first name was Henry, but everyone called him Happy. Happy Day made a very good living. He had been to many places and when he came to a place that he liked, he opened a pet shop and began selling African Ghost Fish.

“According to Happy, these are the world’s only invisible fish, and they’re especially good pets because they don’t need any food. Once a year, the female Ghost Fish lays eggs. Immediately after that, and if everything is completely quiet, she becomes visible. But in a blink（眨眼）of an eye, she’s gone again. If you see her, you’re extremely lucky for she’s the most beautiful creature alive.

“When Happy told his customers this story, his tanks of fish sold very quickly. When they were completely sold out, Happy usually left for another town.”

“Was that because his customers were not satisfied?” We asked.

“Not at all,” Grandad said. “His customers were completely satisfied. Many people told him that they got great pleasure from their invisible fish. It was so relaxing. A few even claimed that they had seen a female Ghost Fish, and it was truly unforgettable. Yes, Happy was a clever man,” “Can you tell us some more about him?” We said.

“Not now,” said Grandad. “I’m tired, and I want a nap（打盹）. Why don’t you children go and watch the tank of Ghost Fish in my room? Remember, if you sit quietly and watch really closely, you might even see a female.”

As we rushed excitedly from the room, I heard Grandad whisper, “Thank you, Happy.”

I wonder what he meant.

AFRTCAN GHOST FISH NOW ON SALE At Happy Day’s 31． Shop! ◇The world’s only invisible fish. ◇They need 32． food. ◇The female is the most 33． creature alive. She becomes visible after she lays eggs. ◇All customers will be completely satisfied. ◇The fish will live great 34． to you. 35．

   Edgar Snow(1905—1972) was an American reporter. He is best known for his books and
36．（文章）on Communism in China and the Chinese Communist revolution.

Snow came to China in 1928. He spent over 10 years
37．（旅行）widely in China and trying to understand its people. At the same time, he tried to show what he learned to the rest of the world.

For
38．（例子）, Red Star Over China, which came out in the 1930s, is known as the first book that introduced China’s revolution to the west. In it, Snow
39．（收集）firsthand information on the Long March, as well as on the work and lifestyle of members of the Communist Party of China in Shaanxi Province.

Many Westerners were introduced to the Party through his book. Norman Bethune, a
40．（加拿大的）doctor, came to China after reading Snow’s book. He worked
41．（努力地）to save the lives of Chinese soldiers during World War I.

“When the
42．（整个的）world had forgotten us, Snow came to see us and told the world what had happened. We will remember Snow’s great help to China forever,” Chairman Mao said during an
43．（采访）with a German reporter in 1938.

Snow’s spirit is still needed now, as well as in the
44．（将来）, according to People’s Daily. “No writer has spoken more
45．（强烈地）about Sino-US relations than Edgar Snow. And no matter the era, people around the world always need some sort of link,” the paper said.

   They eat wild animals, plants, berries, nuts, and insects. They hunt with bows and arrows. There are lots of dangerous snakes and spiders. It’s one of southern Africa’s
46． (hot) places, and there is often no water. Then they have to get water from plants.
47． they are ill, there are no hospitals. The people have to get medicine from plants too.

They are the San,
48． last people living in the Kalahari. The San people have another name—”bush people”.
49． (they) lifestyle is very simple, but they know more about animals and plants than most people do. The San people live in small groups of 25- 50. They live in huts—little “houses”. These houses
50． (make) of wood and grass. There are no schools for the children. Children learn from the older people in the group. There are lots of things they have to learn so that they can live
51． a dangerous place like the Kalahari. In the evenings, the group of people often sit around a fire and tell stories.

The Kalahari is a big area of bushland in the southern Africa. It
52． (have) two parts. There is less rain in the southern part than in the northern part,
53． the south is drier. There are fewer plants and animals there, and it’s more difficult for people
54． (live). But when it rains at the end of the summer, the land becomes greener and more beautiful. For a few weeks, there are
55． (million) of little flowers and even butterflies!

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