Bang! Somewhere, someone set off fireworks. After hearing the loud noise, ten-year-old Rosie, ran back towards her ________, Steve Harper. Rosie, ________ from a rescue shelter, was easily shocked by loud sounds when she first arrived, but soon fell in love with the Harpers’ sons and ________ with Steve. But Rosie’s ________ of loud noises always continued and never ________. After the second bang on that Friday afternoon, she took off and ________ disappeared from sight with a silver ring shining around her neck.

Nowhere can Steve find Rosie. Steve had less than five minutes to begin worrying when his phone rang. “Is that black-and-white dog yours, Mr. Harper? She’s just ________ herself over. It seems that she were a criminal.” On the other end the voice came, and the caller was half ________.

Closed-circuit television showed Rosie walking into the police station, ________ around for a few seconds as if she were looking for food, and ________ seating herself in the waiting room just like a lady. A few minutes later, staff ________, gave her some water and called Steve, whose phone number was on Rosie’s ________.

Steve supposed why Rosie knew just where to ________: the waiting room chairs closely resemble those at the local vet. “Maybe she saw the chairs and thought, Oh, this is what I do. I sit and wait.”

Steve headed to fetch Rosie from the ________ and the dog was overjoyed. On their way home, Steve hugged her and stroked her curry hair. Finally they arrived home, safe and ________.

Friendship

Twenty-one years ago, my husband gave me an eight-week-old dog, Sam, to help me ease the loss of our daughter. Later my husband and I moved from New York to New Jersey. Our neighbor, whose cat had   recently had kittens, asked us if we would like one. We were afraid that Sam would not be _______, but we made up our _______   to take a kitten.

We picked a little, gray, playful cat. She raced around running after imaginary mice and squirrels and jumped from table to chair very _______, so we named her Lightning (闪电).

At _______, Sam and Lightning were not close to each other. But slowly, as the days went on, Lightning started _______ Sam. They slept together, ate together and played together. When I took _______ one out of the house, the other was always _______ by the door when we returned. That was the way it was for years.

Then, without any warning, Sam suddenly died of a weak heart. This time, there was no Sam for Lightning to greet and no way to _______ why she would never see her friend again.

In the _______ that followed, Lightning seemed heartbroken. She could not ________ me in words that she was suffering (承受), but I could see the pain and ________ in her eyes whenever anyone opened the front door. The weeks ________ by, and the cat’s sorrow seemed to be lifting (消失). One day as I walked into our living room, I ________ to have a look at the floor next to our sofa ________ we had a sculptured replica (雕塑复制品) of Sam that we had bought a few years before. Lying next to the statue, one arm wrapped (围绕) around the statue’s neck, was Lightning, sleeping with her best ________.

On an icy day, two hunters in eastern Russia discovered an orphaned cub (幼虎). The cub hadn’t eaten in days, and was ________ enough for the hunters just to pick her up. Dr. Dale Miquelle, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Russia Program, said, “A healthy tiger cub, even a three-month-old one, would give you reason to ________ before you stuck your hand too close to its teeth and claws. But this cub had no ________ left in her.”

The hunters wrapped the cub in a coat and ________ her to a local wildlife inspector, Andrey Oryol. Over the following weeks, Oryol ________ the orphaned cub back to health. But now he had a new problem: What could he do with a(n) ________ three-month-old tiger?

The cub was an Amur tiger. Only a small number of Amur tigers remained in the wild, so scientists wanted to return ________ cubs to their natural habitat. The orphaned cub was taken to a new wildlife center. The center was designed for raising wild animals without exposing (使接触) them to people. It uses hidden cameras and covered fences to keep workers out of ________. That way, the animals don’t become ________ on humans.

The cub, now named Cinderella, became the center’s first tiger. Over the next year, she grew into a big, healthy tigress. In the center, she learned to hunt. One year later, experts agreed she was ________ to return to the wild.

During the next two years, researchers watched Cinderella’s ________. Cinderella not only________, but grew healthy and strong. Then, the cameras ________ exciting news: Cinderella had become a mother! For the first time ever, a tiger that humans had ________ and returned to the wild had given birth to two cubs of her own.

Tigers are some of the most admired animals on our planet, but they are also ________. Thanks to the work of conservationists, there is new hope for these magnificent cats.