Directions: After reading the passages below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Parental Instincts

Last year in early summer, I was walking up the hill to my house in suburban Brisbane when I saw two birds, each about 6 centimeters tall, standing in my driveway. They didn’t seem to notice me 【小题1】 I was right in front of them and then they immediately scattered into the nearby bushes.

I was quite excited by the idea of two special birds 【小题2】(make) a nest in my front yard, although I didn’t really expect them to as wild birds don’t usually nest so close.

A few weeks later, the birds reappeared. I found them crouching beside a tree off to the side of my driveway. As I approached them, I imagined that they’d run away like they did last time, but instead they 【小题3】(stick) out their heads and made a threatening croaking sound 【小题4】 came from deep inside their throats.

I did some research and found that the birds are burhinus grallarius(长尾石鸻). I still didn’t know【小题5】they were croaking at me until a short time later I made an amazing discovery: they 【小题6】(lay) two eggs which hatched into two small birds racing around now.

As I crept towards the birds, careful not to make any sudden movement, they started their croaking again, 【小题7】(stretch) their necks forwards so they seemed longer and more threatening.

I was watching them in awe when I suddenly tripped and fell to the ground. The birds took this 【小题8】 a threat and the father raced towards me, spreading his wings to shield the mother and the chicks while making 【小题9】 appear larger.

I was sorry 【小题10】(scare) them and left quickly.

I am amazed by their bold actions. Their parental instincts kicked in and made them so courageous. It is hard not to be awed by nature.