Today we continue our series on ecology and conservation with a look at a particularly endangered member of the black bear family. One in ten black bears is ________ born with a white coat, which is the result of a/an ________ gene that surfaces in a few. Local people have named it ‘the spirit bear’. And according to the legends of these communities, its snowy fur brings with it a special power. Because of this, it has always been highly ________ by them—so much that they do not speak of seeing it to anyone else. It is their way of protecting it when strangers visit the area.

The white bear’s ________ is quite interesting. The bear’s strong relationship with the old-growth rainforest is a complex one. The white bear relies on the huge centuries-old trees in the forest in many ways. ________, the old-growth trees have extremely long roots that help prevent erosion (腐蚀) of the soil along the banks of the many fish streams. Keeping these banks undamaged is important because these streams are home to salmon, which are the bear’s main food ________. The bear’s feeding habits nurture the forest ________. As the bears eat the salmon, they abandon the skin and bones in great amounts on the forest floor, which provide vital nutrients. These produce vegetation that ________ thousands of other types of life forms, from birds to insects and more.

Today, the spirit bear lives off the coast of the province of British Columbia on a few islands. There is great concern for their survival since it is estimated that less than two hundred of these white bears remain. The best way to protect them is to make every effort to preserve the ________ balance of their forest environment—in other words, their ecosystem.

The greatest ________ to the bear’s existence is the loss of its habitat. Over many years, logging companies have stripped the land by ________ a large number of trees. In addition, they have built roads which have fractured the areas where the bear usually ________, and many hibernation sites have also been lost. The logging of the trees along the streams has damaged the places where the bears fish. To make matters worse, the number of salmon in those streams is declining because there is no legal ________ on fishing at the moment.

All these ________ have a negative impact on the spirit bear’s very existence, which is made all the more fragile by the fact that reproduction among these bears has always been ________ low. While it is important to maintain the spirit bear’s habitat, there also needs to be more emphasis on its expansion. The move is justified as it will also create space for other bears that are losing their homes.

China Post issued (发行) a set of special zodiac (生肖) stamps in honor of 2019 Chinese Lunar New Year, or the Year of the Pig. Famous Chinese _________ Han Meilin designed (设计) the set of stamps _________ is most known for his Fuwa dolls made for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

If you, like me, were born in the Year of the Pig then you are _________, thoughtful and loyal (忠诚的). The Year of the Pig is filled with good wealth.

Now, let’s _________ a closer look at this interesting animal. Pigs were first kept by man about 9, 000 years ago, and are still a very common _________ animal in many parts of the world. We don’t just use pigs for their meat--- almost every part of the animal is used. The hair is used for artists’ brushes. The fat is used _________ floor wax (蜡), rubber (橡胶) and plastics.

Pigs have also been important in the world of entertainment. In 25 the film Babe starred (使主演) a loveable talking pig as its main character. The film _________ an Oscar Award. In England you can even go to watch pig racing. A farmer, Rob Shepherd, has been raising money _________ charity by holding pig races an his farm. _________ seems that people don’t just want to eat pigs!

Pigs also play an important role in the English language. For example, if someone say that he __________ to the sun one day, you can says “Pigs might fly!” to him. Hungry? Well then, you can say “pig out” and eat lots of food.

Like many families, we had a dog — Little Joe. We all loved him dearly. He always trotted (小跑) around the streets. We tried to teach him about the ________ of the road, and finally locked him in the yard. However, one day, Little Joe dug a hole under the fence and ________.

Sometime later, the ________ news came that a truck had seriously injured Little Joe. We children ran to the ________ of the accident. Apparently unable to move, he lay with his eyes open, awaiting death by a policeman’s bullet, the ________ method in those days of dispatching (处决) injured animals. Tears filling our eyes, we ________around him, frustrated by our inability to respond to the ________ for help in his eyes. The policeman ________ us away from the dog and drew his gun. Wide-eyed, we began to back away with feet that seemed to be made of ________.

Suddenly the crowd began to ________ . My father elbowed (用肘推) his way through and spoke with ________ to the young policeman. “Put that thing away!” Then, ________, he removed his worn jacket and carefully ________ it around Little Joe. Little Joe’s broken body could not have been moved with more ________.

I’ll never forget that homeward journey. My father led a group of admiring children. We held our heads high with pride as we ________ behind the man who had saved our dog.

After struggling for several days, Little Joe finally survived. He went on to live a long life.