I took a job as a receptionist for a pet doctor almost five decades ago. As an animal lover, I accepted the _________ on condition that I wouldn’t have to help any wounded animals. I couldn’t bear to see any creature in _________.

At the end of my first week, we were closing the office for the day _________ a young man ran up to us. Holding a severely _________ Doberman pinscher puppy (杜宾犬) in his arms, he _________ us to save his life. The two-month-old puppy had been hit by a car. The doctor and I ran back into the _________ room. The doctor worked _________ for what seemed like hours stitching (缝合) him back together again. That was the easy part. The puppy had _________ many bones, including his backbone. Even if he _________ the next few days, we were quite sure he would never walk again.

That day forever __________ my life. The doctor guided me, and I became his __________ in all things medical. One of my first jobs was to give that Doberman puppy daily physical treatment. I remember moving his __________ legs to try to keep his muscles from weakening. Weeks went by until one day, I felt this little __________ push back ever so slightly. And he continued to push back till he could finally use his legs.

Fast-forward about a year, I walked into the clinic’s crowded waiting room and called the name of the next client. __________, a huge Doberman standing quietly on the opposite side of the room broke away from its owner and rushed toward me. I found myself __________ against the wall with this huge dog __________ on his back legs, his front paws on my shoulders, washing my face with countless and joyful kisses!

I am still in amazement at the show of love and __________ the dog had for me that day all those years ago. I went on to be a pet doctor for the following years until __________. In all the time that has __________ and all the experiences I have had, I’ve __________ met a dog who didn’t know it had been rescued in one way or another.

Amy Jandrisevits knows the value of a good doll. “Dolls have a _______ we don’t completely understand,” she told The Today Show. It’s a _______ she came to while working as a pediatric oncology (儿科肿瘤学) social worker, using dolls to help children adapt to their medical situations. Many of the kids saw themselves in those dolls. _______ , for the kids missing an arm or who had lost their hair, there were none they could relate to.

So, seven years ago, when a friend revealed that her child was transgender (跨性别的), Jandrisevits knew what might help the youth through this _______ period. “It’s hard to tell a kid, ‘You are perfect the way you are,’ but _______ offer them anything that looks like them,” she says.

Jandrisevits _______ changing that. She made a doll by hand that looked like her friend’s child and sent it off. After the friend _______ a photo online of the happy child and the doll, another woman asked Jandrisevits to make a doll for her baby, who was missing a leg.

Word _______ , and soon Jandrisevits was making dolls for children with scars, birthmarks and facial deformities (畸形)— _______ , a doll that looked like them. She ________ her job and started a nonprofit, A Doll Like Me.

Working at home, it takes Jandrisevits ________ seven hours to make each doll. A GoFundMe page helps her ________ the costs. She hasn’t ________ for a doll since she began her nonprofit.

In all, she’s made more than 400 dolls. The waiting list is long, but Jandrisevits is ________ . As she explains on her GoFundMe page, “Every kid,   ________ gender, age, or medical issue, should look into the sweet face of a doll and see their own.”

My Chinese speaking experience

It’s one thing to study and learn a language, but it’s quite another when you finally get to use it.

On the _______ from Venice to Paris, a group of girls my age sat around me. I had caught enough of the conversation to know that they were speaking Chinese, but at first I didn’t feel _______starting a conversation with the stranger next to me. If it didn’t _______ well, I’d be stuck next to them for the rest of the flight.

As the food cart began to make its way down the aisle (过道) _______ us, I finally found my chance. I _______ to the girl to my left and asked, “Will you be having lunch?” in Chinese. She nodded her head, then realizing the language I had _______, and asked me in English, “You speak Chinese?”

I was a bit surprised. I _______ again in Chinese. “A little bit but not very well.” She nodded again and then returned to her magazine, _______ my effort to communicate with her. Perhaps I should have lied and said that I spoke better...

Another time, at a dinner I sat next to a man who I knew spoke Chinese. I told him that I was learning Chinese, but _______ only speak a little and not very well. When ________ me use the language, he suddenly began to speak ________ in Chinese, but all I caught was that he told me that for Chinese people, the ability to speak a little bit is actually a lot. His behaviour was the complete opposite of my earlier ________. I felt somewhat overwhelmed (不知所措). I never quite     ________ the chance to continue or make any further efforts because the conversation returned to ________ as other people joined the table.

All in all, my experience has ________me that I still have a lot of work to do.