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The Great Garfield Debate

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Garfield is one of the world’s most famous cartoon cats. This lovable character has been making us laugh (1) for nearly 40 years in comic strips, TV shows, and movies. This cat is lazy, loves lasagna, and hates Mondays. Garfield is also a male—isn’t he? It (2) turned out that people weren’t always so sure. This (3) led to a big argument about Garfield’s gender on the Internet.

It all (4) started when Jim Davis, Garfield’s (5) creator, said that the cat is “not really male or female.” Before (6) long, Garfield’s listed gender on Wikipedia had been changed (7) between “male” and “none” so many times that the page had to be locked. Fans took to Twitter to (8) voice their opinions. Some pointed to scenes from the comic strip as (9) proof that he’s male. (10) Others pointed out that Garfield has always been voiced by men.

In the (11) end, Davis ended the debate by telling a reporter that “Garfield is male.” But as Davis’s earlier comment implies, the character’s gender isn’t that important—no matter (12) what, Garfield will always be Garfield.

Surprising Origins of Famous Foods

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Many foreign foods have been (1) adopted by outside cultures around the world. But once flavors mix to create new dishes, it can be hard to (2) determine who really invented them.

In America, General Tso’s chicken is a popular fried dish in Chinese restaurants. It’s famous (3) for its sweet, (4) sticky sauce. Although General Tso was from Hunan, the chicken that (5) bears his name isn’t famous there. Peng Chang-kuei, a Hunanese chef, invented the dish after he moved to Taiwan. Restaurant (6) owners from New York tried Peng’s dish in Taipei and then re-created it in the United States with a sweeter flavor.

Fortune cookies come at the end of the meal at American Chinese restaurants. They are simple, (7) crunchy sweets with a paper fortune inside. Few people realize that the cookies have (8) origins in Japan. In fact, a few families in Kyoto have been making (9) similar treats by hand (10) since the 19th century. From Japanese-owned Chinese restaurants in San Francisco, the cookies (11) spread throughout America. (12) However, they are still hard to find in China.

A Service of Love

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“When one loves one’s art, no service (1) seems too hard.” That was what Joe and Delia (2) believed, and also how they lived their life together in their tiny New York apartment. They didn’t have much, (3) except their love for each other and their (4) passion for art.

Joe was an aspiring artist, and Delia was a musician. They had both moved from small towns to New York City. There they met, (5) fell in love, and got married. Both of them took lessons in order to (6) improve their skills. These lessons weren’t cheap, however, and it wasn’t long before the couple had (7) burned through their (8) savings. They were struggling to keep food on the table, and they needed to make a change.

Delia decided that she would no (9) longer take piano lessons but would give lessons herself. She started looking for students. Days later, she (10) announced to Joe that she had found her first (11) pupil, Clementina, who was the daughter of a rich general. Joe didn’t want Delia to work (12) while he took lessons. He didn’t think it was fair. However, he eventually agreed.