阅读下面课文段落，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文的连贯要求，空格处各填入一个适当的单词，使短文通顺完整。请将答案写在二卷答题纸上。
◣ A ◢
(Book 8  Unit 1 California)
GOLD MINERS
In 1848, not long after the American-Mexican war, gold was discovered in California. The dream of becoming     quickly attracted people from all over the world. The nearest, and therefore the first to arrive,    South Americans and people from the United States. Then adventurers from Europe and Asia soon followed. In fact, few achieved their    of becoming rich. Some died or returned home, but most remained in California to make a life for themselves despite great hardship. They    in the new towns or on farms. By the time California elected to become the thirty-first federal    of the USA in 1850, it was already a multicultural society.
◣ B ◢
(Book 8  Unit 3 The problem of the smakes)
When I called up my mother in the countryside on the telephone she was very upset. “There are some    in our courtyard,” she told me. “Snakes come near the house now and    , and they seem to have made their home here, not far from the walnut tree. Can you    rid of them please?” I felt very proud. Here was a chance for me to    myself by inventing something merciful that would    snakes but not harm them. I knew my parents would not like me to hurt these living creatures!