16． A man walked into a restaurant. The restaurant advised it had the(1)        menu in the world. The manager was very proud of being able to provide any dish, no matter how (2)        it was.
At the bottom of the(3)        , there was a notice that said, "If you do not see the dish you need on this menu, please tell us and we will add it to the menu right away. "
The man(4)        the menu and decided to make sure if it was true. He would order (5)        that was very unusual.
When a waiter came up to take his order, he said, "You say you can serve any dish, even it's not on your longest menu in the world. "
"That is correct, sir. We are able to meet everyone's requirements. "
"Well, " the man said, "bring me a sandwich with two elephant ears. (6)        , not African. " The waiter wrote down in his paper: Two Indian elephant ears on toast.
"Very good, sir, " he said, "That shouldn't(7)        long. "
The waiter walked away quickly. The man was very surprised and rather disappointed. Then he smiled (8)        the waiter returned with a very unhappy look on his face.
"Ah!" the man said, "You can't(9)        it to me, can you?" The waiter made an apology. "I'm very sorry, sir, and this is the (10)        embarrassing, "he said, "but I'm afraid we can't because we've run out of bread. "

18． It was nearly dark. The sun was dropping down the mountains far away. Little Tom came back home, with tears in his eyes.
"What's the matter, Tom? How's your trip?" his mother asked with a big smile. " I failed. The mountain was so high and full of big or small stones on the way. I still went ahead. But I was tired and it was so late that I had to come back, " Tom cried. " It doesn't matter. You are only 14 years old after all. You will have another chance, "his mother said. "But, standing at the top of the mountain is my dream!" Tom said. His father came over and asked, " Did you see the green trees on your way to the mountain?" "Sure, and there were a lot of beautiful flowers by the side of the road, "Tom replied. "Did you hear the birds singing?" his father asked. "There were many kinds of birds singing in the trees, and the sound was very sweet, "Tom said. "Did you feel the beauty of nature?" his father asked. "Yes, the blue sky, the white clouds, the green trees and the colorful flowers made a nice picture, " Tom answered. "That's enough!" his father smiled and said, "Please remember, my son. For often, achieving what you expect is not the most important thing. Although you didn't reach the top of the mountain, you have got a lot on the way. "
It is true that not every goal will be achieved, not every job will end up with a success, and not every dream will come true. The most beautiful scenery is on the way.

19． Instead of gobbling(狼吞虎咽) your food, try eating more slowly. It may help you drop those unwanted pounds. The conclusion is from a new study by Chinese researcher.
The study showed that compared with people who gobbled their food, those who ate at a normal speed were 29 percent less likely to be obese(肥胖的). But those who ate slowly were up to 42 percent less likely to obese. In addition, people who ate slowly tended (往往会) to be healthier and have a healthier lifestyle than those who ate quickly or at a normal speed. "However, this study could not prove that speed eating causes or stops obesity, " the researcher noted.
"Slow eating has its advantages and a few disadvantages, " said Samantha Heller from New York City. "on the one hand, slow eating gives our body time to register a sense of satisfaction and fullness, so we eat less. We are more likely to enjoy a taste of food. On the other hand, the longer people sit in front of food, the more food they will eat, "she said.
"Speed eating appears to be far more harmful. People who eat quickly, as many of us do, gobble far more food than they need. In many European countries, slow eating is a way of life, " Heller said. In America, speed eating takes the lead. Thus we need to encourage people to have a change, learn the way of slower eating from Europeans and get a true enjoyment of food.

21． When I was ten, my mother worked all day, so I had to              care of my younger brother. At that time, my little brother was about four years old and he missed mum all the time.
One day, after I had given him his dinner, he started crying for mum. He was so young and really needed mum. So I dressed him, put on his shoes, carried him              my back and walked out. Soon he fell             . About half              hour later, I found that he lost a shoe while he was sleeping. I took him off my back and put him down. I knew we needed to find that shoe,              our mother couldn't afford new shoes. I had to go              to find it, so I told my brother to wait right there. A man heard it and              me just before I walked off. He asked me, "Are you leaving your brother here to find the             ? What will you do if he is not here when you return?" I didn't know              to answer that question. He continued, "It's OK if you can't find the shoe, but it is not OK to lose your brother. " Then he sent us to mum's workplace by taxi.
During my whole life I have received the kindness from many strangers. I feel sorry that I can't find them and say "thank you". I do not even remember what their faces looked like, but they taught me a              — people are more important than things.

22． Does your family have old pictures? If you take a look at them, you will find that things have changed a lot. Today we live in better houses, our schools look more beautiful, and we can travel to different places more easily. All of these changes happened because our country is growing stronger. The country was founded(建立) on Oct. 1, 1949. On Oct. 1, China celebrated the 70th birthday of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Although 70 years is a short time in history, the PRC has experienced a lot during this time. Did you watch the big celebration at Tian'anmen Square on TV? It included an opening speech by President Xi Jinping, a great military parade(大阅兵), a mass parade(群众游行) and an evening gala(联欢晚会).
Xi's speech
In his speech, President Xi said that our country is becoming stronger and stronger and nothing can ever stop China from going on. China will surely keep on developing and have a more beautiful future.
Military parade
The 80﹣minute military parade was also a success. It was the largest military parade in more than 60 years, according to Xinhua.
Mass parade
The mass parade turned Tian'anmen Square into a sea of joy. People from all kinds of jobs danced, sang and cheered when they went through the square. Big pictures of Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping passed through the square. China's growth also thanks to ordinary people such as workers, farmers, students, actors, musicians and sports stars and so on.
Evening gala
In the evening, a great gala took place at Tian'anmen Square. Over 60, 000 people took part in the gala. It begins at 8 p. m. and lasted for 90 minutes. The fireworks made the number 70 in the sky. People sing and dance together to celebrate the big festival of China.

23．今年是新中国成立70周年, 举国欢庆, 网友评出了新四大发明(Alipay, shared bikes, high﹣speed train, shopping online), 它们对我们的生活产生了很大的影响, 请谈谈你的感受.
内容包括:
1. 新四大发明分别给你的生活带来了哪些变化(至少3点)
2. 生活在信息时代的的你, 应该怎样做?倡议爱祖国、爱学习.
作文要求:1. 语句连贯, 词数80词左右
2. 不得出现学校的真实名称和学生的真实姓名.