16． A small village was being troubled by a lion. It would come out at night and kill people, as well as kill their chickens and cows.
One day, the village leader sent a (1)       to a great hunter (猎人), Jones, asking him to come and kill the lion. Jones agreed and began to take action. Jones spent several (2)       waiting for the lion, but it never came out.
Finally, Jones told the village leader to kill a cow and give him its skin (皮). He would (3)       the skin and pretend (假装) to be a cow so that the lion would come out. This way, he could get a chance to kill the lion. After putting the cow's skin over his shoulders, Jones went to a farm to wait for the lion.
In the middle of the night, the villagers (4)       to the sound of shouting coming from the farm. They thought Jones was in danger and quickly ran to the farm. When they arrived, they saw Jones (5)       on the ground, crying in pain. There was no sign of the lion at all.
"What happened, Jones? Where is the lion? Did you get hurt?" asked the village leader. "Forget the lion!" Jones shouted. "Who (6)       the bull(公牛) out?"

17． A group of boys gathered around a tree. "What a tall tree!" they said to each other. "It would be (1)       to climb to the top!"
The group of boys then decided to play a game to see who could climb to the top of the tree (2)      . Their mothers were sitting not far away, looking on at their children as they (3)      .
One of the climbers was an 8-year-old boy named David. He was the shortest child in the group. Nobody thought he would (4)       the competition.
Then the game started. All of the boys tried their best to climb as (5)       as they could. Although they all made it halfway up the tree before David did, he reached the top of the tree fastest (6)       .
His mother was proud to see this. She asked him, "David, how did you (7)       to reach the top of the tree so quickly?"
"It was easy," David said. "The other children kept looking down as they climbed. When they realized how high they were, they got scared (恐惧的) and were afraid of (8)       down. I, however, looked only (9)       . When I saw how close I was, I kept going higher and higher until I reached the top."
It is true in life that if we just keep going forward without looking back, we are more likely to reach our goals (目标).

18． My teacher said to a student: "Give me your phone."
We all looked in surprise. Kyle, a student who I never saw text in class, gave the teacher his phone.
When the teacher left, two students who I often saw text in class started boasting about how they sent text messages and never got caught.
"Kyle, you stupid! I put my phone under my desk so it looks like I'm looking at my textbooks," one of them said.
"Isn't it funny that we always text and never get caught?" the other one laughed.
They must have thought they were smart, because they never got caught and Kyle did. But which situation is worse: getting caught, or getting away with it? Rules are there for a reason.
These two students might not get caught, but neither of them had good grades. They didn't pay any attention to the class, and I think they will keep doing this.
People don't just break big rules and get thrown into jail (监狱) overnight. They take it one step at a time. Kyle might have gotten caught, but at least he learned a good lesson. He will not break the rules in the future, so he will learn more in class and stay out of trouble. It's smarter not to break small rules.

19． When he was nine years old, American boy Milo Cress had a question: How many plastic straws (吸管) do Americans use every day?
He quickly learned there wasn't a simple answer. The boy tried to work it out himself. Through lots of research, Cress found out that Americans use about 500 million straws every day. In hopes of reducing plastic waste, he founded the Be Straw Free project in 2011.
Cress started the project in his hometown — Burlington, Vermont. He asked a local restaurant to stop offering straws with every drink order. It was a simple change. However, it would save money. And by doing that, the restaurant would cut down on its straw use by 50 percent.
For the years that followed, Cress tried to spread his project across the United States. More and more restaurants agreed to join. They stop providing the customer with a straw unless he or she asks for one. Last April, Seattle became the first American city to completely ban (禁止) plastic straws.
Plastic pollution has been one of the most serious problems today. According to scientists, more than eight million tons of plastic end up in the ocean each year. Plastic straws are especially terrible. They make it easy for people to get comfortable with single-use plastics.
After his project became popular, Cress took his findings on the road. He has since spoken to tens of thousands of students around the world. He wants to encourage more people to say no to plastic straws.
"Focusing (聚焦) on straws is one simple step we all could take" Cress says. "And it makes me feel that I, as a kid, could make a difference, too."

20． What subject do you worry about the most at school? Many students worry about math. Some students can't sleep well the day before a math exam. Others may feel very nervous during the exam itself. But there might be a way to make the subject less stressful (压力大的).
"For people who are worried about math, posture (姿势) makes a big difference," Erik Peper from San Francisco State University told the Daily Mail. That's right sitting up straight can help you do better on math exams.
Scientists tested 125 college students. They asked them to do a simple math exam while sitting in a slumped-over (趴倒的) posture, or sitting up straight. After the test, 56 percent of students said the exam was easier to do if they were sitting up straight.
Slumping over is a defensive (戒备的) posture. It can bring about bad memories in the body and brain. This can stop you from thinking clearly, Peper said.
Students who were not nervous about taking the math exam did not necessarily benefit (受益) from better posture. But they did find that doing math while slumped over was more difficult, Science Daily reported.
Good posture isn't just helpful for taking math exams. Sportspeople, musicians and public speakers can all benefit from better posture. When you feel stressed out, you can also try to sit up straight or stand tall. It can help you feel more certain and focus better.

21．根据短文内容, 从短文前方框内的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项, 并在答题卡上将该项涂黑.

Drones (无人机) can do a lot of things for us, taking photos, delivering (递送) things from packages(包裹) to pizzas to beer and following wild animals. (1)       .
Can you believe it? (2)       US company IBM has made this kind of drone. It can deliver coffee to sleepy people. The drone can know when to bring a cup of coffee by studying a person's personal information. (3)       There is a special device (设备) under the drone. It helps the drone to give coffee. The drone can also learn about someone's coffee-drinking habits and tell when someone need next cup of coffee.
(4)       One company in Africa use drones to deliver medicine and blood fast and save many people's lives. The drones are able to fly at speeds of up to 60 mph and when they are within a minute of the destination(目的地), the doctors receive a text and wait nearby. The drone drops off the package and then returns to its home.
A 92-year-old hunter in Virginia was lost and had to spend a night in the woods. The police searched for him all night but failed to find him. (5)       Also, drones helped firefighters know about the fire in wildfire fight.

32． One day, Mr. and Mrs. Smith are celebrating their (1)             (sixty) birthday. They got (2)             (marry) 30 years ago.
During the party an angel (天使) turns up. "You've been such a (3)             (love) couple for 30 years. I will give you one wish each," the angel says.
Mrs. Smith wants (4)             (travel) around the world. The angel waves her wand (手杖) and boom (隆地一声)! Mrs. Smith has the tickets in her hand.
Next, it is Mr. Smith's turn. He thinks for a moment. "Well, I'd like to have a woman 30 years (5)             (young) than me," he says shyly.
The angel lifts up her wand, and boom! He turns 90.

33．A: Excuse me, have you been waiting long?
B: About ten minutes.
A: Do you know whether the No. 7 bus (1)             ?
B: Not yet. I'm waiting for the bus myself. It's also a little late. A: Good, thanks.
B: You are (2)             , are you?
A: No, I'm a stranger. I'm from Germany. B: Wow, your English is very good. (3)             .
A: Nine months.
B: Just nine months? That's excellent.
A: Thank you, but there're still a lot for me to learn. B: How long are you going to stay in this country?
A: Another two months. Then I'll have to (4)             Germany to start work.
B: My daughter went to Germany five months ago. She is a doctor, you know.
A: Really? What does she think of Germany?
B: It's beautiful. She likes it very much. A: Oh, look! Here comes (5)             .