1．　　A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were not (1)       coins in the hat.
　　A man was walking by. He took a few coins (2)       his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that (3)       who walked by would see the new words.
　　Soon the hat (4)       with coins. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one (5)       changed my sign this morning?What did you write?" The man said, "I only wrote the (6)      . I said what you said, (7)       in a different way. I wrote: 'Today is a beautiful day, but I cannot see it. '"
　　(8)       signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were (9)       lucky that they were not blind. Should we be (10)       that the second sign was more effective?
　　Moral of the Story:
　　Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Think (11)       and positively. When life gives you 100 reasons to cry, (12)       life that you have 1000 reasons to smile.
　　Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear. Keep the faith and drop the fear.
　　The most beautiful thing is (13)       a person smiling. And even (14)       is, knowing that you are (15)       reason behind it!

2．　　On February 12^th, Dalian (not his real name) was taking a train to Changsha, Hunan, for a business trip. While on the train, he went into a carriage to have lunch there. He didn't know that the carriage was (1)       for people going to Wuhan.
　　Several hours (2)      , when the train arrived in Wuhan, Dalian was asked to get off, as he was in the special carriage. Although he was surprised, he didn't want to cause trouble and got off the carriage with just a (3)       bag in a hurry.
　　Because of the epidemic (疫情), Wuhan had been locked down. So Dalian couldn't find a(4)       to stay in. Feeling at a loss, he saw a notice online looking for (5)       to work in hospitals. Dalian decided to give it a try.
　　He soon became a volunteer in Wuhan No. 1 Hospital. He was responsible for taking out rubbish, sweeping the floor, disinfecting (消毒) the hospital, (6)       used protective suits and bringing meals to patients.
　　The young man, who is from northeast China, had to work 12 hours every day, (7)       his protective suit three times a day. While working, he couldn't (8)       anything or go to the washroom. He also had to be close to infected patients, which is risky.
　　Dalian was afraid of getting infected at first, but after he saw more patients get (9)      , his fear gradually went away.
　　Dalian's (10)       has become famous online. People described him as having "a heart of gold".

3．　　When the dog named Judy saw the first sheep in her life, she did what came naturally. The four-year-old dog set off racing after the sheep across several fields and, being a city animal, lost both her sheep and her sense of direction. Then she ran along the edge of the cliff (悬崖) and fell 100 feet, jumping off a rock into the sea.
　　Her owner Mike Holden was worried and called the coastguard of Cornwall, who appeared in seconds. Six volunteers went down the cliff with the help of a rope but gave up all hope of finding her alive after a 90-minute search.
　　Three days later, a hurricane hit the coast near Cornwall. Mr. Holden returned home from his holiday upset, believing his pet was dead. He comforted himself with the thought she had died in the most beautiful part of the country.
　　For the next two weeks, the Holdens were heartbroken. Then, one day, the phone rang and Steve Tregear, the coastguard of Cornwall, asked Holden if he would like his dog back.
　　A birdwatcher, using a telescope, found the pet sitting on a rock. While he sounded the alarm, a student from Leeds climbed down the cliff to pick up Judy.
　　The dog had been knocked unconscious (失去知觉的) but had survived by drinking water from a fresh stream at the base of the cliff. She may have fed on the body of a sheep which had also fallen over the edge. "The dog was very thin and hungry, " Steve Tregear said, "It was a very ______ dog. She survived because of the fresh water around, " he added.
　　It was, as Mr. Holden admitted, "a miracle (奇迹)".

4．　　Water shortages influence so many lives. The company Watergen produced a new machine to help solve this problem. The machine, called GENNY, is small enough to be used in a home or office but can produce up to 30 liters of water a day. More importantly, it can produce clean water out of air.
　　GENNY takes air in and passes it through a filter (过滤器) to remove dust and dirt. The filter is powerful enough to work even in areas with high air pollution. The air then passes through a room where heating and cooling turns steam in the air into water. This water is then passed through several more filters, and minerals are added to make it healthier and better-tasting. Finally, the water is kept in a tank where it is continually recycled to keep it fresh.
　　The heating and cooling process, called GENius, is far more energy-efficient than other technologies that produce water from air. It produces four to five times more water per kilowatt-hour (千瓦时). Watergen has other products that use this same technology in a larger size, the largest of which can produce up to 5, 000 liters of water per day.
　　As a company, Watergen aims to provide drinking water to the billions of people who don't have safe drinking water at home. Last year Watergen's large-size products were given to the local government in Brazil, Vietnam and India.
　　Watergon tries to help the environment by reducing waste caused by plastic bottles. People can put the water from GENNY into reusable bottles so that plastic ones don't get used and thrown away. It also calls for saving energy. There are even two types of GENNY:one that uses the electrical power supply and another that runs on energy from solar power. The latter one is particularly useful for villages or other areas not connected to an electrical network.
　　Watergen's technology is sure to help many people around the world as well as help take care of our planet.

5．　　Along the history of human society, it seems that there isn't a civilization (文明) without toys, but when and how they developed is unknown. They probably came about just to give children something to do.
　　In ancient times, just like today, most boys played with some kinds of toys and most girls with another. In societies where social roles are strictly divided, boys copy the behavior of their fathers and girls copy the behavior of their mothers. This is true because boys and girls are preparing to step into the roles and responsibilities of the adult world even in the game.
　　Surprisingly, from the history of toys, small changes have taken place over the centuries. The changes have been mostly about workmanship, mechanics and technology. It is amazing that toys are similar in the development of all parts of the world. What's more, toys used to be similar to what they are now. Among people in Egypt, the Americas, China, Japan and the Arctic, generally the same kinds of toys appeared. Changes depended on local customs and ways of life because toys show the real world around the people. Nearly every civilization had dolls, little weapons, toy soldiers, tiny animals and vehicles.
　　Since toys can often be regarded as an art form, they have not been influenced by technological progress. The development from wheels to carriage to automobiles is a straight line. If we compare a rattle (拨浪鼓) used by a baby today to the one used in 3000 BC, we will find it does not appear to be more creative. Every rattle is a product of the artistic taste of the time and is limited by materials.

7．Teenage Body Image (形象)
　　Your body image is how and what you think and feel about your body. It includes the picture of your body that you have in your mind, which might or might not match your body's real shape and size.
　　A positive or healthy body image is feeling happy and satisfied with your body, as well as being comfortable with and accepting the way you look. (1)       People who feel like this often want to change their body size or shape.
　　Your body image is influenced by many things. (2)      
　　Puberty (青春期) is also a big influence. During puberty, your body is going through lots of changes. But at the same time, fitting in and looking the same as other people becomes more important.
　　(3)       When you feel good about your body, you will be more confident about yourself.
　　It is possible for you to feel down if you focus on the negative messages around you and make negative comparisons between your bodies and what you see as perfect bodies.
　　You can try talking with your friends about your feeling of the physical changes of puberty. (4)       It's also good for you to know that some images on the Internet are not real, which are often beautified so that people look more "beautiful" than they really are.
　　You should be proud of yourself for things that aren't about appearance. This might include your sense of humour, effort at school, helpfulness, or other special skills. You can also spend time on interests and activities that make you feel good. (5)      
　　If you already have a negative body image, consider asking for advice from experts. This might give you the tools you need to fight against social pressure and feel good about your body.

8．　　Chemistry is everywhere in our daily life. Sometimes it's easy to see. At other times, it can be very (1)h              to see the everyday chemistry at work, but nearly everything you touch has some chemicals (化学物质) in it.
　　Chemistry helps to make products for use. Something as simple as toothpaste has at least three chemicals that keep your teeth clean. Other things in your daily life are created by chemistry, such as hair products and soap. (2)W              chemistry, we would never have known that we need soap to get the oil out of clothes.
　　Chemistry plays an important role in food preparation. Cooking food causes it to go through a chemical (3)c             . That is the reason why cooked food often tastes different from uncooked food. Too much or too little of any chemical material makes a (4)d              to the result of baking (烘焙). For example, the cake can be too soft or too hard.
　　Chemistry isn't something that just lives in a laboratory;it's something that you meet hundreds of times in life. (5)L              about how chemistry works will give you a greater understanding of the life.

9．如今, 传统汉服在年轻人中越来越流行．
Nowadays, traditional "Hanfu" is getting                                                     with young people.

10．根据新规定, 学生不被允许携带个人手机进入课室．
According to the new rule, students                                                    bring personal mobile phones into the classrooms.

11．这份报告解释了为什么我们有必要种植更多的树木．
The report explains                                                    for us to plant more trees.

12．到目前为止, 《美丽中国》是我看过的最好的电视节目之一．
                         , Amazing China is one of the best TV programs that I              ever             .

13．"一带一路" 把中国和世界连接在一起。它是一项多么重要的战略啊!
The Belt and Road brings China and the world together.                                        strategy it             !

14．三年的初中生活即将结束, 我们的点滴成长和进步都离不开家长的悉心照顾和支持、老师的辛勤教诲和鼓励, 以及其他人对我们的帮助．学校针对毕业班开展了题为 "People I Want to Thank"的英语征文活动．请按照以下表格提示, 写一篇英语征文投稿．

注意:(1)文章必须包含对家长、老师以及自选的一位人物的感谢．(2)字数:100词左右 (短文的开头已给出, 不计入总词数)．(3)不得透露学校、姓名等任何个人信息, 否则不予评分．
People I Want to Thank
How time flies!The three—year school life is going to end. Here I want to say thank you to those who have helped me.