11．　　This is a touching moment when a giraffe gave a sad goodbye to a dying worker. The (1)       spent his whole life cleaning the giraffes' home at a Dutch (2)      . The 54-year-old worker had a cancer (癌症). He asked to put his hospital (3)       in the giraffes' home at the zoo. In a touching moment, one of the giraffes went to the man and (4)       him a kiss goodbye.
　　Mario has (5)       in the zoo for over thirty years. He asked for a moment to say goodbye to his workmates and the animals at the zoo. He had no (6)       and he lived alone. A charity group helped to send Mario back to the zoo. They usually help (7)       persons finish their dying wishes.
　　"It was very nice that we could do (8)       to help his last wish come true," Mr Veldboer said. "It was a very special moment. The giraffe came with (9)       eyes. He looked at Mario for some time, and kissed him (10)      . You saw him smiling."

12．　　I used to hate being called upon in class mainly because I didn't like others to notice me. And if I was not told to have a seat by the teacher, I always (1)       to sit at the back of the classroom.
　　All this changed after I joined a sports team. It began when a teacher suggested I join the basketball team. At first I thought it was a crazy idea because I didn't have a good sense of balance, and I didn't have the (2)       to keep up with the others in the team and they would laugh at me. But because the teacher kept insisting on (坚持) my "(3)       for it", I decided to give a try.
　　Getting up the (4)       to try was only the half of it! When I first started (5)       the practice courses, I didn't even know the rules of the game. Sometimes I'd get confused (迷惑的) and take a shot at the wrong direction — which made me feel really silly. (6)      , I wasn't the only one "new" at the game, so I decided to learn the game, do my best at each practice course, and not be too hard on myself for the things I didn't know.
　　I practiced and practiced. Soon I knew the (7)       and the "moves". Being part of a team was not so difficult. Very soon the exciting part for me was WINNING (8)       I didn't have enough confidence. With time, I learned how to play and made friends. I never had so much fun!
　　With more self-confidence comes more praise from teachers and classmates. I have gone from "(9)      " in the back of the classroom and not wanting to call attention to myself, (10)       raising my hand — even when I sometimes wasn't and not 100 percent sure I had the right answer. Now I have more self-confidence in myself.

13．A: What's the matter, Mrs. Smith?
B: (1)      I can't do any work, doctor.
A: Do you have a cough?
B: No. I don't have a cough.
A: (2)      
B: Yes, I sleep very well.
A: Do you have breakfast every morning?
B: No. I don't have breakfast. And I have only a little food for lunch and supper because I want to keep thin.
A: Oh, I see. (3)      You need to eat more food and have three meals a day. (4)      
B: OK. I will do like that.
A: (5)      
B: Thank you very much.

14．　　Anne Frank was born in Germany in June 1929. Because the German Nazi (纳粹分子) hated the Jews (犹太人) and warned to kill them, her family had to move to another country. In July 1942, they went into hiding in a secret place in her father's office. During that difficult time, Anne kept writing diaries until she and her family were discovered by the Nazis in August 1944. They were caught and sent to a Nazi camp. The next year, her mother died. In the same year, she and her elder sister died of illness, before the war ended.
　　After the war, her father collected her diaries and the book The Diary of a Young Girl came out in 1947. It has been put into over 30 languages since then. The book has been read by people all over the world. In her diary, Anne wrote down her thoughts, her feelings, her hopes and her dreams for the future, "I want the diary to be my friend, and I'm going to call this friend Kitty." "I can't spend all day complaining (抱怨) because it's impossible to have any fun! …Every day, I feel the beauty of nature and the goodness of the people around me. With all that, why should 1 be sad."
　　The Diary of a Young Girl has also become a symbol of the greatness of the human spirit. It is called one of the wisest and most moving records on war.

15．　　Almost every day, we discuss the topic of health, especially for kids. But what is health? "Health" means eating well, getting enough exercise, and having a healthy weight. Let's read the following rules. They can help you stay healthy.
　　Eat different kinds of foods, especially fruits and vegetables.
　　We all know that eating fruits and vegetables can help us stay healthy, but many of us only eat our favorite foods. Remember that we can only get the nutrition (营养) we need by eating different kinds of food, especially fruits and vegetables.
　　Drink water and milk most often.
　　Everyone knows that water is important. Besides that, kids need plenty of calcium (钙) to grow strong bones, and milk has a lot of it. Every day, you should drink at least three cups of milk (1300 milligrams of calcium), when you are 9 years old or older. You should also try to have less sugary drinks like soda and coca. They include a lot of added sugar. Sugar just includes calories without any important nutrition.
　　Listen to your body.
　　When you are eating, notice how your body feels. When your stomach feels comfortably full, stop eating. Eating too much makes you feel uncomfortable. If you do it too often, it can make you unhealthy and fat.
　　Limit screen time.
　　What's screen time? It's the amount of time you spend watching TV, movies, and playing computer games. The more time you spend on these sitting﹣down activities, the less time you spend playing sports, like — basketball, and doing other activities like bike riding and swimming. Try to spend no more than 2 hours a day on screen time.

16．　　Rachel Carson (1907 — 1964) was a pioneer of the world's environmental movement through her writing about the protection of the natural world. Her 1962 book Silent Spring made her well known by many people. It describes the harmful changes in the environment of using toxic (有害的) chemicals on farmland.
　　Carson's career started as a biologist in the US Bureau of Fisheries. In 1951 she published her first book, The Sea Around Us, which became a bestseller. It made her rich enough to leave her job and devote her life to writing. She was a gifted writer. Her next two books were also about the oceans and both topped the book sales lists.
　　Carson's book Silent Spring completely change the way America though about nature. It painted a bleak(荒凉的) future for the whole natural world. It led to a nationwide ban (禁止) on the use of a deadly chemical called DDT, and other toxic pesticides (农药) that farmers used for their crops. Many people say the book led to the creation of America's Environmental Protection Agency.
　　Since her death, Carson's name has continued to be connected with protecting the environment. There is now a yearly Rachel Carson Book Prize. Norway awards the Rachel Carson Prize to women who have made great contributions to the field of environmental protection. In 1980, 16 years after her death, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in America.

17．　　Is your TV connected to the Internet? What about your chair, or your fridge? Probably they are not. But in the future, most things in your home may be connected, thanks to the so-called "Internet of things".
　　The Internet of things may be coming sooner than you think. Earlier this year, Samsung CEO spent a lot of time talking about the Internet things. He said that five years from now, every Samsung product will be part of the Internet of things, no matter whether it's a remote control or a washing machine.
　　So, how do household (家用的) objects that are part of the Internet of things work? Well, think of a common chair. When connected to the Internet, the chair warms up when it knows the user has just walked into the room and is feeling cold.
　　An Internet-connected camera could help people feel safer in their homes. It can know people's faces and has an infrared sensor (红外传感器), so even if it's dark it can see when someone passes by and send you a message on your smartphone to let you know who's there. If the person is someone you don't know, it can tell you that, too.
　　But according to MIT Technology Review, whether companies are connecting dog food bowls or security (安全) systems to the Internet, there may be some problems. For example, many early connected-home objects don't have much built — in security, which means they could be hacked (被黑客攻击). Moreover, it could be difficult to get these new machines to work together especially when they are made by different companies. To fight this, many companies have joined the Open Interconnect Consortium, which had 45 members by late 2014.
　　So, picture this:you enter your home. The temperature changes to make you feel comfortable. Your favorite music starts playing for you. Do you think that this would be a good thing? It may happen sooner than you think.

18．　　One day, a little girl found two weak birds when she walked in the forests. She took them home and put them in a small cage.
　　Every day, she feeds them with love and the birds grow strong. Every morning, they say "hello" to her with a beautiful song. The girl loves them very much and wants their singing to last forever.
　　One day the girl left the cage's door open. The larger and stronger of the two birds flew out of the cage. The girl watched worriedly when it circled (盘旋) high above her. She was afraid that it would fly away and she would never see it again. So when it flew close, she caught it at once. She was very happy that she held it tightly (紧紧地) in her hand! Suddenly, she felt something happened to the bird. She opened her hand and was surprised to find that the bird couldn't move any more and died. Her love for the bird killed it.
　　She noticed the other bird jumping in the cage. She could feel that it wanted to be free. It hoped to fly into the clear, blue sky. She lifted it from the cage and flew it into the air. The bird circled once, twice, three times…
　　When the bird flew happily in the sky, she was so glad. Just then the bird flew closer and sat softly on her shoulder. It sang the nicest song she often heard.
　　The fastest way to lose love is to hold it tight; the best way to keep love is to let it fly!

19．　　Mr. Dawson was a man with a bad temper (脾气). And everyone in town knew it. Kids were afraid to go into his yard to pick apples.
　　One Friday, 12-year-old Janet and her friend Amy had to walk past Mr. Dawson's house. When Janet saw him, she suggested crossing to the other side. But Amy said they needn't.
　　When Mr. Dawson saw Amy, he smiled and said, "Hello, Amy! I see you have a new friend with you today." Amy smiled back and told him that Janet would stay with her that night. Mr. Dawson looked friendly and gave them each a fresh apple. The girls were glad to get them.
　　Later Janet asked Amy, "Everyone says he is the most unwelcome person in town. Why was he so kind to us?" Amy explained that when she first walked past his house, she was also afraid of him. But she pretended there was an invisible (看不见的) smile on his face and then started talking to her. Just a "hello" at first, and then more.
　　"An invisible smile?" Janet was puzzled, "Yes," answered Amy, "My grandma told me to think so. She says smiles can run around. If we keep smiling at someone, sooner or later he will really smile back."
　　Remember what Amy's grandma said, and we will find that most people can't refuse our smile.

1. When did the two girls walk past Mr. Dawson's house?
__________________________________________________
2. What did Janet suggest doing when two girls were walking past Mr. Dawson's house?
__________________________________________________
3. Why was Mr. Dawson so kind to Amy?
__________________________________________________

20．L            (幸运地), Alan passed the test with good grades last month.

21．Students can learn not only from textbooks but also from n             (自然).

22．I think e             (锻炼) every day is good for my health.

23．It's i             (不礼貌的) to ask information directly when asking for help.

24．He found it interesting that so many p            (产品) were made in China.

25．初三是重要的学年之一，针对两个多月以来的初三学习生活，众多学生有喜悦也有失意，某英语报将开展"How to Face Grade Nine"征文比赛，请你根据提示的内容，简要描述并适当发表自己的观点，写一篇英语短文．内容要点如下表：

注意事项：1．短文须包括表格中所有提示内容，要求语句通顺、意思连贯；
2．表格中"适当解压"一栏须用1﹣2点作适当发挥；
3．词数在90个左右，短文的开头、结尾部分已给出，不计入总词数．
How to Face Grade Nine
We have been here in Grade Nine，one of the most important years for us students，for over two months．Some of us feel good，while some do not．How should we face this year？
First of all，________________．
Face the year bravely．It is you who shape your life and future!