13．　　I stood in line to sign up for the middle school track (田径) team.
　　"Track isn't an (1)      sport." The coach said. "Are you ready to practice hard every day?"
　　"Oh, yes. I love running." I replied.
　　"Well, that's good," the coach said. "(2)       starts tomorrow after school."
　　I was a little nervous about running with mostly older students, but I decided to face my fear.
　　"Welcome to the first day of practice." The coach ordered everyone to the bottom of a sand hill. "Okay," he said, "This is the (3)       practice we'll do all season. You are going to run up and down the sand hill ten times as fast as you can. If you can't (4)       it, move to the side." We all lined up, legs ready.
　　"Go!" the coach shouted, and up we went.
　　I considered myself a bit small but strong. Running up that hill, however, was harder than I had imagined it would be. The sand kept falling down under my feet and it was hard to keep balance (平衡). I tried digging my feet in deeper, but people kept passing me shouting "Look out!" and "Move off to the side!"
　　"Don't cry," I told myself as tears filled my eyes. I had to step aside. I went home from practice feeling like a(n)(5)      .
　　That night my dad noticed my sad face and asked what was wrong. The story came pouring out. Dad listened quietly and then asked, "How (6)       do you want to run?"
　　"I really want to run," I whispered through my tears.
　　"Then, run," he said. "Everyone will respect you if you don't stop and give it all you have. I know how strong-minded you can be when you set your mind to it."
　　The next day the hill looked as hard as it had been the day before, but I had a new attitude (态度) and something to (7)      . "Go!" the coach shouted. Several older students ran by me as we started up the hill. I still fell in the sand, and I still wanted to leave every step of the way;but I kept rushing slowly and progressively(逐步地). When I reached the top, I gave a silent cheer and headed back down again. My dad was right. I won(8)       that day and became a part of the team. On my last time down, everyone clapped and cheered.

15．　　Speaking English is not only about using proper grammar, but also about understanding the culture. Here is some important advice to remember when speaking English in the United States.
　　◆Americans have difficulties understanding foreign accents. Many Americans are not used to foreign accents. This requires patience from both of you.
　　◆Talk about places:Americans love to talk about places. When speaking to a stranger, ask them where they come from and then say something about that place. For example: "Oh, I have a friend who worked in Los Angeles. He says it's a beautiful place to live in." Most Americans will then willingly talk about their experiences of living in or visiting that city or place.
　　◆Talk about work:It is common for Americans to ask "What do you do?" It's not considered impolite as in some countries and is a popular topic of discussion between strangers.
　　◆Talk about sports:Americans love sports!However, they love America sports. When speaking about football, most Americans understand"American football", not soccer.
　　◆Be careful when expressing ideas about race, religion or other sensitive (敏感的) topics:The United States is a society with different cultures. Americans are very sensitive to other cultures and ideas.

16．　　Some people think that they have an answer to the problems of automobile crowding and pollution in large cities. Their answer is the bicycle, or bike.
　　In a great many cities, hundreds of people ride bicycles to work every day. In New York City, some bike riders have even formed a group called "Bike for a Better City". They claim that if more people rode bicycles to work there would be fewer automobiles in the downtown section of the city and therefore less dirty air from car engines.
　　For several years this group has been trying to get city government to help bicycle riders. For example, they want the city to paint special lanes — for bicycles only — on some of the main streets, because when bicycle riders must use the same lanes as cars, there may be accidents. "Bike for a Better City" feels that if there were special lanes, more people would use bikes.
　　But no bicycle lanes have been painted yet. Not everyone thinks it is a good idea. Taxi drivers don't like the idea — they say it will slow traffic. Some store owners on the main streets don't like the idea — they say that if there is less traffic, they will have less business. And most people live too far from downtown to travel by bike.
　　The city government has not yet decided what to do. It wants to keep everyone happy. On weekends, Central Park — the largest open place in New York — is closed to cars, and the roads may be used by bicycles only. But "Bike for a Better City" says that this is not enough and keeps fighting to get bicycle lanes downtown. Until that happens, the safest place to bicycle may be in the park.

17．　　Many people think sports are just for winning and honor, but there is a lot more you can gain from (get out of) them. I have learned over the past years that sometimes when I lose, I get a lot more out of it than winning. Also, I find a lot of times in sports, people are getting too caught up in the game instead of just having fun. The real purpose of sports is to have fun and learn life lessons along the way.
　　I greatly encourage you to be a part of the school sports. Even if you are not the best, you can still have fun. Sports give people a great and healthy way of spending an afternoon, instead of lying around playing video games or even getting into bad things. Sports also give us a sense of achievement. There isn't a better feeling than to have done something fun and productive for my day.
　　I think that we all need sports to give us courage. If we try hard in sports, we usually do well. If we did the same in study, we would all be champions. Another reason why I encourage you to play sports is that it's just fun. Without sports, our lives would just be boring. So as you may be able to tell, sports are amazing!
　　Our coaches not only teach us to play sports, but show class and good sportsmanship while playing them. It's never fun when you lose to have the competitor rub it in your face. That's why our coaches teach us to show class when we lose;also, when coaches get onto you, don't get down. They only want to see you improve and learn from what they say. When you do badly and they don't shout loudly is when you should start worrying because they are giving up on you.
　　Overall, sports are great! They bring out the best and worst of a lot of us. However, we can't let sports get too serious to where it brings down all the fun. So to have the most fun in sports, you just need try your best and not worry so much about the winning or losing.

18．　　You love reading, but you read all your books and are tired of reading the same ones. You plan to go to the library, but don't know what kind of books to get. With the right knowledge, it's easy to choose a good book!
　　Before you choose, answer these questions first. What authors (作者) do you like? Look for books by the authors you like, and you can get more of the same kind of books. What are your interests (兴趣)? Look for the books about your hobbies, and you may like reading them. Is there a kind of book you want to try? If there is, find the book and read the summary. This will help you decide if the book is right for you.
　　Search (搜寻) in your house next. Maybe someone in your family has some pretty good books. Also, by searching in your house, you can find some books that you can read, and they won't even cost you any money.
　　Then, ask someone to recommend (推荐) a good book. You can ask your elder brother or sister, your mom, your dad, your best friend, or even your English teacher. You should ask people who like the same kind of books as you, so that you can get books that match (匹配) your need.
　　Join a book club, please. Being part of a book club is often a way to read new books with others. Joining a book club helps you know who else likes the same books as you. You can read books together and discuss them.
　　Finally, read the first part of each book, so that you can know the main idea of the book, and decide if you like it or not.

19．根据中文大意和英文提示词语, 写出意思连贯、符合逻辑、不少于50词的回信. 信的开头和结尾已给出, 其字数不计入所要完成的回信内. 所给英文提示词语仅供选用. 请不要写出你的校名和姓名.
假如你是玲玲, 英国交换生Tom要来北京进行一段时间的学习和访问, 他写邮件来向你询问北京的天气、适合去的景点及相关建议. 请你根据以下问题给他回复邮件, 向他介绍北京的情况, 邮件的开头与结尾已给出. 不少于50词, 提示词供参考.
Tom邮件中的问题:

提示词: windy, the Palace Museum, Beijing Opera, enjoyable, traffic, clothes
Dear Tom,
It was great to hear from you.
I've heard that you're coming to Beijing. I want to tell you something about Beijing and give you some advice as well.
_______
Hope you have a good time in Beijing!
Yours,
Lingling