16．　　Every year when Mother's Day cards show up in the stores, I remember my mother. She never cared much for (1)      . I could just send a card or give her a call, and she'd be very happy.
　　A few months later after her death, I was in a store (2)       out a Mother's Day card when suddenly I realized I had (3)       one to send it to.
　　Each Mother's Day, I choose a different theme (主题) to remember her. This time, it's some of the things she said. For example:
　　When I asked her not to send my (4)       brother to a boarding school, she said, "They'll teach him to read Braille (盲文). (5)       he wants to have a life, he has to learn to read."
　　When I (6)       that she ought to get a life, she replied, "I work five days a (7)      , clean my house on Saturday, go to church on Sunday. I don't need a life. I need help."
　　When we fell on hard times, she said, "Life is a (8)      . Sometimes you give, other times you take. Either way, it's all the same one. But try to remember how hard it is to take, because one day, you will do the giving."
　　My mother was really a (9)       woman. I remember my mother. And someday, when I'm gone, I hope my children will remember me.
　　But in the meantime, I'll be (10)       to get a card or answer a phone call.

17．　　World Book Day is coming. What's your favorite book? Here are the answers of four students in Sunshine Middle School.

18．　　Why are your study habits different from those of your friends? Why do you seem to learn faster in some classes while more slowly in others? One reason you may not know is that people have different types. Scientists say there are three different learning types: Visual (视觉型), Auditory (听觉型), and Kinesthetic (动觉型).
　　Visual learners learn best by seeing. If you seem to easily remember information from pictures, graphs (图表), and videos, you are probably a visual learner. You're not good at copying down what the teacher says in class. Never mind. You can draw graphs or pictures instead, if you find that works better for you.
　　Auditory learners learn best by hearing. If you seem to easily remember things by hearing them, then you are probably an auditory learner. You must listen carefully while the teacher is speaking because it's the easiest way for you to learn. Sometimes you may find that taking notes tops you from listening carefully. After class, you can write down what you remember or borrow your friend's notes to copy.
　　Kinesthetic learners learn best by doing. If you seem to learn best by working with your hands, you are probably a kinesthetic learner. Taking notes by writing can make you pay close attention to information as you receive it. Of course, you can learn best by making full use of labs or other class activities.
　　Hope you learn better by knowing what your personal learning type is.

19．　　It's a common belief that over time, pet owners start to look like their animals. Now comes the terrifying news that cats look up to their owners as role models and copy their behaviour.
　　Next time you reach for your fridge, think twice. If your cat is watching, she will probably overeat as well.
　　In a new study from the University of Messina, it turns out that indoor cats who live closely to their owners "mirror" the lives of their caregivers. They sleep at the same time, eat at the same time, and can even become more or less social depending on the behaviour of their owners.
　　"Cats are clever animals with a long memory," Jane Brunt, director of the Catalyst Council, told Discovery News. "They watch and learn from us, noting the patterns of our actions, knowing where their food is kept and what time to expect to be fed, how to open the cupboard door that's been improperly closed, and where their feeding and toileting areas are." Because cats copy our habits, if you spend a lot of time raiding (搜刮) the fridge, your cat will return to its food bowl for that midnight snack, too. According to the study, this explains why "human and cat overweight rates often seem to match".
　　There's no word if drinking green tea and making sure you go to yoga will benefit (使受益) your cat, but based on the study, it sounds like sticking to a healthy eating and sleeping habit is best for both of you.
　　There's a lot we can learn from our cats in return. "When they sit softly breathing, eyes halfclosed, the sense of peace and calm that comes over us is like a private lesson in inner meditation (冥想)," Brunt said. They're probably pretty good at remaining calm.
　　So, according to science, though we think that cats are not close to us all these years, it turns out they are in fact learning from us and looking up to us. Scary, huh?

20．　　"Get up. Get up, Jim. It's time to get up!" My mother said while she was pushing me. I opened my eyes and looked at the clock. "Oh dear! It's a quarter past eight already. I'll be late for school again," I thought. I jumped out of the bed, washed my face, and then hurried to the bus stop without breakfast. As soon as I got on the bus, it started running. "I'm sure I can get to school in time," I said to myself. Suddenly the bus stopped. The bus driver got off the bus, then got on the bus again and said, "I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen. There's something wrong with the bus. Please get off the bus and wait for another one." "I couldn't wait. The school isn't far. I'd better run to school," I thought, and then I began to run. But before I got to school, it began to rain hard.
　　I reached the classroom but I was wet, shivering with cold. The math teacher had already begun his lesson. It was Mr. Smith. He was very strict with his students and the students were a little afraid of him and so was I. I liked neither him nor his math lessons. I hesitated (犹豫) for a moment, and then I opened the door. "I'm very sorry, Mr. Smith. I'm late again," I said with a red face.
　　"It's you again, Jim." Mr. Smith said angrily, "I've told you not to be late, but you..." he suddenly stopped and looked at my wet clothes. He turned to the class and said, "I'm very sorry, boys and girls." With these words he quickly took off his own jacket and handed it to me. "Now, take off your wet coat and put on this one, or you'll catch cold," he said kindly.
　　I went to my seat with Mr. Smith's jacket on. It was a bit larger for me but I felt very warm in it. I found, for the first time, math was so interesting and how well I could understand it!

21．　　Aron Ralston is an American man who is interested in mountain climbing. As a mountain (1)      (climb), Aron is used to (2)      (take) risks. There were many times when he almost lost his life when climbing. On April 26, 2003, he had a serious mountain climbing accident in Utah. His arm was caught under a 360-kilo rock that fell on him when he was climbing by himself in the mountains. Because he could not free his arm, he stayed there for five days. But when his water (3)      (run) out, still no one found him. (4)      (save) his own life, he used his knife to cut (5)       half his right arm. Then, with his left arm, he bandaged (6)      (he) so that he would not lose too much blood. After that, he climbed down the mountain to find help.
　　After (7)      (lose) his arm, he wrote a book about his experience. In this book, Aron tells of the (8)      (important) of making good decisions, and of being (9)       control of one's life. His love for mountain climbing is so great (10)       he kept on climbing mountains even after this experience. His spirit encourages many people to face any difficulties bravely.

22．难忘的初中生活即将结束，你们班计划举行“告别初中生活”的主题班会。假如你是班长， 根据以下提示，用英语写一则通知。
要点如下：
1、时间：6月26日下午3:00；
2、地点：301教室；
3、活动内容：
对老师用话语表达谢意；
与同学交流暑假计划；
师生合影，互赠留言。
参考词汇：look back at; say goodbye to; express thanks to; talk about; take photos
注：词数100字左右；通知开头已拟好，不计入总数。
Boys and girls,
　　The wonderful middle school life will go to the end. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________