13．The Height of Life
　　Michael Stone had always dreamed of flying. His mother read him so many stories about flying that they (1)______ his dreams with color and beauty. His dad, on the other hand, believed in hard work. He always said, "If you want something, work for it!"
　　From the age of 14, Michael started (2)______ as a pole vaulter. He worked out every day with weightlifting and running, and he continued to help his parents with their farm work. His mother wished he could (3)______ bit more, but his father would smile and say, "You want something, work for it!"
　　Now Michael was standing in the stadium as one of the final two competitors in the pole-vaulting event in the National Junior Olympics. After a warm-up, he found his pole, and (4)______ on the runway that led to the most challenging event of his 17-year-old life. Suddenly he became (5)______. He had never experienced this before.
　　Then he thought of his mother. She always told him to take deep breaths when he felt nervous. So he did. Slowly the nervousness was gone. He gently put down his pole, and began to stretch (伸展) out his arms and upper body. And then, he (6)______ picked up his pole. He knew it was his time to fly.
　　As he began sprinting (冲刺) down the runway, something felt wonderfully different, yet familiar (熟悉的). When he took a deep breath, it happened. He began to fly, just like in his childhood dreams. Only this time he knew he wasn't dreaming.
　　The loud cheers from the audience brought Michael back. He could (7)______ the smile on his parents' faces. His life would never be the same. It wasn't because he won the National Junior Olympics and (8)______ a new world record. And it wasn't because he had just increased his personal best. It was simply because Michael Stone was blind.

15．　　Since the age of two, Ryder has been in a wheelchair. Last September he started the first grade and took the bus to school every day. Because he couldn't rush to catch the bus, sometimes he had to wait for fifteen minutes outside for the next one. It was all right when the weather was fine. However, if it was a rainy day with strong wind, Ryder would get wet, cold and uncomfortable.
　　Tim, who went to the local high school, rode the same bus with Ryder and noticed this. He wanted to help him stay warm but didn't know what to do. He told his teacher, Dan, about Ryder.
　　"Why not build Ryder a bus stop hut?" said Dan, "We can spend some time after school working on this project."
　　"Great idea!" said Tim.
　　Tim shared Dan's idea with his classmates, and they immediately decided to join in. Three of Dan's classes worked hard on the project for days. They watched videos to learn how to create the structure. The thought of keeping Ryder away from cold wind made them work nonstop. They wanted to finish it before snow would be falling. Some local companies heard about it and also helped.
　　The hut was finally built two weeks later. Ryder's family was shocked. It was so big that it allowed Ryder and an adult to be with him comfortably. The family sent a photo of Ryder in the hut and thanked Tim and other students for their hard work. The students were so excited to see just how their project helped others.

16．You and Your Data (数据)
　　As the Internet and digital (数字的) technology become a bigger part of our lives, more of our data becomes publicly ready for use, leading to questions about privacy (隐私). So, how do we connect with the growing digital world without giving in the safety of our information and our right to privacy?
　　Imagine that you want to learn a new language. You search "Is German a difficult language?" on your phone. Then you read an article with advice on learning German. You use a search service to find German courses. It asks you to turn on location (定位) services to find courses near you. You click "accept". Later while you're sending an email, an advertisement about a local language school teaching German pops up. You wonder how they've known. At all steps of your online activity, your phone and websites are collecting data and following your behavior online.
　　________2_________
　　Many of us share our locations, travel plans, opinions, shopping interests and family photos online — as services like ordering a takeaway meal, booking a plane or buying new clothes now take place online and require us to give out our data.
　　Every search you make, service you use, message you send and product you buy is part of your "digital footprint". Companies and online platforms use this "footprint" to track (跟踪) exactly what you are doing, from what links you click on to how much time you spend on a website. From your online behavior, they can guess what you are interested in and what things you might want to buy. By selling your data or providing products aiming at your interests, companies can make big money.
　　Can you protect your data?
　　Sometimes our personal data is shared online with our agreement. However, our data often travels farther than we realize, and can be used in ways that we did not expect. We don't even notice our personal data has been lost or shared without being allowed until the news on leaking (泄露) our data is reported in newspapers or on TV.
　　People begin to realize the possible dangers of sharing information online. As the Internet users, it is important that we pay more attention to who collects our data, where it is stored and how it is used. As the ways in which we use the Internet continue to grow and change, we will need to stay informed and keep needing new laws and rules, and better information about how to protect ourselves.

17．　　Human activity is changing the surface and temperature of our planet. But new research shows it is also changing the sound of oceans and seas. Scientists say these changes affect (影响) many sea animals — from very small fish to huge whales.
　　Sound travels very far underwater. For fish, sound is a better way to sense their environment than light. They use sounds to communicate with each other. Sounds also help some ocean animals find food and avoid their hunters. Sounds help fish and other sea animals survive (生存).
　　However, increased noise from humans is making it harder for these animals to hear each other. The noise comes from shipping traffic, underwater oil and gas exploration, and other noisy human activity. For many sea animals, their efforts to communicate are being masked (被掩盖) by sounds that humans have introduced. Experts explain the term masking, which happens when one or more noises in the water block sound important to an ocean animal's life.
　　The Red Sea is one of the world's most important shipping passages. It is full of large ships traveling to Asia, Europe, and Africa. Some fish and other animals now avoid the noisiest areas. Also, the overall number of sea animals has gone down by about half since 1970. In some parts of the ocean, scientists now record fewer animals singing and calling than in the past.
　　Experts say that effects of noise on sea animals are not well understood. However, some studies suggest that noise may cause hearing loss. The stress from human noise might also affect the immune (免疫) system — an animal's natural defense system. Many sea animals are showing higher levels of stress because of noise.
　　When people think of threats (威胁) facing the ocean, we often think of climate change, plastics, and overfishing. But noise pollution is another necessary thing we need to be monitoring. When it comes to something humans can do for the ocean, we need to think about how to make it quieter. Sound pollution may be easier to deal with than other ocean threats. You can reduce or turn off sound immediately. It's not like plastics or climate change, which are much harder to undo.

18．阅读短文，根据短文内容回答问题。

　　Volunteering is a great way to bring positive change to people, communities and society in general. The word "volunteering" started being used in the 18th century when people were willingly joining the military (军事) service. Today, the word is not so much connected with the military service, but with community service.
　　Official (正式的) organized volunteering appeared in the 19th century and became more popular in the 20th century. And the biggest development in volunteering was brought by the Internet. Organizations can reach people more easily online. Helpful platforms were raised, and more volunteers became interested when they found out about different opportunities.
　　We can learn a lot from volunteering. It connects us to others. It is a great way to meet new people with common interests. It also helps us make new friends, and improve our social skills.
　　Volunteering brings fun in our life. It is a fun and easy way to explore our interests and passions. Many people volunteer in order to make time for hobbies outside of work. For example, if a person has a desk job and long to spend time outdoors, he might consider volunteering to help plant a community garden, walk dogs for an animal shelter, or help out at a children's camp.
　　Volunteering can also be helpful for our careers (职业). If we are considering a new career, volunteering can help us get experience in other areas and meet people in the field. Also, many volunteering opportunities provide training, or can help us build upon skills we already have. Volunteering doesn't just feel good, it's good for us.

19．北京是一座蕴含着丰富传统文化的城市，也是一座现代化的城市，它在发生着日新月异的变化。
假如你是李华，你校英语社团正在开展线上国际交流活动，其公众号计划做关于北京的变化的系列推送，现就"Changes in Beijing"这一话题在校内收集素材。请你用英语给公众号留言，推荐一个你眼中北京最大的变化，对其作简要介绍，并说明推荐理由。
提示词语：transport (交通), convenient, shared bikes, environment
提示问题：
● What is the biggest change that happened in Beijing? Please describe it.
● Why do you think it can be the biggest change?

20．互联网无处不在。网络文明，人人有责。
某英文网站正在开展以“我与互联网”为主题的征文活动。假如你是李华，请用英语写一篇短文投稿，谈谈你在互联网上经常做什么，这样做的原因及你有什么收获。
提示词语：read, easy, improve, colorful
提示问题：
● What do you usually do on the Internet?
● Why do you do so?
● What benefits have you got?