17．A Second Chance
　　I was in fifth grade and about to take a science test. Since first grade I had always been good at school. Simple science was easy for me and I always did well on tests. When it came to fifty-grade science, however, I was struggling (挣扎). I couldn't seem to (1)       it no matter how hard I tried. I was anxious.
　　My mom and dad had always been so proud of my grade, and I didn't want to let them down. So just before the test I had written several (2)       from the textbook on my desk in pencil. The writing was so light that it could hardly be seen. I sat (3)      as the teacher started to hand out to the test. I didn't want to get caught, but I didn't want to fail, either.
　　As the teacher was starting down my row, suddenly the fire alarm went off. It was an unscheduled fire drill (消防演习). We all (4)      out of the door and stood together, waiting to be allowed back into the building.
　　As I stood outside in the warm sunshine, I realized what a fool I had been. I knew my mom and dad would still love me no matter what my grade was. As soon as we came into the classroom, I walked to my desk and (5)      the notes away. I had been given a second chance, and I wasn't going to waste it. I took the test, did my best and felt (6)       . I don't remember what my grade was, but what happened that day has (7)       in my heart and mind ever since.
　　Life is full of second chances, but you have to be willing to take them. You have to be willing to accept your (8)      and grow from them. Every day when you wake up, you are given a second chance at life.
　　Treasure it! And use it wisely!

18．　　Tom had a dog named Max. Max was 10 years old, which was quite old in dog years. Tom bought the dog to protect him and his family from (1)       . When Max saw something suspicious (可疑的), he barked out loudly. There was one time when a bad man tried to get into Tom's house. Thankfully, Max barked loudly and Tom was able to (2)      the bad man in time. Sometimes though, Max would bark when he saw another dog. Tom would go outside thinking something bad was (3)      , but it was really just another dog.
　　Tom went on a lot of hikes and walks with Max. Tom did not like to exercise, but he did not (4)      if it was with Max. Tom would also bring Max to the dog beach, where he could play with other(5)       . Max was considered part of the family. He was even in the family holiday postcard picture. Tom knew, however, that Max was going to (6)      pretty soon. He tried not to think about it.
　　Tom came back home from school and filled up Max's water bowl as usual. Except this time, Max did not run to the water like he usually did. Tom looked around the house for Max and found him lying down on the floor dead. Tom (7)      ran to Max and tried to feel for his puls e(脉搏). Max was really gone. Tom and his family buried Max in their backyard. Tom cried for a long time, and would remember all his (8)       memories with Max.

19．What problems do teenagers have?Here is a survey showing their main problems and some advice.

20．　　The population of the Earth is growing faster. It is important that we look after the Earth. We need it!
　　The Earth gives us a lot of things. We also give the Earth a lot, but some of the things are not good.
　　In nature, when something dies, other animals and plants get food from it. Every animal or plant gives food for other animals or plants. However, animals can't get food from many of the things that we'give' the Earth. Animals and plants can't eat metal, plastic and glass. These things will stay in the ground for many, many years.
　　Some rubbish is very dangerous for plants and animals. In some places, many animals live together. One animal makes food for many more animals. If we put rubbish and chemicals in the water, the plankton(浮游生物)can die. If there isn't any plankton, many animals have nothing to eat.
　　So what can we do?Don't leave any rubbish in the countryside! Don't make so much rubbish!

21．　　Many textbooks are not written in the kind of English that we speak every day. In fact, sometimes the reading is so difficult that it almost seems like a foreign language. In a way, it is﹣﹣the language of science.
　　You should not expect to be able to read a difficult science passage the same way you read an interesting story;you should not expect to read it easily and all at once. Instead, you may have to read it several times through, catching on the meaning of difficult words, going back over difficult sentences, and finally putting the whole thing together. Do not be discouraged(灰心的) if the whole passage doesn't make sense(讲得通) to you at first. You need to pick it apart patiently until you can understand it.
　　These are the steps to follow when you are reading something difficult:
1、Start to read normally(正常地) until you run into a sentence that doesn't make sense to you.
2、When a sentence doesn't make sense, go back and read it again more slowly.
3、Look for any word you don't know in the sentence. Try to understand their meanings using word parts and context clues (上下文线索). If necessary, look them up in the dictionary.
4、Look at the next few sentences to see if they explain (解释) more about the sentence you are working on. Do not read very much farther ahead until you understand what is being said.
5、Finally, read the sentence again. Try to put it into simpler words.
6、Read through the passage once. Try to understand all the hard parts well. Then read the whole passage once more at a usual speed. This helps you to put all ideas together.
　　The steps sound a lot harder than they are. It is really just the normal way good readers understand anything that is difficult to read. After you have done the best you can this way, you should always feel free to ask for help from your teacher, if you have one.

22．　　Imagine this. There's an apple and a piece of cake on a table. Which one would you like?The delicious cake or the healthy apple? A bestseller, Willpower.
　　Rediscovering Our Greater Strength, suggests that willpower (意志力) is the ability to make decisions that are better for us in the long term, rather than in the short term.
　　Here is a famous experiment in the book:the marshmallow (棉花糖) test. In 1972, Professor Walter Mischel tested the willpower of 600 four-year-olds to six-year-olds. In the experiment, each child was left alone in a room for fifteen minutes with a marshmallow on a table in front of them. They were given two choices:they could either eat it or, if they waited fifteen minutes, they'd be given a second one and then they could eat both.
　　So, what did the kids do?Well, as you can imagine, 70% ate the first marshmallow within the fifteen minutes. But the other 30% showed willpower they controlled themselves and waited for the second marshmallow. But then Mischel discovered something really interesting. Twenty years later, he got in touch with the children, who, by then, were in their early twenties. And he found that those who'd shown strong willpower were getting better marks at university and were more popular.
　　Willpower is like a muscle (肌肉), and the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets. So, if you do daily"self﹣control exercises", such as making your bed or brushing your teeth, you'll improve your overall willpower.
　　And daily willpower exercises will help you with those bigger goals, such as studying for an exam or training for a marathon.
　　Be careful though. Just like any muscle, your "willpower muscle" can get tired. If you've had to do lots of things that require willpower, take a break or give yourself a treat. That way, you'll build up your willpower again.
　　And one last thing, the writer mentions people who learn foreign languages usually have a lot of will power. So, congratulations!

23．　　Some scientists were studying sea turtles in Costa Rica in Central America. Suddenly they found one turtle had something sticking out of its nose. It could not breathe. At first, the scientists thought it was a worm. But when they pulled the object out, it was a plastic straw.
　　The waste created by plastic straws is unbelievable. In the United States alone, 500 million straws are thrown away every day. That's enough straws to circle the Earth twice, or fill 125 school buses. Plastic straws are almost never recycled because they're too small and could be made from several different types of plastic. Many of them end up as litter in our streets or worse, plastic waste in our oceans. They aren't the biggest polluter of our waterways, but they can be some of the most dangerous to sea animals. Their size makes them easy for fish or birds to eat. About 71% of seabirds and 30% of turtles are found with plastic in their stomachs. When these animals eat the plastic, they have a 50% mortality rate (死亡率).
　　Milo Cress is a boy from Vermont, America, who wanted to reduce (减少) and possibly end the use of plastic straws in restaurants. In 2011, at the age of 9, he founded the Be Straw Free project, which focuses on building awareness (意识) about plastic waste and its effect on the environment.
　　"I noticed that whenever I ordered a drink at a restaurant, it would usually come with a straw in it, and I don't usually need a straw," Milo said. He started asking the local restaurant owners to stop providing the customer with a straw unless he or she asks for one. Many of them agreed and joined the movement. By doing that, the restaurants report a reduction in the number of straws they use between 50 and 80%.
　　Drinking with a straw is fun. But think twice. For anyone who really likes to use a straw, there are several ways to go. The best one is trying a reusable one, which can be washed along with dishes. Bamboo, metal and glass can be used to make reusable straws. Another one is to use paper straws, which are recyclable and can be found in attractive colors and patterns. With choices available, there's no reason to add to the plastic straw waste problem.

32．假如你是初二学生李华, 你的英国朋友 Tommy 想要了解北京．请你介绍一下北京这座城市．可以从北京的天气、著名景点、来北京旅行的建议以及对北京未来变化的看法进行介绍．
提示词语:
capital, autumn, famous, camera, beautiful
提示问题:
● What's the weather like in Beijing?
● What famous places are there in Beijing?
●What do you think of the changes of Beijing in the future?

Dear Tommy,
　　I am glad that you would like to know something about Beijing. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
　　Best wishes,
Yours,
Li Hua

33．题目②
假如你叫李华, 某英文网站以"I love Pandas/Tigers. .. "为题征文, 请你投稿．介绍一种濒危动物, 讲讲它的样子、现状及濒危原因、呼吁一下大家可以怎样保护它们．
提示词语:
live, in danger, the number of, enough food, safe place, protect
提示问题:
● What do they look like?
● Why are they in danger now?
● How can we save them?
I love _________
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