16．　　It was Mary's birthday. She got a letter from her uncle. Her uncle, a (1)       , would give her some chickens as his birthday present for Mary. Mary was pleased. She liked eating eggs and she liked eating chicken, too. "I can keep the chickens (2)       their eggs or eat them, " she thought. When the chickens arrived the next day, they were in a box.
　　Mary was very excited (3)       she saw the chickens. She took the box off the back of the truck and began to carry it to the back of her house. However, the box of chickens was heavy and she dropped(4)      . The box fell to the ground and broke. The chickens all ran out.
　　They ran everywhere into neighbors' gardens, into the road, into shops, even into the next street. Mary(5)      hours trying to find them and took them back to her garden.
　　A few days later her uncle came to visit her.
　　"Did the chickens arrive (6)      ?" he asked Mary.
　　"Yes, Uncle Toby, " Mary said. "But I had a lot of(7)       with them. I dropped the box. It broke open and the chickens ran everywhere. I spent the whole morning (8)       for them. "
　　 "Have you found them all?" her uncle asked.
　　"I hope so, " Mary answered, "I have (9)      eleven of them. "
　　 "That's very (10)      , " her uncle said with a smile, "because I only sent you six. "

17．　　Why do your teachers want you to read?Reading can really (1)      you a lot!Reading is "brain food". Reading will make many areas of the brain work better. When your eyes (2)       at the words on the page, your memory connects the words with what you have (3)       known about the information. In(4)      , reading is one of the most useful brain activities in life.
　　Reading helps you develop better listening skills. Through reading you can know how to pronounce, learn new words and (5)       written words with things in the real world.
　　Reading prepares children for school. There is a (6)       relationship between a child's ability to read and his scores. That is to say that much of your studying (7)       your ability to read. So you should have strong reading (8)      to have good grades in school.
　　Reading brings a warmer family. Because people get much busier than before, it is (9)       to have one﹣to﹣one time with the family members. Spending 20 (10)      reading together each day provides this important time. There is nothing more wonderful than having the whole family together while reading wonderful books.

18．A:Hi, Jack! Long time no see. (1)      
B:I went to Beijing last month. I also visited Peking University.
A:Peking University? (2)      
B:It's so large and beautiful.
A:(3)      
B:Of course. I will learn how to protect our earth if my dream comes true.
A:Sounds great. (4)      
B:Well, the earth is our home and we have only one earth.
A:You're right. There is much pollution around us.
B:So we must do something to make the sky bluer and the water cleaner.
A:(5)      
B:We can begin with some small things like stopping using plastic bags. A small thing can make a big difference.
A:OK. Let's take action from now on.

20．　　Thousands of species (物种) of plants and animals may be in danger of disappearing forever. Many species are endangered because of human actions. But by making laws to protect natural habitats, we may be able to save some of them.
　　Animals and plants usually live best in their habitats. For example, the fish from the Amazon River couldn't live in the Arctic Ocean.
　　When a species is endangered, scientists watch it closely year after year. Accurate information about its population size and distribution(分布) helps scientists take action to protect the species.
　　In 1994, the pipefish (尖嘴鱼) in a river of South Africa was on the list of endangered animals. But one year later, a healthy new population was discovered because of scientists' close watch and act on.
　　Some species of the sea horse are endangered. By studying the population of the sea horse, scientists find out how to deal with the problems. Now they're working with fishermen to set up sanctuaries(庇护所) for the sea horse.
　　What you can do:
　　*Before you buy a fish for your aquarium (鱼缸), find out if it's endangered, or if it's from the wild.
　　*If you visit the coral reefs, be careful not to destroy them.

21．　　We can learn about charities through TV programs, films and newspapers. They also show us how we can help the poor people live better. Poor people don't just need money, and they also need something else. For example, charity donations(捐赠物) can be food, warm clothes for cold nights and books for children to read. So, we can help the poor people in other ways.
　　It's good to donate money, of course. However, most students don't have enough money. But they can still donate their used books and clothes to the children in the poor areas. If they have a list of charities, they can choose one which is the best to them and donate their books and clothes to the charity. There are international charities like Oxfam, the Red Cross, CAFOD, and so on. Recent disasters such as the tsunami(海啸) and hurricane(飓风) make many people homeless. Many charities are set up to help people build their homes. By giving money to the charities, you can help the people to start their lives again. If you don't know much about the charities, you can collect your donations, get in contact(联系) with the people you want to help and send your donations to them.

22．　　Have you ever tried to, sail across a big river or a sea?It sounds very fun but is sometimes really difficult. But recently, a 12-year-old French boy has broken the record for crossing the English Channel in a small children's sailing dinghy(小游艇).
　　The boy named Tom Goron started sailing from the Isle of Wight at five a. m. on Wednesday and arrived in France 14 hours and 20 minutes later. He broke the last record set by 15﹣year﹣old Violette Dorange in 2016 by 36 minutes.
　　"I'm proud of him, " his mother said after he completed the event. "My boy is brave, patient and full of great dreams. "The schoolboy made the 60﹣mile crossing in a small boat at an average speed of more than four knots(海里/小时). To keep him safe, he was followed closely by his father who was on another boat.
　　For the boy, but in fact, not everything was going well. He got seasick several times during the trip and even wanted to give up after five hours. Luckily, his father kept encouraging him to go on. So he made it.
　　When he arrived, he said that he hoped to learn from the French yacht racer(游艇选手) Francois Gabart, who last year set a new world record for the fastest round﹣the﹣world trip alone.
　　You see, people are always trying to follow the next dream when their first dream comes true.

23．　　A king had three sons. One day, he wanted to choose the new king of the country. So he told his sons, "I will give some flower seeds(种子)to you. Half a year later, come back to me with your flowers. The one who has the most beautiful flowers can be the new king. "
　　 One of the princes was Charley. He planted his flower seeds carefully in a little pot(盆). Days passed, but the seeds didn't sprout(发芽) at all. Charley moved the seeds into a bigger and nicer pot. He put the pot in a sunny place. Weeks passed, but the seeds didn't sprout. Charley was worried. He carried his pot to a river and watered the seeds with fresh water every day. Months passed, but nothing happened in the pot.
　　 Finally, it was time to bring the flowers to the king. The other two princes' pots were full of beautiful flowers. Charley looked at his empty pot and felt very sad.
　　"Why is your pot empty?" the king asked.
　　Charley said, "I'm sorry but I tried my best. I took care of my flower seeds carefully but they didn't sprout out. "
　　To his surprise, the king said, "Congratulations, Charley! You'll be the new king! The seeds were boiled so they could never have grown. Only you didn't change them. Being honest can bring you what you want. Remember that, my sons. "

29．假如你是李华, 在即将毕业之际, 你最想给谁写一封信呢?请你根据下列思维导图中的提示内容及所给的要求, 写一封信.

要求:
1. 须包含所给提示内容, 合理发挥, 条理清楚, 语句通顺;
2. 词数不少于80, 信件的开头和结尾已给出, 不计入总词数.
Dear Mr. Smith,
　　How are you? It's a pity that I'm going to graduate from our school soon. __________________________________________.
　　Best wises to you!
Yours,
Li Hua