16．　　There was a young man who was going through (1)       times. His wife left him. He ran business by himself but it was losing money. (2)       he worked hard all the time, it seemed that he had always been failing. Finally, he(3)       everything behind and went into the forest. There, he met an old man who had lived there for a long time. He (4)       his story with the old man. "Can you give me one good (5)       not to give up?" he asked the old man.
　　"Look, " the old man said, (6)       two plants. "Do you see that fern and bamboo there?"
　　"Yes, " the man answered.
　　"When I planted the fern and bamboo seeds(种子), I took very good care of them. The fern(7)       grew from the earth, " the old man went on. "However, I watered and took care of the bamboo seed for years, it did not sprout(发芽). There was no(8)       of growth. But I did not give up on the bamboo seed and went on looking after(9)      . In the fifth year, a small sprout came out of the (10)      . And within six months, the tree grew as (11)       as a hundred feet.
　　"The little bamboo tree had been growing (12)       for the past four years, developing a root system(根系) strong enough for its ground growth in the fifth year. (13)       having done this, it wouldn't become so strong. So you know, all the time you were struggling, you were actually growing strong roots. " the old man said.
　　This made a big difference to the young man. He thanked the old man and walked home a(14)       man. He changed the (15)       in which he saw the world.

17．Ye Nan:Hi, Mr. Lee. I'd like to ask you some questions.
Mr. Lee:Hi, Ye Nan. Feel free to ask me anything.
Ye Nan:Thank you. I know you're a teacher. (1)      
Mr. Lee:They are eight years old.
Ye Nan:(2)      
Mr. Lee:I teach them everything such as math, science and English. I also sing songs and play games with them.
Ye Nan: (3)      
Mr. Lee:Yes, of course. I've taken care of them all day for a year. And they know me well, too.
Ye Nan:Oh, you're like a father to them. (4)      
Mr. Lee:Yes, it's not easy for me. But I like to get on with kids, so I like my job.
Ye Nan:Hope your work goes well. Thanks for your time, Mr. Lee.
Mr. Lee: (5)      

18．　　It was late afternoon, cold and snowy. Mrs. Jones walked along the street carrying two large shopping bags. Her feet were hurting. She couldn't wait to get home.
　　A few days before Christmas, everyone was busy shopping for the big day. "It's so tiring, " thought Mrs. Jones as she hurried along the street. "I don't like Christmas. "
　　As Mrs. Jones passed the fruit and vegetable shop, the door opened and a man hurried out carrying a large Christmas tree. As he passed her, the smells of the tree came to her. In that moment, she started thinking about a Christmas many years ago. She and her sisters Rose and Lily helped her father bring a large Christmas tree from the woods into a warm house. The house was full of laughter and the smells of Christmas. Her father made his girls a beautiful doll's house.
　　She remembered the excitement of that Christmas morning as she and her sisters danced around their wonderful new toy. That Christmas, they skated on the lake in their red coats with warm gloves. Mrs. Jones smiled at the memories. It was just like yesterday.
　　Mrs. Jones took a deep breath of the smells of Christmas. It was so long since she called her sisters last time. "As soon as I get home, I'll call them and wish them Merry Christmas. " she thought.

19．July and August are the months of fun﹣filled activities for kids and teenagers as long as you know where to find them. When you want some fun activities, consider these ideas happening in the months.

20．　　Do you use full stops(句号) to end a sentence when sending short messages?
　　The full stop is from Greek punctuation(标点) introduced by Aristophanes of Byzantium in the 3rd century BC. It is often used at the end of a sentence. Before the 8th century AD, western writing only used full stops.
　　Now experts are finding that young people who are growing up with smart phones seldom send messages with full stops. Some of them have said the full stop is useless because the message is ended just by sending it. They often break up their thoughts by sending each one as a separate message, rather than using a full stop, which they use only to show they are annoyed or angry.
　　British writer Sophie Hannah wrote: "Just asked 16﹣year﹣old son, this is true. If he got a message with full stops at the end of sentences, he'd think the sender was 'too blunt'. "
　　Young people complain to their parents about their messages because their parents always use а full stop at the end.
　　Experts have noticed the changing emotions in punctuation. In most written language, a full stop is simply a way to complete a thought;but online communication is turning it into something unfriendly.
　　A study from Binghamton University in New York suggests that people who finish messages with full stops are seen as insincere(不真诚的). Unusually, messages ending in an exclamation point (感叹号) are regarded as more sincere. For example, "Let's go to KFC. " and "Let's go to KFC!".
　　"As problems of tone(语气) kept arising on messages, people turned to other punctuation marks on their keyboards rather than inventing new ones, " Ben Crair wrote in an article published by newpublic. com.
　　So far, the emotional uses of punctuation haven't been put in formal writing.

21．　　When you are feeling down, nothing cheers you up more than a nice big hug from a loved one. But the good results of hugging are more than just a simple shot in the arms. Scientists have discovered that the act of hugging is good for mental health, physical health and child development.
　　Hugging causes your body to produce a number of chemicals that improve your feelings. These chemicals cause your stress levels to fall and cut down feelings of worry and loneliness. Hugging also helps create a stronger connection between huggers. This means that hugs are great for deepening relationships and cutting down conflict.
　　People who often hug receive an increase in the immune system(免疫系统) when fighting off illness. Gentle pressure from hugging encourages the body's production of white blood cells which help protect against illness. A study of 400 adults showed that those who hugged more often were less likely to get sick than those who didn't. And frequent huggers who got sick also had less serious symptoms(症状).
　　Besides increasing your immune system, hugging can be good for your heart. Scientists have found that hugging causes an increase in happiness hormones, which develop happy feelings. This increase lowers both your heart rate and your blood pressure and cuts down stress on your heart.
　　Hugging might also slow the influences of aging on some people. Old mice that were given happiness hormones actually began to regenerate their muscles(肌肉) as many as younger mice. They appeared more easily able to move around. So giving your grandpa and grandma lots of hugs could help them stay healthier for longer.
　　Hugging isn't only good for the old. Babies who were given just 20 minutes of hugs and loving touches per day were shown to have received good influences on their brain development.
　　Therefore, if you are one of those people who don't think of themselves as a hugger, you may want to change your ways. Get out there and give your loved ones a hug!You will give them—and yourself—a world of good.

22．
　　My name is Nicole, and I am from Australia. We have (1)       and sunny weather there. Most Australians live along the northeast and the southeast coasts. The middle of Australia is very dry, so very few people live (2)      . It is called the outback. There are lots of farms in the outback. I live (3)       a farm, and I don't go to school. However, I can listen to my (4)       and send answers back to her online. This is called online school. My tests and homework are sent through the mail. For fun, we like going to the beach. I (5)       like the Great Barrier Reef(大堡礁). It is the world's largest coral reef. There, we dive, swim and watch fish.

23．
　　One day in May, Joao (1)       on a beach in Brazil when he saw something very strange. On close look, he noticed that it was a penguin(企鹅) covered in oil. The poor penguin could hardly (2)      . It was brought home and was named Dindim.
　　After saving the penguin, Joao spent a week (3)       its dirty body and fed it fish every day. Once the penguin was in good health, Joao took it back to the beach to set it free, something surprising happened. It followed Joao back home again.
　　"Dindim stayed with me for another 11 months and then just after it changed its coat with new feathers, it was gone. Everyone said it would never return. But actually my Dindim (4)       back to visit me in the last few years. It arrives in June and leaves to go home in February every year. "
　　Joao loves the penguin like it is his own child. No one (5)       to touch Dindim except Joao. Maybe the penguin believes Joao is part of its family and probably a penguin as well. That's a really special relationship!

24．　　Will you remember everybody after leaving school?Have you got a good way to record your school lives?Young people are using online social networks like mySpace and facebook in the US. (1)       People love orkut in Brazil, skyrock in France, cyworld in South Korea. .. etc.
　　A yearbook is a tradition of high school life in the US. The book includes the name, pictures, and signature of each student in the final year. (2)       15﹣year﹣old schoolgirl Catherine and her brother David, 16, wanted to have a yearbook online so that everyone could learn about people's musical tastes, the movies they like. .. .
　　She thought of the name (MyYearbook. com), the logo, with its two smiley faces. To popularize the site, Catherine and David wore T﹣shirts with the site logo on it to school. (3)       Then, she spent many evenings talking on the phone to programmers in other countries, and collecting ideas from her schoolmates. Finally her older brother came up with the money to start up the website.
　　MyYearbook users can join in the fun by sending messages and "collecting" friends. They can share music, photos, homework and study guides with friends. Some teens feel they don't fit in at school but can make friends more easily online. (4)       On the site, members can make " Lunch Money" by completing activities or buying it with real money. (5)       It has saved a lot of rainforest, sent 22, 000 books to Africa, and bought 20, 000 kg of rice for people without enough food and. .. .
　　Catherine and David kept on going to university, where they still managed to put in 50 hours a week developing the site.

A. So, MyYearbook helps some shy people not to feel left out.
B. And soon hundreds of their schoolmates input their information.
C. How could Catherine stop her classmates using websites?
D. Lunch Money is often given away to help people in need.
E. Some teens have to spend much money on the yearbook.
F. But they are not the only ones.
G. Then you can remember who you went to school with through the yearbook.

25．假定你是李华, 你所在的学校要征集一封英文感谢信, 以致意奋战在抗击新型冠状病毒肺炎第一线的医护人员, 请你根据下列要点用英语写一封100词左右的感谢信用于投稿．
1. 表达谢意;
2. 医护人员的奉献(1－3条);
3. 你的感受．
注意:
1. 可以适当增加细节, 以使行文连贯;
2. 开头和结尾已为你写好．
参考词汇:gratitude感谢;COVID－19新冠肺炎;contribution贡献(可数名词);virus病毒;accompany陪伴;get infected感染
Dear doctors and nurses,
 　　I am Li Hua, a middle school student in Jinan. _____