17．
　　It was a bright Saturday and we were sitting in a modern restaurant. We were all students together many, many years ago. We had finished the noodles at the end of the (1)      , when the monitor said, "Let's take it in turns to (2)       our experiences."
　　Cathy started, "I have travelled a lot. I have visited many (3)       because of my work. I have seen the River Amazon and seen the snow in Canada. I've also been riding on a camel in the Arabian Desert."
　　Joyce said, "I have been very (4)       and am rich. I have opened many businesses, worked hard and had plenty of good ideas. So if you need help in doing business, I'll always be glad to give you a hand."

　　"Well, I have done a lot of good things. I (5)       people in hospital, raised money for the hospital's services and helped people." said Ricky.
　　Next was Ken. Once he was a (6)       little boy. Now he was a serious older man with heavy glasses and not much hair. "I have worked in a science research center. I have been busy in my laboratory day after day. I have always been thinking about the future and helping us (7)       it."
　　Then there was silence.
　　"So what about you, Mary?"
　　Mary smiled (8)      . "I have done everything you have done." "How can that be?"
　　"I have travelled all around the world and into space and into the past and many other wonderful things all through the world of books..."

29．　　Taking away a city's rubbish is a big job. Every day, trucks come into a city to collect it. Most rubbish is made up of things we can not eat or use. If we kept these things, we would soon have a mountain of rubbish.
　　In some cities the rubbish is collected and taken outside of a city to a dump. Often the city dump is a place where the ground is low or there is a big hole. The kitchen rubbish is broken into small pieces and sent into the sewage system. The sewage system takes away the used water from toilets, bathtubs and other places.
　　To keep mice and flies away, some earth is used to cover the newly dumped rubbish. Later, grass may be planted on the rubbish-filled land. Finally, a house or school may be built there, and then you'd never know that this had once been an old rubbish dump.
　　In other cities, the rubbish is burnt in special places. The fire burns everything but the metal. Sometimes the metal can be used again in factories where they are slowly changed into something called humus (腐殖质), which looks like black earth. It is rich with the kinds of things that feed plants and help make them grow.

30．　　A man feared his wife wasn't hearing as well as she used to and he thought she might need a (1)      . So one day he discussed it with his family doctor. The doctor told him about a simple test he could use to get a better idea about her hearing loss.
　　"Here's what you do," said the doctor. "Stand about 40 feet away from her, and in a normal conversational speaking tone (语调) see if she (2)       you. If not, go to 30 feet, then 20 feet and so on until you get a (3)      .
　　That evening, the man's wife is in the (4)       cooking dinner, and he is in the yard. "I'm about 40 feet away," he says to himself in a low voice. "Let's see what happens."
　　Then in a normal tone, he asks, "Honey, what's for dinner today?" No response.
　　So the husband moves (5)      , about 30 feet from his wife and asks again, "Honey, what's for dinner today?" Still no response.
　　Next he moves into the dining room where he is about 20 feet from his wife and asks, "Honey, what's for dinner today?" Again, he got no response.
　　He walks up to the kitchen door about 10 feet away. "Honey, what's for dinner today?" Again there was no response.
　　He walks right up behind her. "Honey, what's for dinner today?"
　　"James, for the (6)       time, chicken!"

31．　　As we grow up, we gradually have a set of our own values. They are influenced by society, our family, the education we receive and so on. Once this value system is set up, it is not easy to (1)c       later in life. According to our different values, financial (金融的) experts put us in (2)t       groups. They are the ant, the cricket (蟋蟀) and the snail (蜗牛).
　　The ant — work first
　　Just like ants who work very hard in summer in order to store food for (3)w      , these people don't care about enjoying the moment. They work hard and save money. They will have enough money to enjoy life when they get old.
　　The cricket — (4)f       first
　　The cricket wants to enjoy everything now and doesn't think too much about the future. They even (5)b       money when they really want something but they are short of money. Many young people now are in this group. These people have little savings. When they get old, they might have no money to live (6)c      . They should learn to save and buy insurance.
　　The snail — living under pressure
　　The snail refers to people who make life difficult for themselves. They take big long-term loans (贷款) from the bank in order to buy things such as expensive houses. Sometimes they can't afford it. This can cause (7)p       in the future. They should plan more carefully.

32．　　Eyes are die mirrors of the soul. It is very important to protect our eyesight. Listed below are some tips for you:
　　• The easiest way to protect our eyesight in daily life is to do eye exercises, which can allay (减轻) the tiredness of your eyes.
　　• Get yourself enough sleep and don't stay too late at night, for lack of sleep will result in pseudomyopia (假性近视).
　　• Don't watch TV, work on the computer, play electronic games or read books for too long a time. You have to get your eyes rest in every one or two hours.
　　• Going out for activities regularly. Looking to the distance from a high place will get your eye muscles relaxed, which can prevent myopia. Keep close contact with the nature, where its green mountains and rivers can bring you joy and relax. So let's get out, get healthy.
　　• Get balanced nutrition. Eat some foods which is good for your eyes in the right amount, such as animal livers, vegetables and fruit rich in vitamin A.
　　Every time I look into the night sky,
　　I saw hazy stars,
　　Someone told me it is hazy beauty,
　　But when I put on my glasses,
　　The very night sky (5)______
　　With stars twinkling and moon smiling,
　　My world was lighted up.

33．Write at least 60 words on the topic: A Change in me.
花开花落，岁月如梭。我在成长的过程中经历了不少变化。请描述自己的一次亲身经历，以"我的变化"为题，写一篇不少于60个单词的短文，要求内容适切，意思连贯，标点符号不占格。
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