13．　　I almost messed up "big time".
　　My 5-year-old son and I were coming back from school when we saw a(n) (1)       man on the side of the road. I wanted to give the man some money, but I didn't have any cash (现金). My son Justus noticed the man as well. And then it happened. . .
　　Justus insisted on giving the man the 30 cents he had in his pocket. I was more than happy that he wanted to do this with (2)      . But honestly I was hesitant (犹豫不决的), I didn't want to give this man who clearly needed all the help he could get, just 30 cents. My own pride and thoughts of the homeless man's unknown reaction (反应) to (3)       just two coins were standing in the way.
　　I quickly realized that I was the only problem in this situation. I almost told my son what he had wasn't enough by my inaction. I almost showed him that what he saw as a good thing, and was in fact a good thing, wasn't good enough to make a (4)       in someone's life. I almost taught him that pride was more important than helping another human. Thank goodness I quickly dropped that foolishness.
　　I then rolled down the window and said, "I'm sorry, man. I don't have any cash on me, but my son back here wants to give you everything he (5)       right now. He just turned five."
　　The smile on that man's face lit up the crossroad and he said to Justus, "Thank you so much!"
　　The only thing that (6)       the brightness of that stranger's smile after that moment was... the bigger smile on my boy's face!
　　I also believed that a chain reaction of (7)       started behind us that day, as other people rolled down their windows to help him, too.
　　My little boy, without even (8)       it, reminded me once again by his actions that it was always about the heart. It doesn't matter how much you have or how little;giving in love and sincerity is very important.

14．　　Humans are hurting the planet and destroying the environment. Change needs to happen at every level of society. We are holding Call to Earth Day to ask you to do something good to protect the environment.
　　What is Call to Earth Day?
　　Call to Earth Day is a movement that stresses environmental protection. Across TV and our website, there are stories about our amazing planet and the people who are protecting it.
　　How can I be involved?
　　Everyone is invited. We can all play a role in creating a movement for good. You have to do something to protect the environment. We are asking you to think big, get creative, and make your event influential.
　　What kind of event can I hold?
　　The event you choose to hold is up to you, but it should focus on creating a healthier planet. Here are some suggestions for where you can get started:

Visit our website for more information:www. calltoearthday. Com

15．The perfect birthday present
　　Toby watched the advertisement for the new Super Robotoman. It was half man, half machine and could transform into an airplane, a boat, and a racecar.
　　"Dad! Look!" Toby pointed to the television screen. "That's what I want for my birthday. Can I get one? Please!"
　　"We'll see." Dad said. "Your birthday is only two weeks away. New toys like this can be hard to find sometimes."
　　"Hard to find?But it's on TV."
　　Dad laughed. "That's what will make it difficult to find. Everyone will be looking to buy it."
　　Everyone? Toby thought. Well then, he'd tell everyone that he wanted a Super Robotoman. Someone would be able to find it then, right?
　　Before bed, Toby called his grandparents and told them all about the Super Robotoman. Then he added a note at the bottom of each party invitation so that all his friends would know he wanted a Super Robotoman.
　　For two weeks, all he talked about was the Super Robotoman and all the cool things it could do. His friends and family nodded and smiled as Toby went on and on about how it was the perfect birthday present.
　　The big day finally came. Toby got a lot of presents. He opened the first present. "A Super Robotoman!" Toby was excited, but everyone else looked worried. "What's wrong?" he asked.
　　Dad handed him a box. "I think you should open another present."
　　Toby opened it. "Another Super Robotoman?"
　　His father handed him more boxes. Each one had a Super Robotoman. Toby laughed. "I guess I got what I asked for." He handed an action figure to each of his friends. "Now we all have one. Let's go try them out."
　　"You're not upset?" Mom asked.
　　"Why would I be? I got what I wanted, and now all my friends have one too. It was the perfect birthday."

16．　　Many people take running as a way to keep fit. They like to run in hot weather and enjoy the feeling of being wet through with sweat (汗) while running. Cold weather during winter months, with low temperatures and freezing cold winds, may keep many people from running in the open air.
　　However, a new study shows that the drop in temperature is a good reason to run. In fact, running in cold weather helps improve one's performance. Many runners might find it easier to run in winter than in hot weather. The body needs less water on a cold day than in warm weather. In addition, lower temperatures reduce stress on the body. When you run in cold weather, your heart rate is lower.
　　John Brewer is a professor of applied sports science at St. Mary's University in London. For this study, he and other researchers put a group of people into a room where summer and winter weather conditions are recreated. The test subjects, were asked to run 10, 000 meters under both conditions and their biological measurements were recorded and studied.
　　From the study, every movement runners make produces heat. The heat can be really damaging unless the body can lose it. One way in which people lose heat is by sweating. The body loses heat through sweat. The body also loses it by transporting the blood to the surface of the skin and it puts more stress on the heart, especially in hot conditions because it's much harder to lose heat when the outside environment is warm. As the result shows running in hot temperatures results in 6 percent higher heart rates.
　　When running in cold conditions, the body does not have to work hard to move blood to the skin surface. Therefore, it requires less energy. The most important things for people who run in cold conditions is to wear the right clothing. Keep as dry as possible when exercising in low temperatures. Wear warm and light clothing to keep sweat away from your skin. So don't let winter weather keep you indoors. Simply get ready for the low temperatures and start running.

17．　　It's certainly good to be nice. Whether it's helping a friend with homework. watching their favorite shows even if they're not your thing or giving up a little time and energy to do something for a friend is a praiseworthy decision. Or, one might be the bigger person and agree to take the short end of the stick in an argument, all to satisfy others and avoid further problems. Still. we need to control our niceness:niceness is valuable, but it's definitely not without downsides.
　　To be clear. I'm not advocating (倡导) for selfishness. In fact, I'd encourage everyone to do small favors for the people they care about. Helping others makes us happy. It also gives us a greater sense of purpose and belonging, as we feel more connected to those we do favors for. The same goes for sacrificing (牺牲) a little on our part to end a disagreement, which might feel uncomfortable in the short term, but is in the end for the greater good.
　　Yet, we need to be careful about where our niceness comes from. When our desire (渴望) to help others comes from a need to be seen as a good or friendly person, our motivations (动机)become increasingly dangerous. For example, we might want others to relate to us, so we say that we like their favorite songs when we don't. Being agreeable all the time makes us become a product of the people around us instead of having our own special personality.
　　Additionally, avoiding unreasonable agreeability is even more important. We can't help offering to do too many favors because our desire to be seen as selfless and kind outweighs our worries for our own well-being. If you always support others emotionally, or help them with their studies, that habit might become part of how you view yourself. In other words, you see yourself as someone willing to lend a hand to others when they are in need.
　　Agreeability crosses the experiences of all kinds of people, and it can be especially true within communities where selflessness is important. From my experience at Harvey Mudd College, students are known for caring for others-offering to help their classmates with their studies. This common view of people's willingness to help can put stress on Mudders to sacrifice their energy, even if they don't have the skills to do so. Instead, they should remind themselves of their responsibilities, and then decide if they have the ability to lend a hand.
　　Finally, making kindness a habit is an honorable goal. But as with all things, moderation (适度) is key, and sometimes, sacrificing a little too much can cause more harm than good.

18．The Sport of Concentration
　　Every day, it seems, a new gadget (设备) promises to help me increase the distance and pace I run, or the number of hours I sleep, or the rate of my heartbeats. It will make me a "better me," or so the story goes.
　　Maybe some of them actually help to do these things, but nonetheless, I still decided to sell all of my sports gadgets a few months ago and simply record my running times with a pen and a notepad. Soon after, I began to train for a marathon the old-fashioned way, without something on my wrist telling me my pace and current heart rate. As it turned out, running without knowing all that information was a great pleasure.
　　In the past, whenever I was running slower than my smartwatch said I should be, I'd force myself to speed up, even if it was clear that my body didn't want to. But this time, I ran the way I wanted to.
　　On more than a few occasions, when I'd look at my notepad following key workouts (锻炼), I was shocked to see that I'd had some real breakthroughs (突破), running much faster than I thought I could. I was so shocked about these numbers and thought that if I'd seen them during the workout itself, I would have probably slowed down. Yet, because I was blind to them, I just kept on running.
　　Another positive thing about getting rid of all my running gadgets is that it's helping me concentrate (集中注意力) more on the running itself. Since I no longer feel like I need technology to run well, I can go out and run without worrying about whether everything has enough battery power.
　　So, what's the lesson here?Well, we could very easily replace the example of running with writing, studying, or anything else. No matter what it is the more time we spend worrying about how to make ourselves better at something, the more our performance is affected.
　　Should you stop using technology to "improve" your performance? Of course, that's up to you. However, if I were to be asked that question, I'd certainly say that I'm better off without it.

19．根据中文和英文提示, 完成一篇不少于 50 词的文段写作．文中已给出的内容不计入总词数．所给提示词语仅供选用．请不要出现真实班级或姓名．
假如你是李华, 你的英国笔友 Peter 对中国传统文化很感兴趣．他听说中国成语 (Chinese idioms) 背后往往有着一个有趣的故事, 想要了解更多．请用英语给他写一封邮件, 介绍一个你熟知的成语(可直接用拼音表示)．请简单解释一下这个成语的意思、说说它背后的故事和成 语的重要性．
提示词语: Plugging Ears While Stealing a Bell (yan er dao ling), refer to, happen, cover, history 提示问题:
● What is the Chinese idiom you want to share with him?What does it mean?
● What is the story behind the idiom?
● Why is Chinese idiom important?
Dear Peter,
　　I'm glad to know that you are interested in traditional Chinese culture. As you know, Chinese idiom plays an important role in our culture. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua

20．根据中文和英文提示, 完成一篇不少于 50 词的文段写作．文中已给出的内容不计入总词数．所给提示词语仅供选用．请不要出现真实班级或姓名．
耐心是一个重要的品质．有耐心, 才能在快速发展的社会中, 保持初心, 不随波逐流;有 耐心, 才能在面对困难和挑战时, 坚定信念, 勇攀高峰．
某英文网站正在开展以"耐心"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, 分享你在生活中是如何做到保持有耐心的, 以及你的收获．
提示词语:keep trying, stay calm, necessary, success
提示问题:What do you do to be patient in your daily life?
What have you gained?
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