16．　　A boy was one day sitting on the steps of a door. He had a broom (扫帚) in one hand, and in the (1)       a large piece of bread which somebody gave him. While he was eating it, and happily singing a song, he saw a poor little dog quietly sleeping not far from him.
　　He (2)       out to the dog, "Come here, poor fellow!"
　　The dog, hearing kind words to him, (3)       his ears and moved his tail excitedly.
　　Seeing the boy eating, he came near the boy. The boy held out to him a piece of bread. As the dog stretched out (伸出) his head to (4)      it, the boy quickly drew back his hand and hit the dog a hard (5)      on the nose. The poor dog ran away at once, barking and (6)      painfully, while the bad boy sat laughing at the poor dog.
　　A man, who was looking from a window on the other side of the street, saw(7)      the bad boy had done. Opening the street door, he called him to cross over, at the same time holding up one dollar in his hand.
　　"Would you like this?" said the man. "Yes, if you please, sir." said the boy, smiling. He ran over to take the (8)       . Just at the moment that he stretched out his hand, the boy got a hard knock across his (9)       from the man's cane (手杖). He cried out(10)      !
　　"What did you do that (11)      ?" said the boy angrily. He made an (12)       face and rubbed (揉) his hand. "I neither hurt you, (13)       ask you for money" the boy shouted.
　　"What did you hurt that poor dog for earlier?" said the man. "He neither hurt you, nor ask you for your bread. As you have treated (14)      , I have treated you. Now, remember dogs can feel as well as boys. Learn to behave kindly (15)      animals in the future, boy."

17．　　A girl looked unhappy all day because she thought everything was going wrong with her. She always failed her (1)      (subject), so she would not like to study at all. After hearing the daughter's words, the mother thought of a good way(2)      (make) her daughter happy. "I (3)       (cook) a delicious cake for you," said the mom. She walked into the kitchen, (4)      the daughter followed.
　　When the mom prepared the cookers and ingredients (配料) , the daughter (5)      (sit) beside the kitchen door. Her mom asked her, "My dear, would you like a piece of cake?" The daughter replied, "Sure, mom!" "All right," the mom said, "drink some of this cooking oil." The daughter was very (6)       (surprise) and said, "What? no!!!" "(7)      about a couple of raw (生的) eggs?"" the mom asked again and the daughter answered, "No!I will be sick!"
　　The mother explained (8)      her daughter patiently, "all of these taste bad, but if you put them together, they will (9)      (sure) be a delicious cake. Life works the same way. When we ask (10)      (we) why there are so many difficult things, we don't realize what a success these terrible events will lead us to."

18．　　My People, My Homeland is a 2020 movie made up of five stories. It opens across China on October 1, 2020.

19．　　Cats are one of the most popular pets among Americans. So it is not surprising that there are many American slang (俚语) expressions about cats. Some cats like to catch small birds, like canaries (金丝雀). If someone looks very proud and satisfied with himself, we can say "he looks like the cat that ate the canary".
　　Sometimes, a cat likes to play with a small animal it has caught. So if you "play cat and mouse" with someone, it means that you change between different kinds of behavior when dealing with another person. For example, a girl might offer something sweet to her little brother, and then take it away when he reaches for it.
　　Americans might say that something is "the cat's miaow" or "the cat's pajamas" to describe something that is the best or finest. "A copycat" is someone who acts just like someone else or copies another person's work. "A fat cat" is a person with a lot of money.
　　If you tell someone about something that is supposed to be a secret, but he tells it to others, we say, "you let the cat out of the bag". If you are not able to speak or answer a question, someone might ask you if"the cat has got your tongue (舌头)"．
　　Have you ever watched children in a classroom when their teacher is away for a few minutes?"When the cat's away, the mice will play" means people sometimes act badly when there is no supervision (监管). You may have heard the expression "curiosity (好奇心) killed the cat". This means caring too much about things that are not your business might cause problems.
　　If you have ever had cats as pets, you may know it is difficult to train them or to get them to do something. Cats are not like sheep or cows that can be made to move along as a group. So we say a difficult or impossible job is like "herding cats".

20．　　As time goes by, are you still the same person you were? Many of you would think you are. (1)       You could be a completely different person when you get old. Psychologists (心理学家) at the UK' s University of Edinburgh did the study on a group of Scottish people. (2)       In 1950, a group of teachers gave over 1, 200 14-year-old students personality tests. (3)      They were self-confidence, sense of responsibility, perseverance, strong wishes to win, creativity and moods (情绪).
　　In 2012, researchers successfully found 174 of those 1, 200 students and gave them a test similar to the one they had received before. (4)      They were surprised to find great changes to all six personality traits of these people. (5)      It was "as if the second test had been given to different people." The study reported.
　　In the past, personality was widely believed to be unchangeable. This new study may bring some fresh idea to the world.

21．　　Let's imagine you are taking a walk along the road and you happen to see one or two waste bottles lying on the grass beside the road. What would you do?
　　You may have different choices. Firstly, you can leave the bottles there as they are. It was not you who threw them away. Why should you do something about it?This is quite OK. Secondly, you can pick them up and throw them into a dustbin. By doing this, you have walked a slop further to help make our home clean. This action is a better choice. Thirdly, you might want to pick them up and give them to someone who collects waste for a living. If this is your choice, you have walked even further. You're not only thinking about doing something for the environment, you're also developing yourself to be a person who would think of others and help them.
　　As for young kids, they may always have such a question: "When do I grow up?" Yes! When does & child grow up?And how can a kid know he or she has grown up? These are interesting questions. As for us, fifteen-year-olds, who are finishing middle school, we're no longer younger children. We should know whether or not we have grown up. When we start to have a sense of offering a helping hand for a cleaner city and greener world, and when we have a loving heart to think more of others than of ourselves and are ready to help them, we can say that we have grown up.
　　Remember:If we help others, others will help us. If we do our best for nature, nature will offer its best to us in return!

22．新冠疫情(COVID﹣19), 给同学们的生活、学习带来很大挑战(challenge), 同学们遇到了不少困难．请根据下面提供的信息, 就如何克服困难, 珍惜美好的日子．谈谈你的建议．
1. 我们应该有信心, 勇敢地面对困难．
2. 坚持戴口罩(surgical mask)、勤洗手、常通风、不扎堆、少聚集、保持社交距离．
3. 强身健体, 积极参加体育运动, 如打球、跑步、游泳等;上课认真听讲, 作业按时完成;不浪费如纸张、粮食、水电等．
4. 爱国、爱家、爱校, 做一个健康发展的人．
要求:
1. 不得在作文中出现真实的校名、姓名．
2. 词语连贯, 词数80左右．开头结尾已经给出, 不计入总词数．
　　COVID-19 has brought us lots of great challenge. How can we overcome the greatest difficulty? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
　　Love our country, our family and our school, and we will grow healthily