16．　　I was living in a house with a long history in Halifax, Nova Scotia five years ago. One day, one of my friends from the West Coast came out to visit me. He was (1)      for 3 weeks so he brought a lot of bags and suitcases, and other things like a(2)      . I told him he could sleep on the bed in the front living room.
　　One morning after a late night of drinking, my friend ran into my room shouting "FIRE!FIRE!" Without (3)      , I jumped out of bed. The floor was (4)      against my feet as I ran out into the hallway, right behind my friend. I couldn't see the fire anywhere, (5)      as we ran towards the front door, I could hear the (6)       making a loud noise all around me. It was inside the (7)      . We ran out onto the front yard and looked (8)       at the house, seeing black smoke coming out of the (9)      house.
　　We were standing there watching the house when I looked down and (10)       all of my friend's bags and suitcases (11)       lined up on the front grassland, including his basketball. (12)      he noticed the house was on fire, he took all of them out to the grassland before coming back in to (13)      me about it. That fire had started in the basement (地下室), and it spread up into the walls and was burning the (14)       we were standing on. The floor and much of the house fell down not long after we came out. The firemen said we were very (15)       .
　　Of course, we are not friends anymore.

17．Kate:Hello, Ben. (1)      
Ben:Well, I am stressed out recently.
Kate: (2)      
Ben:My parents are always giving me too much pressure about school.
Kate:Why do they give you so much pressure?
Ben: (3)      
Kate:But life shouldn't just be about grades. (4)      
Ben:You are right. But what should I say?
Kate:You could tell them you won't get good grades if you have too much stress.
Ben:OK. (5)      
Kate:You are welcome.

18．　　Once upon a time, there were two seeds (种子). They were good friends. They often talked with each other when they were free. One day, they had nothing to do. They lay on the ground. They looked up at the sky and had a chat with each other.
　　The first seed said, "I want to grow! Then I can enjoy the sun and the rain!" Later, it grew. It had a chance to enjoy the sun and the rain.
　　The second seed said, "I am afraid of growing up. If I grow, I have to live in the soil. Little animals may come up to me and eat me. How terrible! If I become a beautiful flower, a child will come and pick me. It is much better for me to wait. It's a dangerous way to be alive." It did nothing and refused to grow.
　　Spring came soon. A duck came up to the seeds. It ate the second seed and went away. We shouldn't act like the second seed. We should face our life bravely.

20．　　Do you argue (争吵) with your parents about making your bed or cleaning your room?Are your parents angry because you use the Internet or play with your friends outside all the time?If your answers are yes, then our new Family app (应用程序) can help you a lot.
　　With the Family app, students and parents look at family arguments from both sides and solve their problems together. The app gives you tips and helps you get on well with your parents. It also helps your parents to understand you better.
　　How does it work?You read different kinds of problems and then choose an answer from different options (选项). The app tells you why the answer is the best and why the other options aren't so good. For example, you're preparing to go out with your friends, but your parents want you to visit your grandparents. Do you say "We always go there on weekends. I'm going to play with my friends outside today" or "OK!We can go there today, but I'd like to play with my friends outside tomorrow"?The first option doesn't make you or your parents feel good, but the second option makes everyone happy.
　　The Family app is very useful. It can help you live an easy life. Do you want to have one?

21．　　They are called sea "parrots", and sometimes "clowns of the sea"!
　　Atlantic puffins (海鹦) are small seabirds which are around 25cm long. They have black and white feathers and a large parrot—like beak (鸟喙). The beak changes color during the year. In winter, the beak has a dull gray color, but it turns orange in spring!
　　Puffins spend most of their lives at sea. They live on the eastern coast of Canada and the United States, and the western coast of Europe. Puffins live by eating small fish such as herring, hake and sand eels. Puffins flap (拍) their wings up to 400 times a minute and fly at up to 88 km an hour. Wow!What's more, puffins can dive (潜水) down 60 m under water to look for their favorite fish.
　　In spring and summer, thousands of puffins stay together on the coasts and islands of the North Atlantic Ocean to start a puffin family. They usually get together with the same partner as before. Some may have been together for 20 years!Puffins usually lay the eggs and protect them for the next 36﹣45 days!
　　Although puffins are not the animals in danger, the number in some places is becoming smaller. The main reasons are overfishing, which can lead to less food for puffins, and pollution—especially oils pills (溢出). Not only does the oil make these beautiful birds sick, it is bad for their feathers.

22．
　　Do you know the two lovely mascots (吉祥物)?On September 17 of 2019, the two lovely mascots first showed on TV. Now, let's see who they are:Hi!I'm Bing Dwen Dwen. I have a (1)      image of a panda wearing a spacesuit (太空服), which looks like a winter sports athlete (运动员) from the future. "Bing" means "ice" in Chinese, which is a symbol of winter sports. "Dwen Dwen" suggests health and shows the(2)      of the Olympics, including a strong (3)       and a healthy body.
　　Hello!My name is Shuey Rhon Rhon. I look like a red(4)      , just like the lanterns hanging on homes and streets to celebrate Chinese New Year. "Shuey" means "snow" in Chinese. "Rhon Rhon" are two different Chinese characters with the same pronunciation. Shuey Rhon Rhon symbolizes (象征)(5)      among different cultures.

23．
　　Eric was a middle school student. He (1)       from a serious illness. He couldn't move and had to spend all day in bed. His classmates wished he(2)       better soon.
　　One day, however, he saw a lot of cartoon characters outside the window. Micky Mouse was singing a song. Donald Duck (3)       the violin. Peppa Pig was dancing. Those lovely characters brought happiness back into his heart. Soon he got well and was able to go back to school again.
　　Eric told his classmates about all the strange things he had seen. While he was talking, some of his classmates laughed and (4)      , "We worried about your health, so we dressed as some cute animals (5)       you up. "

24．　　Every time you're online, pictures, articles, links and videos come out and try to tell their stories. (1)      
　　Read these tips, and don't get fooled by fake (虚假的) news!
　　1. Check the source (来源)
　　(2)       Does it look real? Is the news written well? Fake news websites (网页) often use addresses that sound like real newspapers, but don't have many real stories about other topics.
　　2. Watch out for fake photos
　　Many fake news stories use pictures that are PSed or taken from an unrelated site. Sometimes, if you just look closely at an image, you can see if it has been changed. Or use a tool like Google Reverse Image Search.
　　3. (3)      
　　Look to see if the story you are reading is on other news websites or newspapers that you know and trust. If you do find it on many other places, then it probably isn't fake.
　　4. Look for other signs
　　There are other ways that fake news uses. These include that lots of ads that come out when you click on a link. (4)       If the news story makes you angry, it's probably designed to make you angry.
　　If you know these things about online news, and can use them in your everyday life, then you have the control over what to read and what to believe. If you find a news story that you know is fake, the most important advice is: (5)      

30．一项研究表明, 爱做家务的孩子更容易体验到幸福感, 更有前途．请你以"Help with Housework"为题, 写一篇100字左右的演讲稿, 内容包含以下要点, 可适当发挥:
1. 一次家务劳动经历及感悟．
2. 你对做家务的看法．