16．　　"I don't want to go, Miss White. I'm frightened, very frightened," Monica told her teacher.
　　Monica was a very (1)       girl. She always sat at the back of the classroom, (2)       or taking notes. Every Monday morning, there would be a special show in her class and one student would be (3)      to make a speech about his or her dream. Miss White hoped that Monica could have a try the next week. But she refused.
　　"I know that it seems (4)       for you, but it will help you build up your confidence," said Miss White. Monica was lost in thought.
　　The next day, Monica came to Miss White's office. Miss White was (5)       that she would take the chance. Miss White red﹣penciled her manuscript (手稿) of speech, corrected her (6)      , and even helped with her body language. She advised Monica to practice, to (7)       that she was speaking confidently in front of her class. (8)       a whole week, Monica practiced speaking in font of her imaginary friends and teacher. Behind the locked door of her bedroom, she told them about her (9)      .
　　Finally, Monday arrived. (10)       Monica was called upon to give her speech, she (11)       and walked to the front of the class without any notes, in a show of confidence. Monica's successful performance brought everyone a great (12)      . The whole class clapped (鼓掌) for a full minute when she completed her speech. Miss White (13)      . She had known that Monica would make it when she (14)       took her first step to overcome (克服) her fear of speaking in public.
　　From that day, Monica's life changed for the better. At the age of 23, she became a news reader. People who see her on television now will find it hard to (15)       that she was once a shy girl who refused to speak up in class.

17．STAR STORIES TEENS
March 1st. 2021
　　Getting to know mom
　　"For as long as I can remember, mom has been a middle-aged woman, but no one told me she used to he a young girl." This is a line from the film Hi, Mom, as well as the way director and the Jia Ling once felt about her own mother.
　　Released on Feb 12, the film is the directorial debut (导演首秀) of 39-year-old Jia. It has gotten a high score of 8. 1 on the movie rating website Douban. Many people said they were touched by its raw (质朴的) emotion.
　　The film is based on the real-life story of Jia and her mother. To make the film more appealing (有吸引力的). Jia made it a time-travel story. She goes back to 1981 and becomes friends with her own mom, Li Huanying. She risks giving up her own life to make sure that her mother has a better future.
　　Hollywood Reporter commented (评论): Hi, Mom has "hit all the right notes(音符)." The film has also been praised for its sincere depiction (描绘) of female roles. In the movie, Li is more of a young girl rather than a mother. The many women who helped make the film, including Jia herself, helped the movie's female roles shine in ways that had nothing to do with their looks, according to Jiemian News.

18．　　It's 7:45 in the morning, and 26-year-old Steve Clarkson in going to work. He puts on his jacket, and picks up his mobile phone and laptop (笔记本电脑). As he leaves the house, he turns on his MP3 player and puts on his headphone. He is ready to go.
　　Today, for millions of people, gadgets like Clarkson's are a normal part of life. "I work for a magazine, and I'm usually not in the office. My mobile phone and laptop help me to do my work both on the road and at home." says Clarkson. Today many people can check e-mails, send messages, or surf the Web, using their mobile phones.
　　Tina Fang is studying photography in New York City. "Some of these gadgets are expensive, but they can save your money in the long run. I have a digital camera. I can use it to take eighty pictures and shoot video (record an image onto video) at the same time. I listen to music on my MP3 player, and I can download and read books on it, too. I use the camera and MP3 for both learning and fun."
　　It's now 9:45. Steve Clarkson gets an e-mails from his 17-year- old sister. She has a gadget that lets her send e-mails, play games, and take notes. She is in class right now. "I e-mailed her back. I told her to stop playing, and pay attention," laughs Clarkson. "These gadgets are fun, but sometimes they can distract (分散注意力) people, too."

19．　　I was on a train in Switzerland. The train came to a stop and the conductor's (乘务员的) voice over the loudspeaker delivered a message in German, Italian, and French. I'd made the mistake of not learning any of those languages before my vacation.
　　Everyone started getting off the train and an old woman saw that I was confused and stressed. She could speak some English and told me that an accident had happened on the tracks(轨道)She asked me where I was trying to get to, then went and talked to some workers, and came back to tell m that we'd have to hop trains three or four times to get there.
　　I was really glad she was heading the same way because it would have been impossible for me to figure it out on my own. So we went from one train station to the next, getting to know each other along the way.
She was really the sweetest woman. It was a 2. 5-hour journey in total, and when we made it to the final destination, we got off and said our goodbyes. I had made it just in time to catch my train to Rome. She told me she had a train to catch as well. I asked her how much farther she had to go and it turned out that her home was two hours back the other way.
　　She had jumped from train to train and traveled the whole way just to make sure that I made it. I was in shock. A woman spent her whole day sitting on trains and taking her hours away from her home just to help out a confused tourist visiting her country.
　　No matter how many countries I visit, I'll always say the most beautiful country in the world is Switzerland.

21．　　It was the district sports meet. My foot still hadn't healed (痊愈) from an earlier injury. I had questioned whether or not I should attend (参加) the meet. But there I was, ready for the 3000-meter race.
"Ready. . . set. . . " The gun (1)s        and we were off. The other girls rushed ahead of (在……之前) me. I felt ashamed as I fell farther (2)b        . "Hooray!" The crowd shouted. It was the (3)l       cheer I had ever heard at a meet. The first﹣ place runner was two laps (圈) ahead of me when she (4)c        the finish line. "Maybe I should give up, " I thought as I ran. However, I kept going. During the last two laps, I ran in pain and decided not to race next year, (5)e        if my foot had healed by then. When I finished, I heard louder cheers. I turned (6)a        an saw that the boys were (7)p        for their own race. "They must be cheering for the boys. " I thought. I was leaving the meet when several girls came up to me. "Wow, you've (8)s        a lot of courage (勇气)!" One of them told me. "We were cheering for you. Did you hear us? "I felt luck again-and decided to run again next year. I realized that strength and courage aren't always measured it medals or victories. They're in the (9)d        we overcome. The strongest people are not always those who (10)w        , but those who don't give up, even when they are losing.

22．重阳节(Double Ninth Festival)是我国的一个传统节日. 在这一天, 人们会出游、登高．请你用英语介绍一下这个节日, 并根据以下要点, 介绍一下你怎么对待老人．要求80词左右．
要点如下:
1. 你认为尊重老人很重要;
2. 你常常去看爷爷奶奶、外公外婆, 给他们买好吃的, 还帮他们做家务, 哄他们开心;
3. 你对老人有礼貌, 在公交车或者地铁上你常给他们让座;
4. 你还主动照顾街坊的独居老人;
5. 可适当自由发挥补充一条要点．
参考词汇:cheer. .. up使高兴 neighborhood n. 街区;街坊;respect v. 尊敬