A

    Nowadays, the Internet is usually one of the first places a lonely heart turns to as the following story shows.    

    A 63-year-old retired woman in Zhengzhou, made headlines two days after she posted an advertisement on her Wechat(微信) page, in which she said she wanted to find a young female companion for a trip to Sanya, China's Southern Hainan island, a local newspaper Dahe Daily reported. In the advertisement, the Chinese dama (Chinese term for middle-aged and elderly women) surnamed (a person's last name) Li said she is in good health, and she was particularly looking forward to a sea trip this winter.

    "I have a daughter who works in Canada, and I don't want to disturb her. My husband rarely has time to travel with me. But I'm afraid of traveling alone, so I am looking for a sweet, happy young woman, aged between 19 and 25 to travel with me. Hope she could chat with me, take photos with me."

    At the end of the advertisement, Dama Li showed her sincerity by saying she would be responsible for all the costs of the trip, including accommodation(膳宿) and air tickets, plus an iPhone 7 as a gift. Dama Li told Dahe Daily that she did not expect her advertisement to receive so much attention. "My phone keeps buzzing all the time. "However, some people question the truth of Li's advertisement. They say it might be organized by travel agencies aiming to promote(促进，推销) Sanya tourism, or even served as a promotional advertisement for real estate（房地产） on the island. Li denied those doubts and said all she wants is just to find a sweet "daughter".

    But Li's advertisement for a daughter has also received as many online mockeries(嘲笑) as positive feedback.

B

    Have you ever wondered why the roots of the plants always know which way to grow—into the soil but not above it? Some British scientists have recently solved this mystery.    

      It turns out that roots have special hairs that tie them into the soil and help them grow their way past obstacles, a team at the John Inners Center in Norwich reports in the February 29 issue of Journal Science.

    "The key is in the fuzzy(有绒毛的) coat of hairs on the roots of plants," says professor Liam Dolan. "We have found a growth control system that enables these hairs to find their way and to become longer when their path is clear."

    Root hairs explore the soil in much the same way a person would feel their way in the dark. If they come across an obstacle, they make their way around until they can continue growing in an opening. I the meantime, the plant is held in place as the hairs grip the soil.

    The hairs are guided by a clever chemical trick. A protein(蛋白质) at the tip of the root hairs called RHD2 helps them to take calcium(钙) from the soil. Calcium makes the hairs grow, and produce more RHD2, and take more calcium.

    But when an obstacle blocks the hair's path, or the hair reaches the surface of the soil, the cycle is broken and growth starts in another direction.

    This system gives plants the flexibility to explore a complex environment and to live in even the most unpromising soils, says Dolan.

    In poor soils such as in parts of Australia and Africa, native plants have adapted by producing enormous numbers of root hairs. A better understanding of this adaptation will allow scientists to develop hairy rooted crops that can grow in unfriendly environments.

    According to Dolan, "Research in the John Inners Center is taking a breeding approach(育种方法) to increase hair length in wheat but it will be some time before new cultivars(栽培变种) are developed."

C

    It is probably the strangest sport anyone has ever invented. And at first sight, it looks like the easiest. Competitors have to do two things. The first is to stand still. The second is to place their hands anywhere on the body of a car, and keep it there.   

    This is where things start getting difficult. Lots of people are doing the same thing. And the winner of the "handathon" contest is the person who can carry on doing it for the longest time. That person gets to own the car.

    It still seems to be an easy thing to do. At the beginning it is. Anyone can stand still. But when the contest has been going for four or five days, standing still seems like the most difficult job in the world. And keeping the hand in place over this time becomes an act of serious attention. After a few days, the hand seems to belong to someone else—someone who wants to go home and get some sleep.

    Competitors are allowed to take a five-minute break every hour to eat, drink or do whatever else is necessary. No one is allowed to lean on the car for support. Winners need to be able to show great powers of attention. They also need to be able to develop special skills.

    Maybe the popularity of the handathon is due to the fact that it is not necessary to be a trained athlete to enter. Competitors in the Longview handathon certainly don't seem to do much preparation. Most say they will prepare by "getting lots of sleep". Others say they will "eat healthy food" or "pray for success". The whole event gives ordinary people the chance to do something interesting and win something in the end.

    Handathons are competitions, but there is little rivalry(敌对) between competitors. They help each other out and keep each other's spirits up. People who drop out early return with food, drink and encouragement.

    Many parents want to give their children chances to experience a variety of situations.        .

    Children, especially boys are expected to be energetic and assertive(果敢的). That doesn't mean, though, that they are allowed to "run wild" in public.       , particularly in public places and in the homes of others. When a child misbehaves badly, only the child's patents may discipline(约束) him. Other adults should not interfere （干涉） unless the child is doing something which may be harmful to himself.      . While beating a child's buttocks(屁股), is acceptable to some people, any punishment that wounds the child or leaves a mark is considered child abuse(虐待) and is against the law.

A. The relationship between American parents and their children is harmony

B. In the US, a few religious groups think it is important to have a large family

C. Most parents discipline their children by rewarding good behaviors, not by punishing bad behaviors

D. Having many children would leave the couples and their children less freedom

E. American children are expected to accept invitations to a formal party

F. They bring their children with them to church, to sporting events, to stores, and to social events

G. Parents are expected to keep their children under control at all times

There Really Was a Santa Claus

    Ann worked for a big company. One of the duties of her job was to go to the 1 every day and picked up the company mail. One day in 2, she saw a beggar 3 himself up as a Santa Claus standing on the corner of the street. Each day she saved her 4  and dropped them in his bowl. He would 5 and wish her a Merry Christmas.

    At night the temperature 6 below 0℃, but the Santa Clause 7stood in the cold wind. After she dropped her coins into his bowl, she handed him a pair of  8.

    A week later, a new 9 was standing there. "What happened to the other Santa Claus?" she asked. He told her, "He's very sick today." She prayed for his 10.

    Later that day, a 11 came into her office in tears. "I don't know 12 I'm going to do." "What's wrong?" she asked. "It's my ex-husband," her colleague continued. "I don't have any money to buy my boys anything for Christmas, 13 my ex-husband refuses to send money to them. It breaks my heart that they won't have anything this year." The lady 14 her colleague, "I'm sure everything will 15. It's Christmas. Believe in miracles(奇迹)."

    That evening, she told her husband about her colleague's 16, "I know we don't have much money to help, but I'd like to 17 her fifty or a hundred dollars. We'll just get 18 less this year. Last year we couldn't afford to buy anything for ourselves but we still had a 19 Christmas." Her husband smiled, "Give her one hundred dollars. She needs it more than we do."

    She reached up and held him. Warmth spread through her body. He held her and realized that there 20 was a Santa Claus – and he had married her!

    Jay Zhou is a student from Number 2 Middle School, who has many hobbies. He likes reading very much. In order to read more English novels, he has taken        in different reading activities. The novels he has read add        to at least 30. Many of the novels he has read        (base) on real people and events. Through reading, he can not only improve his knowledge of English, but also feel life is so happy. He says that so many English novels are worth        (read) that he will never be        (concern) about whether his future life will be boring. He also likes traveling. After        (graduate), he will travel in an English speaking country, making good use        his English. He hopes to speak English fluently as        he were a native speaker. Although he is devoted to        (learn) English，he hopes he        (admit) to a university where he can study science instead of arts.

注意：1. 次数80左右；2. 适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Dear Mom,

    I've been in England for two weeks. Everything is going on very well here.

    ……

    Best wishes!

                                                                                                                                                                                            Love,

                                                                                                                                                                                            Li Hua

    Located in the checkroom in Union Station as I am, I see everybody that comes up the stairs. Harry came in a little over three years ago and waited at the head of the stairs for the passengers from the 9: 05 train.

    I remember seeing Harry that first evening. He wasn't much more than a thin, anxious kid then. He was all dressed up and I knew he was meeting his girl and that they would be married twenty minutes after she arrived.

    Well, the passengers came up and I had to get busy. I didn't look toward the stairs again until nearly time for the 9: 18 and I was very surprised to see that the young fellow was still there.

    She didn't come on the 9: 18 either, nor on the 9: 40, and when the passengers from the 10: 02 had all arrived and left, Harry was looking pretty desperate. Pretty soon he came close to my window so I called out and asked him what she looked like.

    "She's small and dark," he said, "and nineteen years old and very neat in the way she walks. She has a face," he said, thinking a minute, "that has lots of spirit. I mean she can get mad but she never stays mad for long, and her eyebrows come to a little point in the middle. She's got a brown fur, but maybe she isn't wearing it."

    He showed me the telegram he'd received: ARRIVE THURSDAY. MEET ME STATION. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE. MAY. He told me she was a typist and when he telephoned her former boss, all they know was that she left her job to get married.

    Harry met every train for the next three or four days. I could see that they all thought that May had simply played a trick on him. But I never believed that, somehow.

注意：1. 所续写短文的次数应为150左右;2. 应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词；3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语都为你写好；4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你使用的关键词语。

    After about two weeks ， Harry I had to get a job began to work as a clerk for Tony, the owner of the magazine stand(书报亭).……

    For a while they just hung there to each other laughing and crying.……