Mom was leaving home to volunteer in the food kitchen. She went there three times a week offering ________ for the poor people. Jason was tired of watching TV. His friends were away on vacation. “Mom, I’m ________,” said Jason. “There is nothing to do.” “Why don’t you come with me?” Mom asked. “I don’t know anything about working at a food kitchen,” said Jason. “It’s very easy,” said Mom.

Jason was excited to be in the food kitchen. He ________ his mom put some turkey on a plate and some mashed potatoes. She then passed the plate to the next lady, and she put some green beans and bread on the plate. “I can do that,” thought Jason. One of the volunteers ________ early, so Jason took over (接手) her work in the serving line. He helped 25 people that day. After the ________ closed, Jason and his Mom stayed to clean up.

Jason enjoyed his day at the food kitchen. He couldn’t ________ to tell his Dad about how much fun he had. “Not only did it give me something to do, but I felt so good doing it,” Jason told his Dad. Dad said, “Jason, that was a nice thing you did today.” “You helped many people who weren’t as ________ as you to have a hot meal,” Mom said, “We’re so proud of you Jason!”

Jason went to bed that night thinking about the food kitchen. “I am going to help out again,” he said to himself. Jason made some new friends, and he didn’t even ________ they lived so close to him in town! The best part was how good he felt inside.

I was filled with worries until my grandfather told me to stand tall.

For me, height (身高) was my trouble. I was much taller than other girls, so I often bent my body at the back of the line. I had always felt unsafe as the tallest student of my class in Bala Cynwyd. And I wasn’t looking forward to entering the ninth grade.

My grandfather didn’t laugh at me. Instead, whenever I tried to bend myself in order to appear shorter, he would tell me “Stand straight and tall, Alisa.” And whenever I was afraid of something, he always told me stories of his life.

My grandfather grew up in war-torn (战乱的) Europe. “Stand straight, stand tall” meant something else then. After the war, he went to America. He lived a hard life. “If they could do it, why couldn’t I?” “Stand straight, stand tall,” he often reminded himself. Thanks to the help of a friend, my grandfather got a job. He once told me that he was very nervous at first. He was trying to learn not only this hard new job but also a new language.

“Stand straight, stand tall,” he would always tell himself. I am so proud of my grandfather. After listening to my grandfather’s unusual experiences, I have changed the way I look at my own life.

“Stand straight, stand tall” has become not only a piece of advice to improve my posture (身姿). It also tells me to be proud of who I am. And I do.

Many police stations across the world have long used facial recognition (面部识别) technology to search for and help catch criminals. The technology has been used at some US airports to help find out who the travellers are and get them on flights. It is also used to unlock (解锁) phones or cars. Some robots use facial recognition to recognise the people they’re communicating with. Now, a similar technology, known as facial detection, is entering a new field: the business of advertisements (广告). Facial detection systems are used to watch people and try to guess some facts about them. In the US, such systems are being tested in a small number of stores.

Businesses use cameras set up inside the stores or public areas. The cameras scan (扫描) the faces of people and guess their age and other information. Some systems are also used to judge a person’s feelings. That information can then be used to show people real-time advertisements on video screens during their visit to the stores. One facial detection system developed by a company called Mood Media wants to judge how happy or afraid a person is. Businesses could use such information to get real-time feelings from people as they look at products or video ads in the store.

Supporters of the technology say facial systems could improve the buyers’ experience by drawing their attention to products they might like or by offering them special ideas. However, some people have criticized (批评) the use of such facial detection systems. Pam Dixon, a group leader that researches human rights problems, said that the technology could lead to some trouble. For example, a business could set a high price for a product because of a person’s information. “They shouldn’t gather the feelings of anyone by using facial detection systems,” Dixon said.

36. 假如你是初二的学生李华，你们学校正在开展中国传统文化的社会实践课活动，你想向你校的英国交换生Peter介绍一下庆祝今年中秋节的计划。请用英文写一封电子邮件，告诉他你将和谁一起庆祝今年的中秋节，你们将如何庆祝。

How is it going? The Mid-Autumn Festival is an important festival in China and it will be on September 21st this year.___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Are you interested in it? I really hope you can come and celebrate this festival with us.

Yours,

Li Hua