Once there lived a boy in a village. There was a big farm which was famous _________ its watermelons. Every year the farmer would organize a watermelon eating contest (比赛). He invited kids from all over the village to take part in the contest and always kept the _________ watermelons for the kids. The kids were allowed to eat as many watermelons as they wanted. The only condition was that they had to spit (吐) out all the seeds (种子) into a bowl.

When the boy grew up, he left his _________ and went to college. About 7 years later the boy returned. He was very _________ and went to the market looking for watermelons from the farm. _________, he only found small watermelons.

The boy later learned that the farmer’s son managed the farm now and he _________ organized the contest every year. He thought larger watermelons could be sold at better prices, _________ he sold the larger ones and kept the smaller ones for the contest. This same thing _________ year after year and the watermelons were getting smaller and smaller.

How did things change? In the past, since the best watermelons were kept for kids and the seeds were _________ in bowls, the farmer got the best seeds to grow in the field. They would yield (产出) big watermelons the following year. Now the farmer’s son kept the smaller ones for the contest, so it wasn’t __________ that the watermelons were smaller and smaller.

Last August, Chongqing had a very hard time. It experienced a record-breaking heat and the highest temperatures on most days were above 40℃. Because of the awfully hot and dry weather, large forest fires happened in many parts of the city.

Firefighters made great efforts to bring the fires under control, but they were not the only heroes. In Beibei District, a large number of motorcyclists (摩托车手) played an important role and won widespread praise.

Li Xin is the owner of a motorcycle club in Beibei District. After hearing the government’s call for volunteers, he organized a team of 15 club members to support the firefighting in Xiema Town, the center of the local fires. It is my honor and duty to guard my hometown,” he said.

The team members took turns using nine motorcycles to carry food, water and whatever firefighters needed to deal with the fire. They also helped transport people to certain places.

There were hundreds of motorcyclists like Li. Most of them were in their twenties. They rode on the poor mountain roads, each carrying a large basket full of supplies on their back. Some fell and got hurt even though they had the best motorcycle skills. Some got heatstroke (中暑) after working long hours continuously. They didn’t have much time for sleep, but they were in high spirits at all times.

Besides riding on the difficult roads, the motorcyclists also helped cut wood and put out fires. They stayed and helped till the fires were finally put out.