As a child, Laura Smith loved the sea. She was born on a boat in New Zealand, and has _______ stepped off (离开) one since. Laura first sailed by herself at age 6, showing a talent for understanding her boat and the confidence to _______ it. At 13 years old, Laura made a big _______ for herself —becoming the youngest person ever to sail around the world alone.

_______she could do that, she had to face many difficulties. While her parents were confident that she could do it, the Dutch government tried to stop her, saying that she was too _______ to risk her life. Many people also felt that she, as a student, should pay more attention to her studies. After long fight, she finally got permission (批准). But she had to go for classes to learn how to _______ herself while alone at sea, and had to use a bigger boat than the one she used often. To _______ falling behind in her studies, she also had to promise to do her homework at sea.

Finally, at the age of 14, Laura was ready. In August 2010, he started her journey from the island of St. Maarten on her sailboat, Guppy. Her trip lasted 518 days _______, partly because she had to stop at different ports (港口) to study and check her boat. Laura was alone for most of her journey, but she kept a blog that was read _______ many people around the world.

Laura returned to St. Maarten at the age of 16, and was ________ by her family, friends and many fans. She had become the youngest sailor to sail around the world alone.

Two children stood outside the door with old coats. "Any old papers, Lady?" asked one of them. I was busy. I wanted to say no, but I saw that their shoes were broken and wet. "Come in and I'll make you a cup of hot tea" They came in, saying nothing. Their shoes left prints on the floor. I gave them tea and bread. Then I went back to the kitchen and started my housework again. The silence in the living room surprised me. I looked in. The girl held the empty cup in her hands, looking at it. The boy asked me in a low voice, "Lady, are you rich?"

Am I rich? Oh, no! I looked at my old things in my room. The girl put her cup back in its saucer (茶碟) carefully. "Your cups match your saucers."

They left then, holding their papers against the wind. They hadn't said thank you. They didn't need to. They had done more than that. They had reminded me that I had so much to thank for. The blue cups and saucers were simple. But they said they matched. The potatoes and meat before me, roof over my head, my husband with a job—these things matched, too. I moved the chairs back from the fire and cleaned the living room. The prints of their small shoes were still wet on my floor. I let them be. I wanted them there to remind me how rich I was.

Sheridan is a town in Indiana, USA. There are lots of trees near the public schools in the town. Their leaves turn sunlight into energy (能量).

In Sheridan, the sun not just provides energy for plants. It keeps schools running, too. The schools use solar panels (太阳能电池板) to turn sunlight into energy.

The science behind solar energy is not new. But Sheridan Community Schools is the first school district (学区) in Indiana to be completely solar—powered. The district finished putting in solar panels for all three of its schools in 2014. Some of the panels can turn to follow the sun across the sky.

In 2008, fewer than 1,000 schools used solar power. By 2014, there were 3,727 schools with solar panels in the USA. These numbers come from a report by the Solar Foundation. Roxie Brown, a program director there, said that the number of schools with solar panels has continued to go up since 2014.

Solar energy has some advantages over other energy sources (来源). Sunlight is a renewable source, which means it won’t run out. Solar panels don't harm the environment. Also, sunlight is free. So by using solar power, schools can save money on energy costs.

Brown thinks more schools should run on solar energy. “The sun is Earth’s energy source,” she says. “We’re trying to make it the energy source for our houses, cars and schools, too.”

But using solar energy isn’t always easy. Solar panels can be expensive to put in. The panels also take up space. But for many schools, going solar is worth it.

A Chinese man brought his favourite dishes reganmian and hot pot (火锅) to Rovaniemi, Finland. He became the first Chinese to open a restaurant in the Arctic Circle (北极圈). Hu Liang, from Central China's Hubei Province, moved to Finland after leaving university at 21. For the last twelve years, he has seen more and more Chinese tourists visiting the country to enjoy the winter holiday.

"Chinese people are becoming richer and more international. What has not changed is their ▲ . So decided to open the restaurant," said Hu.

Hu's restaurant provides reganmian a traditional Wuhan noodle, as well as Chinese hot pot. He buys ingredients (原料) from China online and offers e—payment which is popular among Chinese people such as Alipay.

At price of 18.45 dollars, a bowl of reganmian is not only great comfort for Chinese tourists who have travelled from thousands of miles away, but it also appeals to local Finns.

In Rovaniemi, with a population of around 60,000, Hu receives more than 300 guests in the peak season (最繁忙的季节) to offer people a "hot" experience in the cold, snowy land.

Married to a Finnish woman and father to one child, Hu enjoys the local life with lots of skiing and ice fishing trips.

He said he would bring his child to Wuhan, and try to switch (转换) between the two cities every half year.

Students at St. Peter's Lutheran School are helping fight hunger in Guatemala by volunteering with Love the Hungry, a non-profit organization (非盈利组织).

"St. Peter's Lutheran School has worked with the organization over the last few years. But this year it provided more help by asking larger part of its students to take part," said Scott Krueger, a parent of three daughters who attend the school.

Krueger, who was also volunteering for Love the Hungry, said he felt it was important for students to take part in it and see the importance of their work during the Sept. 13 event." This is one way to try to give back," Krueger said.

That day, the students wore gloves and lined up on both sides of tables in the school. Their job was to scoop (用勺儿舀) food such as rice and other food. The food was provided by Love the Hungry.

Fifth-grader Sydney Johnson was among the hundreds of students who helped and said she felt it was important to make a difference to the hungry people. "It makes me feel good how we all helped out," she said.

Love the Hungry, which was created in 2012, gives great attention to packaging (包装) healthy meals. Its goal is to help stop malnutrition in young children. Other than Guatemala, Love the Hungry also offers food to Nicaragua, El Salvador, Haiti and countries in West Africa such as Sierra Leone, Mali and Sudan.

Love the Hungry plans to offer 100,000 to 150,000 meals to Guatemala before the end of the year. "It's a part of the world that this type of meal can really help," said Oelker. "We are glad to work with St. Peter's Lutheran School and it shows how volunteers of all ages can make a difference."

There are many things we need to know that we do not learn at school. For example, if we want to use our money wisely, we need to shop carefully...64. Knowing how to make such choices is "life skill", and we need it if we want to live useful and happy lives. Some of these choices are small. For example: Will I take an apple for lunch or a pear? Other choices are more important. For example: Will I work hard in all my classes or will I only work hard in the classes I enjoy? We make choices like this every day.

65. We have to realize that the choices we make can make a difference to the rest of our lives. Just as importantly, our choices can also affect (影响) other people. The next time you decide to waste time, play a joke on someone or talk loudly at the movies, think about this: Who else does your choice affect?

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there lived a wise man called Chen Shi. When he was an officer, he     66     people with fairness and was greatly loved by them. Later he returned to his hometown and lived a simple life. One year, a terrible famine(饥荒) took place and thieves were     67     in the area where Chen lived. One night, someone climbed into Chen’s house through a window and searched everywhere for     68     things. Just at that time, Chen got up and walked out of his bedroom. The thief quickly     69     himself on the beam(梁). Chen noticed the thief anyway. However, instead of calling him down, Chen called his family into the room and started lecturing(告诫) them.

“Sorry to wake all of you up,     70     I have something important to tell you. That is: people must work hard to improve     71    . There are no people in the world who are just born bad, you know.” Chen looked up at the beam for a bit, then     72     his lecture. “Usually people got bad because their bad environment caused them to do so and slowly it became a habit of theirs. I believe that the person on the beam is     73     a good man in the heart.”

Hearing that, the thief climbed down. Chen’s words had moved from his head to his heart. He was very     74     for what he did and promised Chen that he would never steal again.     75     Chen gave him some clothes and let him go.

Since then, a thief has got another name — the gentleman on the beam.

Mr. Dawson is an old man with bad temper (脾气). And everyone in town knew it. Kids were afraid to go into his yard to pick apples.

One day, 12-year-old Janet and her friend Amy had to walk past Mr. Dawson's house. When Janet saw him outside, she suggested they crossed the street to the other side. But Amy said they didn't need to.

When Mr. Dawson saw Amy, he smiled and said: "Hello, Amy! I see you have a new friend with you today." Amy smiled back and told him that Janet would stay with her that night. Mr. Dawson looked friendly and gave them each a fresh apple. The girls were glad to get them.

Later, Janet asked Amy: "Everyone says he is the most unwelcome person in town. Why was he kind to us?" Amy explained that when she first walked past his house, she was also afraid of him. But she preteneded there was an invisible (看不见的) smile on his face and then started talking to him.

"An invisible smile?" Janet was puzzled "Yes," answered Amy, "My grandma told me to think so. She says smiles can run around. If we keep smiling at someone, sooner or later he will really smile back."

Try to remember this, and you will find that most people can't refuse your smile.

There are not many people around who say they like rats(老鼠). When you see one of them, you may want to run in the opposite direction.

There is one man though who has always enjoyed staying with rats, even when he was a young boy. His name is Bart Weetjens and he comes from Belgium in Europe. As he grew up, he learned everything about rats. He knew that they have a very strong sense of smell. He realized that it might be possible to train rats to help solve a problem that troubled some Southeast Asian countries.

Clearing away unexploded bombs and landmines(未爆炸的炸弹和地雷) is a difficult job. Bart began to train rats to look for explosives. Because a rat’s sense of smell is so strong, they are able to smell a thing known as TNT that is used in bombs. And because rats are not heavy, if they place their weight on an unexploded bomb, they will not cause it to explode(爆炸).

Bart chose African Giant Pouched Rats for the job. They are well known for being calm and smart. Training begins when they are about six weeks old, and it lasts for nine months. Once trained, one rat can search up to 200m in 20 minutes. The same area would take a human up to four days. Trained rats are known as Mine Detection Rats, or MDRs, and they have worked successfully in Cambodia since 2015.

86. 初中的学习生活即将接近尾声，你一定有许多难忘的回忆吧！请以The ________ (teacher/ friend/person) I will never forget为题，围绕他或她的外貌、性格以及曾经做过什么让你难以忘怀的事情，写一篇小短文吧！要求：补全题目,完成短文。

The ________ I will never forget

87. 在每个人的成长岁月中, 都会经历许许多多的第一次: 第一次坐飞机、第一次登台表演、第一次…无数的第一次都会给我们留下深刻的印象,令我们难忘。那么,最让你难忘的"第一次"是什么呢?请你用英语写一篇短文, 在本周五的英语口语课上和大家分享。