13．　　Eighth-grade students at Parkville Middle School in Maryland, US, had an unusual science class last month. They were working on their experiments (实验) very carefully, so they didn't see a visitor come into their classroom. The (1)       was President Barack Obama.
　　"When he first came in, my heart just stopped (2)       he is the President. It was so unusual," said Collin Vincent, 13. "He showed great (3)       in our experiments."
　　The class (4)       experiments on computers. Obama looked carefully at the models. The students (5)       him what they were doing. The President was very glad and said, "I am proud of you. Keep up good work."
　　Obama then held a (6)       with about 340 eighth-graders in the dining hall. He (7)       the students, "We wanted to know about the great work you're doing in math and science." And he said, "Those areas will have the biggest influence (影响) on your (8)      . Your success means America's success."
　　Kiera Lane, 13, got a chance to ask the President how he feels as a president and how he faces stress (压力). Obama said there is stress in every (9)      , either being a president or a student. "You know, some days it is really difficult for me to make some big decisions, which makes me stressful," he said. "But if I have done the best job I can do, then I feel (10)      . " "It was nice to see he was interested in what we were worried about," said Lane. "It was like he really cares about us."

14．Wildwood School Library Guide
　　This will offer you some information about our school library. You can use this guide to help your kids use our library.
　　Service hours:
3:00 p.m. — 5:30 p.m. on school days
8:30 a.m. — 11:00 a.m. on weekends
　　On school days, your kids may borrow or return books during opening hours only when their classroom teachers allow them to. At the weekend, our library is open to both you and your kids.
　　Borrowing:
　　Each student can borrow one or two books at a time. More books can be borrowed only for class reading activities and school research.
　　Returning:
　　Kids can keep the books borrowed from the library for only 15 days. They must return the books on time, or the kid can't borrow other books.
　　Damaged (受损的) or lost books:
　　When a book is returned in damaged condition, the kid will have to pay three dollars for the damage. They must pay the full price if a book is lost. We encourage students to carry their library books in plastic bags to protect them from rainy weather.
　　Please call us at 3362-1323 for more information.

15．　　One day, Jack's parents told him that his grandpa would retire (退休) after working for forty years. Jack said in surprise, "I'm only seven, so it means Grandpa has been... err... A really long time!"
　　His parents said, "Yes. That's why we are going to have a surprise party for him."
　　Jack loved his Grandpa and wanted to do something special for him. He remembered the business card his grandpa had given him two years before. He knew that his grandpa would no longer have the position (职位) on that card, so he decided to build a new one for his grandpa.
　　When the big day came, Jack was ready. But he didn't want to put his gift together with others'. He carried it around with him the whole evening.
　　When all the other people left, he took his grandpa's hand and brought him over to a chair and gave him the gift.
　　His grandpa smiled, "Well, it must be a beautiful gift. May I open it now?" "Sure!" Jack said excitedly.
　　As Grandpa opened the gift, tears came into his eyes. Jack gave him the greatest gift he had ever got! They were business cards with his new position: FULL-TIME GRANDPA! Jack said, "Now your full-time job is my grandpa!"
　　"Well, how much do I get paid?" his grandpa asked, smiling. "As many hugs (拥抱) as you want!" With these words, Jack gave Grandpa a hug. "Well, I guess that means I'm the richest man in the world!" said Grandpa.

16．　　Most people want to be happy, but few know how to find happiness. Money and success alone do not bring a forever happiness. Aristotle, a Greek thinker, said, "Happiness depends on ourselves." In other words, we make our own happiness. Here are a few suggestions to help you be happier.
　　The first secret of happiness is to enjoy the simple things in life. Too often, we spend so much time thinking about the future—for example, getting into college or getting a good job—that we fail to enjoy the present. You should enjoy life's simple pleasures, such as the good book you are reading, the favorite music you are listening to, or the close friends you are spending time with. People who have several close friends often live happier and healthier lives.
　　Another secret to living a happy life is to be active, and have hobbies where you forget your problems and time. Many people experience this when they are dancing, or playing a sport, such as swimming. You can forget about your problems, and only think about the activity.
　　Finally, many people find happiness in helping others. Studies show that people feel good when they spend their time helping others. If you want to feel happier, do good things for someone. You can help a friend with his or her studies, go shopping to buy food for an elderly person, or simply help out around the house by washing the dishes.

17．　　Imagine having an app (应用程序) that works like this: When you need help, just open the app, touch the "not OK" button and a text message will be sent to five pre-selected (预先选定的) people, along with a location (位置) to show where you are. The message reads, "Hey, I'm not OK. Please call me, text me, or come to find me."
　　US teenagers Hannah Lucas, 15, and her brother Charlie, 13, have created an app called "not OK." People just need to pay $1.99 each month to use it.
　　Hannah was inspired (启发) to create the app during a dark time in her life last year. She suffered from a disease that caused her to pass out (昏倒) at school. Other kids sometimes bullied (欺凌) her about this. She felt sad and wanted to find an app that would allow her to get help when she wasn't feeling OK.
　　She asked her brother Charlie, whose nickname is "Tech Support", to find such an app. When they couldn't find one, they decided to create one themselves.
　　They came up with some designs for the app first. Charlie took a programming class last summer and built a website for the app. Hannah also shared her idea in her summer business class. Some app developers showed interest and decided to help her. At last, the app came out in the US and Canada on January 31.
　　Hannah is happy that her app is helping others. "It makes everything I went through last year worth (值得) it," she said.

18．　　Everybody can suffer from stress(压力). No matter what your age is, you can feel stressed out by things that are happening in your life. Teenagers, however, have many more chances to get stressed than people in any other age group.
　　Being a teenager is hard. You are not a child any more, but you are not an adult, even though you have to deal with some grown-up problems and decisions.
　　Families can be one of the biggest causes(原因) of stress, such as problems with parents arguing(争吵)at home, or problems with brothers and sisters.
　　Teenagers also have a lot of stress from school, either from their teachers or from their friends. Some teenagers also feel stressed about choosing their education after high school. Getting a place at university can be very difficult and some cannot afford to go to university.
　　The stress about getting a job when finishing school is another cause of stress for some teenagers because there are so many young people finishing school and not enough jobs for them.
　　Sadly, there is nothing we can do to remove these causes of stress from the lives of teenagers, but you can learn the best way to deal with it. Talking to people is one of the best ways to deal with stress. It may sound simple, but it is true. A problem shared (分担) is a problem halved (减半).

19．假如你正在西安旅行，你准备写一篇旅行日记，记录一下自己在西安的经历，写一篇不少于50词的短文(开头和结尾已经给出, 不计入总词数)。
提示词语：special , plane, historical sites (名胜古迹), Terra-Cotta Warriors (兵马俑), taste, culture, photo, record, know about, proud
提示问题：
1. What interesting places have you visited?
2. What have you done there?
3. How did/do you feel about it?
　　I have been to a lot of places. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________