A nine-year-old child will become the youngest ever person to complete a university degree.

    This December, Laurent Simons will gain his electrical engineering bachelor's degree (学士学位) from Eindhoven University of Technology, a challenging course even for 18-year-olds. It has taken Laurent only 9 months to complete what should be a four-year course. Laurent's teacher said, "He is three times smarter than the best student I have met in my long working experiences. He achieves what many adult students never reach." The young gifted child finished easily the entire primary school courses in only 12 months and then took just 18 months to complete his secondary school studies. Laurent comes from a family of doctors, and his parents cannot offer any explanation as to why their son is so academically gifted. Every time he can pass every test effortlessly with flying colors.

    While Laurent is clearly able to learn faster than most, his parents are being careful to let him enjoy himself too. His father said, "We don't want him to get too serious. He does whatever he likes. We need to find a balance between being a child and his talents." Laurent enjoyed playing with his dog Sammy and playing on his phone, like many young people.

    Yousuf and his family left their home in eastern Afghanistan eight years ago. They went to the city of Kabul to escape war, but they could not escape sadness. Five of Yousuf's children died in the Afghan capital, not from violence, but from air pollution.

    Kabul has become one of the most polluted cities in the world. On many days, a mix of smog and smoke lies over the city. In some cases, families burn whatever they can to keep warm in cold weather. The air in their own homes then poisons them. Many years of war have worsened the damage to Afghanistan's environment. At the local Children's Hospital, doctors say they have seen the number of patients with pollution-related health problems increase. Saifullah Abassin, a doctor at the hospital, says his hospital ward(病房) can hold 10 patients but often has three times that number.

    "Thirty years ago, it was a wish for people to come to Kabul and breathe its air," said Ezatullah Sediqi, deputy director for the National Environmental Protection Agency. "But in the wars since, we lost all our urban infrastructure(基础设施) for water, electricity, public transportation, green areas, all these things."

    Kabul's environmental department has started a program to control old vehicles, one major source of pollution. City officials have called on people to use fuel instead of burning garbage for heat. But there are other steps officials need to take, such as passing a plan to stop unplanned development and creating more green spaces.

    American actor James Dean has been dead for 64 years. James Dean, who died at the age of 25 in September 1955, starred in just three movies before he died in a car accident. They are Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden and Giant. Yet, he will star in a new movie about the Vietnam War thanks to digital technology ,which generates(产生) images of James Dean by computer.

    The idea that one of the movies' most beloved former stars would be recreated digitally for a new film has been met with criticism(批评). Captain America actor Chris Evans called the plans to use Dean's image in the film disrespectful.

    However, Mark Roesler, the chairman of CMG said, "Dean has more than 183,000 followers on Instagram, and that he is still important today. He was known as Hollywood's 'rebel(叛逆)' who famously said 'if a man can bridge the gap(沟壑) between life and death, if he can live after he's dead, then maybe he is a great man." Roesler added, "What was considered rebellious in the 50's is very different from what is rebellious today, and we feel confident that he would support this modern day act of rebellion."

    Anton Ernst, the film's director, said, "1 respect Dean's life and history. The movie is one of hope and love. There are still a lot of James Dean's fans worldwide and there would always be critics. All we can do is to tell a great story." Ernst added, "The Dean family views this as his fourth movie, a movie he never got to make. We do not want to let his fans down."

How to Get Along with Others Well

    There are a lot of different people in the world, but although we have our differences, we all want to get along. We enjoy being treated nicely. Getting along with someone isn't about being their best friends or sharing all their hobbies.

    Be a good listener

    Don't throw yourself in chat immediately when you have just arrived. First, examine the situation and the conversation, and then say whatever you consider fit.

    Keep your sense of humor

    A little laughter goes a long way, and a smile is good medicine. If someone is sad, smile at them.

    Understand that people make mistakes

    Forgiveness is not only polite, it leads to stronger friendships. . Be willing to accept an apology and try to think of things in others' shoes.

    Be sincere

    They all operate altogether, but nothing is more important than sincerity. People will sense when you are pretending to be positive. All of these tips without sincerity will end up destroying any positive effect you were hoping to produce. Following the tips above, you will find yourself getting along with people wherever you go!

A. It is about doing things together.

B. If you are always cheerful and optimistic, people will cheer up.

C. While each one of these tips is important, none stands alone.

D. If you are generous and friendly, people will accept you easily.

E. It is about treating people with respect and care.

F. No one is perfect, so judging someone for a mistake is not fair.

G. To start a conversation, it is important to listen first.

    It was his wife's laughter that Matt missed the most.

    Before she died, his wife asked him to find someone else to share his1with, but he didn't. And days moved2

    One day his phone rang and the3of his daughter, Patricia, appeared on the screen. "She wants my4again," Matt thought." Hi, Dad, one of my co-workers has offered me a5for free, could you help take it to my home?"

    Half an hour later Matt6 at her co-worker's house. A woman, Lisa,7at the front door with Patricia and explained, "I'm getting rid of my table, and she needs8." "The table I'm getting looks almost9," Patricia said." You know she takes so good care of everything.

    His daughter's10of the woman made Matt study her immediately. "She didn't look bad.11, she was quite beautiful." Matt thought. "Well, Patricia, as long as it won't collapse(坍塌) while you're eating, I'd say you've got a pretty good deal." Matt said12

    Lisa said, "In fact,13 what Patricia has told me about how much her husband eats, that could become a problem." and laughed.

    Lisa's14reminded him of his wife and at the same time he noticed his daughter's15smile. "Has she set me up(介绍某人相亲)?"he thought 16he gave his daughter an asking look. Patricia's widening smile was his17

    "Matt, 1 asked Patricia for only one small favor18this table," Lisa said as she looked at Matt." That I would be able to borrow her19to help me assemble(组装) my new table."

    "I'd be happy to!" Matt answered. And he20it.

    My name is Ma Lili, a (survive) from the Tangshan earthquake in 1976. Many strange things happened before the earthquake, but we didn't take it (serious). In fifteen seconds, a large city lay in (ruin). The number of people killed or badly (injure) reached more than 240,000. My family and I (bury) under the building. Luckily, soldiers came to our rescue in time. It was reported that Tangshan was the centre of the earthquake and tens of thousands of people died, shocked the world! At that time, some people (think) Tangshan would disappear from the world. , Tangshan soon began to breathe again. We all devoted (us) to rebuilding it and the city now is becoming even (beautiful) than before.

信的内容如下:

1）个人优势:英语、性格等;

2）参加目的:

1）宣传中国、了解世界;

2）锻炼自我。

注意：

1）词数80左右;

2）可适当增加细节，使行文连贯。

Dear Tom,

    I am glad to know that the activity about Colorful World Cultures will be held in our school.

    Looking forward to your early reply.

Yours,

Li Hua

    Marmi, my big sister, was eagerly looking for a pup(小狗) to look after and love all her life, so she would ask Mummy many times for a pup of her own, but the answer was always no. You see, my mum is not very fond of dogs, never has been, and always says they're too big a responsibility. She's just not a dog person. Well, that didn't stop my sister from looking or hoping for a dog. She used to search online for her favourite breed(品种). Until one day Marni found some Cavapoo pups advertised for sale. She immediately showed Mummy and begged to go and see them. Not sure how my sister persuaded her, but to our surprise, Mummy said we could go and have a look at them but not to get high hopes. Marni rushed everyone in the car before Mummy changed her mind. Off we sped to the advertised breeder's house which luckily wasn't too far. We got to the house and I bet I could hear my sister's heart dancing with excitement. As we rang the doorbell, we could hear cute little barks coming from inside. We went in and saw lots of little black pups excitedly jumping around. There were other people there too, so we needed to choose one fast if you know what I mean. It was rather crowded but the breeder let us hold and cuddle(搂抱) the pups. The breeder handed a little confident pup to Marni. The little pup seemed an old friend with my sister. But after a lot of cuddles, Mummy said we had to go and would have to think about it.

注意：

1）所续写短文的词数应为150左右；

2）应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语；

3）续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；

4）续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。

Paragraph 1:

    As we were walking towards the door, the little pup followed my sister out.

Paragraph 2:

    The little pup made a mess(杂乱) of our home.