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    Do you have someone that you can always count on? For me, it was Alice, From grade school to college, she was my best friend, and whatever I needed! she was always there.

    Alice, I forgot to bring my lunch. " Here, have some of mine. . . Growing up, we talked about college, the future, and almost everything. "Jessie, when I get married, will you. ?" "Alice, I will be there. "

    These four words cemented our friendship. She was even there at my most embarrassing moments. One day, I was driving on the road. I noticed a little yellow gas light appeared on the dashboard. All of a sudden, I heard the engine sputtered and stopped. There was only one person I could count on when I needed help. I called Alice and she answered me immediately," OK, my dad said you need buy a spare canister, and I will come to you soon. Later I walked into a gas station and bought one and I carried it back to my car. I poured some gas into my tank. I turned the key but the engine sputtered and stopped. I was about to try the third time when Alice came to me. She snatched that canister out of my hand. She stared at me in surprise, "Oh god, did you put any gas in it?" "Was I supposed to? "Didn't you notice that the canister was a little light?" Yes, but I thought that's why they call it gas. ”

    When we went to college, we shared an apartment together. But then, I got busier and busier. " "Jessie, I need you. " But I was never there. We stopped speaking. A lifelong friendship sputtered and stopped. It's been nearly ten years since we stopped speaking. I found out that Alice got married. I wasn't invited. Alice moved on with her life. but I couldn't. I called Alice and we went to dinner together. I was afraid it would be awkward. but it was as if no time had passed. We laughed and talked about old times.

    I will be there. These four words can help you make a friend. And if you say them enough times, and follow through, you will make a lifelong friend.

    Regional population surveys are showing early signs that the number of births continued to drop across the country in the first half of this year-but at different rates

    Surveys in hospitals and communities in other areas, including Shaanxi, Anhui, Sichuan and Hebei provinces, also found a reduced newborn population in the first half, with the rate of decrease ranging from 3 percent to 10 percent.

    Chongqing reported about 68,400 births among a total population of about 31 million from January to May. It's a decrease of nearly 30 percent compared with the same period last year. In Weifang, Shandong province, health authorities said 55,800 babies were born in the first half of the year, down 13. 4 percent compared with the same period last year.

    Dazhong Daily reported

    The statistics bureaus in Yan'an, Shaanxi province, and Pingquan, Hebei province, both said a major factor in declining birthrates was a lack of willingness to have children among couples of childbearing age due to the high costs of raising a child.

    The trend showed in regional data made public recently stress the need to carry out more helpful measures in addition to the universal second-child policy, including improved pregnancy care and nursery services, to encourage more births, local authorities said.

    At the beginning of November, the 35th Chinese Antarctic Expedition set off for the polar region. This time, one of their main tasks is to build China's first permanent Antarctic airport, Science and Technology Daily reported.

    There are more than 30 airports in the Antarctic, according to Global Times. China's polar plane Xueying 601 has to take off and land at Russian airports.

    "The new airport will help Chinese aircraft take off and land in the South Pole. This will make it easier to transport scientific equipment and do research," Zhang Xia from the Polar Research Institute of China told Global Times.

    "In order to be environmentally friendly, the airport will be small," said Sun Bo, the leader of the research teamHowever, this doesn't make it easy to build the airport. The site of the airport is an ice cap 28 kilometers away from Zhongshan Antarctic Station, Xinhua noted. It covers the land like a quilt. But this "quilt" is always moving. Scientists have to find the slowest-moving part of the cap. You can hardly notice the movement of the ice in this area.

    The snow on the ice cap can be very thick. Also, it is as soft as cotton, which makes it hard to build a runway for airplanes. Scientists have to use a snow blower to get rid of the snow on top of the cap. This way, the snow will be strong and hard enough to build a runway on top of.

A. The next problem is the snow.

B. An ice cap is a thick layer of ice.

C. But none of them belong to China.

D. It is much smaller than the usual airports in our cities.

E. Then, they compact the rest of the snow with a road roller-like machine.

Once Louis the Twelfth, the King of France, happened to walk into the1of his palace. There he found a smallboy busy at work and singing happily.

    The boy had a sunny face, and his manners2the king. Laying his hand upon the boy's head, Louis asked the boy's name. The boy saw Louis dressed in everyday clothes,3he took Louis to be one of the kings servants. The boy4that his name was Simon.

    "Are you5to do this kind of job while many of other servants work upstairs, Simon? " the king asked,6at the bowls and dishes which the boy was washing.

    "Why not?" Simon smiled, "I'm doing as well as the best of them. The king7can do no better. "

    "How do you know that?" the king laughed, not8with Simon's bold words.

    "Well, sir, the king lives, and so do I. He can do no more than living. And I'm satisfied with my life. Can the king say that he is satisfied with his life?"

Louis walked away with9. "The boy was right. The kings10feel satisfied”

The next day, Simon was called in to see the king. He was11when he found Louis was the king. Louis12with Simon about many things, and found him to be a very quick and clever boy.

After that. Simon was made a servant who served the king13Finally he became one of a the best soldiers of that time. He is known14General La Roche in history. If Simon hadn't learnt to be satisfied with his life, he might never have been given that15. So be satisfied with life is very important.

Almost 300 years ago, a tall man raced along the island beach. "Wait for me!" he cried. "I've changed my mind!”

The man was Alexander Selkirk. He was calling to a ship called the Cinque Ports which means the "Five Ports" Earlier Selkirk had decided to stay on the island. He his mind at the last second, when the ship set sail. But it was too late. Selkirk was alone on an island in the Pacific Ocean.

The next day Selkirk walked around the . There were caves to use for shelter, and streams for washing. There were fruit trees, wild goats, and fish. Selkirk could use all of these for . However, there were no people. Selkirk was truly.

That island in the Pacific was Selkirk's home for more than four years. He kept for someone to come and take him from the island.

a British ship sailed to the island, and Selkirk was and told his story. Newspapers told people about his adventure. One man who read about Selkirk was the writer Daniel Defoe. He then turned Selkirk's story into a called The Strange and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. In the book, Robinson Crusoe lived the way Selkirk did with one big . Crusoe had a friend, a man called Friday.

Today you can find the book about Robinson Crusoe in any library. A , few books tell the story of the "real Robinson Crusoe--the man named Alexander Selkirk.

    You may not know the name of your neighbor's dog though you see it every day. But you probably know the name of the smart white dog black ears.

    He is a Snoopy, the main character in the US Peanuts. In the comic, Snoopy has done lots of jobs. He has been a lawyer, a writer, and the first astronaut on the moon.

    Soopy has his own dreams. He works hard to make come true. For example, though people never accept the stories he writes, Snoopy keeps writing because he wants to succeed one day. In Snoopy, people see the truth of the saying: "The only thing you can do in the of failure is to keep on trying. "

    Because of this, Snoopy has become an important cultural character in the US his birth in 1950. American people choose Snoopy as the Top Dog in American Pop Culture.

A. Hi, Tanya. It's Monica speaking

B: Oh, hi, Monica.

A: Fine, thanks. And you?

B: Yeah, I'm OK.

A: Busy?

B: Well, I'm helping my brother with his math homework, and I'm also tidying my room.

A. What else?

B:

A: Don't worry. Lets meet at the park gate in 20 minutes and go to Xingguang Shopping Mall together. We can look for a present for Jim there.

B: Sorry, Monica, I can't.

A: No? What a pity!

B: Because I'm also studying for my English test, too. It's tomorrow!

A: Well, good luck to you.

要点:

1）做大量准备(购物，打扫卫生)，走亲访友，吃团圆饭等；

2）辞旧迎新，家人团圆。

要求:

1）文中不得出现真实姓名和学校名称;

2）词数100左右。