Wen Xinrui, a student from Shanghai, together with her family, is seeing the great changes of China in recent years.

    Wen's grandparents have been enjoying free health checks for people aged above 65 since 2013. It was hard to imagine in the past. The river near Wen's house used to be dirty and give out a terrible smell. But last year, (C) it was cleaned up and trees were planted on both sides. Now there are even fish swimming in it.

    From 2013 to 2016, 55.64 million people in(A)_____ have been lifted out of poverty(贫困). This means their personal income(收入)has increased to more than 3, 000 yuan a month. China aims to(力求达到)make all the people get out of poverty by 2020.

    Also, China now has more than 22, 000 kilometers of high—speed lines. That's about 60 percent of the world's total high—speed railways.

    Such progress can't have been made without the leadership of the Communist Party of China. (D)As the ruling party in China, the Party has more than 89 million members.

    They are from all walks of life(各行各业). They have a big influence on both the government and people's lives.

    According(B)_____ President Xi Jinping, our socialism(社会主义)with Chinese characteristics(特色)has entered a new era(时代). The Party must always put people first and continue working hard to help people live better and happier lives.

    Boom! A clap of thunder (一声霹雳) made the old house shake. Ramon stayed under his bed. A flash of lightning (一道闪电) lit up the room."I hate this house,"Ramon thought. It was his first night in his new home.

    The house had belonged to his grandma. It was very, very old. It looked really scary at night. The trees outside his windows looked like monsters (怪物) in the dark. Their branches (树枝) looked like long arms. They waved when the wind blew. The storm made everything even scarier. Ramon hated storms, and it seemed worse in the old house.

    Later the thunder became quieter. Ramon climbed into bed and fell asleep. When he woke up, the sun was shining through his windows. Ramon climbed out of bed.

    The trees outside didn't look like monsters anymore. The branches had nice green leaves growing on them. Ramon could see a bird sitting on one of the branches. It was singing a happy song. The yard looked pretty nice in the daylight. A stream (溪) ran across the yard. A swing hung from one of the trees. Many flowers grew next to the  tree.  Butterflies  flew  around  the flowers.

    "Maybe living here won't be so bad after all," Ramon thought.

I started learning English at the age of 22. It is kind of 1 to start studying a language. However, age is never a problem if you really want to 2 something.I was preparing myself to study engineering in the USA. To enter（进入）my dream university, I had to 3 a TOEFL score（托福分数）of 90 or higher. After careful thought, I signed up for（ 报名参加）a six-month program to study English.

It was 4 to get 90 in six months for someone who started learning English from the very beginning, but I decided to have a try. In order to join the 5 , I moved to a different city and rented（租用）a house with a friend. We were in the same program. We did not have any distractions（使人分心的事物）in 6 house, such as televisions, computers or smartphones.

We had classes every day from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 7 a lunch break only. After the classes were over, we had something for dinner and started 8 what we had learned and doing homework. We would study 9 we became sleepy, and usually we would finish it by midnight.My friend and I encouraged each other and we did our best. 10 , we both got perfect TOEFL scores and went to the USA at last.

We all know that family life is very important for a person. If a kid is well treated by his parents, he will grow up happily. Bob Courtright is a good example. Deeply committed to his family, Bob Courtright will be remembered as a loving and selfless man forever. Born with an optimistic personality, he was always the one to look on the bright side and made everyone he met feel comfortable. Equipped with a set of skills, an ability to please others, and a strong sense of adventure, Bob lived his life to the fullest. He left behind a rich collection of wonderful memories for his friends and family.

Bob's life story began in 1937 when the Golden Gate Bridge opened, which gave Americans renewed pride and faith in the economy after a hard period at that time. Having moved several times during his childhood, his family eventually settled on the south side of their city.

With a strong desire to make a living on his own, Bob eventually dropped out of school to pursue（追求）a career in painting, leading him to a lifetime of success as a master painter and tradesman. He also served as a doctor in the army. Besides, he took an interest in roller skating and enjoyed competing as a roller skating dancer. He made many friends along the way and enjoyed filling each of his days to the fullest.

As a father, Bob was patient and supportive. He enjoyed his role as a father and always encouraged his children to lead a life of honesty and service.

He also tried hard to be a strong role model in their lives. He and his wife worked together to teach their children the value of hard work and faith in life.

A horse fair was an interesting place. There were young horses and many beautiful horses from the country. But there were also a lot of poor and thin horses.

At the horse fair there was a man with a gentle voice and kind grey eyes. He offered 23 pounds for me, but the salesman refused. Then a man with a very loud voice came. I was afraid he was going to buy me, but he walked away. Then the grey-eyed man came back again and said, "I'll give you 24 pounds to buy him."

"Done," said the salesman. "He's an excellent horse and if you want him for cab (出租马车) work, he can help you earn more than you pay for him. The horse is well worth the price."

Half an hour later we set off for London, along country roads, until we came to that great city. There were streets to the right, and streets to the left. We went into one of the small streets, and then into a very narrow street, with small and old houses.

My owner stopped at a house. The door opened, and a woman, a little girl and a boy came out.

"Is he gentle, Dad?"

"Yes, Dolly, as gentle as a little cat. And you can pat him."

Dolly, the little girl, patted my shoulder without fear. It felt so good! They led me into a comfortable, clean room, and after a delicious meal I lay down to sleep, thinking "I'm going to be very happy here".

My new owner's name was Jerry. His wife was called Polly and they had two children, Harry and Dolly. The next morning they came to see me. I loved it when they patted me and spoke in gentle voices.

"Let's call him ‘Jack', after the old horse, shall we, Harry?" said Dolly.

"Yes, sounds great!" said Harry.

The first week of my life as Jack, the London cab horse, was very hard. The noise, the people and the traffic on the streets scared me. But Jerry was a very good driver, and that helped me a lot. Jerry soon found that I was ready to work hard and do my best, and he didn't whip (鞭打) me.

He kept me very clean, and gave me as much food as I wanted. But the best thing was that I had Sundays off.

My name is Tommy and I am from London, the capital city in the south of the UK, with a {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(人口)of about nine million.

When I was in the middle school, all my classmates were active, {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(除...之外)me. I was quite shy, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(尤其)when the teacher {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(要求)me to speak loudly in front of the class. I was afraid of making mistakes. That's why I missed lots of {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(机会) to improve myself and I wasn't pleased at all. What a {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (可惜)! However, I was hard- working and I always tried to do things as carefully as {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(可能的).

Now I am a student in Cambridge University. I meet a good teacher. We call him Mr Jackson. He often {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(提供) some good advice to help me out of the situation. He always says that I should practise {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(说;讲) by myself. He also allows me to show my ideas in class. It is very exciting! So now I speak more often than before. I think I will be more {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(自信的) in the future.