1． The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides a year into 24 solar terms (节气). The Spring Equinox which is called chunfen in Chinese usually falls (1)______ March 20 or March 21 every year. Standing an egg upright is a(2)_______ game across the country during the Spring Equinox. People practice this tradition to celebrate the (3)_____nof spring. It is believed that if someone can make the egg stand, he will have good luck in the future. I's also a good time to fly kites. In ancient times, people did not have good medical resources (资源), (4)________ they wrote their medical problems on a paper kite to ask for good health. When the kite was in the air, people would (5)______ the line to let the paper kite fly away, which means the flying away of diseases.

2． When I was about 14, I had a friend who liked to tell me my shortcomings (缺点). For example: I was very short, I wasn't a top student, I talked too much, I was too proud and so on. I became so angry that I couldn't (1)       her at last. I ran to my (2)       with tears (泪水) in my eyes.
He listened to me (3)       and asked, "Are the things she says true or not? Jane, didn't you ever (4)       what you're really like? Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are (5)      . Pay no attention to the other things she said." I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some I couldn't change, like being very (6)      . But many I could and I wanted to change. For the first time, l had a better understanding of myself.
I brought the list back to Daddy. He (7)       to read it. "That's just for you," he said, "You know (8)       than any other person the truth about yourself. When (9)       said about you is true, you'll find it will be of help to you. Don't shut your ears. Listen to them all, but only hear the truth and do what you know. It is the right thing to do."
Daddy's (10)       has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I've never had a better piece of advice.

3． The following news is from China Daily (www. chinadaily. com) which covers different fields.

4． How do we know the time? A clock, a watch or a mobile phone can help us. However, many years ago there were no clocks and knowing the time was not so easy. Over the centuries, people have developed different ways of telling the time.
About 5 , 500 years ago, the Egyptians invented the sun clock. This was a tall stone building. It's shadow(影子) showed the movement of the sun. So people were able to know midday. The Egyptians made a sundial about 3 , 500 years ago. It was smaller than the sun clock and could let people know the time for half a day. On cloudy days or at night it was impossible to tell the time with a sun clock or a sundial. Water clocks were the first clocks not to use the sun. The idea is simple. Water flows(流动) from one bottle to another. When the water reaches a certain level, it shows the hours. The Egyptians used water clocks about 3 , 400 years ago. These clocks were popular in the Middle East and China. But they failed to make people know the exact time.
In the 13th century, the mechanical clock was invented. This was more exact, but it was expensive to make one. Over the next few centuries it was developed. For example, springs( 发条)were added around 1500. This enabled people to get the correct time and allowed clocks to be smaller. In 1927, the first quartz clock was developed. Clocks became cheaper to build. It's also cheaper for ordinary people to own a clock. People began depending on them more and more to run businesses, markets and so on. More recently, in 1956, came the digital clock. And nowadays satellites send our mobile phones the time to the exact second.
There has been a lot of progress in timekeeping. Clocks are always changing but some things never change. Many of us still have trouble getting out of bed on time and not being late for school or work.

5． One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas. She could not afford a present, so she sat down and cried.
Jim and Della had two possessions (财产) which they were both proud of. One was Jim's gold watch that was from his father and his grandfather. The other was Della's beautiful hair. It fell about her, and reached below her know.
Della put on her old brown jacket and her old brown hat. Then she went out of the door and down the stairs to the street.
She stopped at a store. The sign in front of the store read "Hair Goods". "Will you buy my hair?" asked Della. "Twenty dollars." the woman said.
Then Della searched through the stores looking for a present for Jim.
She found it at last. It was a watch chain. The bill was twenty-one dollars. At seven o'clock, the coffee was made and dinner was ready. Jim was never late. Della heard his steps on the stairs.
The door opened and Jim walked in. He stopped inside the door. His eyes were fixed on Della, and there was an expression in them that she could not read.
"Jim," she cried, "don't look at me that way. I sold my hair to buy you a Christmas present."
Jim drew a box from his pocket and put it on the table.
Della opened it. There lay the set of combs (梳子) that she had always wanted. Now they were hers, but her hair was gone.
She smiled and held out Jim's present. "I hunted all over town to find it. Give me your watch. I want to see how it looks on it."
Instead of obeying (服从), Jim sat down, put his hands behind his head and smiled. " Della" he said, "I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs."

6． Too many people want others to be their friends, but they don't give friendship back. That is why some friendships don't last very long. (1)       You must learn to treat your friend the way you want your friend to treat you. Learning to be a good friend means learning three rules: be honest; be generous (慷慨的); be understanding.
Honesty is where a good friendship starts. Friends must be able to trust one another. If you don't tell the truth, people usually find out. If a friend finds out that you haven't been honest, you may lose your friend's trust. (2)      
Generosity means sharing and sharing makes a friendship grow. You don't have to give your lunch money or your clothes, of course. Instead you have to learn how to share things you enjoy, your hobbies and interests. Naturally you will want to share your ideas and feelings. (3)       They tell your friend what is important to you. By sharing them you help your friend know you better.
Sooner or later everyone needs understanding and help with a problem. Something may go wrong at school. Talking about the problem can make it easier to solve. (4)       So to be a friend you must listen and understand. You must try to put yourself in your friend's place so you can understand the problem better.
(5)       But all true friendships have three things in common. If you plan to keep your friendships, you must practice honesty, generosity and understanding.

17． Albert Einstein is a genius (天才). This story about him shows that he's also humorous.
Einstein often received 1.             (invite) to explain his ideas at different universities. On these trips, his driver Hans often said to him, "It's a pleasure to drive a genius like you, Dr Einstein."
One evening, on their way to 2.             university, Einstein said, "I'm so tired. I wish I could avoid giving my lecture (讲座) tonight, Hans, but I don't want to make my listeners 3.             (disappoint)."
"I know what to do," said Hans. "I can give the lecture for you. You can trust 4.             (I). I've listened to your lecture so many times that I've learn it by heart. No one 5.             ( know) you at this university, so they won't find out."
So, they changed places. At the university, Hans was 6.             (lead) to the front of the hall. Einstein took a seat, listened to Hans give his lecture 7.             difficulty, and joined in the applause (掌声) at the end.
However, before Hans left, a man shouted, "I'd like 8.             ( ask ) you a question." He then asked a question so difficult that Hans had no idea what he was talking about.
Einstein turned pale. "Oh no!"he thought. "Now we're in trouble." 9.             Hans just laughed and said, "That's such an easy question that even my driver can answer it. Hans, please. . . "Einstein stood up and answered the question 10.             ( perfect).
They left the university, with Einstein driving. A little later, Hans offered to drive. "No. "laughed Einstein. "It's a pleasure to drive a genius like you, Hans."

18．今年受新冠(C0VID﹣19)疫情影响, 我市中小学开展了线上教学. 假如你是李华, 你的美国网友Eric 即将进行线上学习, 他发来邮件向你了解相关情况. "请你结合自身经历和以下提示, 向Eric回复邮件, 介绍线上学习的利弊, 并针对线上学习的不足, 提出至少一条建议.

要求:
1. 语句通顺, 意思连贯, 语法正确, 书写规范;
2. 必须包含所给提示, 并做适当发挥;
3. 文中不得出现真实人名、校名或地名;
4. 词数:100词左右(开头和结尾已给出, 不计入总词数).
Dear Eric,
I'm so glad to hear from you.      .
I hope this will be helpful to you. I'm looking forward to your reply.
Yours,
Li Hua