1 . It’s never easy to let go of what you’ve learned to be comfortable with, but the act of letting go and starting over can be incredibly powerful.     1     Here are some tips to help us to make such a change.

Get rid of unrealistic expectations

While there’s certainly nothing wrong with aiming high and believing in yourself, setting goals that are too unrealistic only sets you up for failure and disappointment. The more you pressure yourself to succeed and live up to your perfect ideals, the more frustrated you will feel when things don’t work out. Stop thinking that you need to have certain things or be in certain places, just for you to feel good about yourself.

Throw away the emotional baggage

    2     However, you can’t keep holding onto your emotional baggage forever. Leave all your heartbreaks and emotional hangups where they belong, in the past, and learn to let go of the troubles you may have been holding onto. It’s okay if you’re still hurting as long as you allow yourself the freedom to heal, transform, and grow as you greet the New Year.

Keep away from toxic (有毒害的) relationships

It’s time for you to say goodbye to tiring toxic relationships and one-sided friendships. Don’t surround yourself with fair-weather people. Know that you deserve to be with people who care for you, understand you, accept you, and connect with you.     3    

Do differently

Are you looking for a change?     4     After all, no one ever achieved anything great by simply following the crowd, so why not have a little fun and experiment? Get a change of scenery, adopt a new hobby, and do something you’ve always wanted to do but never had the courage to do before.

    5    

We all desire for the approval and acceptance of the people who matter to us, but worrying too much about what others think will only bring you misery and frustration. Devoting all your time and energy to living up to everyone’s expectations of you is exhausting because it’s impossible for you to please everyone.

A．Embrace the real you.

B．Stop pleasing others.

C．It can positively impact our lives and satisfy us emotionally.

D．Then it’s time to step out of your comfort zone and try new things.

E．Don’t be afraid to leave those hurting you too much or mistreating you too many times.

F．The truth is the person whose approval should matter the most to you should be you.

G．Letting go of your personal problems is easier said than done.

2 . The dragon is a great animal in Chinese culture. It brings the wind and rain. It is said that every year on the second day of the second lunar month the dragon wakes up from its winter sleep and raises its head. Because of this, the day is called “Dragon Head-raising Day (Longtaitou) ”. This year, it falls on March 4.

Old people believed that after Longtaitou, there would be more rain. And rain is very important to farming. So Longtaitou was the start of spring and farming.

People have many ways to celebrate the Longtaitou Festival. The most popular one is to have a haircut. Many believe that a haircut during the first lunar month may bring bad luck to your uncles, mainly your mother’s brothers. They hope getting a haircut on Longtaitou sweeps away bad luck.

Among Chinese people’s festival traditions, there is always a place for food. During the Longtaitou festival, people eat food named after dragons. Noodles are called dragon’s beard (longxu) . Dumplings are dragon’s ears (long’er) . And spring rolls are dragon’s scales (鳞片) (longlin) .

People also have activities like dragon dancing on the day. In some places in Shandong Province, people make dragon lanterns too. Small boats go down the rivers and carry the lanterns, which stand for people’s best wishes and good luck.

1. Which is NOT TRUE about the time of Longtaitou Festival?

A．It falls on Mar. 4 this year.

B．It’s on February 2 every year.

C．It comes on a different day every year.

D．It comes on the second day of the second lunar month.

2. What did old people think of Longtaitou?

A．It was the start of farming.	B．It was the end of Spring Festival.
C．It meant the weather would become windy.	D．It was a good time for bringing people luck.

3. Why do people get haircuts on Longtaitou?

A．It may bring more rain.	B．It may help their hair grow.
C．It’s believed it will get rid of bad luck.	D．It’s believed it will bring good luck to their uncles.

4. What can we learn from the last two paragraphs?

A．Spring rolls are called dragon’s beard.

B．Dragon dance is held before and after the festival.

C．There are different traditional food and activities on the festival.

D．Noodles and dumplings are the only traditional food of the festival.

3 . I like challenges, but this one was almost too difficult. I had begged Mom to take me on a completely new adventure for my sixteenth birthday. Now, here we were, just Mom and me with our guide, Milo, standing on the shore of Lake Arenal in Costa Rica.

Milo helped us onto our horses. Getting on the back of my horse was difficult, but controlling it was a little easier. We started on our ride. The guidebook said we would cross three rivers. As we tried to go through a gentle stream, I asked hopefully, “Is this the first river?” “I don't think so, Katie,” Mom said.

Soon enough, we came to a real river. I felt sick to my stomach when I saw that the far shore was half a football field away! The four-foot-deep river flowed over large rocks. So much for dry shoes or jeans.

After two more rivers, the path got steeper and muddier. The rainforest was splendid and absolutely beautiful. But I wondered whether my horse could keep its balance in knee-high mud. Three frightening hours later, we came to a corral (畜栏). I wondered whether we were stopping. To one side was a wonderful view of the lake and volcano, and to the other, a brightly painted restaurant. “OK,” I laughed nervously. “That was frightening, but I'm so glad we did it! ”

1. Why did the author want to have an adventure?

A．To take up a challenge.	B．To get close to nature.
C．To celebrate her birthday.	D．To explore the rainforest.

2. Why did the author feel sick to her stomach during her journey?

A．The horse always lost its balance.	B．The path became steeper and muddier.
C．There was more than one river to cross.	D．She found it difficult to cross the first river.

3. How did the author feel about the journey?

A．It was peaceful but tiring.	B．It was interesting and relaxing.
C．It was frightening and unpleasant.	D．It was was dangerous but worthwhile.

4. Where does this text probably come from?

A．A travel blog	B．A science book.
C．A museum guide	D．A news report

4 . Nowadays we spend a lot of time on computers, phones and televisions. Connecting to nature is a peaceful and rewarding experience that will inspire your mind and spirit. This article will tell you how to connect to nature in an easy fashion.

1. Go outside and sit down in your own front yard or backyard.     1     Bring a notebook with you and write down what you see, smell, hear and feel.

2. Observe the temperature and weather and the patterns of any animals nearby. Note the season and the direction of the wind.     2     Write down your observations in as many details as possible. Make sure to stay relaxed.

3. Try to stay disconnected from any electronics that you do not absolutely need to be using once you get home.     3    

4. Plant a garden. It can be a flower garden, an herb garden, a vegetable garden or just a few potted plants on your windowsill.     4     Growing a garden will help your mind understand the life within nature and will bring you closer to the earth, as well as helping to improve air quality.

5.     5     Recycle, eat organic fruits and vegetables, don’t litter and don’t waste water. Turn off lights when you’re not using them. Don’t hurt animals or plants. Consider becoming a vegetarian or vegan.

6. Just go outside and smell the roses! To truly connect to nature, you need to go outside and experience it for yourself!

A．Make yourself a cup of herbal tea and read a book if you’d like.

B．If you live in the city, head for a local park or natural area.

C．Live a low-carbon green life.

D．Observe the sky and the ground and observe everything around you.

E．Make sure to take care of your plants and expose them to sunlight and water them every day.

F．Find an opportunity to go to the countryside to get close to nature and be relaxed.

G．Be kind to Mother Nature.

5 . Flowers, candies, and hidden eggs are all traditions humans look forward to during Easter. But they can also ruin the day pretty quickly if your dog or cat happens to get into them.

Most pet owners know that chocolate can be very dangerous to cats and dogs. Calls to the Pet Poison Helpline rise sharply due to suspected chocolate ingestion around Easter. In fact, the calls concerning dogs that have been poisoned by chocolate increased by nearly 200% during the week of Easter. So it’s as vital as ever to keep Easter baskets and candy bunnies away from pets.

“A common flower that veterinarians (兽医) warn cat owners against is lilies. Even eating a small amount of this flower can cause deadly kidney failure in cats,” Certified veterinarian Amanda Takiguchi, DVM, said in a statement. According to the Pet Poison Helpline, lilies are the most common toxin (毒素) to cats, making up 12.3% of all calls to the hotline.

“Many species of lilies are toxic to cats, so it’s best to avoid lilies altogether. Owners need to be especially cautious around Easter when these flowers are more popular.”Amanda Takiguchi, DVM said.

Egg hunts are fun for everyone but could cause trouble for curious pets. Depending on the type of eggs you use, however, curious pets may get themselves hurt trying to partake in the fun.

Hard-boiled eggs are generally okay for cats and dogs, but the paint used to decorate the shells should not be consumed. If you use plastic eggs and hide treasures inside, it is especially important to ensure all of the eggs have been found by the end of your hunt so your pets don’t discover them later down the road. It’s also important to ensure they don’t have access to the eggs or the treats hidden inside during the hunt.

“Curious cats and dogs could put themselves in danger by chewing or even accidentally eating these decorations,” veterinarian Rebecca MacMillan told TrustedHousesitters. “Fragile egg-shaped baubles could easily shatter, and small fluffy toy chicks are just the right size to be swallowed. This is why you should always keep any decorations out of reach from your pets.”

1. Who is the passage intended for?

A．Veterinarians.

B．Pet trainers.

C．Pet owners.

D．Animal experts.

2. What will easily cause kidney failure in cats?

A．Swallowing the Easter eggs.	B．Eating a small amount of lily.
C．Playing with fluffy toy chicks.	D．Consuming a certain amount of chocolates.

3. What will Rebecca MacMillan probably agree with?

A．It’s common to feed dogs hard-boiled eggs.

B．It’s impossible to keep pets away from Easter eggs.

C．It’s better not to put up any decorations during Easter.

D．It’s unsafe to keep Easter decorations within pets’ easy reach.

4. Which of the following is a suitable title?

A．Easter pet safety.	B．An unsafe Easter.
C．Proper pet food.	D．Furry family members.

6 . Social media and the Internet are powerful tools that are an important part of our everyday lives. We use them to learn, communicate, work, and more.     1     Here are some great ways to manage social media and Internet use and prioritize your mental health.

Schedule your Internet time

    2     Pick a time in the morning to check emails, news sites, and other things you like to look at on the internet. Give yourself a cutoff to close the Internet and focus on other activities and responsibilities.

    3    

A hobby gives you something to spend time on that’s not the Internet. Take a yoga class, start learning to play an instrument, start gardening, sign up for the gym, or do anything else that interests you. At the beginning, commit to spend just 1 hour a week on the hobby, then gradually ram p up the hours or take up more hobbies. Make sure you turn off your phone or hide your devices while you do your chosen hobby.     4    .

Spend more time with friends offline.

Make it a point to schedule in-person social activities. Go to dinner with friends once a week, get together with a group of people for a weekend hike, or reach out to people you haven’t seen in a while and schedule a catch-up date. If you feel like you don’t have anyone to spend time with, reach out to acquaintances and ask them to join you for lunch or a coffee—you can always make new friends!     5    . For example, look for a local hiking group or a weekly board game club.

A．Cut out Internet use for a set period each week.

B．Do a screen-free hobby for at least an hour a week.

C．Using technology right before bed can negatively affect sleep quality.

D．But, sometimes, using them too much can negatively affect our lives.

E．Create a clear division between Internet time and time for other things.

F．You can also join a club to spend more time on off line social activities.

G．So you don’t get interrupted or distracted by social media and the Internet.

7 . The idea of growing meat outside an animal has been around for a long time. In 1931, Winston Churchill wrote that by the 1980s“we shall escape the absurdity (荒谬) of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing, by growing these parts separately under a suitable medium.” It seems that his predictions are beginning to materialise. Due to the rising global demand for meat, the world turns to cultured meat to overcome the environmental problems of traditional animal agriculture.

The science behind cultured meat is fairly well established. A sample of cells is first taken from a live animal and these cells are fed growth medium that enables them to grow and divide, allowing trillions of cells to be produced from a small sample. Once enough cells have been produced, they are turned into developed muscle and fat cells through a certain process. Standard food processing technologies are then used to form the final product—meat.

Investors have responded optimistically, with cultured meat start-ups raising over$125 million since 2015 and investments growing by 85% between 2017 and 2018. High profile backers include Bill Gates, Richard Branson and Google co-founder Serge y Brin, who helped fund(资助) the first cultured burger in 2013.

Despite this optimism, cultured meat still has a long way to go before it appears on our dinner tables. The first cultured burger famously cost $280,000 to produce and, though costs have come down considerably since then, the price of production remains a challenge. Another major challenge facing the cultured meat industry is government regulation. No legal right has yet approved cultured meat for consumption.

Josh Tetrick, CEO of JUST, has claimed that the company’s cultured chicken nuggets have been ready for small scale (规模) commercialisation since 2018. However, Uma Valeti, CEO of Memphis Meats, has emphasized the importance of taking time to get the release right. Regardless of companies’intentions, it is unlikely that cultured meat will find its way onto supermarket soon. Instead the first products will likely appear in selected restaurants in a limited release, reserved for the more adventurous and wealthy diners.

1. What does the underlined word “materialise” in paragraph 1 mean?

A．come near

B．come true

C．become clear

D．take action

2. What is true about cultured meat?

A．Cultured meat results in growing environmental problems.

B．Cultured meat is produced with the help of cells from animals.

C．Cultured meat tastes similar to the traditional meat from animals.

D．Cultured meat is ready to be put in market in large numbers.

3. What’s the author’s purpose in writing Para 3?

A．To show investors felt confident in the future of cultured meat.

B．To show investors earned much money from the selling of cultured meat.

C．To show investors invested much money in the making of cultured meat.

D．To show investors contributed a lot to the first cultured meat.

4. Which of the following is the best title?

A．Cultured Meat: Just Around the Corner?

B．Cultured Meat: A Challenge to Take up?

C．Meat Production: In Lab or in Farm?

D．Meat Production: To Be a Problem?

8 . 假定你是李华，你校英语报正在征集“最受学生喜欢的歌曲”活动。请你给校报编辑写一封邮件，根据个人体会，推荐一首歌曲，内容包括：
1.介绍歌曲信息（包括歌名、类型、歌词大意等…）
2.你推荐的理由
注意：
1.词数不少于80字；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯
参考词汇：旋律 melody；节奏 rhythm；歌词 lyrics
Dear editor,
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

9 . Luminous Soul

This project encourages disabled people to feel contemporary dance and to consider the possibility that with training they could become professional. Helen is one of the project’s real success students. “For me, I’ve got loads out of this. I have actually decided to go back and study dance as a mature student at Belfast Metropolitan College, because I want to keep going further and further with it.” Helen said.

Imagine Action

Imagine Action brings together sport and art. Over three years the project has trained 75 young people in drama, dance and song. One participant, Erin Quinn, was a shy 13-year-old girl when she began, but three years later she has grown in confidence hugely and is hoping to make a career in drama. “I had an interest in music, but nothing compared to sports, and then I found Imagine Action,” Erin said.

Falkirk’s Future Stars

Falkirk’s Future Stars is about inspiring local athletes to achieve their potential by putting them into a class or club environment. Alistair Fraser is a young basketball player taking part in this project. Alistair said, “After I got involved with the programme I gained a lot of confidence not just in my basketball but as a person who could go out into the local community and speak to children about my story, and see how it inspired them in their sport or other activities.”

Challenge Your Boundaries

This mountain biking project for disabled riders provides equipment, coaching and leadership to enable a wider group of riders to hit the trail (上路). The project manager Graham O’Hanlong is carrying out a series of guided rides for disabled riders. Graham said, “The project is about promoting participation. It is also concerned with providing coaching opportunities and quality outdoor experiences.”

1. The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 1 refers to __________.

A．college

B．the project

C．dancing

D．the story

2. Alistair’s words show that __________.

A．he achieves personal growth after the programme

B．he performs pretty well when he’s in a class or club

C．he becomes an excellent player in the community

D．he encourages young children to play basketball

3. What do Luminous Soul and Challenge Your Boundaries have in common?

A．Both offer students outdoor experience.

B．Both are for professionals.

C．Both connect sport with art.

D．Both are designed for the disabled.

10 . 即使在她的弥留之际，她最后惦念的仍然是他人。（汉译英）
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