Rabindranath Tagore, born on May 7, 1861 in India, was a Bengali     1    , short-story writer, song composer, playwright, essayist, and painter who introduced new prose and verse forms and the     2     of colloquial language into Bengali literature, thereby freeing it from traditional     3     based on classical Sanskrit. He was highly influential in introducing Indian     4     to the West and vice versa, and he is generally regarded as the outstanding creative artist of early 20th-century India. In 1913 he became the first non-European to receive the Nobel Prize for     5    .

William Shakespeare, also     1     as “Bard of Avon”, lived from about 1564, up to 1616 in England. He is     2     as the greatest of all English writers of all times. His extant works     3     of 39 plays, 154 sonnets, 2 long narrative poems, and a few other shorter verses. However he is     4     mostly for his dramas that have transcended time in the truest sense. The plays of Shakespeare have been     5     into almost all languages of the world, and are the inspirations behind a whole gamut of performing arts.

I _____ (excite) last few days. I just can't wait to start my senior high school. To quickly _____ (get used to), I've done _____ (as...as, research) and managed to collect a wealth of information. Besides, I told myself to _____ (habit, shape). I expect to _____ (friend, judge) in the new school.

How are you _____ (get along)? Please write and tell me.

Yours,

Li Hua

Fishing is one of the most     1     (strike) drivers of declines (降低) in ocean wildlife populations. Catching fish is not naturally bad for the ocean and without doubt     2     (accept), except when boats catch fish faster than stocks (储备) can catch up, something called overfishing.

The damage done by overfishing goes     3     (超出……范围) the needless loss of billions of fish. The number of overfished stocks     4     (global) has increased a lot in half a century and today one-third of the world’s fisheries are being pushed over their biological limits, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. It is shown by a new study that more than one-third of all sharks and rays are now at risk of     5     (extinct) because of overfishing.

Overfishing is closely tied to bycatch — the catch of unwanted sea life while fishing for a specific species. This, too, is a serious marine (海洋的) threat that     6     (导致) the needless loss of billions of fish.

Billions of people rely on fish for protein, and fishing is the main livelihood for millions of people     7     (全世界).     8     (因此), governments and regional fisheries bodies must     9     (采取行动) now to stop overfishing and prevent a global crisis. To our relief, many people who make a living by catching and selling fish are working to promote how the world manages and protects ocean resources. WWF works with a lot of organisations to reform fishery management     10     (在全世界), focusing on sustainable (可持续的) practices that not only protect ecosystems, but also sustain livelihoods and ensure food security.

New Year’s celebrations are a little bit different all around the world. They are celebrated with different c    1     and special foods.

In the United States, celebrations usually begin on December 31, or New Year’s E    2    , and continue into January 1, the first day of the new year. Black-eyed peas, ham (火腿), and cabbage (卷心菜) are traditional dishes to serve on New Year’s Day. They are s    3     of good luck. The Dutch often eat doughnuts (油炸圈饼) to welcome the New Year. Because doughnuts are shaped like a circle, they are thought to r    4     the completion of a cycle — the beginning of a new year and the ending of the previous year. In Japan, people eat long noodles for celebration. Eating these noodles without breaking them symbolizes long life. In Spain, there is the t    5     of eating 12 grapes at midnight. This marks successful grape harvests of the past and the hope for more in the future.

One of the most colorful New Year’s celebrations takes place in China. The Chinese New Year is determined by the l    6     calendar. The festival lasts about two weeks. During this time, towns are d    7     with colorful     8     (灯笼) and flowers. People     9    (彻底地) clean their homes to symbolize getting rid of (去除) the misfortunes of the previous year, and dumplings are eaten as a traditional food.

SOHO working style is advanced and should be encouraged.     1    , working at home instead of office is cost-efficient to the whole society. It can save a lot of unnecessary costs. The employers no longer have to pay for Internet use, electricity and other expenses related to the office daily work.     2    , the SOHOs do not need to wake up early every morning just for taking the bus. They can spend longer time in sleeping than before, which will make them energetic at work. I think working at a flexible time schedule is beneficial to us to balance between family and work.     3    , this working style should be encouraged.

Not everyone can be a freelancer.     4    , being a freelancer requires some special qualities, such as self-control, perseverance, commitment to the plan and the like.     5    , I think not everyone can be a freelancer.     6    , being self-employed is not easy. Although this kind of lifestyle is attractive to a lot of people, it is also a riskier proposition than working at a traditional job.

The Bay Airline offers a    1     craft-making videos in their p    2     flights, which arise massively and l    3     take the on-board passengers’ breath away. Despite a    4     scenery outside, the s    5     in the videos are bound to the h    6     of the flight journeys including the waxen drilling g    7     and grizzly bears like frozen animals at the p    8     of the Great Mountain Wind. It can be a    9     how much they will a    10     customers in the mall if those things are also shown there. C    11     to the videos with a    12    , those on board p    13     not to owe the passengers but only t    14    the spectacular craft men like p    15     no matter how long it t    16    , how hard it frosts for the d    17    on board. The p    18    , the border, the harbour, the q    19    , and the s    20     where the planes fly can all witness the sincerity of the Bay Airline.

71-year-old Guan Jingxue, a native of Benxi, Liaoning Province, started running in a playground near a factory with the aim of     1     (增强他的免疫系统) years ago. At the time, few people in China went     2     (jog) in groups to keep fit. It was then that Guan found that members of a running group often     3     (gather) in the playground for training, and he finally joined them. At the first six months, he found it difficult to     4     (跟上) the others. However, with his effort over a long time he slowly felt quite comfortable with the pace (步调) of their training. Every day he     5     (提醒) himself that he     6     (应该) keep on. After years of training he could finish long-distance running at a fast speed.

Three years earlier, Guan went to Beijing to take care of his granddaughter, where he joined Yuandadu Marathon Club. Being a runner, he spent little on     7     (装备). He just pressed on to improve himself and began to     8     (报名) for the     9     (每年的) Beijing Marathon. In the 2019 Beijing Marathon, Guan     10     (惊人地) finished second among those over 65.