Soccer has long been a popular pastime around the world. According to the Bleacher Report on the Most Popular Sports in 2020, soccer is the most followed sport in 93 countries and areas with a combined population of 2 billion. How did the most popular game on earth begin?
Records of soccer games date back to more than 2,000 years ago in Greece and China, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Chinese cuju was one of the earliest forms of soccer, first mentioned during the Warring States Period(403-221 BC). In this ancient game, the players were not allowed the use of arms and hands. The goal was a net on bamboo sticks and the team with more goals won. The game's balls were made of leather and stuffed with hair or fur.
In 14th and 15th century Europe, “folk soccer” was usually played on Easter. Whole villages would compete against one another by kicking, throwing or carrying a leather or wooden ball across city streets, streams, fields and gateways into a “portal” of the opposing village's church. These games had few rules and were violent.
The modem form of soccer appeared in mid-19th century England. Attempts to standardize soccer's rules of play were made at the University of Cambridge as early as 1843. Twenty years later, meetings with clubs from London and surrounding counties resulted in printed rules for the game, which forbade carrying the ball.
As soccer spread throughout Europe by the early 20th century, the game was in need of international organization. This led to the founding of FIFA in 1904 with the cooperation of soccer associations from seven European countries. There are now more than 200 national soccer teams with official FIFA membership, which is more than the number of actual independent countries in the world. This is because teams that became members in the past are allowed to stay on. For example, England and Scotland are two separate FIFA members.
1. What can we learn about "Cuju" from the passage?| A．It was brought in from Greece. |
| B．Its ball was made from bamboo sticks. |
| C．It shared some key similarities to modern soccer. |
| D．It was introduced into Greece over 2000 years ago. |
| A．In 1843. | B．In 1863. | C．In the 14th century. | D．In the early 20th century. |
| A．To explain how FIFA was founded. | B．To compare soccer in different countries. |
| C．To encourage more people to play soccer. | D．To introduce the origin and development of soccer. |
A． | B． |
C． | D． |
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【推荐1】Every Saturday morning, at 9 am, more than 50, 000 runners set off to run 5km around their local park. The Parkrun phenomenon began with a dozen friends and has inspired 400 events in the UK and more abroad. The events are free, staffed by thousands of volunteers. Runners range from four years old to grandparents; their times range from Andrew Baddeley’s world record of 13 minutes 48 seconds up to an hour.
Parkrun is succeeding where London’s Olympic “legacy (传承)” is failing. Ten years ago on Monday, it was announced that the Games of the 30th Olympics would be to inspire a nation of sport lovers away from their couches (沙发). The population would be fitter, healthier and produce more winners. It has not happened. Officials are still wondering why London Olympics failed to “inspire a generation”. The success of Parkrun offers answers.
Parkrun is not a race but a time trial: Your only competitor is the clock. This kind of sport welcomes anybody. Both new runners and champion runners can have a lot of fun. The Olympic Games, by contrast, wanted to produce more elite athletes. The stress on success kept newcomers from taking part.
In fact, state involvement in planning community sports associations is a bit overdone. If there is a role for government, it should really be getting involved in providing common goods — making sure there is space for playing fields and the money to build tennis and netball courts, and encouraging all these activities in schools. But all the while governments have been busy with selling green spaces, taking money from local authorities and declining attention on sports in education. Instead of wordy, worthy strategies, future governments need to do more to provide the conditions for sports to develop, or at least not make them worse.
1. What does the author want to show about Parkrun in the first paragraph?| A．Its history. | B．Its difficulty. | C．Its popularity. | D．Its development. |
| A．It promoted national sport participation. |
| B．It didn’t bring citizens the expected benefits. |
| C．It helped popularize the Parkrun movement. |
| D．Its organizers found the answer to the failure in the Games. |
| A．Intelligent. | B．Brave. | C．Excellent. | D．Healthy. |
| A．Sell or take up green spaces. |
| B．Pay less attention to sports in education. |
| C．Organize community sports associations. |
| D．Provide the right conditions for sports to develop. |
【推荐2】Setting a new personal max is a great way to chart your progress toward your fitness goals.
Exercise physiologist and Ironman coach Alan Couzens is rich in his experience working with athletes.
In addition to these long,slow miles, you’ll want to add to some more traditional“VO2 max”workouts, which feature short bursts of high-intensity work at 90-95% of your maximum heart rate.
However,although it can be attractive (and feel good) to push yourself every time you exercise，high-intensity intervals(间歇)should only contain a small percentage of your overall workout routine.
| A．So what’s the easiest way to do that? |
| B．What is the VO max that is accepted during exercise? |
| C．He has had a well-known post in a blog for SimpliFaster. |
| D．These short, intense bursts will help further push your body’s abilities. |
| E．There are two general strategies that are helpful for improving your VO2Max. |
| F．If your performance improves, that’s a sign that your VO max has improved too. |
| G．If you are preparing for a race,for example, you want to avoid overdoing them too soon. |
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
Canyoning (蹦谷运动)
The sports of canyoning explore the high-energy environment where water meets rock on the coast. Protected by wetsuits and helmets (头盔), people jump from cliffs (悬崖) and waterfalls and discover caves that would not normally be arrived at.
It was first done in the U.K. by TYF Adventure (01437 721611, www.tyf.com) and several thousand people jump from the cliffs near St David’s each year. A half day canyoning trip costs ￡50 (￡30 for children under 16).
Diving (潜水)
Diving is not popular with British people. The difficulties of wild waters are greater because the water is colder and not clear enough, but the coasts of Cornwall, Wales and Scotland have some of the best diving in the world.
The British Sub Aqua Club (0870 112 9133, www.bsac.com) and the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (01580 819688, www.padi.com) run courses teaching the important skills.
Surfing (冲浪)
The best surfing places in the UK are on the southwest coast where it is warmer, especially in Cornwall. The best time of year to surf in the UK is late summer and autumn when water temperatures are warmer.
The British Surfing Association (01479 861256, www.britsurf.co.uk) has a list of famous surf schools around the country.
Rock climbing
The most popular natural rocks in Britain include the Peak District, the Lake District, while large areas of Scotland are a climber’s ideal place. Climbing courses and climbing walls can be found on the website of the British Mountaineering Council (0870 010 4878, www.thebmc.co.uk) which offers a series of short films that take the new climber through a step-by-step guide to visiting a climbing wall for the first time.
1. If a couple with their child of 15 join in Canyoning for a day, they will pay ______.
| A．￡130 | B．￡160 | C．￡260 | D．￡320 |
| A．01479 861256 | B．0870 010 4878 |
| C．01437 721611 | D．0870 112 9133 |
| A．Canyoning. | B．Diving. |
| C．Surfing. | D．Rock climbing. |
【推荐1】In 1970, before he became a blues legend, Stevie Ray Vaughan was working as a dishwasher in Dallas. One of his jobs was cleaning out the trash bin. To do it, Vaughan had to stand on some large wooden barrels, which were for the kitchen crew to dump hot grease(油脂). One day, while he was cleaning, the top of a barrel suddenly gave and he fell in.
Luckily for Vaughan, it had been a while since last grease was dumped, so the stuff had cooled and he was able to safely climb out of the barrel. However, the next day, Vaughan’s boss fired him for breaking the barrel. The young man could have been severely injured, but he lost his job for his trouble.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. National surveys suggest that burns, cuts, falls and other injuries are extremely common in the fast food industry, where underpaid people are placed under intense pressure to work quickly.
Then there’s wage theft—employers try to avoid paying workers what they’re legally entitled to. According to the Economic Policy Institute, lawyers together with federal and state agencies recovered at least $933 million for victims of wage theft in 2012 alone and that was just for the workers whose cases were successfully pursued.
People with power—employers, managers and owners of big and small businesses—quite often do mistreat their workers. And they do it because there are no consequences to fear and workers often can’t leave their job without putting their livelihood at risk. So they dare not speak out against the unfair treatment.
So we also need social institutions—a universal basic income, an allowance, a job guarantee, truly universal health care and more—that give workers an alternative to depending on incomes. And we need a strong labor movement that can punish employers if they don’t give workers their fair share and press the government to enforce the law.
1. Why was Vaughan able to escape serious injury?| A．The barrel did not have a cover. |
| B．His colleagues rescued him in time. |
| C．The temperature of the stuff in the barrel was low. |
| D．He immediately broke the barrel and ran away. |
| A．Employers treat their employees badly. |
| B．Employees may easily get injured at work. |
| C．Competition is fiercer in the fast food industry. |
| D．Employees fail to defend their rights through laws. |
| A．The potential consequences of wage theft. |
| B．The reasons for the phenomenon of wage theft. |
| C．The conflict between employers and employees. |
| D．The complaints from employees about wage theft. |
| A．Employees should work harder to improve incomes. |
| B．Vaughan was fired owing to his negative attitude to work. |
| C．It’s unnecessary for employees to be in conflict with employers. |
| D．Some measures should be taken to protect employees’ interests. |
【推荐2】True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it is lost.—Charles Caleb Colton.
Just like in any other relationship, arguments and fights are also a part of friendship. You will hardly find friends who have never fought with one another. Whatever the reason is, if a person feels that he is responsible for creating the differences, it is important that he apologizes to his friend.
Though you can use the email, text messages or chat for expressing your apology, the good old way of saying sorry to your friend through a letter will surely have a great effect on him. This will make your friend realize that your efforts of saying sorry are genuine and you really care for him.
Points to Remember:
Timing: Write the letter at the proper time.It is not advisable to put off it for too long.
Words: While writing the letter, what matters the most is that you truly feel sorry.
Sequence: Always begin by apologizing and saying sorry for your mistake. Then explain to him your side of the story. In the third and last paragraph, talk about what his friendship means to you and make a promise of not repeating the mistake.
Delivery: You can either post it or deliver the letter personally or through someone else. You can also keep it at a location where your friend will be able to find it easily.
Some people may try to point out the friend’s mistake while writing the letter. Avoid this completely, as it can make matters worse. The letter has to be brief and should only talk about the subject that has led to your apology. Keep patient and do not expect immediate results. In some cases, it may take time for the person to forgive and forget.
1. The saying in the first paragraph is used to ________ .| A．let readers study a famous saying | B．introduce the topic of the passage |
| C．show who is Charles Caleb Colton | D．tell readers the importance of friends |
| A．the email | B．text messages | C．chat online | D．letters |
| A．try to point out the friend’s mistake |
| B．make the letter long and interesting |
| C．begin by apologizing and saying sorry for your mistake |
| D．write the importance of your friendship in the first paragraph |
【推荐3】In a bid to reduce global electronic waste, Fairphone has created a smartphone that owners can repair themselves. What makes its technology so sustainable?
“This is my phone’s camera,” says Bas van Abel, co-founder of the Fairphone, holding a small, square component aloft. He has just removed it from his smartphone, using a tiny screwdriver.
“There are eight components in total which can be removed and replaced,” he says, as he carefully disassembles his entire smartphone, placing the camera alongside his phone battery, USB port, screen and loudspeaker.
Founded in 2013 in Amsterdam, Fairphone makes Android smartphones which can easily be exchanged, customized and repaired by their owners. By enabling and encouraging people to fix their phones, rather than throwing them away as soon as a component breaks, Fairphone hopes to help reduce electronic waste.
In 2022, 5.3 billion mobile phones were thrown away, the Belgian non-profit The WEEE Forum, which analyses electronic waste, estimates. In the US, people replace their phones every 18 months on average as new models with upgraded features are released. Most devices now come as sealed units that are extremely difficult and expensive to repair, or even produce error messages if damaged components are fixed.
Fairphone wants to break this trend by selling phones that have a longer working life.
Despite its ambition, Fairphone is still only a minor player in the mobile phone market ——since launching, it has sold around 550,000 devices. To put this into context, more than 232 million iPhones were sold worldwide in 2022. But van Abel says Fairphone is trying to prove that it is possible for companies to turn a profit selling sustainable smartphones.
Sustainability, however, comes with a high price tag. The latest Fairphone model costs £649. This is partly because Fairphone has to build everything in-house, according to van Abel. “We do all the software updates ourselves as there’s not one company in the world that supports long-lasting phones,” he says. “There’s a lot of investment needed for us to be able to do what we want to.”
1. What do we know about van Abel?| A．He was quite skillful in repairing mobile phones. |
| B．He created a smartphone that can repair itself. |
| C．He was satisfied with this sustainable smartphone. |
| D．He advocated recycling electronic products. |
| A．Because the functions of the phones needed to be upgraded. |
| B．Because old phones were not environmentally friendly. |
| C．Because they didn’t like using second-hand phones. |
| D．Because the data in the phones showed errors. |
| A．Its various products were deeply loved by consumers. |
| B．Its sales profit was higher than that of iPhone. |
| C．It required financial and technical support. |
| D．It encouraged people to purchase high-capacity smartphones. |
| A．Everything’s hard in the beginning. |
| B．No pains, no gains. |
| C．Love me, love my dog. |
| D．Kill two birds with one stone. |
