On Sunday, Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia shocked the running world by breaking the women’s world record for the marathon by over two minutes. Assefa finished the Berlin Marathon in just 2 hours, 11 minutes, and 53 seconds.
But Assefa’s record was far beyond what most people expected. After all, it was only her third time running a marathon.
“I wanted to break the marathon world record,” she said, “But I couldn’t imagine that it would result in a time under 2:12.”
When Assefa was younger, she started by running short races, called sprints. Then she became a middle-distance runner, running the 800 meters (half mile) race. Her best time in the 800 meters was 1 minute and 59 seconds.
Last March, she ran her first marathon. Then last September, she entered the Berlin Marathon. She won, and set a new women’s record for the course, finishing in 2:15:37.
This year, she ran almost four minutes faster than she did last year. In both races, Assefa ran faster in the second half of the race than she did in the first half.
Her time of 2:11:53 was over two minutes faster than the old women’s record (2:14:04), which was set in Chicago in 2019 by Brigid Kosgei of Kenya.
When she finished the race, Assefa kneeled down and kissed the pavement before raising her arms in victory.
Though Assefa made it look easy, she said winning the race “…was the result of hard work.” Assefa was coached by Gemedu Dedefo, who has helped train many Ethiopian star runners.
1. What is Assefa’s latest record for the marathon?| A．2:11:53. | B．2:14:04. | C．2:15:37. | D．1:59:00. |
| A．It is what she expected. | B．It is a piece of cake for her. |
| C．It is due to great effort. | D．It is because of her coach. |
| A．Talented. | B．Friendly. | C．Humorous. | D．Warm-hearted. |
| A．Dedefo Helps to Train Many Star Runners |
| B．Kosgei Holds the Women’s Marathon Record |
| C．Assefa Sets a Good Example to Other Runners |
| D．Assefa Breaks the Women’s Marathon Record |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Writing competitions for students
Jane Austen Society of North America Essay Contest
Are you a Jane Austen fan? Or do you simply love Sense and Sensibility and want to write a piece of writing about it? If either applies, you might consider taking part in this competition. Each year, the competition asks participants (参赛者) to write a piece of writing in which they analyze (分析) and make an argument about a novel by Jane Austen. It provides cash awards for the top three.
Bennington College Young Writers Awards
Bennington College has a strong history of developing writers. It’s produced twelve Pulitzer Prize winners and many New York Times bestsellers. This writing competition is divided into three types: poems, fiction, and non-fiction. Besides offering cash awards to winners, winners who are accepted by Bennington College are also awarded a huge amount of money to help them finish their education.
VSA Playwright Discovery Program Competition
Participants may present a script (剧本) exploring the disability experience. Scripts may include plays, screenplays or musical theater. The script may be finished by a group of students or written by one disabled person, but the group must include at least one member with a disability. Winners will be chosen to attend the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. And they will receive professional help in developing their scripts.
Engineer Girl Writing Contest
Aimed at increasing young women’s interest in engineering, the competition asks students to present works relating to engineering in our everyday life. Though the name of the organization is “Engineer Girl”, any student can take part in the competition. At every grade level, first-place winners will receive $500, second-place winners will receive $250, and third-place winners will receive $100.
1. What should the participants of the first contest do?| A．Share their writing skills with others. |
| B．Leave comments on the best-selling books. |
| C．Correct the mistakes in Jane Austen’s works. |
| D．Express their views on Jane Austen’s works. |
| A．It focuses on disabled people. |
| B．It has lots of competition topics. |
| C．It offers huge cash awards to the top winners. |
| D．It provides participants with chances to meet excellent actors. |
| A．Engineer Girl Writing Contest. |
| B．Bennington College Young Writers Awards. |
| C．VSA Playwright Discovery Program Competition. |
| D．Jane Austen Society of North America Essay Contest. |
【推荐2】Walking and running are great ways to improve your health. Special walking and running events are held every year in the United States, providing the perfect opportunity to volunteer some time, set exercise goals and make new friends.
Breath Deep 5K Walk for LUNGevity
April 23, 2022 in Columbia, Maryland
In memory of Dr. Clement B. Knight, the walking event is organized to raise money for the LUNGevity Foundation to fund lung cancer research. Dr. Knight, who died on August 9, 2012, at the age of 62, has been recognized in the Guide to Top Physicians for many years. Lung cancer is the top cancer killer in the United States, killing about 160,000 people every year.
Bright Beginnings 5K Race
April 30, 2022 in Washington
Bright Begimnings 5K Race raises funds that help provide education, heath, and family services free of charge for homeless babies, preschoolers and their families in Washington. Participants will receive T-shirts, running bags, food and water.
Red Shoe 5K Run&Walk
May 1, 2022 in Herndon,Virginia
Ronald McDonald House Charities aims to raise money to improve the physical and behavioral health of children. The family-friendly Red Shoe 5K Run &Walk organized by Ronald McDonald House Charities is for racers, leisure walkers and runners. Kids can get community service hours.
Race for Hope
May 3, 2022 in Washington
This is a 5K walk/run with the goal of raising $1.5 million to fund brain tumor (脑瘤) research and families affected by the disease. Money raised by the event will benefit two non-profit organizations — the Brain Tumor Society and Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure. The race includes Kids’ Fun Run and the Wall of Hope, in honor of brain tumor survivors.
1. What is the purpose of Breath Deep 5K Walk for LUNGevity?| A．To help Clement B. Knight with his study. |
| B．To offer help to those suffering from a brain tumor. |
| C．To improve people’s health in Maryland. |
| D．To raise money for lung cancer research. |
| A．Anyone wanting to stay in shape. | B．All runners and walkers. |
| C．Members from Race for Hope. | D．Children with health problems. |
| A．They all take place in Washington. | B．They are all intended for children. |
| C．They are all for charity. | D．They all contribute to cancer research. |
【推荐3】On Nov 20, the world’s biggest international soccer tournament(大赛) kicked off in Qatar, in which 32 national teams compete with each other for about a month. Different from previous World Cups, is the first held in the northern hemisphere(北半球) during winter. Does the change influence players and fans?
European Leagues face challenges
FIFA’s decision to move this year’s World Cup may upset European Leagues. Teams in European Leagues usually play their seasons from August to the following May. During the last two months, they would be busy with domestic(国内的) competitions and group matches in the Champions and Europa League. But to prepare for the World Cup in the winter, many soccer clubs in Europe could face a six-week shutdown to provide players with enough time to recover. During this time, fans will be upset about the delay of domestic soccer matches.
Is a “black horse” likely to appear?
The answer is “yes”. Though the weather gets cooler in the winter, the conditions in Qatar are challenging for some teams. Take some players from European teams for example. They must transition(过渡) from much colder playing conditions, which will increase their sweat loss and influence their performance.
But this influence will likely not change the final result.
“This yeas World Cup falls on the world stop leagues’ mid-season. That means players are coming into this World Cup after playing 25 games. So they will be arriving fresh and excited. Their energy is going to beat the top level,” former England captain David Beckham told the AI Jazeera website. He added that the players from the elite(精英的) soccer clubs will perform better.
Watching matches with coldness
Traditionally, many Chinese soccer fans gather together in restaurants in the summer, with beer and peanut. But now the matches are in the deep night during winter, with the cold weather making it hard for friends to gather to watch matches together. To solve the problem, some Chinese soccer fans joked on the internet that hotpot restaurants maybe the best places to watch the World Cup.
1. Why is this year World Cup different from others?| A．It’s the first held in Qatar. |
| B．Up to 32 national teams compete in it. |
| C．It takes place in the winter of the northern hemisphere. |
| D．It lasts longer than before. |
| A．They have to call off domestic matches to build up the players’ strength. |
| B．More fans will lose interest in their matches. |
| C．They will provide more money to train their players. |
| D．Many players won’t perform well as usual. |
| A．The final result will be greatly changed. |
| B．Some players will perform beyond their level. |
| C．Weather won’t have any effect on players’ performance. |
| D．The time for this year World Cup is most suitable for players. |
【推荐1】A librarian in Indonesia's Java Island is lending books to children in exchange for rubbish they collect in a novel way to clean up the environment and get the kids to read more. Each weekday, Raden Roro Hendarti rides her three-wheeler with books stored up at the back for children in Muntang village in exchange for plastic cups, bags and other waste that she carries back.
She told Reuters she is helping develop reading habits of the kids as well as make them aware of the environment. As soon as she shows up, little children, many accompanied by their mothers, surround her "Rubbish Library" and ask for the books. They are all carrying rubbish bags and Raden's three-wheeler quickly fills up with them as the books fly out. She is happy that the kids are going to spend less time on online games as a result.
Raden said,“Let us build a culture of literacy（读写能力）from young age to reduce the harm of the online world. We should also take care of our waste in order to fight climate change and to save the earth from rubbish.”She collects about 100 kilograms of waste each week, which is then sorted out by her colleagues and sent for recycling or sold. She has a stock of 6,000 books to lend.
Kevin Alamsyah, an eager 1l-year-old reader, searches for waste lying in the village. “When there is too much rubbish, our environment will become dirty. That's why I look for rubbish to borrow a book,”he says.
The literacy rate for above-15-year-olds in Indonesia has been around 96 percent, though a report by the World Bank warned that the pandemic(流行病)would leave more than 80% of15-year-olds below the minimum(最低的）reading level.
1. What does Raden bring to the children every time?| A．Cups. | B．Bags. | C．Rubbish. | D．Books. |
| A．The rubbish bags. | B．The mothers. |
| C．The kids. | D．The books. |
| A．Strict. | B．Honest. | C．Helpful. | D．Beautiful. |
| A．To make himself tidy. |
| B．To protect the environment. |
| C．To get along with Raden. |
| D．To improve his reading level. |
【推荐2】After being attacked by Hurricane Ida’s 150 mph winds and torrential rains, hundreds of thousands of Gulf Coast residents were left without power and fresh water this week as a 100-degree heat wave settled over the region. Ida smashed into Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane, ripping off roofs, knocking out transmission lines, flooding roads, and reducing some brick buildings in downtown New Orleans to rubble. At least eight people died in the storm and the toll is expected to rise as emergency workers search wrecked homes and businesses.
One of the most powerful hurricanes to ever hit the U.S. mainland, Ida brought a 5 to 12-foot storm surge that covered low-lying communities in southeastern Louisiana. Grand Isle is now “uninhabitable,” said Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng, with 3 feet of sand covering the entire barrier island and 40 percent of the buildings completely destroyed.
The storm caused a citywide blackout in New Orleans, but a Hurricane Katrina-level disaster was avoided there, thanks in part to the $ 14.5 billion spent on new levees, seawalls, and pumps after the 2005 storm. Experts are warning that Ida could worsen the Covid crisis in the Gulf Coast, as residents crowd together in homes and emergency shelters without immediate access to testing or medical care. ICUs in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama hospitals were already near capacity be- fore the storm hit. Nearly 1 million people are still without power across Louisiana, and authorities waned it could be weeks before electricity is restored. “If you have already evacuated,” said Gov. John Bel Edwands, “do not return here.”
1. Which of the following best describes Hurricane Ida?| A．Mild. | B．Destructive. | C．Uncontrollable. | D．Impressive. |
| A．The death number. | B．The heat wave. |
| C．The wind speed. | D．The citywide blackout. |
| A．The entire island is covered with sand. | B．It is one of the low-lying communities. |
| C．The residents there can't wait to leave. | D．Over half of its buildings were in ruins. |
| A．Ambitious | B．Undoubted. | C．Indifferent. | D．Unconfident. |
【推荐3】When Naomi Fisher took her eight-year-old son to the country park in Birmingham where she spent much of her childhood exploring with her friends, he asked why he was not allowed to go off by himself.
“I couldn’t even give a good reason why not. It’s just not done any more, nobody lets their kids do that,” said Fisher, a community architect. “I had some conversations and it seemed my generation had all experienced that kind of play from seven or eight years old and yet it had virtually disappeared.”
Fisher’s experience is not uncommon. A survey published this week reported that children typically are not allowed to play outside on their own until two years older than their parents’ generation were.
Soon after, with the help of her friend, they set up Roam, a first of its kind charity running sessions to help children with safe, unsupervised (无人监督的) play outside. At each session, up to 15 children, all under-12s, are given some ground rules-they must stay in groups of at least three at all times, for instance-before being allowed to roam (玩耍) alone for up to two hours.
Volunteers keep tabs on them and count numbers on a regular basis, but do not interfere. They also run sessions with more supervision for younger children and those with additional needs. “A lot of our families have said they’ve seen that their children’s capabilities are much better than they thought,” said Fisher.
When Roam surveyed parents, it found that although road danger and safety fears were a key reason behind why many did not let their children play alone. “The more important reason was that parents felt their child would stand out and their parenting would be judged,” said Fisher. “My biggest fear at the pilot sessions was that a member of the public might approach the children and say: ‘You’re way too young to be your own.’”
1. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Parents giving a good reason. |
| B．Children playing outside on their own. |
| C．Children exploring with their parents. |
| D．Parents communicating with their children. |
| A．It offers children academic sessions. |
| B．It disciplines children to stay inside. |
| C．It helps children display better abilities. |
| D．It involves more supervision for older kids. |
| A．They feel their children are too outstanding. |
| B．They worry about children’s incompetence. |
| C．They fear negative judgment on their parenting. |
| D．They believe their children will break traffic laws. |
| A．How a community architect manages to found a charity. |
| B．What children’s independent play means to their health. |
| C．What parents should do to let go of their parenting plan. |
| D．How a charity helps children gain the right to play alone. |
【推荐1】“It’s my last World Cup, surely.”Messi told ESPN in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.Lionel Messi was born on 24 June1987.He is a famous soccer player from Argentina who plays with FC Barcelona.
Messi is admired in the soccer community for his excellent dribbling skills and goal scoring. Growing up, Messi had two older brothers with whom he played soccer.At the age of eight, Messi joined the Newell’s Old Boys soccer club in his town. Unfortunately, three years later he got a disease that stopped his growth and need expensive medicine to help.Luckily, when Messi was 13 years old, he was offered a position on the La Masia team.This was an academy (学院) for young soccer players.The academy also offered to pay for his medication (医疗).With that, Messi started playing with the academy.
Messi is truly committed to FC Barcelona and his Argentinian National Team as he has only played with them throughout his entire soccer career.When Messi was16 years old, he became the youngest player to score a goal for FC Barcelona. From there, Messi continued to improve his skills. In 2009, Messi contributed greatly to his team winning three European club titles, all in the same season. 2012 was a fantastic year for Messi. He was given the title of Barcelona’s all-time top scorer for his excellent performance. By that time, Messi had won world player of the year four times.
Off the field, Messi is also a man of good character. He set up his own organization in order to help children who need special care. Messi even set up a charity called UNICEF which helps children across the world. In 2020, Messi donated a large amount of money to hospitals in Argentina and Spain so that they could help treat coronavirus patients.
1. What do we know about Messi from paragraph 2?| A．He started to play soccer at an early age. |
| B．He got a serious ill at the age of eight. |
| C．He joined the school soccer club. |
| D．He was offered a position in the town club. |
| A．Messi’s childhood. |
| B．Messi’s good character. |
| C．Messi’s life in Barcelona. |
| D．Messi’s achievements in soccer career. |
| A．Honest. | B．Caring. | C．Humorous. | D．Determined. |
| A．Lionel Messi—A Living Legend of Sports |
| B．Lionel Messi—A Man of Fine Character |
| C．Lionel Messi-A Football Lover |
| D．Lionel Messi—FC Barcelona’s Best Player |
【推荐2】Born in California and representing the United States before switching to China, teenager Gu Ailing decided to represent China in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
The 17-year-old is a freeskier and Grade-A student with an American father and Chinese mother. She grew up and still lives in the United States, but in June 2019 she made the “quite difficult” decision to compete for China. She wrote on Instagram that she was “proud of my heritage and equally proud of my American upbringing”.
As for the decision to compete on behalf of China, she said it is “a valuable opportunity to help inspire millions of young people in China where my mom was born.”
Gu graduated from a San Francisco high school in 2020. It is reported that she scored 1,580 points out of a maximum 1,600 in the SAT, and has been offered a place at Stanford.
Gu started learning to ski at the age of 3, competed in national competitions at 9 and won her first World Cup event at 15. She won two gold medals and a silver at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne, Switzerland. On Jan, 30th, 2021, Gu made her debut at the X Games in Aspen, Colorado and won two golds and a bronze. In the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, she achieved great success—two golds and a silver.
“My goal is to win Olympic gold,” she said before the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
“It’s the top achievement. And that would be rewarding for all the work that I’ve done to achieve greatness in the sport.” Her efforts finally paid off.
1. What do we know about Gu Ailing?| A．She grew up in China. | B．She is an average student. |
| C．She will graduate from a high school. | D．She decided to compete for China. |
| A．Helpful and knowledgeable. | B．Modest and hard-working. |
| C．Clever and ambitious. | D．Creative and confident. |
| A．Gu Ailing had great achievements as a freeskier. |
| B．Gu Ailing began training when she was young. |
| C．Gu Ailing learned to do snow sports in China. |
| D．Gu Ailing won her first World Cup event at 15. |
| A．Gu Ailing-An American Freeskier |
| B．Gu Ailing-A Stanford Graduate |
| C．Gu Ailing-A Talented Chinese Freeskier |
| D．Gu Ailing-A World Cup Champion |
【推荐3】In the winter of 1953, a powerful jump from a Chinese woman attracted world attention. Twenty-year-old Chinese athlete Zheng Fengrong broke the women’s high jump world record with a leap of 1.77 meters in a Beijing athletic meet on November 17, 1957. The new record, the first women’s world record for the People’s Republic of China, was one centimeter higher than the old mark held by American Mildred McDaniel. The jump also made Zheng the first Asian athlete to break a world track and field record since 1936.
The record jump, although by a tiny margin, was described by the foreign media as “an explosive jump” because it created China’s first athletic world record. Called “a spring swallow awakening Chinese sports,” Zheng sent a message to the world that China was no longer the “sick man of the East”.
Born in the spring city of Jinan, Shandong Province, Zheng, who stands at 1.70 meters, has a good physique (体型)and a skillful scissor-sharp jump which was seldom seen among top jumpers in the world. She once leapt 1.78 meters, a national record in 1963.
She claimed a well-merited place in sporting history when her achievement was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. Due to her contribution to athletics, Zheng was awarded a series of honors. She was named among the nation’s greatest athletes in 1984.
1. When did Zheng break the women’s high jump world record?| A．in 1936 | B．in 1957 | C．in 1963 | D．in 1984 |
| A．Zheng Fengrong. | B．Guinness. |
| C．Mildred McDaniel. | D．Zheng’s best friend. |
| A．her contribution to athletics | B．her height |
| C．her hard work on study | D．her love for poor people |
| A．Zheng Fengrong’s life story | B．The athletic history of China |
| C．A happy family in Shandong | D．Zheng Fengrong’s achievement in athletics |
