1 . Scientists are now digging into precisely why exercise holds so many benefits for our mental health and memory. The answer, studies say, lies in our brain chemistry.

Each time you work up a sweat, your body releases feel-good happy hormones (荷尔蒙), including endorphins, dopamine and endocannabinoids, the latter being responsible for the so-called runner’s high. Now researchers are also pointing to myokines (肌肉因子) as an important contributor to the mental health benefits of exercise. When our muscles contract, myokines are released into the bloodstream, helping your muscles and organs communicate. They think this communication increases resilience to stress, reduces symptoms of mental suffering and anxiety and has a direct effect on depression.

A 2021 scientific report published in Neuropharmacology showed evidence that myokines boost brain function, like improving memory and mood. “Myokines reduce systemic inflammation (炎症), which is especially beneficial for people with drug-resistant depression whose low mood is linked to high inflammation,” explains Dr Jennifer Heisz, an expert in brain health and associate professor in the department of kinesiology at McMaster University in Canada.

A recent study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine showed that treatment for depression can be much more effective when physical activity is added to the usual care. Participants found benefits after 12 weeks of exercising for 30 to 60 minutes a day. “While exercise is not a replacement for professional mental health treatment, physical activity can complement and enhance the effects of the treatment,” says lead researcher Ben Singh, a research fellow at the University of South Australia.

“It is amazing to consider how moving our bodies can heal our minds,” says Heisz. Whether you’re cycling, walking around your neighbourhood or doing yoga, getting sweaty is good for your body and mind. To get the biggest overall health boost, the key is to zero in on sports and activities you enjoy, so you’ll keep going back to them.

1. How do myokines boost our mental health?

A．By bonding muscles with organs.

B．By slowing down our bloodstream.

C．By contracting muscles through the body.

D．By releasing happy hormones in our brain.

2. What is Ben Singh’s attitude towards physical activity in treatment for depression?

A．Doubtful.	B．Negative.
C．Uncertain	D．Approving.

3. What does the underlined phrase “zero in on” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Adapt to.	B．Give up.
C．Focus on.	D．Put off.

4. How does the author develop the text?

A．By making comparisons.

B．By presenting research findings.

C．By offering suggestions.

D．By conducting some experiments.

2 . Tai chi, a traditional, slow-moving form of Chinese physical exercise, is known to increase flexibility and improve balance. New research has been conducted to determine whether tai chi has an influence on lowering blood pressure in people with prehypertension (高血压前期).

In the study, Chinese scientists put 342 adults with prehypertension into two groups. The average age of people taking part in the study was 49. About half the participants (参与者) took part in aerobic exercise, including jogging, climbing stairs and cycling. The other half was trained to practice tai chi. Both groups got hour-long exercises four times a week.

Nearly 22% of the people who practiced tai chi saw their blood pressure fall to be normal, compared with nearly 16% of people in the aerobic exercise group. And fewer patients in the tai chi group went on to develop high blood pressure than patients in the aerobic exercise group.

So what is it about tai chi that helps lower blood pressure? “The practice tends to get more of a response from the parasympathetic (副交感的) nervous system, which is the network of nerves that relaxes your body after periods of stress or danger,” says Ruth Taylor-Piliae, a professor at the University of Arizona’s College of Nursing.

“I think the beauty of tai chi is that you don’t have to have a special gym membership, you don’t have to have special clothing,” Taylor-Piliae says. “Once you learn tai chi, you can do it anytime and anyplace. And it does provide a calming and relaxing effect.”

Evidence suggests it can also help protect against cognitive fall and even improve memory. But you have to practice it continually to get the most benefit.

1. What is the function of paragraph 1?

A．To offer some examples.	B．To explain a definition.
C．To introduce the topic.	D．To give people suggestions.

2. What can we know about the participants in the study?

A．They were divided into two groups.	B．They suffered from heart disease.
C．They were 49 years old.	D．They got exercises five times a week.

3. What might Taylor-Piliae agree with about tai chi?

A．It can make people calm down.

B．It requires training and specialized equipment.

C．It has no influence on the parasympathetic nervous system.

D．It is suitable for individuals with aerobic exercise experience.

4. Which is the most suitable title for the text?

A．A Traditional Sport	B．The Benefits of Aerobic Exercise
C．Exploring Chinese Physical Exercise	D．Managing Blood Pressure with Tai Chi

3 . Starting a daily running routine needs determination. Looking back on my old running routine, it wasn’t so much the passion that affected my sticking to a regular schedule — but it was the environment. There had to be no rain pouring down, there had to be not many people on the basketball court and the ambient (周围的) temperature had to be just right. Or maybe I was just making an excuse for myself not to get up at 5 in the morning?

I was quite successful at doing so when I was 15 and when it was summer. When I was overweight, I ate more snacks than the actual full meals in a day, and I hardly got off the sofa. One summer day, I decided that it was time to put a stop to the idea that I was just the fat kid. I didn’t want to put in that box anymore. There was a tipping point (临界点) where inspiration happened, and discipline (自律) just took over from there. I needed to make sure that I ran 10 laps of the park a day — this was the contract (契约) I made with myself that summer. And if I achieved that, I knew I’d be closer to my goal of being just a kid with normal weight.

Ten laps, six days a week — sometimes no breakfast, hardly a bite at dinner, one snack a day—this lasted two months. I’d lost over 30 pounds that summer, which was roughly a quarter of my body weight. Some days, I didn’t have the motivation. But the contract I made with myself kept reminding me — if I’d break it, would I even bother making future self-contracts anymore? There were sleepy days, and there were days when I should have rested my trembling knees, but discipline won over them all.

1. What do we know about the author’s past running routine?

A．It was made by the author’s parents.	B．It mainly depended on the environment.
C．It referred to many people at site.	D．It failed in the end.

2. What can we infer from the fact that the author was overweight?

A．The author didn’t live a healthy lifestyle.

B．Summer is a season for people to be fat.

C．Good eating habits could make one put on weight.

D．Getting up late made him a fat kid.

3. Why did the author keep the contract that made with himself?

A．He felt looked down upon when he was fat.

B．He couldn’t find a right word to describe his size.

C．He made up his mind to achieve his goal of losing weight.

D．He was too fat to find the right size of clothes or shoes.

4. What can be the best title for the passage?

A．My Running Routine Was Affected by the Environment.

B．It Was Unpleasant to Be Overweight.

C．I Made a Contract on Running.

D．Discipline Helps Achieve My Goal.

4 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. What was the speaker’s feeling this morning?

A．Excited.

B．Tired.

C．Nervous.

2. What will take place after 9:00?

A．100-meter freestyle.

B．150-meter freestyle.

C．200-meter freestyle.

3. What was the speaker a little disappointed at?

A．The result of her competition.

B．Other swimmers’behaviors.

C．The judge’s instructions.

4. What was the score of the speaker’s team?

A．47 points.

B．50 points.

C．53 points.

5 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。

1. How long do the fitness classes in Italy last?

A．A week.

B．Two weeks.

C．Nearly a month

2. What is the two-week holiday in Greece aimed at?

A．Building up muscles.

B．Reducing stress.

C．Losing weight.

3. What makes the two-week holiday in Greece so special?

A．The equipment of the gym.

B．The place for the exercise classes.

C．The personalized diet programme.

4. Where is the mountain biking holiday offered?

A．In Ireland.

B．In France.

C．In Morocco.

6 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。

1. Who is the organizer of the football event?

A．A senior school.

B．The school football team.

C．The Education Council.

2. When will the football event be held?

A．From August I to August 7.

B．From August 11 to August 17.

C．From August 17 to August 20.

3. What do the speakers decide to do?

A．Practice football hard.

B．Join the school football team.

C．Learn football skills from other students.

7 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Why did Amy go to the contest?

A．To have some fun.

B．To win some money.

C．To prove her cooking skills.

2. How does Amy most probably feel now?

A．Regretful.

B．Upset.

C．Happy.

8 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. When does Gomez watch a football game on TV?

A．When the stadium is crowded.

B．When his friends are too busy.

C．When he fails to get a ticket.

2. How much did Gomez pay for the football game last time?

A．$ 20.

B．$25.

C．$50.

9 . Felicia Grimmenhag of Sweden doesn’t let anything get in her way — even a life-changing injury. After surviving a serious car accident, Felicia had to _________ getting around in a wheelchair. But it didn’t stop her from _________ her dream as a champion horseback rider and Paralympic (残奥会) hopeful.

Felicia was 17 when she was _________ by a car while riding her motorbike. Despite being legally dead for 15 minutes, she _________ pulled through. When she finally _________ three days later, she discovered her legs had disappeared. While this new reality would be a(n) _________ pill for anyone to take, Felicia focused all her energy on getting back on the horse! She’d _________ as a little girl and decided to try again. And shockingly, about 10 weeks after the _________, she was riding once again! “Horses have meant a lot to me, both _________ and also physically,” she told Great Big Story. “When I sit on a horse, I don’t feel like the __________ Felicia, but the horse-riding Felicia.”

Felicia has since taken part in competitions around the world, proving she doesn’t need __________ to win. In 2020, the 25-year-old won the silver at the Swedish Championships. Now she __________ to compete at the Paralympics! “What I have learned from all this is that you should dare to __________ yourself, and remember that it’s only you who sets your own __________,” she said.

It’s true that when you want something, all you need is the __________ and drive to achieve it.

1.

A．give up

B．worry about

C．adjust to

D．speak of

2.

A．forgetting

B．pursuing

C．losing

D．describing

3.

A．pick up

B．searched for

C．sent away

D．knocked down

4.

A．magically

B．immediately

C．logically

D．hopelessly

5.

A．rang up

B．stood up

C．woke up

D．turned up

6.

A．tough

B．additional

C．forbidden

D．acceptable

7.

A．swum

B．skated

C．cycled

D．ridden

8.

A．excuse

B．accident

C．mistake

D．conflict

9.

A．technically

B．biologically

C．mentally

D．intellectually

10.

A．disabled

B．frightened

C．disciplined

D．focused

11.

A．cars

B．motorbikes

C．horses

D．legs

12.

A．hesitates

B．fails

C．intends

D．pretends

13.

A．suspect

B．challenge

C．evaluate

D．protect

14.

A．preferences

B．schedules

C．principles

D．limits

15.

A．pressure

B．desire

C．budget

D．responsibility

10 . Attention! We need to put a stop to parents doing harm to youth sports. It has gotten out of hand.

A recent study showed 26 million American children took part in non-school sports. By the age of 13, about 18.2 million quit.

No wonder kids are quitting. Many parents show no sportsmanship. They often shout happily at an injury if the injured player is on the other team. My brother Mario Widdowson got hit in the face during a soccer game. The parents from the other team were shouting gladly at his pain. All of the players were down on one knee waiting for Mario to get up, out of respect and it was the right thing to do. The kids did much better than these parents.

There are different types of parents. In the book “Parenting with Love and Logic” the authors describe two different types of parents. The first is helicopter parents, who don’t allow their kid to succeed or fail on their own. The other type is lawnmower parents, who clear anything in their child’s path to make life as easy as possible.

I have observed helicopter parents. When my brother was playing club soccer, one of his teammate’s parents shouted at their son. “Shoot the ball”. It was from about half field. He did it and the coach stopped him from playing and asked him to leave the field.

The parents are trying to coach their kids. The players on the field follow blindly and many mistakes happen. It’s not good for kids’ confidence. What is the purpose of youth sports anyway?

Problems happen in youth sports all over the United States. Parents need to behave themselves. Then the number of students who quit at the age of 13 will drop greatly.

1. What does the author want to show by using numbers in Paragraph 2?

A．American kids are sports lovers.

B．Parents can’t behave themselves.

C．Most kids give up sports half-way.

D．Non-school sports are popular among teens.

2. What did some parents do when Mario got injured?

A．They lent a helping hand.	B．They cheered at his injury.
C．They waited for him to get up.	D．They kept shouting at their kids.

3. Why was the boy asked to leave the field?

A．He made a mistake.

B．He missed his goal.

C．He turned to the coach again.

D．He didn’t want to go on with the sport.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Parents Should Respect Sports.	B．Non-school Sports Is Popular.
C．Encouragement Is Important for Kids.	D．Kids Need to Love Sports.