1 . How to Fall Off a Skateboard Safely

Skateboarding is very popular exercise. Learning how to fall safely in the course of skateboarding will keep you safer and relatively pain-free. In skateboarding, falling is a big part. It’s unavoidable.     1    

Roll to land on your shoulder or back instead. When you fall, roll to land on your shoulder or back instead, tucking (收拢) in your elbows. The roll takes the energy out of the fall. If you can, roll with the fall — land on your shoulder and let the force of the fall play itself out with the roll.     2     Keep your limbs loose to absorb the fall. Stiffening up (变得僵硬) increases the risk of breaking bones.

Learn to run out of tricks. This is where you try something thrilling and the board goes wrong and you catch yourself running.     3     But if you do this right, you’ll get out of a lot of falls!

Wear kneepads on ramps (斜坡). If you are skateboarding on ramps, wearing kneepads can keep you safer from injuries. Teach yourself to always fall to your knees and slide down the ramp.     4     Just run up the side of a ramp, drop to your knees and then slide down. Practice like this for a while to get it in your head.

    5     Your instincts (直觉) when you fall are to throw your hands out. But you shouldn’t do that when there’s concrete below you. You could break your wrists. You can buy wrist guards for skateboarding. These can help if you’re afraid of catching yourself with your hands. But it’s better to learn to overlook and control your instincts so you can fall more carefully.

A．It takes some getting used to.

B．It will hurt a little, but not so bad.

C．You can actually practice this and it is fun too.

D．Learn never to catch yourself with your hands.

E．Employ wrist guards to avoid injury to your wrists.

F．You can avoid serious injury with following practical tips.

G．So you should keep away from this type of exercise as much as possible.

2 . Scientists from Georgia Tech have developed a new robot named ESTHER (Experimental Sport Tennis Wheelchair Robot), which can move around the court and even return human serves.

The team believes the robot could serve as a training partner (搭档) for professional players in the future, lowering the pressure of training with another human.

The robot is the brainchild of Georgia Tech’s Matthew Gombolay, professor of robotics in the School of Interactive Computing. He wanted to develop a better training challenge than a ball feeder that stays in one place, one that would act like an always on-call partner or even team up with someone in doubles matches. The result is ESTHER, an adapted wheelchair tennis chair that can race to balls at ten metres per second and probably outplay a human.

Mr Gombolay explains: “The wheelchair has the ability to rapidly move around the court and get into position (恰当位置) to hit a ground stroke (击落地球). ESTHER can move up to two metres after a ball is struck to hit a successful return, which is comparable to the longest distance moved by human players for 80 per cent of shots (击球).”

The robot was named in homage to well-known wheelchair tennis player Esther Vergeer, who held the world No. 1 position in women’s wheelchair tennis for almost 13 years straight.

The team placed a network of cameras around a tennis court and used computer vision algorithms (视觉算法) to help ESTHER recognise an incoming tennis ball. Using cameras from different positions, they could know where the ball is in the air and feed this information to ESTHER. The team reached a breakthrough when they successfully and continually programmed ESTHER to track the tennis ball coming toward it and to hit a return.

ESTHER will now be developed to act as a highly-skilled tennis player.

1. What is ESTHER able to do?

A．Return a shot.

B．Clean up a court.

C．Push a wheelchair.

D．Control a ball feeder.

2. What does the underlined part “in homage to” in paragraph 5 mean?

A．In search of.

B．In honour of.

C．As a result of.

D．With the help of.

3. In what way are cameras helpful to ESTHER?

A．They improve its vision.	B．They direct it to the ball.
C．They help it stay in position.	D．They picture unexpected things in the air.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Athletes in wheelchairs	B．An all-purpose robot at home
C．Rules are changing for tennis courts	D．A robot moves around the tennis court

3 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1 个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Billed as one of the most scenic (风景优美的) and most demanding marathons in the world, the Great Wall Marathon is the oldest of its type, beginning in 1999, with     1     (option) for fun runs and half marathons as well as the full marathon. The fun run       2     (cover) just 8.5 kilometers, the half marathon 21.1 kilometers,     3     the full marathon 42.2 kilometers.

Since this event is so different from a regular city marathon,     4     is smart to follow a training program       5     focuses on both hill training and distance.

The Great Wall Marathon starts from the Huangyaguan fortress (要塞) and heads south, before       6     (turn) left onto the Changcheng Highway, putting runners on the road leading to the Great Wall entrance where a four-kilometer uphill battle awaits. After five kilometers, runners start on the       7     (challenge) part of the journey: the steps and hills of the Great Wall itself.

Marathon runners will come across Duanzhuang village and the township of Xiaying, and will continue onto the Yin and Yang Square and face the steps of the Great Wall once again. Those unable       8     (reach) that stage in six hours shall not       9     (permit) to continue.

The part on the Great Wall is surely the most scenic; however, finishers     10     (equal) enjoy the parts running in the small villages where they give“high fives”to the children living there.

4 . 听下面一段对话，回答以下小题。
1. What did the man get this time?

A．The gold.

B．The silver.

C．The bronze.

2. How did the man feel at the second fence?

A．Quite excited.

B．Rather tired.

C．Absent-minded.

3. What happened at the water jump?

A．The man came off the horse.

B．The water made the horse nervous.

C．Something in the crowd upset the horse.

4. What will the man do tomorrow?

A．Run in another race.

B．Be on a TV show.

C．Visit a friend.

5 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. What does the speaker probably do?

A．She’s a medical doctor.

B．She’s a fitness instructor.

C．She’s a swimming coach.

2. What is a common workout mistake?

A．Focusing only on building muscles.

B．Taking too many types of exercises.

C．Doing the same routine all the time.

3. How often does the speaker suggest people do hard workouts?

A．Once a week.

B．Twice a week.

C．Three times a week.

6 . 假如你是李华，你校最近举行了冬季运动会，其中一些运动项目给你留下了深刻印象。你打算写信告诉你的笔友麦克，分享这次运动会体验和收获。
1. 运动会时间地点。
2. 选一个体育项目进行详细描写。
3. 你的收获和感受。
注意：
1. 词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。提示：100 metre race 百米赛跑 relay接力赛
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7 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

The English Channel crossing, one of the most famous global swimming challenges,     1     (refer) to as the peak of endurance swimming.

A relay team of winter swimming     2     (enthusiasm) from Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, swam the English Channel in less than 12 hours on Friday. They     3     (choose) to swim the shortest route across the channel, the 33.8 kilometers from Dover in the UK to Cap Gris Nez, a cape near Calais in France.

In fact, the team took exactly 11 hours and 54 minutes to make the crossing,     4     (swim) more than 50 km to avoid obstacles and strong currents. During the team’s crossing, each team member swam     5     at least an hour before alternating until they reached France.

Xie Derong, a member of the team, said that although the relay went     6     (smooth) for the most part, the final 6 km proved to be an enormous test of     7     (they) endurance. “We encountered counter currents that caused us     8     (slow) down.”

    9     idea of crossing the English Channel first came to them in 2019. Training started several weeks before Friday’s swim in the Sanqi Reservoir in Wencheng county,     10     the water temperature was similar to the English Channel.

8 . After taking a few steps back, Hadj Benhalima rushed toward the building, pushed himself upward with his foot against the wall and stretched out his arm. At the peak of his jump, he flipped off a light switch, and the bright lights of a nearby barbershop went off immediately.

This is what Hadj and his friends have been doing for the past two years: swinging around Paris and switching off wasteful shop signs at night, in an effort to fight against light pollution and save energy. And they are all enthusiastic about Parkour — a sport that consists of running and jumping over urban obstacles.

While climbing other people’s property to turn off their lights may strike some as a form of trespassing (非法入侵), the Parkour athletes insist their activities are only about enforcing seldom-respected rules.

More than a decade ago, Paris City Hall issued orders requiring stores to turn off all signs and window displays from 1 am to 6 am, but they are widely ignored with little consequence. “for 10 years there has been no follow-up, no control, no punishment,” said Anne-Marie Ducroux, the head of the National Association for the Protection of the Sky and the Night Environment.

That is why Hadj and his friends have taken matters into their own hands. The group often gathers in the so-called Golden Triangle neighborhood, in western Paris, which is the center of French luxury.

Enforcing the orders in place of the authorities certainly enters a legal grey area. But the Parkour athletes say all the police officers they have met during their rounds have allowed their action — as long as it causes no damage.

And it seems that their efforts have produced the desired result, because Hadj says he has noticed that in recent months, several shops have stopped leaving their lights on after his group targeted them. He hopes others will follow suit. “At least, I’ll sleep better,” he said.

1. What are Hadj Benhalima and his friends trying to do at night?

A．To practice their Parkour skills.

B．To remove possible urban obstacles.

C．To turn off unnecessary store lights.

D．To ensure the safety of their neighborhood.

2. What can we learn about the rules set by the government?

A．They are too strict to follow.

B．They have achieved the desired effect.

C．They put great pressure on stores.

D．They are not carried out effectively.

3. What is the government’s attitude towards the Parkour athletes’ act?

A．Worried.

B．Supportive.

C．Doubtful.

D．Unconcerned.

4. What does the text mainly talk about?

A．Why Parkour is so popular among young people in Paris.

B．Why it is difficult to fight against light pollution in Paris.

C．How the lighting of shop signs affects the night view of Paris.

D．How young people in Paris help save energy through Parkour.

9 . Clothes Upcycling (升级改造) Contest 2024

Are you passionate about fashion and the environment? Do you have a creative mind and want to make a positive impact on the planet? Then we have a contest for you!

We are excited to launch the Love Your Chelmsford Upcycling Clothes Contest for secondary school ages(11-18 years), to promote extending the life of our clothes and save them from going to landfills! Upcycling clothes has many benefits including reducing the impact of buying new on natural resources and reducing your carbon footprint.

You have to create clothes from used materials, and transform them into something new and exciting. Each applicant can be one individual person or one group. Applicants can apply multiple times, but only be qualified to win with one submission (提交).

How to Participate:

To enter, you must be a resident of Chelmsford and aged 11-18. We will require a before and after picture of your shoes or clothes upcycling project along with a description of the materials and techniques that you used to create your masterpiece (作品). Please send your submission to loveyourchelmsford@chelmsford.gov.uk by June 30, 2024.

Recommended:

Show the creation process of your masterpiece and share where everything came from.

Prizes:

*Up to 100 applicants will have the option to be listed on our website to sell their upcycled work.

*The most impressive upcycled masterpiece will win a £100 Gift Voucher (礼品券) to shop at Glass Onion, plus there are 5 runner-up prizes of a 183-piece sewing kit.

1. What do we know about the contest?

A．Group work will not be accepted.

B．The participants can apply more than once.

C．One participant can win more than one prize.

D．Winning pieces will be selected on June 30, 2024.

2. What do the participants have to provide along with their work?

A．A picture of the remaining materials.	B．A list of tools involved.
C．A description of the techniques used.	D．A video of the making process.

3. What will the first prize winner get?

A．A £100 Gift Voucher.	B．An amount of cash.
C．A free trip to Glass Onion.	D．A 183-piece sewing kit.

10 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. When will the race be held this year?

A．On May 11th.

B．On May 23rd.

C．On May 24th.

2. Where does the race start?

A．At the football ground.

B．On the north side of the park.

C．At the main entrance of the park.

3. What can every runner get this year?

A．A water bottle.

B．A T-shirt.

C．A pair of running shoes.

4. Who can run in the race free of charge?

A．Children under the age of 8.

B．Children between 8 and 15.

C．Adults who have registered in advance.