1 . Common Mistakes New Runners Make

Running is a great way to get in shape and just about everyone can do it. However, many make a number of common mistakes, which can interfere (妨碍) with training or lead to injury.     1     , keep these things in mind to help you increase your chances of running success.

·Doing too much too soon

One of the biggest mistakes new runners make is doing too much too soon. Slowly easing into a training program will help reduce the risk of injury, so you can continue on with your new running routine     2     .

·     3    

Beginners might think they need to run every day (or nearly every day) to meet their fitness or weight-loss goals, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Running is a high-impact activity which can be really hard on your body. So it’s important to give your body a rest between workouts.

·Not wearing the right equipment

    4    , it’s important that you wear properly for your workouts. The most important piece of equipment for running is a good pair of running shoes, so be sure to do some research before you purchase a pair. Visit a running specialty store and ask an employee to fit you for a shoe.

•Running through pain

    5     If something hurts when you run, you need to stop and treat the pain. Remember: It doesn’t make you less of a runner if you listen to your body to keep it healthy.

A．Not taking rest days

B．If you’re just starting out

C．Comparing yourself to others

D．Running can be uncomfortable at times

E．It’s important not to use the same muscles

F．While it may be true that you don’t need expensive equipment to take up running

G．Experts suggest increasing your running distance by no more than 10% each week

2 . The 2024 Science Fiction Short Story Contest

The 2023 Science Fiction Short Story Contest just came to an end. Welcome to our 2024 Science Fiction Short Story Contest sponsored by Science Fiction Association in our city. The contest is to encourage amateur and semi-professional writers to reach the next level of proficiency. We will look for engaging openings, good character development, well-structured plotting, powerful imagery, humorous language, unique word or phrasing choices, and convincing endings. Come to show the world your fantasy imagination and storytelling talents!

Requirement

A qualifying story must have strong science fiction or fantasy elements and must be shorter than 7,500 words. Your entries must be original works of fiction. If you have received prizes for your fiction writing from any source or your story has been published in any paying publication, you are no longer qualified.

Past winners of our contest are no longer qualified.

No reprints, fan fiction or poetry, please.

Judge and Prize

Judges will provide feedbacks for all qualifying contest entries. First-round judges will consist of Science Fiction Association members and volunteers. The professional writers’ decision is final.

The champions, runners-up and honorable mentions will receive prizes including cash prize, a certificate of achievement, Science Fiction Association Press books, and a free membership to Science Fiction Association, All winners can select their books and either take them immediately or ask for them to be shipped later.

Deadline

The contest will be limited to the first 60 qualifying entries. While the submission deadline is September 30th, 2024, we may close off the entry for the year sooner if the response is larger than expected. The winners will be published on December 31th.

Notice

Please place your contact information for possible awards.

There is no entry fee. Please submit only one entry per author.

1. What is the activity about?

A．Story telling.	B．Story writing.
C．Writer training.	D．Writer recommending.

2. What is a requirement for the science fiction of the contest?

A．It can come as the form of a poem.	B．It should be over 7,500 words long.
C．It must be the author’s original one.	D．It is supposed to be published before.

3. Who will finally determine the winners?

A．Professional writers.	B．Amateur writers.
C．Science Fiction Association members.	D．Science Fiction Association volunteers.

5 . Nenad Bach, an American composer and singer who lives with Parkinson’s disease (帕金森病) is the founder of “Ping-pong Parkinson”, a movement that promotes ping-pong as a therapy (疗法) to improve the lives of Parkinson’s patients worldwide.

After being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2010, Bach found that his tremors (颤抖) and other symptoms were keeping him from playing his guitar. But a friend introduced him to ping-pong, also known as table tennis, and he soon found that both his motor skills and his mood seemed to improve when he played. Bach’s doctor confirmed his improved state. And that’s when the idea for “Ping-pong Parkinson” took root.

In 2017, Bach worked with well-known New York Times crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz. Shortz also happens to be the owner of the Westchester Table Tennis Center. In October of 2019, the first Parkinson’s World Table Tennis Championship was held at the Center, attracting people with Parkinson’s disease from as far away as Sweden, Japan, Brazil, Croatia, England, and China.

Recently, a small study was conducted by scientists at Fukuoka University in Japan. People with Parkinson’s disease participated in a table tennis exercise program once a week for six months. Participants experienced significant improvements in facial expression, posture rigidity, speed of movement and hand tremors. They also experienced improvements in speech, handwriting, getting dressed, getting out of bed and walking.

Dr. Ken-ichi Inoue, the study’s author, comments, “While this study was small, with twelve participants, the results are encouraging because they show ping-pong, a relatively inexpensive form of therapy, may improve some symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.” Dr. Inoue is planning a much larger study to confirm his findings.

1. Why did Bach pick up ping-pong?

A．He found it great fun.

B．He followed his doctor’s advice.

C．He wanted to improve his conditions.

D．His friend needed someone to play it with.

2. What can be inferred from the text?

A．“Ping-pong Parkinson” met with wide objections.

B．Doing word puzzles benefits people living with Parkinson’s disease.

C．Bach taught people living with Parkinson’s disease to play the guitar.

D．The first Parkinson’s World Table Tennis Championship was held in the US.

3. What is a limitation of Dr. Inoue’s research?

A．Small subject number.	B．Short studying period.
C．Incomplete study aspects.	D．Limited subject performances.

4. What’s the author’s intention in writing the text?

A．To promote a sports event.

B．To tell the story of Nenad Bach’s struggle.

C．To introduce a therapy for Parkinson’s disease.

D．To present the findings of Nenad Bach’s research.

7 . Several years ago, I was at a pre-season football practice at a high school where I was working with the team on a concussion (脑震荡) research project. The players were lined up in two rows facing each other and with little more instruction from the coach than, “on the whistle, hit the man across from you”, great concern rushed through my mind.

Professional sports get the lion’s share of attention, but over three million children and teenagers in the United States play the same game. This directly places concussions as a significant public health concern for all.

However, for decades, concussion has been considered a temporary injury with no long-term consequences. Many athletes will do just about anything to stay on the field and “play through the pain” as a sign of toughness. In 2005, with the release of the brain tissue pathology (病理学) report of Mike Webster a, a retired National Football League player, our thinking on concussion began to shift. Since then, public attention has focused on this link between brain injury and blows to the head. As our understanding of concussion progressed to understanding its significance as an injury, so too did the development of player equipment.

In the early 1900s football was played without helmets (头盔), but severe injuries, like skull fractures, led to the occasional use of leather helmets in the 1920s.The first facemask entered the game in the 1950s. Modern helmets use advanced shell materials, have moveable panels to absorb forces, and multi-layered padding that responds to different impacts. Companies will continue to improve helmets as new materials become available, guided by the newest science.

Sports are an important part of a society’s culture and they give millions of children much-needed exercise. Yet, participation in any sport carries injury risk, and concussion will always be part of that. As those children become adults and make sport their hobby or even career, ensuring them play safely at all levels is essential.

1. What made the author feel concerned?

A．The coach’s in experience.

B．The physical conflicts among the players.

C．Unawareness of the potential injuries.

D．Unpredictable outcome of the project.

2. What did athletes use to do when meeting with sports-related concussion?

A．They tended to ignore it.

B．They felt scared about it.

C．They quit playing immediately.

D．They refused medical assistance.

3. What does paragraph 4 mainly talk about concerning the helmet?

A．Its gradual improvement.

B．Its widespread influence.

C．The discovery of its new materials.

D．The difficulty of its mass production.

4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．Exercise is vital for children.

B．Sports safety can’t be overemphasized.

C．No participation in sports is without injuries.

D．Concussion is the most common injury in sports.

8 . People do physical exercise as part of their healthy lifestyle to get stronger and healthier.

There are three basic modes of physical exercise: flexibility exercise helps the human body in general or its part in particular to be able to reach farther and bend better; aerobic exercise helps the body work hard for a long time; anaerobic exercise makes the arms and legs stronger.

It has long been known that exercise is not only good for your body, but also for your mind. According to researchers, gymnasts are more likely to be emotionally stable, football players the most outgoing and swimmers the happiest.

The psychological study, which was carried out by experts, also revealed that sports can also offer clues to a person’s attitude to charity, reading habits and even their voting intentions. Boxers, for example, are most likely to focus on material possessions in life. Meanwhile, runners tend to be outgoing people who love being the centre of attention. Walkers, a group that includes those who enjoy wandering and cross-country races, are least concerned about other people and like doing things by themselves without interruption from others. Those who play chess are confident when they face challenges and trouble. Those who swim tend to be tidy and charitable. However, according to Mind Lab, 61 percent of adults are fond of helping others regardless of their choice of sports.

The results from this study also show that no matter what kind of person you are, there is the right kind of exercise for you.

1. Which of the following sports belongs to flexibility exercise?

A．Running.

B．Swimming.

C．Football.

D．Gymnastics.

2. What can we learn from the text?

A．Walkers enjoy loneliness in their lives.

B．Boxers tend to ignore wealth in life.

C．Runners have great power of concentration.

D．Chess players like challenging other people.

3. Why does the author mention Mind Lab in Paragraph 4?

A．To make a contrast.	B．To draw a comparison.
C．To place an emphasis.	D．To give an example.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．How can you choose suitable sports?

B．What kind of sports can benefit you most?

C．How can sports keep you mentally healthy?

D．What does your choice of sports tell about you?

9 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

Eartha lost her balance and fell heavily onto the floor. “I’ll never be as flexible as you are, Grandma.” she sighed softly.

Eartha’s Grandma had been practising yoga for more than 50 years, who could twist, bend and curl her body with ease. She could even stand on her hands and pull her body into different poses.

“Eartha, your name means ‘patience’.You need patience for yoga,” said her Grandma.

Like many schools in the country,Eartha’ s school held an annual yoga competition. Eartha wanted to make her Grandma proud. But she could hardly stand on one leg.

Grandma returned to the kitchen.Eartha kept practicing hard. She stood straight, her arms at her sides. She moved her hands and knees, arching her back. All of these poses were easy,while the competition was certain to be harder. So she tried more challenging poses, lying on her stomach and pushing up on her hands. Her arms soon got tired and she collapsed to the floor. Eartha wandered into the kitchen.

“Finished already?” asked Grandma.

“It’s hard,” Eartha said. “How did you get to be so strong?”

Grandma smiled. “Patience.”

The next morning, Eartha felt ached and sore all over the body. Her legs hurt so badly from the poses she practiced that she even wanted to quit. However, her grandmother’s words echoed in her mind, and she held the pose for a longer time.

Each day Eartha would practice anew pose, before going over the poses she had practiced the previous few days.With the date of the competition approaching, she started to feel stronger and more flexible. Her arms and legs stopped trembling.

The day of the yoga competition arrived as expected. In the gym, Eartha lay on her back with her knees bent and placed her hands on the floor behind her. Everything went smoothly. Just then,so eager was she to win Grandma’s pride that her poses displayed a mix of impatience, and rigidness. Eartha fell on the mat, which cost her edge over other competitors. A bell rang, ending the first half of the competition.

1.续写词数应为150左右:
2.请在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Thinking she ruined all because of impatience, Eartha looked at the audience for Grandma.

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Calm and confident, Eartha stepped on the stage for the second half of the competition.

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10 . 受学生会委托，你在校英文报上发出倡议，呼吁同学们重视锻炼，积极参加体育活动，要点如下：
1．倡议的原因；
2．倡议的内容。
注意：
1．词数80左右；
2．题目已为你写好；
3．请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

More Exercise, Better Health

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