1 . 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
2 . “Being a sports fan is a very psychologically healthy activity,” says Daniel Wann, professor at Murray State University whose research program centers on the psychology of sport fandom (运动迷). Fandom connects us with other like-minded people, which satisfies our human need for belonging, he says.
“These relationships are significant: People who identify as sports fans have higher levels of self-esteem (自尊), lower levels of loneliness and tend to be more satisfied with their lives compared to those who aren’t interested in sports,” Wann says. Fans tend to have more access to social support, help and resources as well. Research suggests that when people have support from their communities, they have better health. Of course, teams sometimes lose. Prior to a sporting event, there’s at least a 50-50 chance that you’re going to be disappointed in your outcome.
So, why do people continue to put their faith behind teams that tend to lose? People who feel a strong psychological connection with a team are more likely to root for a team when they’re having a losing season. For example, if a pizza restaurant continually got your order wrong, you’d likely switch to a more reliable restaurant. But because being a fan is so central to people’s identities, people are willing to accept defeat and continue to be loyal to a team.
Being part of a fan community can also help people cope with losses. A 2019 study found that watching a football game with other fans helps to relieve the negative psychological effects of losing. For fans of the losing team, sharing the pain may have protected them from losing self-esteem.
“There are other things that brings with it above and beyond the ability to enjoy the team’s successes. Watching sports can be a way to relieve stress, or spend time with family,” Wann says. Any sort of fandom can be distracting, but Wann says that talking about sports at work and spending time with people who share a common interest can make people more excited to go to work.
1. What is the characteristic sports fans generally bear?| A．Higher sense of self-worth. | B．Worse health conditions. |
| C．Being ready to help others. | D．Few means of support. |
| A．Fans are forced to be loyal to teams. |
| B．Fans are good at sharing pains with teams. |
| C．Fans are brave enough to accept losses. |
| D．Fans own a great sense of identity and belonging. |
| A．Sport fandom makes people too excited to go to work. |
| B．Sport fandom leads to distraction. |
| C．Sport fandom improves interpersonal relationship. |
| D．Sport fandom makes people more successful. |
| A．A poster. | B．A textbook. | C．A novel. | D．A magazine. |
3 . Long ago, poems were recited out loud instead of being written down. Back when the Greeks first started the Olympics, they held poetry contests as well as athletic competitions.
Now, poetry competitions have been revived. This year 120,000 high school students competed in the first Poetry Out Loud national recitation contest, performing poems from memory for $100,000 in prizes.
The first competitions were held in classrooms. The winners went on to schoolwide contests, and then they competed in city and state competitions, and then the 50 state champions, along with the District of Columbia champion, came to Washington, D. C., last week for the last showdown(对决). After the 51 champions competed against one another,12 went on to the finals. Then the field was narrowed to five. The final five had one last chance to “perform” a poem. The overall champ, Jackson Hille, a high school senior from Ohio, won a $20,000 scholarship.
The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation started Poetry Out Loud because they realized that hearing a poem performed is a different experience from reading it on the page.
It’s not just a matter of saying the words in the right order. It’s the tone of voice, the pauses, the gestures, and the attitude of the person performing that bring the words to life. “Each time we hear somebody recite a poem, we understand again what we found fresh and interesting about it,” says National Public Radio broadcaster Scott Simon, master of ceremonies for the finals. Hearing it in a new voice offers something new to the listener.
Not only do the people hearing poems have a new experience, memorizing and presenting poems helps the participants understand those poems in a new way. Another benefit of a competition such as Poetry Out Loud is that the participants learn public-speaking skills that can help them for life.
1. From the first paragraph, we can know _______.| A．the Greeks were the first to write poems |
| B．the Olympics used to start with poem reciting |
| C．poems were spread orally in the past |
| D．athletes were asked to recite poems before competing |
| A．Three. | B．Four. | C．Five. | D．Six. |
| A．bring a new life to listeners |
| B．help listeners find their interest |
| C．make listeners learn the words |
| D．offer something new to listeners |
| A．become confident while speaking in public |
| B．write good poems themselves |
| C．change their attitudes towards life |
| D．make friends with many great poets |
| A．Reciting poems improves your memory |
| B．Remembering a lot of poems is fun |
| C．Poets have a great time |
| D．Poetry rocks the microphone |
4 . William Purkey, a well-known professor of education, said, “Dance like no one is watching, love like you'll never be hurt, sing like no one is listening, and live like it's heaven on earth.” It seems like the perfect life philosophy-- and one I've learned to apply to running over the year.
But I didn't always feel this way. In my early days, when I weighed 240 pounds, I ran like everyone was watching and judging. If I was on a run and saw a car approaching, 1'dstop and pretend I was looking for something I'd lost. I bought the high-tech gear and clothes that I thought would make people believe I was a runner. And I didn't have a clue if the expensive shoes I was wearing were the right kind for me --I just wanted to look like I fit in with this group.
To be honest, I felt a certain satisfaction in believing that someone was watching. I really thought that other people cared about my performance. The best example of this was a combined, two-lap marathon in Florence, Italy. As I approached the finishing line, the crowd began to cheer. I was surprised. Here I was, thousands of miles from home, and the Italians were shouting for “IIpenguino.”
About 20 yards from the finishing, the truth set in when the winner of the full marathon went past me as I was finishing the half-marathon. No one was cheering for me. No one probably even noticed that I was finishing. I couldn't help but smile at my own illusion of self-importance.
That's when I realized I had been running for every reason except the right one. I ran to make other people happy, ran to live up to their expectations. But no one was watching --no one cared. So I decided I was going to run for me, just me, and gained a new enjoyment from the sport I hadn't truly experienced yet. I've learned to run like no one is watching.
So if you see me at race, and I look like a 60-year-old guy waddling（蹒跚） along, don't worry. I'm fine. The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.
1. The writer begins the passage by ________.| A．telling his running story | B．explaining a life philosophy |
| C．introducing quotations | D．listing some life rules |
| A．used sports clothes and shoes to attract attention |
| B．was concerned about what others thought of her |
| C．liked to be the focus of other runners |
| D．struggled to find the right shoes to fit her |
| A．she smiled at her own achievement | B．the crowd cheered for her madly |
| C．nobody really cared about her running | D．she realized the importance of confidence. |
| A．live up to others expectation | B．create a miracle in her own life |
| C．run like no one is watching | D．enjoy the pleasure of running |
| A．tell us to live a life of our own | B．inspire more people to run |
| C．expect us to improve our health by running | D．stress the importance of determination |
| A．misconception | B．expectation | C．fear | D．admiration |
Welcome to Pacific International Apartments. At present we are updating our information folders in the rooms so as to assist you during your stay. Please note the following:
Phone number
Reception Dial 7
Housekeeping Dial 4
Apartment-to Apartment: Dial the Apartment number(except 1st floor Apartments: dial the Apartment number followed by the﹟key)
Outside line: Dial 0, wait for dial tone, and then the number required.
Please keep your key with you at all times. The main doors to the apartments are locked from 10:30pm— 07:00am, and you will need to swipe your key to gain access to the apartments.
Please see reception for any advice on tours and Sydney’s attractions, and please dial 7 if you require any further information.
We hope your stay with us is an enjoyable one.
Kind regards!
Paul Williams
Guest Services Manager
1. How can you dial from your room in Pacific to Room 115 on the 1st floor?
| A．Just dial 115. |
| B．Dial 6, then 115. |
| C．Dial 115 and press the﹟key. |
| D．Press the﹟key, then dial 115. |
| A．open the main door with his key |
| B．dial 0, and phone the reception |
| C．go to his room via the reception |
| D．use the lifts |
| A．dial 7 and wait for the hotel security’s instructions |
| B．take their keys and leave Pacific by way of lifts |
| C．leave Pacific through the fire exits |
| D．be together with the Fire Brigade |
| A．concentrating in a place |
| B．withdrawing from a place |
| C．searching for a place |
| D．taking up a place |
| A．a guest’s room |
| B．the official guide |
| C．a staff member’s office |
| D．advertisements for hotel |
