On a bright Saturday, my peaceful lunchtime was suddenly interrupted when my dad surprised me with an unplanned idea. I couldn’t hide my annoyance as what was supposed to be a relaxing Saturday turned into a day focused on football — a sport I wasn’t very excited about.
Many of my friends loved sports, while I preferred to find comfort in the pages of a good book rather than run around on a football court. My lack of interest resulted in average performance on the team, and I often felt like I was a problem for both my coach and teammates.
Things changed last week when our coach announced a coming match against the champions scheduled for a month later. The realization that this important game would have a big audience only made me more anxious. The fear of possibly letting down the team weighed on me.
Determined to make a positive impact, I decided to practice hard every day. My motivation came from wanting to help the team and to overcome the self-doubt affecting my performance.
As the match day approached, my teammates seemed unsure about including me in the lineup (阵容). I wouldn’t have minded sitting out, but the situations were different. With one player short, they reluctantly (不情愿地) included me, and The Thunder Strikers, our team, stepped onto the field to enjoy cheers from the crowd.
The pressure was intense. The game started, and within the ten minutes, I received a warning. Before long, the referee showed me a second yellow card, forcing me to leave the field. When I got back into the game, the score was tied, and the next goal would decide the winner.
As the ball came toward me, I felt a bit scared. My teammates seemed tired, and the other team really wanted to win. With great courage, I kicked the ball. The opponents (对手), maybe not expecting much from me because of my earlier struggles, were surprised when the ball went past the goalkeeper.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
The Thunder Strikers won!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After this win, football became different for me.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Dave had loved basketball for as long as he could remember and he had never had a day without playing it. At primary school and junior high school he joined basketball clubs, attended training programs and watched basketball games, from which he learned the moves of the star players, wishing to play in a professional team like them and shine on the court.
Now as a senior high school student, however, his dream of becoming a professional player was dimming (变暗) because he was only of average height. He had to give up the hope of joining the school team. The guys on the school team were all tall boys who played matches and won honors for the school. They were like heroes. Dave watched them play and cheered them but he knew he would never be one of them.
Dave felt it a pity not to be tall enough, but this didn’t stop him from pouring his passion into basketball. He just played for the love of the sport. He played in the school gym with other boys or by himself every day, even during holidays and weekends, when it was open for two hours in the morning. He enjoyed every minute on the court making every effort to play better.
It was one Saturday morning. Dave was playing in the gym by himself, as all the other boys were busy with other weekend affairs. Then he noticed a tall boy approaching. It was Lankas. Everybody knows him as captain of the school basketball team. “Hi, Lankas,” Dave greeted him. “My name is Dave.” “Hi, Dave,” Lankas replied as he got closer. “Nice to see you here. Do you need an opponent to play against?” Dave was shocked, frozen right there, unable to believe his ears but somehow, he answered, “Why not?”
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
So, a game of two players began.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The next Saturday, when Dave was playing in the gym, Lankas appeared shouting, “Dave, I have good news for you.”
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3 . 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. |
| 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. |
| A．Small subject number. | B．Short studying period. |
| C．Incomplete study aspects. | D．Limited subject performances. |
| 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. |
4 . Seventy-eight-year-old Nora Langdon spends multiple days a week at the gym, training for lifting competitions three hours at a time. Now, she has become a(n)
At the age of 65, Langdon was
After joining the gym and watching her trainer prepare for a powerlifting meet, she
Although Langdon has won 20 of her powerlifting meets and has state, national and world records under her belt, she shows no signs of
“She’s really been a
She wants others to know that with motivation and strong faith, anyone of her age can get into
| A．opponent | B．model | C．amateur | D．headache |
| A．determined | B．satisfied | C．stressed | D．worried |
| A．attempted | B．refused | C．struggled | D．hesitated |
| A．study | B．change | C．visit | D．break |
| A．reported | B．witnessed | C．organized | D．entered |
| A．test | B．fix | C．try | D．adopt |
| A．eventually | B．naturally | C．directly | D．temporarily |
| A．destination | B．reference | C．task | D．passion |
| A．improving | B．stopping | C．recovering | D．winning |
| A．lifestyle | B．competition | C．goal | D．success |
| A．leader | B．memory | C．coach | D．treasure |
| A．threatening | B．convincing | C．inspiring | D．confusing |
| A．debt | B．shape | C．trouble | D．position |
| A．exercise | B．fight | C．develop | D．suffer |
| A．calm | B．relaxed | C．optimistic | D．healthy |
1. What’s the man doing?
| A．Studying for an exam. | B．Watching a match. | C．Playing computer games. |
| A．She has no confidence in herself. |
| B．She is late for the fitness training. |
| C．She’s too fat for the dancing club. |
1. What do we know about the man?
| A．He is surprised by what the woman says. |
| B．He trains old people to do physical exercise. |
| C．He is interested in reading geography books. |
| A．In the field. | B．In the park. | C．In the desert. |
| A．They can run for days. |
| B．They drink water while running. |
| C．They wear special running shoes. |
| A．We don’t think we can. | B．We lack determination. | C．We’re born different from them. |
7 . Watching a young, 21-year-old Jordan Spieth win the US Masters today, I could not help but think of the great qualities he displayed to win the most famous golf event on the calendar against the greatest players in the world.
Jordan Spieth has learned to keep himself in check. There is a great proverb: “A fool shares all his or her feelings while a wise man keeps them in check.” As I watched Spieth playing, I noticed a constant calm around him. Whether he hit the shot he wanted or not, he was the same and kept his emotions steady (稳定的) and strong. He never blamed the crowd, clubs or wind.
He knows which club he is going to drive with on every hole; he knows which side of the fairway (高尔夫球道) to land and exactly where he wants to be standing on every green when he is putting; he has played it through his minds for months. He is the person who makes things happen by planning in advance. Winning is not a fluke (侥幸击中); it’s a by-product of months and years of planning. Nothing happens by chance.
If there is an event that every golfer dreams of winning, it’s the US Masters. So, how would Spieth have felt in 2014 getting so close to winning but coming second? As good as second was, he only wanted to be first. The difference between great shots and poor shots at the Masters is only inches. In that 2014 final round, Spieth was standing on the 8th hole with a 2-shot lead, but through a number of small misses he lost it and never recovered it. However, he never stops learning. As a great person once said, “While you’re green, you’re growing; when you’re brown, you’re dying.” He stays green. He is always reading, learning, and he understands that the greatest teacher of all is failure.
1. Which description is suitable for Jordan Spieth?| A．He can control himself properly. | B．He likes to share his feelings. |
| C．He is a man of great knowledge. | D．He usually uses sayings when speaking. |
| A．He always has a game plan and sticks to it. |
| B．He never does anything until it really happens. |
| C．He usually decides on a club to join in advance. |
| D．He can’t bear losing the chance of winning a game. |
| A．Inspired. | B．Satisfied. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Curious. |
| A．Feelings of losing the US Masters. | B．Sports qualities of Jordan Spieth. |
| C．Basic skills of winning a golf game. | D．Golfers’ dreams of joining the Masters. |
8 . Reading out loud is one of the most useful ways to practice when you are learning a foreign language. If you want to improve your fluency, you should read a lot, and not silently but out loud!
This competition is designed to encourage all the Chinese learners to read Chinese out loud. And we hope to introduce the importance of reading out loud when learning Chinese. Also, we have brilliant prizes for the top three competitors! We look forward to hearing from you reading Chinese stories, poems, tongue twisters, lyrics, etc. We would post the recordings on our official account anonymously (匿名) and ask everyone to vote online for the recordings.
The top six will get the prizes below:
First prize (1 person): 5 hours one-to-one Chinese lesson
Second prize (2 people): 3 hours one-to-one Chinese lesson
Third prize (3 people): one 200 RMB voucher (代金券) for our course
Timeline
Please choose one from the ten materials given to you at the bottom of this web page, from 6 to 10 are lyrics, you can read or sing.
Sign up before 11 p.m., 16th of February.
Record the name: your file with your name and nationality (eg: Mike+US)
Send your recordings to hanlinmandarin@163.com, before 7 p.m., 19th of February.
We will post the anonymous recordings on HLC official account on the 21st of February. Vote online from 21st of February to 25th of February.
The result would be posted on HLC official account on the 26th of February.
If you don’t know Chinese characters, you can copy them and change them into pinyin on the following website https://www.pinyinzi.com/hanzipinyin/.
1. What is the competition intended to do?| A．To encourage more people to learn Chinese. |
| B．To inspire Chinese learners to read out loud. |
| C．To introduce how to learn a foreign language. |
| D．To stress the importance of Chinese learning. |
| A．Reading materials. | B．Names of winners. |
| C．Rules of the competition. | D．Lists of prizes. |
| A．On the 16th of February. | B．On the 19th of February. |
| C．On the 21st of February. | D．On the 26th of February. |
Canadian Bianca Andreescu beat the U. S. tennis star Serena Williams in straight sets to win the U. S. Open Women’s Finals on Sept. 7. 2019.
Andreescu, who is 19, bested Williams 6:3, 7:5. “I’ve worked really, really hard for this moment… This year has been a dream come true,” Andreescu said after the match,
“I know you wanted Serena
“Having Canada’s support
When
| A．On Tuesday. | B．On Thursday. | C．On Friday. |
