1 . What happens when the player shoots successfully from outside the line?

A．He breaks a rule.

B．He wins the game.

C．He gets three points.

2 . Winter 2024 Story Contest

OUR WINTER CONTEST is open to all fiction and nonfiction writers. Entries must be previously unpublished, no longer than 15,000 words, and must not have been previously chosen as a winner, finalist, or honorable mention in another contest.

Narrative winners and finalists have gone on to win Whiting Awards, the Pulitzer Prize, and the Atlantic prize, and have appeared in collections such as Best American Short Stories, Best American Non-required Reading and many others.

As always, we are looking for works with a strong narrative drive, characters we can respond to, and language, situation, and insight that are intense and total.

We welcome and look forward to reading your pages.

Awards: First Prize is $2,500, Second Prize is $1,000, Third Prize is $500, and up to ten finalists will receive $100 each. All entries will be considered for publication.

Submission Fee: There is a $27 fee for each entry. With your entry, you’ll receive three months of access to Narrative Backstage at no cost.

Timing: The contest closes on March 31,2024, at midnight, Pacific Standard Time.

Judging: The contest will be judged by the editors of the magazine. Winners and finalists will be announced to the public by April 30,2024. All writers who enter will be informed by email of the judges’ decisions, which will be final. Please make sure info@narrativemagazine.com is in your address book and your email settings permit messages from www.narrativemagazine.com.

Submission Guidelines: Please read our Submission Guidelines for contributions formatting and other information.

1. What is required of the entries?

A．They should be related to winter 2024.

B．They should be based on real-life events.

C．They should be submitted before April 30.

D．They should be limited to 15,000 words.

2. What will each of the participants get?

A．A copy of excellent narrative works.	B．Access to the Pulitzer Prize.
C．Free visits to Narrative Backstage.	D．A collection of winners’ works.

3. How can participants know the contest’s final results?

A．By entering the official website.	B．By checking an email.
C．By attending the awards ceremony.	D．By making a phone call.

3 . The title of “Aaron’s younger brother” was earned when I had won the second place in my first tennis tournament at the age of six. Whenever I ________ onto a tennis court, it was as though a gluey name label, which had been ________ stuck onto me.

I wanted to ________ Aaron, my older brother, whose fame had reduced me to a ________ tennis player. Then came a big tennis match against Aaron. As I shook Aaron’s hand at the start of the match, I stared at him and focused on how this match was going to ________ everything.

The tennis court seemed to stretch out further than usual, but I could still ________ the confident look on Aaron’s face. He knew that my honor ________ in comparison to his. Finally, we were down to the last set, neck and neck in points. That was when the setting sun cast his figure over me, ________ me that I would always be walking in his ________ if I did not prove myself.

I prepared myself for the finishing blow, ________ of Aaron’s past matches flooding through my mind as I ________ the weakness of his smash (扣球) the ball would always fly towards the left of the court. I extended my arm to the left in anticipation of where the ball was going to land. The ball made ________ with my racket and was lobbed over Aaron’s head successfully. He could do nothing but ________ his undefeated status as champion being removed by his younger brother.

While I was still enjoying the unfamiliar feeling of ________ minutes after the match was over, a man, whom I vaguely recognized from a ________ tennis club, approached me. “What is your name, son?” he asked. A smile spread across my face.

1.

A．marched

B．stepped

C．jumped

D．rushed

2.

A．frequently

B．originally

C．permanently

D．occasionally

3.

A．recommend

B．praise

C．evaluate

D．defeat

4.

A．nameless

B．hopeless

C．worthless

D．fearless

5.

A．appreciate

B．change

C．explore

D．settle

6.

A．put down

B．pull out

C．take up

D．make out

7.

A．disappeared

B．wrinkled

C．paled

D．doubled

8.

A．reminding

B．ordering

C．instructing

D．expecting

9.

A．trust

B．shelter

C．credit

D．shadow

10.

A．scores

B．images

C．records

D．highlights

11.

A．hid

B．admitted

C．recalled

D．overcame

12.

A．contact

B．progress

C．movement

D．adjustment

13.

A．maintain

B．improve

C．confirm

D．witness

14.

A．harmony

B．success

C．competition

D．relief

15.

A．previous

B．special

C．famous

D．tiny

4 . 请写一篇关于中学生应该多参加体育运动的倡议书，内容应包括：
1. 中学生目前进行体育运动的现状；
2. 体育运动的形式以及好处；
3. 建议和呼吁等。
注意：词数 80 左右。
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8 . 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。

Different sports filled my days in my youth. I dreamed or a big win some day, with a big trophy (奖杯). I was skillful and fast, or so I thought. However, I soon learned my skills seemed quite weak because the bigger, stronger boys seemed to occupy every corner of the playground. Once I was in the 100-yard hurdles, the only recognition I received for my performance was two bloody knees.

In college, I took a swim competition, dreaming of the glory! It turned out I achieved nothing. As an older adult, I still maintained an active lifestyle. In 2010 I signed up for a stair-climbing challenge to raise money for fighting against lung cancer. My father had died of the same disease, so this was a meaningful cause for me. Then, in 2019,the organization offered an even more challenging climb option: the vertical (垂直的) mile. So I would have three hours to climb up and down twenty-eight floors fifteen times, plus three more.

I trained hard. When the challenge started. I felt confident. But soon my legs started feeling heavy. What was worse, I began experiencing leg cramps (抽筋). My progress slowed dramatically and I quickly fell behind. When came down after finishing lap 14, it was past the time limit, so my big win had escaped once again.

Soon after the climb, I struggled to experience the sense of self-satisfaction. And I had, after all, set a goal for myself to prove what I was made of, what I had inside me. And what I had inside me was, “Nice try, but you didn’t make it.” So, a year later, at age 62 and after numerous workouts, I was back. Like last year, I was well ahead after an hour and I again started feeling some discomfort in my legs. I heard myself cry out loud, “Oh, no not again!” I finally stopped and sat down on the stairs, feeling quite depressed and wondering if my dream was over. A few climbers stopped to offer help. I was touched, but embarrassed to accept. Except for one climber. An angel climber, really.

Jessica, who I happened to know, was a salesman’s friend when I bought new running shoes at his store. And without that connection, she might have climbed past me as I sat on those steps, my legs shaking. But all those things did happen, and Jessica stopped to help.

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。

When she saw I was cramping, she offered me some sports drinks containing electrolytes (电解质).

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The cramps in my legs finally started to go away.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9 . Miren Behaxeteguy, a 47-year old from Montpellier, France, is one of the 41 million European adults who suffer from migraine(偏头痛). They can strike several times a week and leave her unable to work normally. Earlier this year, the pain forced her to take prolonged sick leave from her job as a social worker.

“I hit a wall and decided I had to manage my pain in a different way,” says Behaxeteguy, a grandmother. “I’m now focused on being comfortable before and during an episode.”

As soon as she feels any pain surfacing, she puts on a hat containing ice packs and, on her neck, a grain-filled heat bag. She applies a variety of other prevention and management techniques, from relaxation to Pilates.

Regular physical activity can prevent and ease aches and pains in multiple ways. It improves your general emotional well-being, triggers the release of pain-relieving chemicals, and boosts blood flow and nutrients to your joints and tissues. “Exercise is important not only because of the ‘use it or lose it’ principle, but also because it increases confidence in your ability to do things,” says Wittink.

If you’re worried about worsening your pain or putting pressure on your joints, try gentle walking or low-impact exercises like tai chi or yoga. And if you’ve had a recent sports injury or are recovering from a surgery, a physiotherapist can often suggest at-home exercises that will help you to heal or improve your mobility.

In addition to doing exercises suggested by her physiotherapist and going to Pilates classes, Behaxeteguy does deep breathing exercises with the help of online videos. “It takes five minutes, and I can do them anywhere on my phone.”

And, she puts great stock in the healing power of keeping pets. “Walking my dog helps me exercise and get some air, and my cat’s purring(呼噜声) is incredibly calming. That’s my personal prescription!”

1. What does the underlined words “an episode” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．A medical treatment.	B．A pain attack.
C．An unexpected incident.	D．A movie clip.

2. Which of the following words can describe Miren Behaxeteguy?

A．Outgoing.

B．Confident.

C．Thoughtful.

D．Optimistic.

3. What is the main idea of Paragraph 4?

A．Ways to better one’s mental state.	B．The principle of “use it or lose it”.
C．The benefits of regular exercise.	D．Approaches to handling abrupt pain.

4. Why does Miren Behaxeteguy also turn to deep breathing exercises?

A．Because they are convenient.	B．Because they are free of charge.
C．Because they are more effective.	D．Because they are time-saving.