1 . Pickleball, which combines elements of badminton, Ping-Pang, and tennis, has two characteristics that make it a good choice for older adults. It’s slower than other racket (球拍) sports, and it’s easier to learn.

With a play area about a quarter the size of a tennis court and a plastic ball that doesn’t bounce as high or as fast as a tennis ball, you don’t have to run as much or as quickly. The bats are lighter and shorter than tennis rackets, making them easier to swing and control. There are fewer rules than tennis.

Plus, pickleball is more social than many types of exercise and it’s fun. In one study, participants rated pickleball 150 percent higher for enjoyment than walking. “People are finding it’s not boring,” says Cedric Bryant, PhD, chief science officer at the American Council on Exercise, who has played pickleball for more than 20 years. “It’s not something they’re doing just because they should, but because they enjoy it and want to do it.”

Pickleball is an effective workout, and like walking, you can adjust the intensity to your preferences. A friendly doubles match can qualify as proper exercise. A competitive singles match is likely to be tighter.

And pickleball offers plenty of health pluses. After six weeks of playing an hour of pickleball three times a week, older adults improved their cardiorespiratory (心肺的) fitness and blood pressure, according to a study published in 2018 in the International Journal of Research in Exercise Physiology. Another study found that the activity may keep you mentally sharp. “You’re making a lot of quick decisions while engaged in a physical task,” says study author David Bolton, PhD, assistant professor at Utah State University in Logan. “It is effectively training cognitive (认知的) ability.”

But it is not without risks of getting injured. Don’t just hit the court and go right into having a game. A warm-up is the best defense against injury, so take at least 5 minutes to prepare your body.

1. What is one of the reasons for the popularity of pickleball among older adults?

A．Its slow pace.	B．Its great intensity.
C．Its complex rules.	D．Its cheap equipment.

2. What does Cedric Bryant mainly want to tell us about pickleball?

A．It is demanding.	B．It is enjoyable.
C．It is beneficial.	D．It is practical.

3. What does the underlined word “It” in Paragraph 5 refer to?

A．Making quick decisions.

B．Training cognitive ability.

C．Brain activity during physical exercise.

D．The proper frequency to play pickleball.

4. What might the author talk about next?

A．Pre-workout preparations.	B．The rules of this exercise.
C．Comments on this game.	D．Disadvantages of pickleball.

2 . Tai chi, a traditional, slow-moving form of Chinese martial art, is known to increase flexibility and improve balance. Now, new research suggests it’s better than more energetic aerobic exercises (有氧运动) for lowering blood pressure in people with prehypertension (高血压前期). Prehypertension is considered a warning sign that heart disease may be ahead, and it raises the risk of having a heart attack.

The new findings, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, add to a large body of research pointing to health benefits from tai chi.

In the study, researchers in China randomly assigned 342 adults with prehypertension to one of two interventions. The average age of participants was 49. Roughly half the people participated in aerobic exercises, including jogging, climbing stairs, brisk walking and cycling. The other half was trained to practice tai chi. Both groups got hour-long sessions four times a week.

After 12 months, those in the tai chi group saw bigger drops in their blood pressure than those in the aerobic exercise group. What’s more, nearly 22% of the people who practiced tai chi saw their blood pressure fall to within normal range, compared with nearly 16% of people in the aerobic exercise group. And fewer patients in the tai chi group went on to develop hypertension than in the aerobic exercise group.

How does tai chi help lower blood pressure? The practice tends to cause more of a response from the parasympathetic nervous system (副交感神经系统), says Ruth Taylor-Piliae, a professor at the University of Arizona’s College of Nursing, who was not involved in the study. The parasympathetic nervous system is the network of nerves that relaxes your body after periods of stress or danger.

“I think the beauty of tai chi is that you don’t have to have a special gym membership or special clothing,” Taylor-Piliae says. “Once you learn tai chi, you can do it anytime, anyplace, anywhere. And it does kind of provide that calming, relaxing effect.”

1. What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．The result of the research.	B．The process of the research.
C．The purpose of the research.	D．The application of the research.

2. How does the author mainly organize Paragraph 4?

A．By giving a definition.	B．By providing examples.
C．By making comparisons.	D．By presenting different opinions.

3. What is Taylor-Piliae’s attitude towards doing tai chi?

A．Supportive.

B．Doubtful.

C．Negative.

D．Unclear.

4. Which is the most suitable title for the text?

A．Tai chi Helps Relax Nervous People

B．Tai chi Helps People Prevent Prehypertension

C．Tai chi Plays a Crucial Role in Treating Patients

D．Tai chi Reduces Blood Pressure Better than Aerobic Exercise

3 . My fitness journey started when I couldn’t fit into my coats and weighed 176 pounds. This was my wake-up call. I was overweight, unhappy, and struggling to get back to health and happiness. I needed to be healthy again, so I decided to lose weight and regain control of my life.

I started working out and lost 40 pounds in two months. I was 33 with two kids. My journey started but I had much more to do. I ran marathons but grew bored of them, so I stepped up the challenge: and competed in triathlons (三项全能) for the next five years. I thought I discovered my passion. I’m a fierce competitor and enjoy racing even more. At 38, I was unable to compete and train at the level I desired. I was fearful of being lost and unhappy again.

As I was leaving the weights area one day, a girl asked if I competed in body building. I told her I didn’t and she said I should. This was the start of my new passion. I approached a bodybuilder at the gym and asked him about the sport and he convinced me to train for my first figure show.

I won every class I entered. I demanded a great deal from my body and aimed to improve before every competition, I maintained 10-11 percent body fat all year round. I have added 10 pounds: of muscle in the past four years.

Women over 40 needs to know that it’s possible to achieve our dreams. It’s about choices. Age isn’t a factor. If you want it, you have to work for it. If it were handed to you, it wouldn’t be sweet or unique.

1. What was the author worried about when she was 38?

A．Her weight.	B．Her career.
C．Her role as a mother.	D．Her being unhappy.

2. Who advised the author to compete in bodybuilding?

A．A coach.

B．A girl.

C．Her husband.

D．Her kids.

3. Which of the following can best describe the author?

A．Strong-willed.

B．Humorous.

C．Generous.

D．Creative.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．The author’s hobbies.

B．Ways to lose weight and be healthy.

C．The author’s ways to fitness and happiness.

D．The importance of exercise after 40 for women.

4 . Recent studies found that smiling at London bus drivers increases happiness. However, on the Number 24 bus to Hampstead Heath, Londoners are sceptical. “Bus drivers,” says. Liz Hands. a passenger. “are generally annoying me.”

It might seem improbable that a report on London’s buses could change behaviour. But it has happened before. London’s buses have an underappreciated role in the history, of medical science. In the 1940s, a single study of London’s transport workers transformed epidemiology(流行病学), medicine and the way we live now. Every time you go on a run, check your step-count, or take the stairs instead of the lift, you are following a path pioneered by the feet of the workers on London’s buses.

In the late 1940s, doctors were worried. Britain was suffering from an “epidemic” of heart disease and no one knew why. Various hypotheses(假设), such as stress, were suggested; but one thing that was not exercising researchers was exercise. The idea that health and exercise were linked “wasn’t the accepted fact that we know today”, says Nick Wareham, a professor of epidemiology at Cambridge University. Some even felt that “too much physical activity was a bad thing for your health”. Navvies, miners and farmers who did physical exercise also suffered from various diseases and died young.

At this time a young doctor called Jerry Morris started to suspect that the excess deaths from heart disease might be linked to occupation. He began studying the medical ‘records of 31, 000 London transport workers. His findings were breathtaking: conductors, who spent their time running up and down stairs, had an approximately 30% lower possibility of disease than drivers, who sat down all day. Exercise was keeping people alive.

Morris’s research was eventually published in 1953, just three years after a study by Richard Doll proving the link between smoking and lung cancer. Morris’s work had consequences both big and small. Morris now also took up exercise, handing his jacket to his daughter and just running. “People thought I was bananas.” Slowly, the rest of the world took off its jacket and followed.

1. What can we learn from the first two paragraphs?

A．The former study made much difference.

B．Running was regarded as harmful behavior.

C．Smiling at drivers can cure passengers’ diseases.

D．London passengers can understand bus drivers well.

2. What does the underlined word “exercising” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Interrupting.

B．Responding.

C．Worrying.

D．Delighting.

3. How did Morris conduct his study?

A．By carrying out surveys among numerous workers.

B．By observing the routines of drivers and conductors.

C．By analyzing the medical records of transport workers.

D．By interviewing doctors about their theories on heart disease.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Londoners’ Views on Bus Drivers’ Happiness

B．Smiling and Its Effects on London Bus Drivers

C．The Evolution of London’s Transportation System

D．The Revolutionary Impact of London’s Bus Studies

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 . The History and Development of Soccer

Soccer, known as football in most of the world, is one of the most popular sports today. Let’s explore its history and how it developed and spread over the years.

It is said that the history of soccer dates back as far as 2500 B.C. in London. In China, the most relevant(相关的) is the Chinese game of Tsu’Chu(Cuju). Records of the game began during the Han Dynasty(206B.C.—220A.D.) and it may have been a training exercise for soldiers. Players kicked a small ball into a net between two bamboo poles. The use of hands was not allowed, but a player could use his feet and other parts of his body.

The modern shape of soccer was formed at the beginning of the 19th century. In 1848, the “Cambridge Rules”were established(建立) at Cambridge University. After they graduated, adult football clubs became more common, players could continue to play the ball.

The Football Association(FA) was created on October 26,1863. Over the years, more clubs joined the FA until the number reached 128 by 1887. In 1872, the first Football Association Cup was played in London. Other associations were formed, including the Football League in 1888 in the north and midlands of the country, and the first championship(冠军) league games were played.

It did not take long for other European countries to accept the British love for soccer. Leagues began popping up throughout the world: the Netherlands and Denmark in 1889, Argentina in 1893, Chile in 1895, Switzerland and Belgium in 1895, Italy in 1898, Germany and Uruguay in 1900,Hungary in 1901, and Finland in 1907. It was not until 1903 that France formed their league.

In 1930,the first-ever FIFA World Cup was held in Uruguay. There were 41 members of FIFA at that time. Today it has over 200 members and the World Cup is one of the biggest events of the year.

1. What do we know about Chinese game of Tsu’Chu?

A．It began as far as 2500 B. C.

B．English soccer developed from it.

C．Players were allowed to use their hands.

D．It was probably a training exercise for soldiers.

2. When was the“Cambridge Rules”set up?

A．In 1800.

B．In 1848.

C．In 1863.

D．In 1887.

3. What does the writer want to show in the fifth paragraph?

A．Soccer spread worldwide.

B．Football clubs formed in Europe.

C．The whole world accepted the British soccer.

D．200 members joined in the first-ever FIFA World Cup.

4. How is the text organized?

A．In order of time.

B．In order of place.

C．In order of character.

D．In order of importance.

8 . If you have watched the amazing Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, chances are that you have fallen in love with some winter sports and you’re already making sure your equipment is ready for them.     1     However, there’s another element to get ready for the slopes (坡)—your body. Even if you exercise regularly, skiing, snowshoeing or skating challenges your muscles in ways other activities don’t.

    2     Your metabolism (新陈代谢) increases to warm you up. Your heart and lungs also need to work harder to warm air before it enters your body. Depending on the sport, certain muscles may also be used more frequently compared to activities in other seasons. The good news is that most winter sports involve heart endurance (耐力), muscle strength and muscle endurance.     3    

But there are still some other things to think about. Skiing and snowboarding are great winter sports that provide a total body workout.     4     As anyone who has spent time skiing or snowboarding can prove, after a long day on the slopes, the body becomes extremely tired.     5     To avoid this, you need to take some time to strengthen your body and improve endurance. Before the winter season, a regular exercise program should include exercises that get the blood running while challenging the entire body, such as stair climbing or running. The intensity should vary from 20—45 minutes at least 3 to 5 days a week. As winter nears, adding a cardio (有氧的) workout longer in duration but lower in intensity can help increase endurance.

A．Maybe you haven’t bought all the equipment.

B．And that is when injuries are more likely to occur.

C．Exercising in the cold decreases your body temperature.

D．You should take advantage of this opportunity to have a rest.

E．Probably, you have got your skis tuned and skates sharpened.

F．All of them are areas that can be trained before the winter season.

G．However, it can be hard on the body the first time you hit the slopes.

10 . Two days after eight e-sports (电子竞技) games were officially announced to be included in the 19th Asian Games, China’s Edward Gaming (EDG) team earned its first League of Legends World Championship title with a 3-2 win over South Korea in a tough battle on November 7th, immediately drawing cheers from people around the country. The topic “EDG wins” had been viewed more than 2.63 billion times as of press on Sina Weibo, ranking the top trending topic for a long time.

With the popularity of digital technology, new forms of cultural exchanges have been appearing, of which e-sports are the most popular. Unlike texts and videos, e-sports go beyond the barriers of language and are understandable around the world. E-sports mostly appeal to those in their early 20s, as shown by the carnival (狂欢) of college students. That in turn makes them a good bridge of communication between young Chinese people and their counterparts (对应的人) around the world.

More importantly, the e-sports industry is sustainable in spreading Chinese culture, as the large audiences mean huge commercial potential. In 2020 alone, the sales revenue of the domestic e-sports industry exceeded 278.69 billion yuan, and involved 280,000 enterprises which in turn created over 10 million jobs. According to a media report, nearly 95 percent of graduates from e-sports majors at the Communication University of China in Nanjing, succeeded in finding a job after graduation this year, with 62 percent of them devoted to the e-sports industry, including video game clubs, game design companies and game competition operation companies.

The inclusion of e-sports in major sporting events has been a much-discussed topic in recent years. With more Chinese gaming clubs and teams emerging, the industry is expected to further prosper and continue spreading Chinese culture to the world.

1. What did people on Chinese social media cheer for?

A．Eight e-sports would be included in Asian Games.

B．China’s e-sports industry was recognized by the world.

C．EDG won the League of Legends World Championship.

D．The 19th Asian Games were announced to be held in China.

2. What do we know about e-sports from paragraph 2?

A．They appeal to people of all ages.

B．They become a symbol of Chinese culture.

C．They result in the development of digital technology.

D．They strengthen the bond between young people around the world.

3. What do the numbers in paragraph 3 mainly indicate?

A．The high demands on e-sports players.

B．The difficulties of developing e-sports.

C．The importance of game design companies.

D．The contributions of e-sports industry to the economy.

4. What is the author’s attitude towards the future of the e-sports industry?

A．Hopeful.	B．Ambiguous.
C．Doubtful.	D．Conservative.