1 . Benefits of Sports
Doing sports is a physical, mental and social adventure. It’s a great way for children to take a break from studies and release extra energy. It also helps them lead fuller and happier lives as regular sports have proven beneficial to overall well-being.
The physical benefits of doing sports are probably the most obvious. Regardless of your fitness level when you start playing sports, you’ll notice an increase in your overall fitness once you’re involved.
Children who participate in sports might also benefit from the social aspect, feeling part of a group, building up responsibility and leadership.
Discipline is another social advantage. Most organized sports require a strict training and practice schedule. As a student-athlete, you need to balance studies and athletics.
There is no shortage of reasons to find a sport to get involved in. Are you ready to go? Pick one and get moving!
| A．It’s not just your body that benefits from sports. |
| B．Therefore, playing sports is going to make you more fit. |
| C．But remember, a child’s self-worth should not be distinguished by victory or loss. |
| D．If you play group sports, you’ll be part of a team that takes direction from a coach. |
| E．Nearly every sport requires physical activities and the competitive skills. |
| F．Among these, learning how to function as part of a team is the most important advantage. |
| G．Only with strict discipline can you be successful both in the classroom and in the sports field. |
2 . All over the world people enjoy sports. Sports help to keep people healthy and happy, and to live longer.
Some sports or game go back thousands of years, like running or jumping. Chinese Kungfu, for example, has a very long history. But basketball and volleyball are rather new. Neither one is a hundred years old yet.
People from different countries may not be able to understand each other, but after a game together they often become good friends.
| A．And think of people in cold countries. |
| B．Sports help to train a person’s character. |
| C．People aren’t inventing new sports or games. |
| D．Many people like to watch others play games. |
| E．People are inventing new sports or games all the time. |
| F．Some sports are so interesting that people everywhere take part in them. |
| G．Not a few people participate in different sports competitions themselves. |
3 . How does a person become an Olympic champion—someone capable of winning the gold? In reality, a combination of biological, environmental, and psychological factors, as well as training and practice, all go into making a super athlete.
Perhaps the most important factor involved in becoming an elite athlete is genetics. Most Olympic competitors are equipped with certain physical characteristics that differentiate them from the average person. Take an elite athlete’s muscles, for example. In most human skeletal muscles (the ones that make your body move), there are fast-twitch fibers and slow-twitch fibers. Fast-twitch fibers help us move quickly. Olympic weightlifters, for example, have a large number of fast-twitch fibers in their muscles—many more than the average person. These allow them to lift hundreds of kilos from the ground and over their heads in seconds. Surprisingly, a large, muscular body is not the main requirement to do well in this sport. It is more important to have a large number of fast-twitch fibers in the muscles.
The legs of an elite marathon runner, on the other hand, might contain up to 90 percent slow-twitch muscle fibers. These generate energy efficiently and enable an athlete to control fatigue and keep moving for a longer period of time. When we exercise long or hard, it’s common to experience tiredness, muscle pain, and difficulty breathing. These feelings are caused when the muscles produce high amounts of lactate(乳酸) and can’t remove it quickly enough. Athletes with many slow-twitch muscle fibers seem to be able to clear the lactate from their muscles faster as they move. Thus, the average runner might start to feel discomfort halfway into a race. A trained Olympic athlete, however, might not feel pain until much later in the competition.
For some Olympic competitors, size is important. Most male champion swimmers are 180cm or taller, allowing them to reach longer and swim faster. For both male and female gymnasts, though, a smaller size and body weight mean they can move with greater ease, and are less likely to suffer damage when landing on the floor from a height of up to 4.5 meters.
Some athletes’ abilities are naturally enhanced by their environment. Those raised at high altitudes in countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia, and Morocco have blood that is rich in hemoglobin(血红素). Large amounts of hemoglobin carry oxygen around the body faster, enabling these athletes to run better. Cultural factors also help some athletes do well at certain sports. Tegla Loroupe, a young woman from northern Kenya, has won several marathons. She attributes some of her success to her country’s altitude (she trains at about 2,400 meters) and some to her cultural background. As a child, she had to run ten kilometers to school every day. “I’d be punished if I was late,” she says.
Although genetics, environment, and even culture play a part in becoming an elite athlete, training and practice are needed to succeed. Marathon runners may be able to control fatigue and keep moving for long periods of time, but they must train to reach and maintain their goals. Weightlifters and gymnasts perfect their skills by repeating the same motions again and again until they are automatic. Greg Lougains, winner of four Olympic diving gold medals, says divers must train the same way to be successful: “You have less than three seconds from takeoff until you hit the water, so it has to be reflex. You have to repeat the divers hundreds, maybe thousands, of times.” Training this way requires an athlete to be not only physically fit but psychologically healthy as well. “They have to be,” says Sean McCann, a sports psychologist at the Olympic Training Center in the U.S. “otherwise, they couldn’t handle the training loads we put on them. Athletes have to be good at setting goals, generating energy when they need it, and managing anxiety.”
How do athletes adjust to such intense pressure? Lougains explains how he learned to control his anxiety during a competition: “Most divers think too much…,” he says. “They’re too much in their heads. What worked for me was humor. I remember thinking about what my mother would say if she saw me do a bad dive. She’d probably just compliment me on the beautiful splash.”
1. What is this article mainly about?| A．Factors that make someone a super athlete. |
| B．The different muscle types of super athlete. |
| C．The size of a super athlete. |
| D．How to qualify for the Olympics. |
| A．Muscles | B．Average people |
| C．Olympic weightlifters | D．Fast-twitch fibers |
| A．A strong sense of culture. |
| B．More muscles in their legs. |
| C．Hemoglobin-rich blood. |
| D．Lower amounts of lactate in their muscles. |
| A．A professional athlete should never feel anxiety. |
| B．Athletes cannot perform well unless they are under pressure. |
| C．It’s key to practice and train hard, but try not to take things too seriously. |
| D．It’s important to joke around with your teammates before you perform any sport. |
4 . One afternoon last week, I saw three tearful children from my son's school being comforted by teachers. That morning, my 11-year-old had stomach pains, retching （干呕）into a bowl. Talking to other mothers later. I heard about other children with stomachache or difficult sleeping the night before.
What caused so much pain? Sports day. Sports day might be necessary at a highly-competilive independent school, but not at a village primary school. For the children who can fly like the wind, sports day causes no problem. For those who are overweight or just not good at sport, it is a nightmare （噩梦）.Even for those who enjoy running but fall halfway down the track in front of the entire school and their parents, it can prove a disease.
Why do we put our children through this annual suffering? Some may say competition is character building; or it’s taking part, not winning, that’s important; or that’s a tradition of school life. I just felt great pity for those children in tears or in pain.
Team games at the end of sports day produced some close races, wild enthusiasm, lots of shouting —and were fun to watch More importantly, the children who were not so fast or quick at passing the ball were hidden a little from everyone's eyes. Some of them also had the thrill of being on the winning side.
I wish that sports day could be abandoned and replaced with some other less competitive event. Perhaps an afternoon of team games, with a few races for those who want them, would be less stressful for the children and a lot more fun to watch.
1. What can we learn about the author's son from Paragraph 1?| A．He talked with some mothers. |
| B．He comforted his classmates. |
| C．He had difficulty in sleeping. |
| D．He suffered from stomachache. |
| A．this is an independent school |
| B．it is a tradition of the school |
| C．it helps children lose weight |
| D．children enjoy watching sports |
| A．They should include more stressful races. |
| B．They are acceptable to different children. |
| C．They should be abandoned at primary school. |
| D．They are less fun for those who love running. |
| A．Critical. | B．Doubtful. | C．Positive. | D．Satisfied. |
5 . Indoor Skydiving
Have you ever dreamt of flying? Have you ever wanted to experience the excitement of skydiving, but didn’t want to jump out of a plane? Indoor skydiving has opened up a whole new world for you to try flying.
Indoor skydiving is an activity, simulating（模拟）the free fall of a skydive. That means you learn to fly in a column of air produced by a wind tunnel （风道） inside a limited area. Before flying, you need to wear certain equipment to protect you. And each of you is equipped with an instructor that helps you learn to control your body while flying. But you aren’t trained to be more aware in the sky as a normal skydiver.
To be an indoor flyer, you can be at all ages. Fear of height or lack (缺少) of experience won’t stop you from trying. The only real limitation preventing people from flying is weight limit. Countless physically challenged flyers have safely flown with the help of experienced instructors.
Although indoor skydiving gets its name from skydiving, the similarities between the two are actually very few. The one they are in common is in the sense that they both share the freedom of flying.
However, in traditional dives, skydivers usually step out of a plane from more than 10,000 feet high, while indoor skydiving just needs flyers to lean forward and lie on the air. Also, being an outdoor activity, skydiving depends on the weather. The wind, rain, or snow can cancel your plans to jump. Indoor skydiving removes this effect from the picture. Normally, a skydive lasts just between 45-60 seconds, but tunnels allow skydivers to fly longer and as much as they like.
While most people put skydiving in the must-do list, indoor skydiving is much more than that! What used to take skydivers tens of thousands of jumps and years of experience can be learned in a relatively shorter period of time. Skydivers could be trained at lower cost compared to being trained in the sky. Because people of all ages can fly, children are quickly becoming some of the most talented skydivers. Thus, all these will certainly benefit the development of skydiving.
1. What do indoor skydivers need to do before flying?| A．Jump out of a plane. | B．Become aware of the sky. |
| C．Produce a column of air. | D．Put on protecting equipment. |
| A．Their age. | B．Fear of height. |
| C．Their weight. | D．Lack of experience. |
| A．The sense of flying. | B．The cost of training. |
| C．The length of free fall. | D．The dependence on weather. |
| A．The future of skydiving depends on children. |
| B．Indoor skydiving is beneficial to skydiving. |
| C．Fewer people show interest in skydiving. |
| D．Indoor skydiving will replace skydiving. |
6 . Until quarantine (隔离期) ends, we are left picturing what sport we might do: working out at the gym, playing on a competitive sports team, swimming, biking, or rock climbing. However, we don’t often think of martial arts as possible activities; instead, we rule it out because we think it’s dangerous, uncommon, and even, impossible. Martial arts aren’t considered a sport, right?
Well, here’s some good news: you’re wrong! Martial arts aren’t much more common than people think, and you can start learning at any age. Practicing martial arts is a great way to keep in shape, both physically and mentally. They’re much less boring and much less arduous sport than they’re usually described as in movies, so do not worry that they need a lot of effort.
Martial arts generally require you to focus on the position and movement of every one of your legs and arms, sometimes even your breathing too. Think about it: when you leave the gym, your mental state has improved and you are much calmer. This is because you’ve only paid attention to one activity. It is a great way to clear your head. And practicing it can help you learn to stay more focused, which is the greatest advantage of martial arts training.
Martial arts also improve your coordination (协调性), and greatly improve your posture (姿势). I have personally seen students go from slouching (没精打采) to walking tall with their shoulders back in just a couple of months.
There are many styles and countless kinds of martial arts. Whichever one you like better, know that all of them are good choices.
1. What can we know about martial arts from the first two paragraphs?| A．They often have people hurt. | B．They are difficult to practice. |
| C．People have a wrong view on it. | D．People practice them more often. |
| A．Interesting. | B．Difficult. | C．Friendly. | D．Exciting. |
| A．Adjusting the breath. | B．Enjoying one’s free time. |
| C．Correcting the movement. | D．Keeping one’s attention. |
| A．They are not sports. | B．They attracted many teenagers. |
| C．They are beneficial and helpful. | D．They were invented to protect others. |
7 . My track and field coach, Mr. Jones, had decided to get the team to take part in the 4×100m race. It would be the first time that we were running in such a race. We needed to work as a team to improve our speed. The most critical moment was the passing of the baton (接力棒) at the right time to the next runner.
Mr. Jones had chosen me to start the race. The next runner would be Susan. In the beginning, whenever we practiced passing the baton, something would go terribly wrong. I would either be going too slowly or she would be taking off too late. We needed to perfect it. At the same time, I had to make sure that I would not go beyond the yellow line.
Finally it was the day of the race. We were confident that the gold medal would be ours. Each of us had improved in our running speed. Our passing of the baton had been perfected during the practices.
My reactions were exact and accurate as I started running. Everything felt the way it should be as I sprinted towards Susan. I held the baton in my sweaty palms, promising myself not to let it go. My long legs moved me as fast as I could go round the corner. As I came closer to my final steps, my heart was beating faster than usual. The cheering by the spectators (观众) got into me and I became nervous. “What if we lose?” I thought to myself. It was then that I saw Susan in the far distance.
I held out the baton and continued running quickly towards Susan. Susan yelled “Slow down, slow down!” However, it was too late. The official held up the red flag. It was then that I realized that I had gone beyond the yellow line.
1. What does the underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refer to?| A．Going too slowly. | B．Taking off too late. |
| C．Passing the baton. | D．Going beyond the yellow line. |
| A．They worked as a team and were supported by the spectators. |
| B．They gained an advantage of a stable state of mind in the race. |
| C．They had learned how to avoid breaking the rules in the race. |
| D．They had perfected the running speed and the passing of the baton. |
| A．She ran too fast throughout the race. | B．She lost his focus in the race. |
| C．Her start skill needed improving. | D．She was not well-trained in running. |
| A．Proud. | B．Grateful. | C．Disappointed. | D．Excited. |
8 . History Fair Competition
Understanding history is vital to understanding ourselves as a people and as a nation. History is much more than the study of dusty old objects and events long past. It is an essential part of who we are today and who we will become. Thornton Middle School History Fair Competition makes understanding history exciting, engaging, and fun!
This Year’s Theme
All participants must address how communication or transportation technology has promoted the quality of life for Americans throughout history. To many people, technology means computers, hand—held devices, or vehicles that travel to distant planets. However, technology is also the application of scientific knowledge to solve a problem, touching lives in countless ways.
Individuals or groups may enter one of the following categories:
Performance
Documentary
Essay Writing
Category Requirements
Performance: A dramatic presentation of the topic no more than 10 minutes long. If special clothes are used, they should truly represent a given period.
Documentary: A visual presentation ( such as a video,slide show,or computer project) no more than 10minutes long. A desktop computer,screen,projector,and loudspeakers will be available. Students must provide their presentations on CDs before Friday,March 23.
Essay Writing: An academic paper of 2,000 to 2,500 words. No illustrations(图解) are allowed. Please do not include covers. A list of references must be included.
Important Dates
January 5 Submit a topic proposal to your history teacher. The teacher may require a second proposal if the first is off—topic or unclear.
February 19 A committee of teachers will evaluate materials and give opinions. Students then have an opportunity to improve their products.
March 9 Submit a final draft of your essay.
March 15 Performance and documentary committee preview
March 24 Thornton Middle School History Fair Competition
7:00A.M—9:00 A.M Participants signing in at the gym
10: 00A.M. 6:00PM. Competition and judges' review
7: 00P.M. Awards ceremony and picnic
1. What's the main purpose of understanding history?| A．To preserve national traditions. |
| B．To prepare for a history competition. |
| C．To better know the present and future. |
| D．To further explore historical mysteries. |
| A．Technology advances science. |
| B．Science interacts with technology. |
| C．Science has made the study of history easy. |
| D．Technology has improved the life of Americans. |
| A．Make comments on the materials. |
| B．Improve the participant's second proposal. |
| C．Preview performances and documentaries. |
| D．Collect a second proposal from the participant. |
9 . Benefits of Cross-Country Skiing
Cross-country skiing can be enjoyed by a wide range of students, from the youngest kindergartners to those secondary students. It is really a fun activity, providing students a gentle workout outside in winter. While having fun, students can gain physical and mental benefits .
The physical benefits of cross-country skiing are well known. If we look at Olympic cross- country skiers, we can see the positive effects on the body that result from training for cross-country skiing. The average best female cross-country skier carries 11 percent body fat, and best male skiers carry 5 percent. These percentages are well below the average for people who are considered to be athletic-17 percent for females and 10 percent for males. The high number of calories burned while skiing helps to keep skiers slim in a healthy and attractive way.
Cross-country skiing is also an efficient way to exercise a large number of muscles at once. Because skiers use ski poles as a means of propulsion, the force that drives skiers forward, the upper body gets much more of workout. Of course, the leg muscles also do their fair share. People who use cross-country skiing as a workout over several weeks will discover that the muscles of their entire body increase in strength.
Cross-country skiing on a regular basis has a tremendous effect on a person’s cardiovascular system. In addition to gaining strength in the muscles of the upper and lower body, people who use cross-country skiing as a workout method over several weeks will also discover that their heart is stronger. A strong heart pumps more efficiently, sending out more blood to the muscles with each contraction. Through weeks of skiing, people often discover that their resting heart rate has decreased. Highly trained Olympic cross-country skiers have resting heart rates between 28 and 40 beats per minute. Compare that to the resting heart rate of the average person, which is 60 to 80 beats per minute!
The benefits of cross-country skiing extend beyond overall general health. A lot of evidence exists indicating that regular physical activity increases the release of mood-lifting endorphins in the body. After one of the energetic and fun skiing lessons, students will be smiling and laughing; they will be relaxed and in a better mood than when they started class. Students will leave class with a sense of accomplishment, knowing that they have developed new skills in a fun activity.
Cross-country skiing is a great way to work the total body. Now more and more students are taking part in this exercise outside during the winter months. They are enjoying it and benefiting from it!
1. The underlined word “workout” means ______.| A．manner | B．exercise | C．application | D．opportunity |
| A．requires the use of most muscle groups | B．offers students a unique way to keep fit |
| C．can increase the athletes’ resting heart rates | D．can balance out the skiers’ increased calories |
| A．By making comments. | B．By giving examples. |
| C．By making comparisons. | D．By giving explanations. |
CP: Central point P: Point Sp: Sub-point (次要点) C: Conclusion
A． | B． |
C． | D． |
10 . Poetry Competition
Deadline
16th July，2020
Who may enter
The competition is open to anyone.
Description
The Ledbury Poetry Festival is the biggest poetry festival in the UK. It takes place over ten days each July. If you think you know what poetry is, come along and we'll surprise you. There are live readings, performances, music, exhibitions, films, family events and street events.
Each year we organize a famous competition for new poetry in partnership with Ty Newydd, the National Writers' Centre of Wales. It attracts entries from all over the globe. There are three groups: adults(18 + ) , young people(12-17) and children(under 12).
All poems must be the original works of the entrants and should not have been previously published, accepted for publication by magazines, or have entered in other competitions.
The length of each poem must be more than 40 lines.
The judge of the 2020 Ledbury Poetry Festival Poetry Competition is Liz Berry.
Entry fees
Adults: £5. 75 for the first poem, £3. 50 for each extra poem.
Children/Young People: The first poem free, £1. 75 for each extra poem.
Prizes
Adults' Prizes
• First Prize: £l,000 cash and a course at the National Writers' Centre of Wales
• Second Prize: £500 cash
• Third Prize: £250 cash
Young People's Prizes
• First Prize: £l00 cash
• Second Prize: £50 cash
• Third Prize: £25 cash
Children's Prizes
• First Prize: £25 book token(购书券)
• Second Prize: £15 book token
• Third Prize: £l0 book token
Website
Please visit https://www.poetry-festival, co. uk/ledbury-poetry-competition to learn more about the competition.
1. What do we know about the poetry competition from the text?| A．It is held every two months. | B．It awards all winners cash prizes. |
| C．It is open to worldwide competitors. | D．It offers competitors lectures on poetry. |
| A．It should be written independently. | B．It should contain at least 40 words. |
| C．It has won a prize in other competitions. | D．It has been published by some magazines. |
| A．£12.75. | B．£9.25. | C．£7. | D．£3.5. |
