1 . Running is often tiring and a lot of hard work, but nothing beats the feeling you get after finishing a long workout around the track.
But while it’s long been believed that endorphins (内啡肽) —chemicals in the body that cause happiness—are behind the so-called “runner’s high”, a study suggested that there may be more to this phenomenon than we previously knew.
According to a recent study published by a group of scientists from several German universities, a group of chemicals called endocannabinoids (内源性大麻素) may actually be responsible for this familiar great feeling.
To test this theory, the scientists turned to mice. Both mice and humans release high levels of endorphins and endocannabinoids after exercise. After exercising on running wheels, the mice seemed happy and relaxed and displayed no signs of anxiety. But after being given a drug to block their endorphins, the mice’s behavior didn’t seem to change. However, when their endocannabinoids were blocked with a different drug, their runners’ high symptoms seemed to fade.
“The long-held notion of endorphins being responsible for the runner’s high is false. Endorphins are effective pain relievers, but only when it comes to the pain in your body and muscles you feel after working out,” Patrick Lucas Austin wrote on science blog Lifchacker.
Similar studies are yet to be carried out on humans, but it’s already known that exercise is a highly effective way to get rid of stress or anxiety. The UK’s National Health Service even prescribes (开药 方) exercise to patients who are suffering from depression. “Being depressed can leave you feeling low in energy, which might put you off being more active. Regular exercise can improve your mood if you have depression, and its especially useful for people with mild to moderate (中等的) depression,” it wrote on its website.
It seems like nothing can beat that feeling we get after a good workout, even if we don’t fully understand where it comes from. At least if we’re feeling down, we know that all we have to do is to put on our running shoes.
1. What did scientists from German universities recently discover?| A．Working out is a highly effective way to treat depression. |
| B．The runner’s high could be caused by endocannabinoids. |
| C．Endorphins may contribute to one’s high spirits after running. |
| D．The level of endorphins and endocannabinoids could affect one’s mood. |
| A．To find what reduces the runner’s high symptoms. |
| B．To see the specific symptoms of the runner’s high. |
| C．To identify what is responsible for the runner’s high. |
| D．To test what influences the level of endocannabinoids released. |
| A．Effect. | B．Goal. | C．Opinion. | D．Question |
| A．They can help ease depression symptoms. |
| B．They are the best way to treat depression. |
| C．They only work for those with serious depression. |
| D．They can help people completely recover from depression. |
2 . There are many weird sports that are present around the world. From each region of the world, along with the very popular common sports, there are also those really popular but very weird kinds of sports.
The Ultimate Test Between Man and HorsesThis is indeed a very strange kind of sport that tests your stamina (耐力). You will learn how to be agile (灵活的) while competing against a horse. This game originated in the Welsh town of Llanwrtyd Wells. This sport really has to do with strength. You will require great agility and strength in order to take part in this. Marathon human contestants are put to compete against those mounted people. This is how the marathon testing takes place.
Love Locked RacesThis is a sports event that was first introduced in Finland. This is all about a male competitor racing with a female in a certain way. There would be many obstructions and blocks on the way which would definitely bring you challenges. The person to win would have to finish the race without losing his female partner in the course of overcoming the obstacles even for once. This race takes place really fast and the obstacles are set that way.
The Toe SportThis is yet another weird sport that welcomes you to use your toes. This is quite the same kind of sport that you used to play as a child which involved toe wrestling. This has now been turned into a major sport that even has a World Toe Wrestling Competition. It first originated in a pub of Derbyshire.
The locals took this sport with great enjoyment and then made this so popular that it soon had its own championship. The individuals who participate have only got to use their feet and then this is tougher than it may sound.
The Mud Pit Belly FlopThis is a kind of game where even the spectators (观众) get splashed with mud but in fact that is quite the fun. The very annual Summer Redneck Games in East Dublin bring about this game and bring about some of the greatest hubcap-discus throws with it. This is also a great sport to show the strength and dexterity of your feet.
1. Which sport requires couples to participate?| A．The Ultimate Test Between Man and Horses. | B．Love Locked Races. |
| C．The Toe Sport. | D．The Mud Pit Belly Flop. |
| A．It first originated in a pub of Derbyshire. |
| B．The locals took this sport with great enjoyment. |
| C．It has a World Toe Wrestling Competition. |
| D．Even kids are fond of the sport. |
| A．People with agility and strength. | B．People with companions. |
| C．Marathon runners. | D．Horse riders. |
3 . Each year, the women of Olney, England, and Liberal, Kansas, have an unusual “pancake racing”. This tradition is said to have started on Shrove Tuesday,1445, in Olney. Shrove Tuesday is the day before the Christian season of Lent begins.
It is said that in 1445, an Olney woman was making pancakes. She suddenly heard the church(教堂) bells ring, signaling the beginning of the Shrove Tuesday service. Realizing that she was going to be late for church, she raced out the door still wearing her apron(围裙) and headscarf and holding her frying pan(锅) with a pancake in it. Olney women continue this tradition more than 500 years later.
In 1950, a person of Liberal wanted his town to join in Olney Pancake Race. He made some phone calls to Olney to set up a friendly competition, and the people of Olney accepted the challenge.
The rules are simple. Racers must wear the traditional headscarf and apron. They have to flip(抛) the pancake in the air so that it flips and lands back in the pan on the other side. After the race, there are Shrove Tuesday church services. Then Liberal and Olney connect through a video call to compare race times and announce a winner.
In both towns, the races have grown into larger festivals. Olney’s festival is an allday event starting with a big pancake breakfast. Liberal’s festival lasts four days and includes a parade, a great show, and eating competitions.
Although the women’s race is still the main event, both towns now hold races for boys and girls of all ages. Emma Evans,14, was the winner of her age group’s race in Liberal last year. She wore an apron that her grandma made for her and used a pan passed down to her from her older brother. Her family cheered her on from the sidelines.
“It’s a family tradition, ”Emma says. “And there are only two places in the world that compete against each other in a race like this, so it feels special.”
1. What do we know about Olney Pancake Race?| A．It was founded by a cook. | B．It was started during Lent. |
| C．It is a centuriesold tradition. | D．It has been held every year since 1445. |
| A．Wear their formal clothes. | B．Throw and catch the pancake. |
| C．Hand the pancake to another. | D．Eat the pancake while running. |
| A．lasts only one day | B．has more varied activities |
| C．holds different races for boys | D．starts with a delicious breakfast |
| A．It is familyfriendly. | B．It is quite competitive. |
| C．It should be internationalized. | D．It should provide aprons for racers. |
4 . Teenagers’ fitness is now a major concern，and physical exercise is very important. It reduces stress and improves fitness. Exercise makes your body strong，and helps you to keep the right body weight. Sports scientist Dr. Helen Lopez offers the following advice to teenagers：“First，you need to find out your present level of fitness. Then you can design a programme that will help you become healthier.”
Dr. Lopez suggests that there are three levels of fitness that need a change of lifestyle.“Overweight”means that the person gets very little exercise and often has a serious weight problem. “Inactive” means that the person does not join in many physical activities，but is not seriously overweight.“Active”refers to people who take part in sports and other physical activities，but do not have a high fitness level.
According to Dr. Lopez，overweight teenagers should work out to keep healthy.“Ride a bike，play volleyball or basketball for a while，and go for a twentyminute walk each day. All these will help to burn calories.”Inactive teenagers should do similar activities, but add some bending and stretching exercises, such as pushups and situps, starting with twenty of each a day.“Inactive people can take a little more exercise than overweight people because their bodies are stronger，”Dr. Lopez said. The same rule applies to active teenagers.
Dr. Lopez suggests one hour a week or more on running and other forms of intensive exercise，together with fifteen minutes a day spent on stretching and bending activities.“These are really important in order to prevent injuries,” Dr. Lopez said. Some weighttraining and other bodystrengthening exercises could also be planned in the programme in order to increase the person’s strength.
1. What can we learn from the passage?| A．Active people always have a high fitness level. |
| B．Overweight people always take more exercise. |
| C．Keeping fit means changing teenagers’ lifestyle. |
| D．Inactive teenagers are not seriously overweight. |
| A．Physical exercise can make the teenagers grow taller. |
| B．Physical exercise can help teenagers become healthier. |
| C．Physical exercise can help to burn up calories. |
| D．Physical exercise can increase teenagers’ strength. |
| A．walking exercises | B．streching and bending |
| C．riding | D．weighttraining |
| A．Doing Exercise |
| B．Teenagers’ Fitness |
| C．Different Lifestyles |
| D．Overweight Teenagers |
5 . A Poem Contest
Public Poetry is making this contest FREE. All our activities are focused on creating new opportunities for poets and poetry. While we withdraw from social life in the face of the pandemic（全球流行病），we can also be productive, allowing ourselves to reflect and start things in a fresh state of mind—all good stuff for writing poetry inspired by these times we're in now. Normally, our contests come with cash awards,a print anthology（诗选）and book launch. This time, we need your help to accomplish this. What you give is what we'll give. 100% of the donations will go towards prizes, readers' and judges' fees, and anthology publication costs.
GUIDELINES
·Anyone can submit, including outside the USA.
·Only new, original poems accepted.
·ONE entry per person non-members; up to TWO entries for all Public Poetry Members.
·40 lines maximum per poem (The title and blank lines do not count).
·Your name and other identifying information CAN NOT appear anywhere in the submission itself.
·YOUTH poems will be judged in 3 categories:7 and under; 8-12 years old; 13-18 years old.
·All submissions should include the date you wrote the poem at the top right corner above the title.
·Submissions may not be modified（修稿）in any way after entry.
·Failure to follow any contest guidelines may result in your submission disqualification（取消资格）．
Winners will be informed on our website and from a link in our free e-newsletter. We're aiming to notify you in October.
1. What do we know about Public Poetry?| A．It holds poetry competition. | B．It charges applicants for entry. |
| C．It provides a free trip to USA. | D．It enables competitors to be creative. |
| A．To make a comparison. | B．To tell about Public Poetry's history. |
| C．To encourage donations. | D．To show special features. |
| A．A Chinese submitting an entry. |
| B．The writer's name on the submission itself. |
| C．A submission covering 30 lines. |
| D．The date of poem written at the top right corner. |
6 . I remember a basketball game on our home-court at Senn High School in Chicago. The kids from my school, began booing(向……喝倒彩)the visiting team. After a minute or two, Senn's coach, Cap Leighton instructed us that booing the other team was impolite and therefore unacceptable, and it needed to stop immediately. Such was Coach Leighton's authority that it did stop, straightaway. For the rest of the game we restricted ourselves to cheering on our own team.
How many people remember sportsmanship? I remember it and now think of it chiefly us something missing from contemporary sports. Sportsmanship was once central to tennis. The famous players, such as the great Australian generation of Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, and John Newcombe, set an example for us. Harry Hopman, the Australian Davis Cup coach between 1939 and 1967, might send a player home for saying dirty words on the court.
However, some players dealt a blow to sportsmanship with their bad behavior on the court in the name of heightened competiveness. And it's rude of me perhaps to point this out on the weekend of the Super Bowl, but no sport has become more bereft(失去……的) of sportsmanship than football generally and professional football in particular. There is what is sometimes referred to as the 12th man in football. This 12th man is the home crowd, who begin a burst of uninterrupted screaming when the visiting team has the ball, so that its quarterback can't hear instructions from the sidelines and his teammates can't hear his signal calling at the line of mixei fight.
Sportsmanship matters because without it sports are an empty proposition (命题). Sportsmanship implies respect－for the game, for your opponent and for yourself. A great part of the justification(理由)for sports is that it's a forcing－house for building character. Accepting defeat with grace is one of sportsmanship's character－building components. Without sportsmanship, sports are little more than grown men playing children's games.
1. How does the author introduce the topic in the text?| A．By listing some evidence. |
| B．By presenting an argument. |
| C．By comparing different views. |
| D．By recalling his past experience. |
| A．they fully practiced sportsmanship |
| B．they advertised Australian Davis Cup |
| C．tennis players had to obey strict rules |
| D．tennis was an influential sport in Australia |
| A．Basketball. | B．Tennis. |
| C．Football. | D．Baseball. |
| A．To encourage us to accent defeat bravely. |
| B．To appeal to us to live up to sportsmanship. |
| C．To call on us to seek ways to encourage sportsmanship. |
| D．To advise us to explore the components of sportsmanship. |
7 . Cold weather during winter months may keep many people from leaving home and running in the open air. However, a new study shows that the drop in temperature is a good reason to run.
Many people say running in winter can be difficult. One reason is the low temperature.
This information comes from John Brewer, who is a professor of applied sports science at St. Mary’s University. For this study，he and other researchers put a group of people into a special room. The researchers then recreated summer and winter weather conditions in the room.
He says that the most important thing for people who run in cold conditions is to wear the right clothing. Wear gloves on your hands.
| A．The other reason is the bitter winds. |
| B．We have good reasons to run in winter. |
| C．Wear shoes that will keep you from falling. |
| D．Don’t be nervous when you run in cold weather. |
| E．The body needs less water on a cold day than in warm weather. |
| F．In fact, running in cold weather helps improve one’s performance. |
| G．The test subjects were asked to run 10, 000 meters under both conditions each. |
8 . Every year in Australia, the strongest long-distance runners race more than 500 miles from Sydney to Melbourne. The race takes more than five days to complete. It attracts world-class athletes—the kind who become spokespeople for sports shoes and drinks.
In 1983, however, as the competitors lined up to race, they were joined by a 61-year-old farmer wearing overalls（工作服）.
When the race began，the younger runners flew past Cliff. Instead of trying to catch them, Cliff shuffled（拖着脚走）along in an unusual way.
Cliff received $10,000 for winning the race. He said he did not realize there would be prize money, and he gave the money to his fellow runners. Doing this made him a hero in Australia. Since then, many runners have started to use his special way of running.
| A．His name was Cliff Young. |
| B．He greeted them with a big smile. |
| C．No one sleeps during the race anymore, either. |
| D．On the fifth day, the sheep farmer shuffled into the first place. |
| E．Cliff was welcomed by cheerful crowds when he went home. |
| F．Sometimes I had to run after those sheep for two or three days. |
| G．The other runners and the spectators thought he would never finish the race. |
9 . You’re at your favorite sporting event, watching your team play their hardest. Then all of a sudden you hear a cheer. This really seems to get the crowd fired up. But does anyone ever stop and think about how much time and effort it takes to be a cheerleader? Do you ever wonder how much sweat and practice go into cheerleaders being out there to cheer on their home team? Do you ever think these cheerleaders really have to have a good memory also? Not only are they athletes, but they are smart athletes, and the nicest people you will ever meet. Cheerleading is a sport because cheerleaders take part in all kinds of competitions, and there is danger involved(卷入).
It is not a well-known fact that cheerleaders have to compete in a lot of different competitions. This is something a lot of people think is very easy, but in fact, taking part in the competitions is one of the hardest things that cheerleaders have to do. Competitions take a lot of time and effort. I have been to 37 different cheerleading competitions since the age of five. And in my opinion, competitions require quite a lot of physical and mental effort.
Moreover, there are many dangerous activities involved. Jump is one of the most dangerous things in cheerleading. If you were to come down from the jump incorrectly, you could break a foot，or even a leg. Tumbling(翻腾动作) is another highly risky thing. During tumbling, concussions(脑震荡) may happen when you hit the head on the floor.
I believe that cheerleading is a sport because cheerleaders compete in all kinds of competitions, there are many different skills to learn and master, and it can be a very dangerous sport. So the next time you are at your favorite sporting event listening to the cheers of the crowd, think about the preparation involved in this energetic sport.
1. What are the questions in Paragraph 1 mainly about?| A．The key role of a good cheerleader. |
| B．People’s expectations for cheerleaders. |
| C．Little-known facts about cheerleading. |
| D．The relationship between teams and cheerleaders. |
| A．She gives them high praise. |
| B．She is doubtful about them. |
| C．She looks down upon them. |
| D．She pays no attention to them. |
| A．To show how cheerleading competitions work. |
| B．To prove cheerleading competitions are hard work. |
| C．To prove the great influence of competitions on her. |
| D．To show her important achievements in cheerleading. |
| A．Why is cheerleading so popular? |
| B．The moment you hear a cheer |
| C．Your favorite sporting event |
| D．Is cheerleading a sport? |
10 . What makes sports fun?
What makes organized sports fun for kids? A group at George Washington University (GW), led by Professor Amanda J. Visek, has been studying this question. The research is important because lots of kids give up playing sports around age 13 or 14.
The reason kids quit?
First, the group brainstormed 81 things called "fun determinants" that can make sports fun. Then they asked the players aged 8 to 18 to assess how important each thing was to their enjoyment of playing organized sports.
| A．The result was surprising |
| B．They say sports aren't fun anymore. |
| C．Boys and girls react differently toward sports. |
| D．Different groups have different opinions on fun determinants. |
| E．The group compared males' and females' attitudes on what makes sports fun. |
| F．The study, however, showed girls' and boys’ attitudes were more alike than different. |
| G．The same was true for younger and older players as well as recreational and travel athletes. |
