1 . The Underwater Photographer of the Year, which originated from 1965, is a yearly contest based in the United Kingdom. As you might expect, the focus is on photos taken underwater, whether in the ocean, in lakes or rivers, or even swimming pools.
The pictures are judged in several different categories. The contest in 2020 had over 5,500 entries from 70 different countries.
The grand prize winner was “Frozen Mobile Home” by French photographer Greg Lecoeur. The photo shows seals swimming around a small iceberg. To get the picture, Mr Lecoeur traveled to Antarctica in a small boat and spent time tracking the life around floating icebergs.
The photo “Last Dawn, Last Gasp” by Pasquale Vassallo of Italy won the award for Ocean Protection Photographer of the Year. Mr Vassallo said that he went diving early in the morning to take this picture of a tuna (金枪鱼) trapped as fishermen pulled their nets in.
Mr Vassallo also took “Octopus Training”, a picture that won in the category of “Behavior”. He says that when he came up after a dive, he noticed a soccer ball floating on the surface. When he went to check it out, he saw that there was an octopus hanging from the ball. Mr Vassallo says he doesn’t understand what the octopus was doing, but wonders if it was training for the World Cup.
Though Rooman Luc of Belgium didn’t win the “Portrait” category, his photo, titled “Angry Seahorse”, is quite striking. The closeup shot of a seahorse staring strictly into the camera was named runnerup (second place). He said he spent nearly an hour standing in kneehigh water being bitten by mosquitos in order to get the picture.
The contest has many more amazing photos that can be viewed on the site, along with the stories behind them. There is even a book with all of the contents that can be downloaded for free.
1. Which isn’t suitable to enter the Underwater Photographer of the Year contest?A.The crying dolphin. |
B.Saving the elephant. |
C.The dancing lemon shark. |
D.Kissing the whale. |
A.A tuna is hard to shoot. |
B.We should protect ocean animals. |
C.Diving early in the morning is painful. |
D.There are too many fishing nets in the sea. |
A.The octopus is endangered. |
B.Photography should be serious. |
C.The photographer has a sense of humour. |
D.The photographer concerns himself about the octopus. |
A.Arts. | B.Literature. |
C.Documentary. | D.Education. |
2 . Although most games have winners and losers, the goal of sports is not to win every game. The real goals include getting exercise, having fun, and learning important social skills, like sportsmanship.
Good sportsmanship is all about respect. Good sports (有体育精神的人) respect their teammates and also their opponents. They respect their coaches, and they also respect the referees or other officials involved in their games.
Kids usually learn sportsmanship good and bad from the adults in their lives.
Learning good sportsmanship is important because it helps you develop an attitude of graciousness (礼貌) and respect that will carry over into all the other areas of your life.
So be a good sport in whatever you do!
A.Good sportsmanship can be shown in many ways. |
B.However, bad sportsmanship is all about disrespect. |
C.Players’ parents and coaches set examples that kids tend to follow. |
D.We can be good sports by encouraging others but not laughing at them. |
E.Starting as a good sport earlier will help you be a good sport as you get old. |
F.If you’re a good sport on the field, you’ll also likely be a good sport in the classroom. |
G.The example you set can be a powerful teaching tool for others. |
3 . Last night was the last game for my eight-year-old son's soccer team. It was the quarter final. The score was two to one, my son's team in the lead. Parents surrounded the playground, offering encouragement.
With less than ten seconds remaining, the ball suddenly rolled in front of my son's teammate Mickey O"Donnel. With shouts of "Kick it!" echoing across the playground, Mickey turned around and gave it everything he had. All around me the crowd erupted (突然发出). He had scored!
Then there was silence. Mickey had scored all right, but in the wrong goal, ending the game in a tie. For a moment there was a deathly hush. You see, Mickey has Down syndrome (唐氏综合征)and for him there is no such thing as a wrong goal. All goals were celebrated by a joyous hug from Mickey. He had even been known to hug the opposing players when they scored.
The silence was finally broken when Mickey, his face filled with joy, hugged my son tightly and shouted, "I scored! I scored! Everybody won! Everybody won!" For a moment I held my breath, not sure how my son would react. I need not have worried. I watched, through tears, as my son threw up his hand in the classic high-five salute and started chanting, "Way to go Mickey! Way to go Mickey!" Within moments both teams surrounded Mickey, joined in the chant and congratulated him on his goal.
Later that night, when my daughter asked who had won, I smiled as I replied, "It was a tie. Everybody won."
1. What does the underlined word "hush" in Paragraph 3 mean?A.Cheer. | B.Silence. | C.Laughter. | D.Cry. |
A.The result would disappoint his son. |
B.His son would shout at Mickey for his goal. |
C.Mickey would again hug the opposing players. |
D.The opposite team would laugh at Mickey's goal. |
A.Both teams liked and respected Mickey. |
B.Both teams were thankful for Mickey's goal. |
C.Mickey didn't mind whether his goal was wrong. |
D.Mickey was a kind-hearted boy and hoped everybody won. |
A.To tell a joke to make readers laugh. |
B.To suggest we should not mind losing. |
C.To show enjoying a game is more important than winning a game. |
D.To present his son's fine quality of understanding others. |
4 . Walking with a purpose
Humans were made for walking. With our strong leg muscles, our bodies were literally designed with walking in mind — which is what makes it such perfect exercise.
This month, why not focus on walking with a purpose? Wherever you are, in the city or at the campground, you’ll find plenty of walking going on. Maybe you already love to walk, but you’re getting tired of going your same old route day after day. Or maybe you’re new to walking and aren’t sure how to get started.
If making trends and socializing is your goal, call up your friends and schedule walks with them.
A.See new places? |
B.Head for a new city. |
C.It’s good for our health. |
D.Everyone loves walking and you’re no exception. |
E.Ask your friends where they like to walk and go there. |
F.Either way, it’s time to embrace the idea of walking with a purpose. |
G.Ask local people to get you out of town and into the wild or countryside. |
5 . The biggest soccer organization in the U.S. introduces new rules to make the sport safer.
The U.S. Soccer Federation announced that players in its teams who are 10 or younger are no longer allowed to head the ball. Players aged from 11 to 13 have limits on how often they can practice heading.
The new rules are set to stop kids from getting hurt because of a blow to the head that shakes the brain. Players may get headaches by heading the ball. Even worse, they may also get concussions, which will cause lasting brain damage.
Heading the ball can be one of the most dangerous parts of soccer. Sometimes the force of hitting the ball with their heads gives players concussions. But more often, players receive concussions when they jump to head the ball and by accident knock heads with other players or fall and hit their heads on the grass.
“More concussions happen during the act of heading than any other action in soccer,” says Dr. Robert Cantu, an expert on brain damage.
So far, the new rules are only used by teams that are part of the U.S. Soccer Federation. But the group says it hopes more soccer teams will soon follow its example.
Former U.S. soccer star Brandi Chastain is one of the leaders of the activity to ban heading among young soccer players. She welcomes the rule change but wants the rule to include all players under 14.
1. The new rules are made to________.A.keep young players from being hurt |
B.teach young players how to practice heading |
C.make the U.S. Soccer Federation more famous |
D.encourage young players to improve their skills |
A.She is against them. | B.She supports them. |
C.She is unsure about them. | D.She doesn’t care about them. |
A.New rules in soccer. | B.How to protect young players. |
C.Brain damage becomes more common. | D.The introduction of the U.S. Soccer Federation. |
6 . People need to relax and enjoy themselves. One way they can have a good time is to watch a baseball game or another sports event. Even thousands of years ago, groups of people gathered to watch skilled athletes(运动员).
Over 2, 000 years ago in Greece, certain days in the year were festival days. These were holidays when people stopped work and enjoyed themselves. They liked to watch athletes take part in races and other games of skill.
The most important festival was held every four years at the town of Olympia. It was held in honour of the Greek god Zeus. For five days, athletes from all parts of the Greek world took part in the Olympic Games. At the Olympic Games, people could watch them box, run, jump and so on. There was a relay race between two teams of men in which a lighted torch(火炬) was passed from runner to runner. The Olympic Games were thought to be so important that cities which were at war with one another had to stop fighting. People were allowed to travel to the games freely. Thousands of people came to Olympia from cities in Greece and from its colonies(殖民地) in Africa,Asia and Italy. They met as friends to cheer their favourite athletes and to enjoy themselves.
1. What happened in Greece over 2, 000 years ago?A.People stopped work and enjoyed themselves. |
B.The cities there were often against one another. |
C.People watched baseball games. |
D.People didn’t go to any games at all. |
A.They fought. | B.They just talked to friends. |
C.They cheered for good athletes. | D.They tried to find friends. |
A.Greece at War | B.Together for the Games |
C.Stop Fighting | D.Sport |
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 . Why Is Exercise Cool?
•Exercise Strengthens Muscles
Did you ever do a push-up or swing across the monkey bars at the playground?
•
Can you touch your toes easily without yelling ouch? Most kids are pretty flexible, which means that they can bend and stretch their bodies without much trouble. Being flexible is having “full range of motion”, which means you can move your arms and legs freely without feeling tightness or pain.
•Exercise Keeps the Balance
•Exercise Makes You Feel good
It feels good to have a strong, flexible body that can do all the activities you enjoy—like running, jumping and playing with your friends. It’s also fun to be good at something, like scoring a basket, hitting a home run, or perfecting a dive.
But you may not know that exercising can actually put you in a better mood.
A.Exercise Makes You Flexible |
B.Exercise Makes Your Heart Happy |
C.Those are exercises that can build strength. |
D.So you want to do some aerobic (有氧的) exercise right now? |
E.But if you’re active, your body needs an extra measure of calories or energy. |
F.Food gives your body fuel in the form of calories, which are a kind of energy. |
G.When you exercise, your brain releases a chemical which may make you feel happier. |
9 . How often do you exercise? A new study finds that most kids aged 12 to 15 aren't getting enough physical activity. The results are based on about 800 kids. As part of the study, the young teens tracked and reported on their own activity levels, and took physical exams.
The US fitness guidelines recommend an hour or more of physical activity every day. According to the study, only 1in 4 kids in the US get enough physical activity.
“It's certainly very worrying to see that our kids are engaging in such a limited amount of physical activity each day,” said Dr. Stephen Pont. He is an expert on children's health.
Few kids in the survey met the guidelines for physical activity that raises the heart rate and makes them breathe harder. Overall, about 25% said they got an hour of that kind of violent exercise every day. Kids also reported on which activities they did most often outside of the school gym class--basketball for boys and running for girls.
The study found that obese(肥胖的) teens were less active than normal-weight girls and boys. Overweight girls were slightly less active than normal-weight girls, but levels were similar among overweight and normal-weight boys. The study also said that the overall obesity rate for children aged 2 to 19 is 17%, or about 12.5 million kids.
“There's always room for improvement,” said health expert Tala Fakhouri, who was the lead author of the study. She also said the results provide useful information to help with fitness campaigns such as Lets Move, which was launched by Michelle Obama in 2010. To inspire kids to eat right and get in shape, Michelle visited schools and held exercise events. She also called on schools to offer regular gym classes.
The study also suggests kids who get physical education at school may get better grades.
1. What is the result of the new study?A.It is important to take physical exams |
B.Most US kids don’t get enough exercise |
C.Kids should get physical activity every day |
D.800 kids don’t get enough physical activity. |
A.To help kids to keep fit. |
B.To hold exercise events. |
C.To offer regular gym classes. |
D.To provide useful information. |
A.do better in their studies |
B.try their best to get in shape |
C.be more willing to help others |
D.be less active than fat children |
A.visited | B.stopped |
C.started | D.improved |
10 . People believe that climbing can do good to health Where can you learn the skill of climbing then? If you think that you have to go to the mountains to learn how to climb, you're wrong. Many Americans are learning to climb in city gyms. Here, people are learning on special climbing walls. The climbing wall goes straight up and has small holding places for hands and feet.
How do people climb the wall? To climb need special shoes and a harness(保护带) around your chest to hold you. There are ropes tied to your harness. The ropes hold you in place so that you don't fall. A beginner's wall is usually about 15 feet high, and you climb straight up. There are small pieces of metal that stick out for you to stand on and hold on to. Sometimes it's easy to see the new piece of metal. Sometimes, it's not. The most difficult is to control your fear. It's normal for humans to be afraid of falling, so it's difficult not to feel fear. But when you move away from the wall, the harness and the ropes hold you, and you begin to feel safe. You move slowly until you reach the top.
Climbing attracts people because it's good exercise for almost everyone. You use your whole body, especially your arms and legs. This sport gives your body a complete workout. When you climb, both your mind and your body can become stronger.
1. What can we infer from the passage?A.People are fairly interested in climbing nowadays |
B.It is impossible to build up one's body by climbing |
C.People can only learn the skill of climbing outdoors |
D.It is always easy to see holding places in climbing. |
A.to tie ropes to your harness |
B.to control your fear |
C.to move away from the wall |
D.to climb straight up |
A.Settlement | B.Exercise. |
C.Excitement | D.Tiredness |
A.To tell people where to find gyms |
B.To prove the basic need for climbing |
C.To encourage people to climb mountains |
D.To introduce the sport of wall climbing |
A.A science book. |
B.A research report. |
C.A sports magazine. |
D.A sports history book. |