Ever since Jake first watched the 1988 Olympics held in Seoul, South Korea, he had dreamed of being in the Olympics. For years, he had worked hard to become a good swimmer, training and practicing. Two decades later, he was in Beijing, China, for his first Olympic performance, as part of his country’s swimming team!
The Olympic Stadium was packed with athletes from all over the world, all eagerly awaiting the start of the opening parade (入场式). The atmosphere was electric and everything seemed perfect. Almost.
Jake loved his red, white and blue official Olympic jacket with the Olympic rings on the back. But several minutes before, Jake had torn a hole in the left sleeve (袖子) of his jacket when it got caught in a gate.
“Too bad about your jacket,” his teammate, Ben, commented.
“I hope nobody notices it,” Jake sighed.
“Someone will,” Ben laughed.
Jake didn’t respond as he was already feeling annoyed and depressed after having to deal with his lost suitcase when they landed at the airport the day before. He could not believe how things were not going his way.
Suddenly, a lovely little girl about 8 years old came up to Jake and pointed at the tear in his sleeve. Jake smiled at her. The girl started speaking in a language he couldn’t understand, all the while pointing at his torn sleeve. Unable to catch a word, Jake turned to his teammates for help but all of them shook their heads with a helpless expression. At that moment, the little girl began to take off her own jacket that was marked with a red English word “China” and looked up at Jake eagerly, signing to Jake to do so.
“Oh, I get it. You want to try it on. Here you go!” Jake slipped off the jacket and handed it to her. The Chinese girl took it, bowed and took off with his jacket right away!
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150个左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
“Can’t she be a little thief?” Ben joked, pointing at her back.
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Jake turned around, only to see the little girl coming.
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Skateboarding, which is rooted in street culture and closely tied to lifestyles and attitudes of young people, is a sport that emphasizes freedom and personal techniques.
The 13-year-old girl, Cui, took up skateboarding in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic did not allow her to practice rollerblading, which she began as a 3-year-old. One day, her father, a skateboarding enthusiast, suggested “why not try skateboarding at home instead?” That day she stepped onto the board for the first time, “It felt incredibly smooth. It was love at first sight.” Cui exclaimed. Within a year, she was reaching podiums (领奖台) at professional-level events, In 2022, she ranked third in the women’s street event at the provincial games. She soon joined the provincial skateboarding team and underwent a more comprehensive and structured training program.
In skateboarding, injuries are unavoidable, but when discussing the pain and the setbacks, Cui displayed a level of resilience (适应力) beyond her age. “When I started skateboarding, I thought it was great fun. Later, I realized people sustain a lot of injuries while skateboarding. But that is where the spirit of skateboarding lies.” she said. Most of the time, getting injured is just part of the process, and she simply pushes through it and perseveres, she added.
Earlier this year, Cui secured the 30th spot in the women’s street event at the World Street Skateboarding Championships. Until Wednesday, the title of China’s youngest Asian Games gold medalist belonged to 15-year-old skateboarder Chen Ye, who won the men’s park event on Monday.
The street competition involves skaters performing daring tricks on a tough course that features rails and gaps. September 28, 2023, the big day for Cui came.
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。
Paragraph1:
“I particularly wanted to win this one.” Cui said to her father.
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Paragraph2:
Cui made an impressive landing off the difficult high rail.
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Super Roy
“You’re a halfback(中卫).” I looked over my shoulder at the empty field behind me. “Me?” I asked, pointing to my chest
“Yes,” the coach said again. “You’re a halfback. Yep, no doubt about it.”
The coach’s name was Super Roy. Someone told me his real name once, but it never stuck. When I got to practice that day I was a small kid with little athletic experience or skill. I wondered if I belonged there at all and what Super Roy had seen in me that I didn’t see in myself.
“Are you sure I’m a halfback?” I asked him the next day.
“Let me see,” he said, standing back to have a good glance at me, which made me nervous about what he would say
“Yep. You’re a halfback. Might as well get used to it.”
“Okay,” I said, puzzled but beginning to accept the idea, strange as it seemed.
Later that day we started running plays. Time after time the quarterback put the ball right in my hands. Me, the silly fellow who had to be reminded how many points a touchdown was worth. I expected to go all season without touching the ball. I expected to be a bench warmer, and now the ball was in my hands—literally.
Super Roy had a routine he did every day. As practice came to an end, he would pick one of the players to step forward. The player had to recite a quote Super Roy had given him the day before. It was a very important moment in practice. No one wanted to forget his quote in front of the whole team.
After practice was over one day, Super Roy spoke to me. “Your turn tomorrow,” he said. “Ready for your quote?”
“Okay,” I said, stressed in deep concentration. “I’m ready.”
“Well, here it is: ‘It’s not the size of the man you play, it’s how you play the man.’ Got it?” “Yes, Coach.”
Super Roy winked at me and gave me a pat on the shoulder. “And I believe the quote will help you make a miracle in the inter school match next month,” he added.
On the way home, my mind played like a broken record, which made me murmur the words repeatedly.
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。
Paragraph 1: There came the practice time the next day.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2: I stepped into Super Roy’s office after the match.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________From an early age, Patti Wilson was told that she was an epileptic (癫痫患者). However, she was a lively and enthusiastic girl, looking at her illness as simply “an inconvenience”. She never focused on what she had lost, but on what she had left. One day, Patti said to her father, who was a morning jogger, “Daddy, I’d really love to run with you every day, but I’m afraid I’ll have an epileptic fit.”
Her father told her, “Don’t worry, my girl. I know how to handle it! Let’s start running then!”
It was a wonderful experience for the father and daughter to run together every day. After a few weeks, the ambitious girl told her father, “Daddy, What I’d really love to do is to break the world’s long-distance running record for women.” The father checked the Guinness Book of World Records and found that the farthest any woman had run was 80miles.
That year, she completed her run to San Francisco, which is a distance of 400 miles. She was wearing a T-shirt, reading, “I Love Epileptics”. Her father ran every mile at her side, and her mom, a nurse, followed in a motor home behind them in case anything went wrong. But nothing happened at all while she was running.
As a senior high school student, Patti announced that she was determined to run from her hometown up to the White House, which is a distance of more than 3000 miles away. Her classmates got behind her. They built a giant poster that read, “Run, Patti, Run!” This has since become her motto and the title of a book she later has written.
注意：1.续写的词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
On her second marathon in Portland, she had her foot injured.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Half a year later, Patti ran in Washington and finally shook the hand of the President.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________A Teacher’s Dream
When handball was introduced to Sri Lankan schools in 2010,I wanted to bring it to my school, St Anthony’s, in the remote village of Wasalakotte in central Sri Lanka. This became a challenging task as the sports teacher was unwilling to initiate anything other than traditional sports, such as cricket, rugby and basketball.
I was not a sports teacher and I had never played handball before. In fact, I was an English language teacher before assuming my post as vice principal. However, I was determined to start this game at any cost. Handball is a fascinating game which combines speed, strength, flexibility, technical precision, skill and teamwork. As a new sport, I foresaw it as a golden opportunity for our school as we had never secured a place in traditional sports.
The boys were immediately interested and 40 students aged between 13 and 19 signed up to play. I had the support of their parents. Ultimately, I managed to convince the sports teacher to agree. However, we still needed a coach.
Heshan Pradeep, a St Anthony’s old boy who graduated some nine years earlier, volunteered to coach the team. He was a member of the Air Force handball team and was happy to take on the role in his free time. He assigned exercises and drills to do in his absence.
Although handball is an indoor game, we trained outdoors as our school had limited facilities. Training started early in the morning before class and continued after school until it was dark. The boys loved the game and were enthusiastic about training.
“This handball craze will ruin your studies!” complained some of the teachers in an attempt to discourage the game. Whenever the boys were late for class after morning practice, they were scolded or punished by their teachers, but I was able to keep them cheerful.
After three months of intense training, we were able to send an under-19s boys’ team to compete with 50 other schools at the first all-island school handball tournament held in Colombo—the country’s richest city.
注意：
1.续写词数应为150个左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
However, the Handball Association rejected our application because we weren’t association members.
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The victory sent the whole school into festive mode.
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Sports Day was getting close in the school. All the children were very excited and were practicing for the big race. John, one of the fast runners of the school, was confident that he would win for he was not doing anything at all. “You have to work hard to come first in the race John. You are not practicing at all,” said John’s mother.
“Mom, you know how fast I am! Why should I waste my time running? Only I will win; no one else will win!”said John. “John, you may be right but talent (天赋) without hard work is not good at all. This laziness of yours will cost you greatly,” his mother warned him. John just laughed. He was so confident that he would win the trophy (奖杯) as no one else in his class was as fast as he was!.
Tim, a classmate of John, was also participating (参加) in the running race. He was not a fast runner. However, he practiced till late at night and had developed great endurance (持久力) to run the race.
There were a few days left for the Sports Day but John did not practice at all. On the other hand, Tim practiced day and night.
The Sports Day was almost around the corner but John was confident that no one could beat him and had not practiced at all. But Tim with his hard work had become a very great runner.
At last, the Sports Day arrived. All the students showed up on the ground to cheer their favorites. The coach blew the whistle (口哨) and everyone began to run toward the finishing line. It was so exciting. John and Tim left all the racers far behind. Both of them were neck to neck.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Suddenly, John went ahead of Tim.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________John’s mother came up to Tim and praised him for his hard work.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Sweat poured down Marquez’s face. He was preparing for a basketball game and he would win. That was a pretty sure thing. After all, he wasn’t just good; he was excellent.
Basketball was a way of life in Marquez’s family. His older brother Reggie was now playing at a top college. Marquez was ready to follow in his brother’s footsteps and make his family proud. But he had a secret. As good as he was at basketball, Marquez’s heart wasn’t in it anymore. He had another sport on his mind.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead (额头), Marquez jumped on a bus heading home. Through the bus window, he could see cheerleaders dancing and performing amazingly on the field. Marquez was attracted. He pulled out a sheet from his bookbag. Across the top in big block letters was the phrase: Cheerleading Competition (啦啦队比赛). That’s what Marquez really wanted to do. He longed for a new challenge.
Although it is accepted that cheerleading was girly, Marquez knew the meaning of cheerleading for a game. He also knew that cheerleading wouldn’t just be a physical challenge; it would be an emotional one, too.
Now, he knew it was time for him to tell his family.
As soon as he arrived home, his parents and Reggie were at the door. Marquez’s face grew bright as he hugged Reggie. “You’re home?” “Of course, little man. I planned to come to your game. You’re going to be a better player than me!”
Everyone in the family was smiling…except Marquez. His family had such high expectations for him when it came to basketball. But Marquez was tired of trying to keep up with his brother. He was ready to carve his own path. He wanted to tell his parents, but Reggie being there put much more pressure on him.
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。
However, Marquez knew what had to be done.
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Over the next few weeks, his family began to understand and support him for the big event.
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I used to be very active in sports and games when I was in primary school. I won the long jump and was a fairly good runner. As a result, I was chosen to represent the school in the long jump and relay events at the District Sports Meet.
The meeting lasted two days. I had no events scheduled for the first day. So I kept myself busy by watching the others compete.
The next day, I was getting ready for my events. The long jump was scheduled for the early afternoon, followed by the 4×100 meters relay race later in the afternoon. I thought I was a pretty good jumper, but as the competition began, I realized I was wrong. I was not the best at all. 3.65 meters was not bad. Then there was Typhoon, who jumped over 4 meters! That was quite an achievement for a ten-year-old boy. I thought maybe getting a second place was also acceptable. However, when we finished our jumps, I came in fourth place, just missing out on a medal.
That was disappointing, but I reminded myself that we still had a chance in the 4×100 meters relay, for which I was to run the third leg. The race time arrived. We stepped to our places and prepared for the race. After a minute or so, I heard the starter’s gun go off. My heart beat so fast. When the first runners took off, I watched with held breath as my team runners kept up with the others. They were great! As they got closer, I realized we were almost in first place. I felt my blood began to boil when my teammate passed the baton(接力棒) on to my hand.
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。
I took the baton and began my run.
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We just accepted it was bad luck.
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David was a windsurfer, who was serious and hardworking. He dreamed of becoming a city champion of the annual Teenager Windsurfing Race. To achieve it, he barely missed a single game or practice whatever the weather. After months of intense training, the big day finally arrived!
The beach was crowded with the excited audience, including reporters and photographers. The speaker system was announcing the names of the windsurfers, calling them to get ready for the race. And there was David, in a line with other windsurfers, all of them moving nervously up and down on the waves behind an imaginary starting line. They were all fighting for the best position to start and were tense as a result, ignoring the vast sea they were on.
The moment the starter’s signal sounded, David was off, so natural and quick. He pulled hard at his sail to race just ahead of the group. As he picked up speed, gliding (滑行) over the waves, he felt the familiar joy and freedom that windsurfing always gave him. What he loved was simply being out at sea. He could hardly stop himself from shouting out in excitement, rushing to the finishing line for the first.
“Go! David!” The wind carried over a familiar voice. He looked around and spotted his elder sister Jessica on her speedboat upwind of him cheering for him. She waved at David and he nodded his head in acknowledgement, even though he knew she was too far away to see him. Just as he turned away, however, out of the comer of his eye, he saw smoke behind the speedboat, on the shore. Knowing that the smoke could tell him the direction the wind was blowing, he decided to study it for a moment out of habit. Just as he was getting a better sense of how to use the wind to his advantage, he saw it.
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2．请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Not just the smoke but a big fire!
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The other windsurfers were far ahead of him at that time.
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The Ace
Billie Jean was always full of energy and played as well as she could. One teacher suggested she should be more ‘ladylike’ and try not to win all the time, but her parents didn’t agree.
“Play as well as you can and be the best you can be!” they told her.
One morning, Billie Jean’s friend Susan tapped her on the shoulder during class.
“Do you want to play tennis?”
“What’s tennis?” Billie Jean whispered back.
It’s a fun game. You’ll love it — you get to run and jump and hit a ball with a racket (球拍)!
Billie Jean didn’t know what a ‘racket’ was, but tennis sounded exciting!
The next weekend, Susan took Billie Jean to a famous club — the Country Club. Then Susan handed her a strange thing looking like a net. “This is a racket. You hit a ball with it!”
Susan threw a yellow ball at her. Billie Jean frowned and waved her racket as hard as she could. She spent more time hitting the air than she did hitting the ball, but she loved playing tennis anyway! It seemed that she found out what she was going to do with her life — she wanted to be an ace (最佳选手) of tennis in the world! When going home that night, sunburned and exhausted, she had only one question in her mind.
“Mom and Dad, can I please have a tennis racket of my own?” Billie Jean asked. Her parents looked at each other.“Money is a bit short,” her mother said. “But you can save up for one!”
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“What can I do to make some money?” Billie Jean thought to herself.
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With her beloved racket, Billie Jean decided to practise hard to realize her tennis dream.
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