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.     1     Basketball players focus on strength training; football players work on speed while track athletes train through longer runs. The training process helps promote physical fitness and performances in competitions.

    2     Playing sports also contributes to mental health, helping to increase confidence and self-worth. A pat on the back, a high five from a teammate, or a handshake after a match really boosts a child’s confidence. Words of praise and encouragement from the coach, parents and other players raise self-worth.     3     So after a game, it’s a better idea to ask “Did you enjoy the game?” rather than “Did you win?”

Children who participate in sports might also benefit from the social aspect, feeling part of a group, building up responsibility and leadership.     4     Teamwork involves both being dependable as a teammate and learning to rely on your teammates to achieve a positive outcome. Teamwork breeds responsibility and challenges you to be responsible for your actions. Being part of a team gives you an opportunity to be a leader.

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.     5    

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.     1    They buy tickets or turn on their TVs to watch the games. Often they get very excited when their player or team wins.

    2    Football, for example, has spread around the world. Swimming is popular in all countries near the sea or in those with many rivers. What fun it is to jump into a pool or lake, whether in China, Egypt or Italy!     3    Think how many lovers to skate or ski in Japan, Norway or Canada.

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.     4    Water-skiing is one of the newest in the family of sports.

People from different countries may not be able to understand each other, but after a game together they often become good friends.     5    One learns to fight hard but fight fair, to win without pride and to lose with grace.

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 . 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.

2. What is the theme of this year's competition?

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.

3. What will the committee of teachers do on February 19?

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.

4 . 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

2. According to the passage, we can learn that cross-country skiing ______.

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

3. How does the author prove the benefits of skiing in the fifth paragraph?

A．By making comments.	B．By giving examples.
C．By making comparisons.	D．By giving explanations.

4. Which of the following shows the development of ideas in the passage?
CP: Central point P: Point Sp: Sub-point (次要点) C: Conclusion

A．	B．
C．	D．

5 . 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.

2. Which requirement should each poem meet?

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.

3. What is the entry fee for a 15-year-old entrant if he is sending 3 poems?

A．£12.75.

B．£9.25.

C．£7.

D．£3.5.

6 .

At age 12, Keegan Sobilo of New Baltimore carefully tucks his legs and arms into a fire suit, pulls on a helmet and climbs into a race car that exceeds 80 mph. He has been doing this since age 8.

“ At first, I was scared to death. I was like, 'Let's do bowling or swimming. ' It's still very scary.But he knows what he's doing. Your heart goes out on that track every time he goes out there," said his mother Hillary Sobilo.

＂The sixth-grader always wears pajamas to the track every night and takes them off when he puts his race clothes on. He's been doing that for the last four years. That's his trademark,” said Tim Phillips, his crew chief. The first time he wore his train pajamas to the track, Keegan went from last place to ninth place. He decided they brought luck. Since then, he has won a series of championships.

Passion for cars runs in the family. Keegan's father is a design mechanic at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. He knows what it means to have seats and roll cages built to fit his son's body."What I see in Keegan is passion, like how I feel about car restoration. But for him, everything has to align itself. I tell my son you have to be the perfect package. Winning races every weekend is not the only key. More importantly, you have to have the right name, you have to look the correct way, speak the correct way, and act the correct way. Then the rest of it is really luck, like the stock market. If you don't put yourself out there,you'll never hit it big."

While Keegan's classmates play basketball and volleyball,Keegan is at the Birch Run track-practicing, qualifying and racing until 10 p.m. or 2 a.m. While many children spend time playing video games, Keegan runs race simulation training with his joystick after school.

＂The kid is cool.It was like having a grandson. We showed respect to each other. And he takes it very seriously," said competitor Mike Todd, 69 , of Galesburg, Michigan." He's an older soul in a young man's body. I'd like to see him make it big. He's got the willpower."

1. Keegan enjoys ______

A．swimming

B．racing cars

C．bowling

D．playing games

2. According to the passage., what does Keegan's father value most?

A．Victory.

B．Safety.

C．Good qualities.

D．Real luck.

3. It can be learned from the passage that

A．Keegan spends a lot of time practicing

B．the train pajamas bring Keegan success

C．Keegan's mother worries about his studies

D．Keegan picked up the hobby at the age of 4

7 . 在成长的过程中，我们总是对未来的职业充满憧憬。近期你班将以“My Dream Career” 为题举行演讲比赛。请你根据以下要求写一篇英语演讲稿，内容包括：
1．你的理想职业；
2．选择它的理由；
3．实现的途径。
注意：
1．词数80左右；
2．开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数；
3．可根据内容要点适当发挥，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：mould v．塑造；industrious adj.勤勉的

My Dream Career

Good morning，everyone！

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for listening.

8 . Gidda’s Team

The door closed behind Malik, making Mama look up from the hot meal. “Just in time for dinner. Will you _____ Gidda, please?”

Gidda was staying in Malik’s bedroom. He didn’t _____ giving up his room for his 82-year-old grandmother at first. But then she didn’t leave. Malik _____ over her suitcase on the floor. “Sorry,” Gidda said. “I’m just a nuisance(讨厌的人) here. I’m _____” Malik didn’t answer as he helped her up from her chair.

At dinner, Mama asked Malik, “How’s your _____ with the coach?”

Malik was captain of school soccer team, and he had to discuss a fundraiser with the coach. They’d have to raise hundreds of dollars to _____ their old shirts, and that seemed unlikely unless Malik came up with a(n) _____ plan.

Unwillingly, Malik said, “It’s just team stuff.” Changing the _____, Malik turned to Gidda. “Do you want to go sit outside after dinner?”

Gidda agreed. In the soft warmth of the evening, Gidda settled herself beneath the enormous fig(无花果) tree. “Feels like home,” she said. But Malik _____, “It drops figs everywhere.” Right then, a fig landed on his head. Gidda laughed, picked it up, and took a _____. “Perfect. Pick me a bunch. I’ll make fig cakes.”

The next morning, Malik found Gidda making fig cakes in the kitchen. She offered him one. Malik, hoping it wasn’t too awful, put it in his mouth. His eyes _____ as he chewed. It was delicious. He eyed the tree in the backyard. How many fig cakes could it _____?

Malik grabbed his phone and started _____ in a rush of excitement. An hour later, most of the soccer team gathered in the kitchen, and ate up fig cakes.

“Gidda’s Fabulous(极好的) Fig Cakes!” Malik said. “We’ll _____ them! Gidda said they were easy to make; she’ll _____ us how.”

At dinner that night, Gidda shared their plan with Mama, smiling _____ as she repeated the title Malik gave on her, “Team Grandmother.”

The next day, the kitchen was full of _____. Walking slowly among the excited boys, Gidda taught them to make fig cakes. Soon the fig cakes piled up.

As Malik _____, Gidda’s Fabulous Fig Cakes were a huge hit and they were quickly sold out.

When the new _____ arrived just in time for the opening game, Coach Garcia invited Gidda to watch. She arrived early, and waved at Malik. Then she turned _____ to show off her shirt. On the back were the words Team Grandmother.

1.

A．watch

B．fetch

C．visit

D．serve

2.

A．allow

B．enjoy

C．consider

D．mind

3.

A．looked

B．handed

C．tripped

D．turned

4.

A．useless

B．unlucky

C．scared

D．nervous

5.

A．training

B．appointment

C．negotiation

D．meeting

6.

A．buy

B．replace

C．iron

D．abandon

7.

A．brilliant

B．random

C．original

D．personal

8.

A．plan

B．attitude

C．subject

D．way

9.

A．repeated

B．reported

C．explained

D．complained

10.

A．picture

B．test

C．bite

D．break

11.

A．widened

B．moved

C．focused

D．opened

12.

A．produce

B．donate

C．deliver

D．exchange

13.

A．running

B．texting

C．shouting

D．thinking

14.

A．present

B．send

C．sell

D．reserve

15.

A．prepare

B．show

C．choose

D．write

16.

A．proudly

B．politely

C．shyly

D．bitterly

17.

A．tension

B．hope

C．praise

D．energy

18.

A．promised

B．predicted

C．announced

D．identified

19.

A．socks

B．boots

C．uniforms

D．gloves

20.

A．back

B．away

C．down

D．around

9 . Four teams of mountaineers set out on a race to conquer(征服) an unclimbed mountain peak in the Himalayas. The Canadian team chose a long, but safe route, while the British, Chinese and Russian teams chose a faster but steep and dangerous route up the mountain.

When night fell, the teams made camp on the mountainside. But the next morning, the sun rapidly rose air temperature and the strong wind caused a heavy snowfall, which led to a terrible avalanche. The disaster struck and some members of the British, Chinese and Russian teams were swept away and killed. But the Canadians didn’t know what had happened.

It was an hour after the disaster and there was no hope of finding any survivors. The leaders of the British, Chinese and Russian teams, met to discuss how to successfully keep all the survivors alive.

	Britain	Russia	China
Members	3	2	2
Tents	1 two-man	None	1 four-man
Sleeping bags	3	2	2
Rope	25 metres	50 metres	None
Food	1 person for 3 days	2 people for 4 days	2 people for 2 days
Medicine	None	None	None

The table above was a summary of what they could collect. The leaders made a final decision that they had to find a way to conquer the mountain and put their flags on the peak.

1. What kind of route did the Chinese team choose?

A．A long but safe route.	B．A short but dangerous route.
C．A separate but flat route.	D．An unknown but steep route.

2. What disaster struck the three teams?

A．High temperature.	B．An avalanche.
C．Strong wind.	D．A heavy snowfall.

3. What is the table about in the passage?

A．The supplies and equipment they had left.

B．The plan of their follow up climbs.

C．The survey of their damages and injuries.

D．The difficulties they would meet.

4. The three leaders decided to__________.

A．give up the race	B．keep climbing
C．ask for help	D．look for the survivors

5. Where is the passage most probably from?

A．A business newspaper.	B．A health guide.
C．A culture magazine.	D．A nature journal.

10 . Is It a Healthy Interest?

The Guinness Book of World Records describes Ranulph Fiennes as the world’s greatest living explorer. His journeys include the first polar circumnavigation (极地环行) and the first unsupported crossing of the Antarctic continent on foot. So when he suffered a heart attack, it came as something of a surprise.

Exercise is highly beneficial as it reduces both the pulse (脉搏) rate and the blood pressure so reducing stress on the heart as it brings blood round the body. It also helps to keep the artery (动脉) walls more elastic (有弹性的).

But can you push yourself too much? On the subject of exercise, it is good to take several parts of “moderate” exercise a week，which is a little more than quick walking. “We need to be careful when we’re doing extreme sports,” says expert Len Almond. “Extreme stress can make almost impossible demands on the body’s ability to recover. The stress of extreme sports forces biochemical changes in the body, and the physical response to that kind of activity will be too extreme.”

We all know how the Olympics began. The man who ran 26 miles from the town of Marathon to Athens with news of a victory died as soon as he arrived，and the cause of his sudden death might be the heart attack. Further research was done by scientists. They studied cyclists (自行车运动员) on a race that covers 230km with a height change of 5,500m. They were interested in one particular enzyme (酶), high concentrations of which are found in those who have suffered a heart attack. The scientists found that levels of this chemical increased in most of the cyclists who completed the race. The largest increases were seen in the fastest cyclists who had trained the hardest.

Most of us will never put our bodies to such extreme sports. But if, when you hear about someone like Fiennes，you ask whether exercise is worth it. I advise you to consider your own condition. Personally, I agree with the saying: “Run not to add years to your life but to add life to your years.”

1. According to the passage, taking exercise can_______ .

A．speed up the heart rate	B．increase stress on the heart
C．reduce the blood pressure	D．keep the artery walls straight

2. What does expert Len Almond suggest?

A．Our bodies can easily deal with physical stress.

B．Playing extreme sports is harmful to the human body.

C．We need a long period of recovery after extreme sports.

D．There is more to learn about the effect of physical stress.

3. Why is the research on the cyclists mentioned in Paragraph 4?

A．To suggest a different area of research.

B．To support the activity of taking part in sports.

C．To explain the effect of a height change on cyclists.

D．To prove that extreme sports may cause heart attacks.

4. The author believes that exercise_______.

A．helps you have a regular life	B．adds years to your life
C．should be done in moderation	D．will be worth the effort