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 . 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. |
3 . Why do we play sports? You might say “to get exercise” and you’d be right. To have fun? That’s true, too. But there’s more.
Girls who play sports do better in school. You might think that playing sports will take up much of your study time.
Girls who play sports learn teamwork and goal setting skills. Sports teach us valuable life skills. When you work with coaches, trainers, and teammates to win games and achieve goals, you’re learning how to be successful.
Playing sports improves self-confidence.
A.Exercise cuts the pressure down. |
B.In fact, there are at least 5 more reasons. |
C.Regular exercise improves the quality of life. |
D.Girls who play sports feel better about themselves. |
E.Those skills will serve you well at work and in family life. |
F.Playing sports offers children more than just physical benefits. |
G.But research shows girls who play sports do better in school than those who don’t. |
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 . Open water swimming
I had only swum in open water a few times, and always in gentle lakes, so I wasn’t prepared for how rough Lake Windermere appeared on a cold day. A swimmer told me the water felt colder than it had been measured, and that the water was a bit rough. But I, along with 10,000 others, was about to complete the challenge.
Most of the people taking part were doing a one-mile race, and 10 races were planned over the weekend. There seemed to be a mix of open-water enthusiasts alongside complete beginners — which is precisely the aim of the swims, to get as many people as possible completing their own challenge. The oldest woman competing was 77, taking part in the two-mile race, alongside a man who last year had swum in every one-mile race.
I had chosen the third one-mile race of the day. There were over 600 people in my race. We were taken through a preparation area, a children’s paddling pool-sized part of the lake where we moved in to feel how cold the water was. “Not too bad” was everyone’s thought! Then we headed out towards the middle of the lake.
We’d been warned that the first 100 meters would be really rough. However, somewhere near the 750m mark I was still waiting for the calm; it felt more like swimming in the sea than a lake. I tried to focus on my breathing and technique, and just keep going. As I approached the 400m-to-go mark my lower right leg became painful. I recalled overhearing people talking about how they kept swimming through the pain, so I tried. But it didn’t work. I began to feel the entire leg tight and painful. I didn’t want to stop, so I bent my right knee and just kicked with the left leg.
Finally, I saw the finishing post, and I just concentrated on getting there — still one-legged. My finishing time was 38 minutes 25 seconds but that didn’t matter — the atmosphere was fantastic and everyone felt a sense of achievement, whatever their time. I’m attracted and want to give it another go. I’ve already signed up for my next open-water swim.
1. How did the author feel before the race?A.Scared of the most challenging race. |
B.Disappointed by the difficult conditions. |
C.Determined to be as tough as the people around her. |
D.Concerned about the other swimmers in the race. |
A.To stress the importance of the race. |
B.To praise the experienced swimmers. |
C.To introduce the various events of the race. |
D.To show the wide range of the participants. |
A.the race would cause breathing problems |
B.the race became harder than she had expected |
C.it would have been easier if she had taken others’ advice |
D.it was really necessary to prepare for tough swims |
A.Her confidence in her own ability. |
B.Her pride in having swum so quickly. |
C.Her surprise at having managed to finish. |
D.Her eagerness to repeat the experience. |
6 . 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. |
7 . Every year, the Olympic Training Centre has one extra special day just for women. This day celebrates the fact that
In the old days, women were told that certain sports were for men
Tomorrow, this special day will be
Our scheduled
A.men | B.women | C.young children | D.old people |
A.enough | B.just | C.ever | D.only |
A.trainings | B.practice | C.drills | D.games |
A.along | B.with | C.about | D.without |
A.It | B.This | C.That | D.What |
A.pay | B.rights | C.salary | D.jobs |
A.congratulated | B.separated | C.celebrated | D.divided |
A.students | B.teachers | C.boys | D.girls |
A.kilometres | B.centimetres | C.millimetres | D.metres |
A.moving | B.exciting | C.surprising | D.pleasing |
A.activities | B.films | C.plays | D.concerts |
A.while | B.and | C.but | D.or |
A.make | B.find | C.throw | D.shoot |
A.run | B.swim | C.jump | D.cross |
A.riders | B.runners | C.divers | D.athletes |
On Nov.18, the Fourth National Minds Sports Games concluded in Quzhou, Zhejiang. Hosting chess, bridge, and draughts
In October, Pan won the silver medal at the 2019 World Draughts Championship (WDC). Pan’s performance is the best record ever for a Chinese draughts player. Pan’s journey through the championship
To catch his
9 . Playing sports offers you more than just physical benefits (好处).
Making new friends.
Playing sports enables you to create friendships you otherwise might not have formed.
Understanding the value of health.
Taking part in sports improves your health in many ways.
Building team spirit.
Sports provide children with the important lesson of learning how to work in a team.
Playing sports requires a lot of time and energy. Some may think this would take students’ attention away from schoolwork. However, the opposite is true. Sports require memorization, repetition and learning — skills that are directly relevant (有关的) to schoolwork.
A.Doing better in your studies. |
B.Everyone has to work together to achieve the goal. |
C.To be a good athlete, you must take care of yourself. |
D.Sports can help you in your study and fit in with society as well. |
E.Sports bring teens together from different schools and backgrounds. |
10 . Last summer over 12,000 fans were at Wembley Arena in London, shouting and cheering. Thousands more were watching online.
Millions of people in the UK play computer games for fun. Some of them have become professional gamers, playing games as their full-time job.
But others say yes: eSports are sports. Players do need some physical skills, especially hand-eye coordination, reflexes, accuracy and timing. If darts, snooker and shooting are classified as sports, then perhaps eSports should be too.
For many eSports fans and players, though, the most important thing is that eSports are growing in popularity and importance.
A.But this wasn’t a football, basketball or tennis match. |
B.All like playing computer games. |
C.It’s not easy being a professional gamer, though. |
D.But are eSports really sports? |
E.It is certain that eSports will come into the 2024 Olympics. |
F.In fact, China and South Korea do classify eSports as sports. |
G.If eSports are not as important as sports now, they definitely will be in the near future. |