2 . 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.

2. What do the competitors have to do during pancake racing?

A．Wear their formal clothes.	B．Throw and catch the pancake.
C．Hand the pancake to another.	D．Eat the pancake while running.

3. Different from Olney’s festival, Liberal’s festival         .

A．lasts only one day	B．has more varied activities
C．holds different races for boys	D．starts with a delicious breakfast

4. How does Emma look at pancake racing?

A．It is family­friendly.	B．It is quite competitive.
C．It should be internationalized.	D．It should provide aprons for racers.

4 . 请根据以下提示，针对体育运动的益处，用英语写一篇短文，内容包括：
•使身体强健，特别是能让脑力劳动者们放松；
•观看或参加各种运动、比赛可以使生活变得多姿多彩；
•对青少年的性格培养有益处，在运动场上学到的东西常常对学生们的性格有很深的影响。
注意：1.词数80左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：性格培养character building
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5 . Simple steps to inner peace

If you wake up feeling tired and lazy, these moves can give you a lift. Our yoga warm-ups will help to loosen and stretch your muscles and joints, and deep breathing also helps you to focus your thoughts, so you feel refreshed.

Upper-body lift

Slowly lower your body to the floor, look up forward the ceiling and breathe in. Hold for a minute. Release (放松).

Toe touch

Bringing your hands to the floor, breathe out while putting your head between your knees (if you’re a beginner, keep knees slightly bent). Holding the position, breathe in as you stretch your head and chest upward. Hold for one minute. Release.

Spine stretch

Standing straight, feet together, breathe in and raise your arms straight overhead, hands touching. Look up, stretching your body for one minute. Release. Repeat moves as often as needed.

1. The purpose of the above exercises is to ________.

A．help you bring back your strength

B．get rid of pain from your back

C．get you warm enough to do further exercise

D．loosen and stretch your muscles to help you feel refreshed

2. The underlined phrase “give you a lift” means ________.

A．raising your body higher	B．making you release
C．helping you get energetic	D．getting your body straight

3. To a beginner, ________ may be the easiest and ________ the hardest.

A．upper­body lift; toe touch	B．toe touch; upper­body lift
C．spine stretch; toe touch	D．toe touch; spine stretch

6 . 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.

2. What is the photo “Last Dawn, Last Gasp” aimed to tell us?

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.

3. What can we learn from the photo of “Octopus Training”?

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.

4. In which section of a website can we read the text?

A．Arts.	B．Literature.
C．Documentary.	D．Education.

10 . Jessica gave an account of her experience as a volunteer for the city half-marathon. Complete the passage with the correct forms of the verbs in the box below.

make       train       blow       place       carry       cheer

By the time Cathy and I, together with other volunteers for the city half-marathon, arrived at 4:30 a.m., tables     1     on both sides of the road. Bottles of water and paper cups     2     to different tables, so Cathy and I immediately went to help. Then, we took our place at the table and quickly started to arrange the bottles and cups so that they looked like an army of soldiers standing in line for inspection.

I took a step back, and looked at the scene with satisfaction. For the previous couple of weeks, I     3     on how to be a volunteer for the half-marathon. I decided to volunteer for this year’s half-marathon after the chairman of the organizing committee visited my school. We were told that the competitors would be raising money for charity, and while I didn’t feel that I had a strong constitution to run that far, I thought the next best thing would be to help those who could.

After all the preparations     4    , the exciting half-marathon began. Cathy and I waited patiently until word spread that the first runners would be arriving soon. As the tired, thirsty runners ran along, they     5     by the crowds. Cathy and I quickly poured water into the cups for them. After the last runner passed, I found paper cups and plastic bottles everywhere. The litter     6     around by the wind as I bent over to pick up a plastic bottle. Cathy and I started clearing up. We were tired and wet with sweat but it felt really good to know that we had been able to help others.