1 . If you're out for a run, what difference does it make if you're able to tough it out for another 50 seconds? If you're less than a minute from the top of the hill, that extra time can make the difference between having reached your goal and snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

How do you get those extra seconds of energy? A research team at the Texes Tech University developed a study to measure what effect listening to music would have on exercise tolerance. The researchers based the study on a stress testing. As part of the testing, they noted any changes in heart rate and blood pressure as participants underwent physically stressful exercise.

The tests were done on treadmills (跑步机), which increased in both speed and incline (坡度) through three stages. In the final stage, the treadmills moved at 10 miles per hour at a 14-percent grade. Most of these tests were designed to last up to 40 minutes. The average gym-goers lasted 30 minutes. For this study, they divided 127 participants into two groups. One listened to upbeat(快节奏) music, while the other group had earbuds in but did not listen to music.

The group that listened to music was able to outlast the non-music group by an average of 50.6 seconds. Again, being able to go an extra minute may seem like a no-brainer ,but “after 30 minutes, you feel like you are running up a mountain, so even being able to go 50 seconds longer means a lot," said the study's lead author, Waseem Shami, MD.

The study has confirmed something runners and gym-goers have suspected for years: Listening to music during workout can be beneficial to your endurance. "Our findings reinforce the idea that upbeat music can help you exercise longer and stick with a daily exercise routine," said Shami. When doctors are recommending exercise, they might suggest listening to music, too."

1. Why did Shami’s team conduct the research?

A．To test the effect of music on health.	B．To know the cause of failure in sports.
C．To improve runners' exercise tolerance.	D．To record the body change of participants

2. What did the researchers than about the Participants in the stress testing?

A．They ran much faster than average runners.	B．They created a new record of indoor sports.
C．They could run a little longer with music on.	D．They all enjoyed extreme physical challenge

3. What do the underlined words “a no-brainer” mean in paragraph 4?

A．A dull activity.	B．A foolish action.
C．A demanding task.	D．An easy practice

4. What did Shami suggest us doing in the last paragraph ?

A．Developing a daily exercise routine.	B．Listening to music while working out
C．Participating in physical stress testing.	D．Taking exercise as doctors recommend.

2 . 阅读下面短文，并根据短文内容回答问题。
Hi, Liam!

I'm really happy to be your pen friend. I'm 14 years old and I live in Calgary, Canada. I have two little brothers, Brian and Sam. I'm the only girl.

I'm active in sports and I'm always trying something interesting. I like playing hockey (曲棍球) in winter. It's fun! But summer is my favorite time of the year. I love skateboarding and rock climbing (滑滑板和攀岩) in summer.

Many girls think skateboarding is difficult, but it is easy and fun for me. I often skateboard in the park after school. I'm good at jumping with the skateboard!

Rock climbing is also really fun. I usually climb with my dad on the weekend. We can't do it on real mountains often because we live in the city. We often do indoor rock climbing.

So that's me-Little Miss Active! My friends like to call me that. I like the name. What sports do you like? Please write back soon.

Bye for now

Anne

1. How many children are there in Anne's family?
2. What does Anne love doing in winter?
3. What does Anne think of skateboarding?
4. Does Anne often go rock climbing on real mountains?
5. What do Anne's friends like to call her?

3 . 阅读下面短文在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

China has been selected to host the World Skills Competition in Shanghai in 2021, an event it hopes to us for building a stronger team of skilled workers nationwide and to improve international     1    (exchange) in technical skills. Hosting the event will help guide the whole society     2    (respect) the spirit of skilled workmanship. It will also help create     3     social atmosphere of respecting labor and admiring skill. China has 165 million skilled workers, including 47.9 million who are classed as highly skilled. They were first classified by the government in 2003. They     4    (include) as one of the major State-level talent groups along with theoretical scientists in 2015,     5    (mark) a significant rise in their social status.

China’s     6    (early) modern skills training can date back to the Qing Dynasty. It was in 1866     7     the Foochow Shipbuilding Institution in Fujian province was established. In 1978, the adoption of the reform ad opening-up policy highlighted a shortage of     8    (talent) technicians. As a result, the number of students at technical institutes rose sharply. More recently, technical education     9    (receive) greater support from the central government to help shape the nation’s producing power. Every year, more than 100 million people have access     10     technical education and training.

4 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

My dad is an enthusiastic (狂热的) runner who     1     (great) influenced me when I was young. So I was very sporty before the age of 14. However, when my family move, my new school didn’t pay much attention     2     sports and had no after-school activities like football or running. Over the next few years, I    3    (stop) exercising apart from during Physical Education lessons at school. It looked like I was     4     (health); however, I was not.

One day, I was late for a bus, tried to run after it and in under a minute was out of breath! This made me realize how unfit I was.     5     (help) myself get in shape again, I made a(n)     6     (decide) that I would take up a kind of sport.

A friend of mine suggested a swimming pool     7     she goes to a few times a week. Now, I’m a swimming lover! I find swimming in the pool very     8     (relax). I swim for    9     hour three times a week. I hope that I will soon start to feel the benefits of regular exercise, and will become     10     (fit) than before.

5 . In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly , believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity . Others say that competition is bad ; that it sets one person against another ; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people .
I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied (依赖)on how well they performed at tennis and other skills . For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affairs. In their single-minded pursuit ( 追求)of success , the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten .
However ，while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed , others take an opposite attitude .In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players , they strongly blame competition . Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these young people . I often observe in them a desire to fail . They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success . By not trying , they always have an excuse : “I may have lost . but it doesn’t matter because I really didn’t try . “What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot . Such a loss would be a measure of their worth . Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves . Both are based on the mistaken belief that one’s self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others . Both are afraid of not being valued . Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve (缓解) can we discover a new meaning in competition .
1. What does this passage mainly talk about?

A．Competition helps to set up self-respect.

B．Opinions about competition are different among people

C．Competition is harmful to personal quality development.

D．Failures are necessary experiences in competition

2. Why do some people favor competition according to the passage?

A．It pushes society forward.	B．It builds up a sense of duty.
C．It improves personal abilities.	D．It encourages individual efforts

3. The underlined phrase “the most vocal” in Paragraph 3 means        .

A．those who try their best to win

B．those who value competition most highly

C．those who are against competition most strongly

D．those who rely on others most for success

4. Which point of view may the author agree to?

A．Every effort should be paid back.

B．Competition should be encouraged.

C．Winning should be a life-and-death matter.

D．Fear of failure should be removed in competition.