1 . The Tour de France is a bike race, which lasts over three weeks and covers 3,351 kilometers. Held in France in July, it is really tough and bikers have to race up and down mountains, on winding, dangerous roads. Every day, he riders finish a different part of the race, called a "stage". Every stage can have a different winner, and each lay, the total time is added up. The person who is leading wears a yellow shirt to show that they are winners.

But there are no women in the Tour de France. For years, women have been trying to change that. From 1984 to 2009, there was a women's Tour de France, run under different names by different organizations. But in 2009, it ended completely.

The Tour de France is organized by Amaury Sport Organization (ASO). In 2014, ASO began holding a race for women called La Course. But La Course is not a long, challenging race.

To make people more aware that a women's Tour de France is necessary, a French cycling club has taken on an unusual project called "J-1". As part of J-1 , since 2015 , a group of women has been riding the exact same come as the men' s Tour de France，just one day earlier.

Women look part in the J-1 project again in 2021. But next year, they won't have to. That's because ASO has announced that in July of 2022, they will be holding the Tour de France Femmes.

The Tour de France Femmes will be an eight-day race with many stages which will start when the men's Tour de France is finished. Christian Prudhomme, the organizer, says this time they are hoping to set the race up in a way that it will make money, allowing the event to continue.

1. What is mainly talked about in paragraph 1?

A．The challenges bikers face in races.

B．The symbolic meaning of yellow shirts.

C．The introduction to the Tour de France.

D．Different winners in the Tour de France.

2. What is the purpose of holding "J-1"?

A．To satisfy women's desire to cycle.

B．To raise people's awareness of exercise.

C．To select excellent riders for big competitions.

D．To call attention to the need for a women's Tour de France.

3. What can we learn about the 2022 Tour de France Femmes?

A．It will involve more participants.

B．It will be sponsored by Prudhomme.

C．It will be designed to make no profit.

D．I will be after the men's Tour de France.

4. How does the author develop the passage?

A．By listing figures.	B．By following time order.
C．By providing examples.	D．By making comparisons.

3 . Standing at the finish line, 70-year-old Bob Long spent a while reflecting on the achievement he’d just made. Behind him was the wild, endless Mongolian grassland extending into the distance. This American had just become the oldest person ever to complete and win the Mongol Derby, the world’s longest horse race.

Long, a rider all his life, entered the race after being inspired by All the Wild Horses, a movie based on the grueling event.

Fearing that he wouldn’t be able to complete it, he set about preparing his mind and body for this “hardest, toughest, most demanding thing you can do on a horse”, an annual 1,000-kilometer race that was recognized as the world’s longest horse race by The Guinness Book of Records in 2011.

Although Long had been riding horses for many years, the hardship and uncertainty of the task pushed him to his limit and forced him to depend entirely on his own will. The race organizers had provided an extensive support network to keep an eye on the participants from afar. Despite that, the physical strain of riding such a long distance made simple things like squatting (蹲) down at the end of the day almost impossible.

Along the vast race course there were unpredictable circumstances beyond Long’s control, however well prepared he’d been. Weather was one of them, which could switch from heavy rain to burning sun unexpectedly.

Above all else, the biggest obstacle was the state of mind. Without a living soul in sight, Long was desperate for interaction, guidance, and comfort. This feeling of loneliness accounted for his hope that one of his fellow competitors would catch up.

Regardless of the hardship, Long felt a sort of spiritual adventure while traveling through the wilderness. He was provided with some memorable moments while connecting with nature. Still holding the passion for riding, Long never dismisses the idea of competing in another Mongol Derby.

1. What distinguished Bob Long from other competitors in the Mongol Derby?

A．He rode the whole race course alone.

B．He was the oldest participant of the horse race.

C．He was most likely to enter the competition again.

D．He was made into The Guinness Book of Records in 2011.

2. What does the underlined word “grueling” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Pains-taking but senseless.	B．Comfortable and pleasant.
C．Difficult and exhausting.	D．Romantic but time-consuming.

3. What was the biggest challenge that Long faced during the race?

A．The changeable weather.

B．The mental state in the course.

C．The difficulty in finding the right route.

D．The physical strain of riding a long distance.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．An introduction to the Mongol Derby.

B．A review of a film based on the longest horse race.

C．The contributions Bob Long made to the horse race.

D．The experience of the Mongol Derby’s oldest winner.