1 . A lot of people find it difficult to do exercise regularly, even though they know it’s good for their physical and mental (身心上的) health. Yet keeping on a workout routine doesn’t necessarily go to the gym or run around your neighborhood. Gardening is a great example of a popular hobby that can be used as a workout.
Nashville resident Tom Adkinson, 72, is on board with the idea of gardening to stay fit. He has three gardens, which he uses primarily to grow tomatoes, sweet banana peppers and okra. Like traditional exercise, Adkinson does a lot of preparation before gardening, and then he spends hours watering and weeding (除草) all three gardens, involving bending and stretching, which he compares to performing garden yoga.
“It is wise of Adkinson to do so. Even though gardening may not appear difficult, using the body in new ways can make you hurt if you don’t warm up beforehand,” said Zeller, who teaches at the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Cape May County in New Jersey.
Working in your garden just two hours a week could improve your mood. And the communal gardening, which is done by a number of people as a group in communities and schools, provides social benefits that can reduce stress and help fight against loneliness and even dementia according to studies.
“With all these benefits, gardening for fitness will be a trend (趋势) in the coming year,” announced Mandal, CEO of the fitness coaching app Future, “Our users at Future have already been asking their coaches to add gardening and landscaping activities into their routines because it’s easy to get and fit into their lifestyle.”
1. What do the underlined words “on board with” mean in paragraph 2?| A．In support of. | B．At the risk of. |
| C．Under the control of. | D．In opposition to. |
| A．Having a good rest. |
| B．Getting enough water ready. |
| C．Doing warm-up exercise. |
| D．Preparing tools for weeding. |
| A．Tips for gardening. |
| B．The benefits of gardening. |
| C．The process of garden management. |
| D．The difference between personal and group gardening. |
| A．Running. | B．Yoga. | C．Gardening. | D．Walking. |
2 . Clothes Upcycling (升级改造) Contest 2024
Are you passionate about fashion and the environment? Do you have a creative mind and want to make a positive impact on the planet? Then we have a contest for you!
We are excited to launch the Love Your Chelmsford Upcycling Clothes Contest for secondary school ages(11-18 years), to promote extending the life of our clothes and save them from going to landfills! Upcycling clothes has many benefits including reducing the impact of buying new on natural resources and reducing your carbon footprint.
You have to create clothes from used materials, and transform them into something new and exciting. Each applicant can be one individual person or one group. Applicants can apply multiple times, but only be qualified to win with one submission (提交).
How to Participate:To enter, you must be a resident of Chelmsford and aged 11-18. We will require a before and after picture of your shoes or clothes upcycling project along with a description of the materials and techniques that you used to create your masterpiece (作品). Please send your submission to loveyourchelmsford@chelmsford.gov.uk by June 30, 2024.
Recommended:Show the creation process of your masterpiece and share where everything came from.
Prizes:*Up to 100 applicants will have the option to be listed on our website to sell their upcycled work.
*The most impressive upcycled masterpiece will win a £100 Gift Voucher (礼品券) to shop at Glass Onion, plus there are 5 runner-up prizes of a 183-piece sewing kit.
1. What do we know about the contest?| A．Group work will not be accepted. |
| B．The participants can apply more than once. |
| C．One participant can win more than one prize. |
| D．Winning pieces will be selected on June 30, 2024. |
| A．A picture of the remaining materials. | B．A list of tools involved. |
| C．A description of the techniques used. | D．A video of the making process. |
| A．A £100 Gift Voucher. | B．An amount of cash. |
| C．A free trip to Glass Onion. | D．A 183-piece sewing kit. |
3 . Tennis is an incredibly mental sport.
It is very easy to self-destruct (自我毁灭) when playing tennis if you let your expectations and ego get the better of you. So, simply playing the ball that is in front of you is the simplest way to approach the game, along with taking each point at a time.
That being said, it is much easier said than done.
Tennis is also about playing the big points well and understanding that not all points hold the same weight across the course of a match. Putting disappointment behind you and trying to play the next point with a positive attitude can be very difficult to do.
| A．However, being flexible is also important. |
| B．You will always have to have some form of strategy. |
| C．However, it is a key part of becoming a better tennis player. |
| D．It can bring with it a whole host of physical and mental benefits. |
| E．Every backhand shot you hit is what you throw at your opponent. |
| F．Perhaps the most obvious benefits tennis offers are the physical ones. |
| G．The scoring system in tennis means you can win more points and still lose a match! |
1. What does the speaker do?
| A．A medical doctor. | B．A fitness instructor. | C．A swimming coach. |
| A．Focusing on only muscle training. |
| B．Doing too many types of workouts. |
| C．Keeping the same routine all the time. |
| A．Once a week. | B．Twice a week. | C．Three times a week. |
5 . What Are the Advantages of Team Sports?
The list of benefits from team sports is long, regardless of their talent or the team’s record. Here are just a few:
Obviously, fitness is a big benefit. Many studies now show that our eating habits and lifestyle habits are making us less healthy. And exercise can give us some relief from these conditions. At the same time, playing a team sport lays the foundation for lifelong fitness habits.
Life skills
Equally important are the non-athletic skills that sports build. “There is a lot you can learn in sports that you will use in the rest of your life,” explains John Duffy, a Chicago-area psychologist. “You learn to play on a team.
Academic (学术的) success
Research shows that schools with strong athletic programs have higher test scores and lower drop-out rates.
Teamwork
In team sports, teammates learn to respect each other and encourage everyone to do their best.
Additional benefits for females
| A．Fitness |
| B．Achievability |
| C．It’s also about showing respect for the teammates |
| D．Meanwhile, female athletes have additional advantages |
| E．You learn to handle challenges and deal with difficulties |
| F．Everyone learns to work together because it is what’s best for the team |
| G．Students who play team sports are more likely to graduate than those who don’t |
1. Who is the speaker?
| A．A doctor. | B．A fitness coach. | C．A PE teacher. |
| A．Eat less food. |
| B．Take a ten-minute walk. |
| C．Have a good sleep. |
| A．Try to overdo the exercise. |
| B．Avoid doing any hard exercise. |
| C．Increase the running distance gradually. |
| A．How to run correctly. |
| B．How to check with your doctor. |
| C．How to deal with problems in running. |
7 . Hearing the Olympics were coming to Vancouver, I decided to go for its voluntary work. I’d forgotten what it was like to put myself out there to make friends. I was glad I didn’t have anyone I knew with me because I wouldn’t have met Callie
As night fell before the opening ceremonies, I was stationed outside the MMC. Accents from all over
Even now, I can still remember the heat from the torch. I had been one of the
| A．otherwise | B．therefore | C．however | D．instead |
| A．conversation | B．cooperation | C．friendship | D．career |
| A．struck | B．filled | C．blocked | D．awoke |
| A．dominate | B．rebuild | C．change | D．unite |
| A．charged | B．accompanied | C．connected | D．furnished |
| A．wonder | B．impact | C．atmosphere | D．challenge |
| A．flooded | B．transferred | C．released | D．exploded |
| A．watched | B．advocated | C．sought | D．identified |
| A．in particular | B．in person | C．as well | D．as usual |
| A．died down | B．set off | C．came out | D．passed by |
| A．power | B．reputation | C．glory | D．faith |
| A．permanent | B．professional | C．reliable | D．lucky |
| A．view | B．hope | C．appeal | D．aim |
| A．excited | B．determined | C．convincing | D．astonishing |
| A．contributions | B．conclusions | C．decisions | D．evaluations |
8 . When I first began running in high school on the track team, it made sense to carefully clock every mile and push myself to race for personal bests. But as I changed from running for sport to running for amusement as an adult, I found that tracking my workouts often just ended with frustration. And it wasn’t until my watch battery died several years ago that I first experienced the sense of calm that came with running for the pure joy of it. I never replaced the watch battery, and that might not be a bad thing for my fitness goals.
This is the idea of unplugged (不插电的) running, which is gaining steam in the fitness community. And recent research has shown that getting rid of your running watch, especially if it’s a smartwatch or fitness tracker, could actually improve your workout — or at least your enjoyment of running.
“People used to have an interest in their sport and get enjoyment out of the sport, but now that’s switching to the data,” said Eoin Whelan, a senior lecturer at the National University of Ireland Galway. “They will compare themselves to people who are better than them, who are running faster or running longer. And in the end we know that makes them feel bad. ”
Whelan also noted that people who are very dependent on smart watches or fitness trackers are more likely to skip their workouts if the batteries on their tracking devices are dead.
In addition, there is evidence that running watch-free is beneficial for more than just the casual jogger. Some professionals also have had success with leaving their watches at home. Welsh runner Steve Jones famously set a world record at the 1984 Chicago Marathon without wearing a watch. More recently, Olympic marathoner Trevor Hofbauer made headlines for winning the 2019 Canadian Marathon Championships without a watch.
“If you have too much information being fed to you in real time, it can kind of get in your head,” Hofbauer said. “For me, the simpler, the better.”
1. What happened to the author when his running watch didn’t work?| A．He lost the desire to keep running every day. |
| B．He experienced running as a really fun activity. |
| C．He was at a loss how to replace the watch battery. |
| D．He had great difficulty achieving his fitness goals. |
| A．They can enrich the wearers’ social life. |
| B．The data provided by them is unreliable. |
| C．The way people use them is proper. |
| D．They can lead to harmful consequences. |
| A．To show the popularity of running watch-free. |
| B．To encourage people to become professional runners. |
| C．To prove the positive effects of running watch-free. |
| D．To present professionals’ views on running watch-free. |
| A．It’s time to take off your running watch. |
| B．Unplugged running actually has two sides. |
| C．Comparing with others should be avoided. |
| D．Racing for personal bests requires simplicity. |
When I was in Primary Five, I was in the basketball school team. Every month we would have a basketball match against another school’s basketball team. In spite of all the cheers we received from our classmates and the amount of training we had, we had never won a single match before. That was due to our lack of teamwork and cooperation.
During one of our training sessions, our school team was divided into two to have a match against each other. The inter-school competition was coming up and none of us wanted to miss our chance of getting that gold trophy(奖品). “Three, two, one, start!” our basketball coach, Coach Leong, shouted. John, who was in my team, managed to grab the ball that Coach Leong threw in the air. Since John grabbed the ball, he refused to let anyone, not even his teammates, take it.
“Pass the ball to me, John!” I shouted. I was in a good position to shoot the ball into the hoop(篮筺). To my shock, John made a rude face at me. I made an attempt to grab the ball from him. When I got my hands on the ball, it became a tug-of-war(激烈竞争) between John and me. Coach Leong shook his head and exploded like an active volcano. “Children! Is this the type of behavior that I should be seeing? The match is in two weeks! Do you even know the importance of teamwork?” Coach Leong gave us a disappointed look. It seemed as if he had some sad news to tell us.
I was right.
Coach Leong explained that he would be retiring after the match. “I hope you can show me your teamwork and cooperate with one another in this match before I retire.” I choked on my tears. My heart sank. We were giving Coach Leong such a tough time, when all he wanted was for us to show teamwork in the match. After that day, my teammates and I were determined to do our best and work as a team.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Para. 1
On the day of the match, we stood face-to-face with our opponents, the team from River Primary School.
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Para. 2
John did a perfect overhead throw and I caught the ball in mid-air.
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Dave had loved basketball for as long as he could remember and he had never had a day without playing it. At primary school and junior high school he joined basketball clubs, attended training programs and watched basketball games, from which he learned the moves of the star players, wishing to play in a professional team like them and shine on the court.
Now as a senior high school student, however, his dream of becoming a professional player was dimming (变暗) because he was only of average height. He had to give up the hope of joining the school team. The guys on the school team were all tall boys who played matches and won honors for the school. They were like heroes. Dave watched them play and cheered them but he knew he would never be one of them.
Dave felt it a pity not to be tall enough, but this didn’t stop him from pouring his passion into basketball. He just played for the love of the sport. He played in the school gym with other boys or by himself every day, even during holidays and weekends, when it was open for two hours in the morning. He enjoyed every minute on the court making every effort to play better.
It was one Saturday morning. Dave was playing in the gym by himself, as all the other boys were busy with other weekend affairs. Then he noticed a tall boy approaching. It was Lankas. Everybody knows him as captain of the school basketball team. “Hi, Lankas,” Dave greeted him. “My name is Dave.” “Hi, Dave,” Lankas replied as he got closer. “Nice to see you here. Do you need an opponent to play against?” Dave was shocked, frozen right there, unable to believe his ears but somehow, he answered, “Why not?”
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
So, a game of two players began.
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The next Saturday, when Dave was playing in the gym, Lankas appeared shouting, “Dave, I have good news for you.”
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