1 . Lloyd Black, who became a member at Anytime Fitness in Semmes, Alabama, last year at age 90, was named as the club’s Member of the Month for January.

Ashley Seaman, the gym’s general manager, congratulated Black in a Facebook post that went viral (走红). “We have seen nothing but inspiration from him since he started,” Seaman wrote in the post along with a photo of Black wearing his overalls (工装裤). “He says he is 91 years young and talks about how much his workout routine has helped him in his daily routine. Seeing someone like him encourages others to keep it up and include fitness in their life. Seeing him in the gym three times a week working out in his overalls brightens our day.”

Black said he started working out to keep up with his lifestyle. “I had reached the point where I could no longer do simple housework, so I started going to the gym and it has really helped.” said Black. “I’m also inspired by my dad who never gave up.”

Black’s gym routine includes the running machine, upper body strength training and the leg press. As a result of his work at the gym, Black finds it easier to cut the grass at his house and work in his woodworking shop. He experiences less daily discomfort and moves more easily.

According to Seaman, Black has become a valued member of the gym through his devotion to improving his personal fitness, his helpfulness and his warmth toward other members.

While Black is not a member of Facebook to see the reaction to the post, he has received local attention for his fitness journey. “I don’t feel very comfortable being in the limelight, but if it encourages someone else, I’m willing to do it” said Black.

1. What was included in the Facebook post?

A．Black’s basic information.	B．Black’s gym routine
C．Seaman’s photo.	D．Seaman’s praise.

2. What can we learn about Black?

A．He like swearing shorts to workout

B．He has been working out for three years.

C．He started working out on his father’s advice.

D．He benefited a lot from working out at the gym.

3. What do the underlined words “in the limelight” in the last paragraph probably mean?

A．All alone.

B．Out of date.

C．Well known.

D．Different from others.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Use it or lose it.	B．Accept it or leave it.
C．Take life as it comes.	D．Use is a second nature.

2 . Guernsey International Poetry Competition — Poems on the Move

Your poem could be on show in 2024. Winning entries are displayed in two stages: 21 bus poems will be chosen, and the top 9 of these will take part in a second, larger exhibition, first at Guernsey Airport, then all over the island.

How to enter

·Online by completing the online entry form and payment, at www.poemsonthemove.com.

·By email: PotM@guernseyliteraryfestival.com .

·By post: Poems on the Move 2024, Guernsey Literary Festival, PO Box 174, St. Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands, UK,GY1 3LG.

Fees

·Entries are £4 per poem or 3 poems for £10.

·Fees are not refundable.

·Young People’s Poetry: Aged 11-17, entries FREE

Rules

·Entries must be no longer than 14 lines and must be typed and fit on a single A4 page.

·Please do not write your name or age on the same sheet as your poems.

·Enter each poem on a separate page and enclose another separate sheet with your name, address, telephone number, email address, plus the title(s) of your poems.

·Entries must be entirely the work of the entrant and must never have been published, self-published, published on any public website or broadcast, nor winning or placed in any other competition.

·Closing date for receipt of entries: February15, 2024

The prize is open to anyone except those involved in organizing the competition. Winners will be contacted by March 5, 2024. Winning poems will be shown on Guernsey buses, and 9 of these poems will become part of the Poems on the Move exhibition, for no less than six months.

1. What should entrants do?

A．Show their poems on the bus.	B．Deliver their poems in person.
C．Start entering after February 15, 2024.	D．Have the poems typed as requested.

2. What is expected of the entries?

A．They should be original.

B．They must be over 14 lines.

C．They should be around two pages long.

D．They must be published works on any site.

3. Who is not entitled to the prize?

A．A young man aged 16.	B．A poet involved in the competition.
C．A writer organizing the competition.	D．A teacher writing a poem.

3 . On Aug. 7, 2021, Xu Shixiao and her partner, Sun Mengya, won gold in the first women’s canoe double 500 m event at the Tokyo Games. It was also the first Olympic gold medal for China in the event.

    1     Xu was born in a small county in a mountainous area in Jiangxi. Before becoming a paddler, Xu couldn’t even swim since her hometown is surrounded by mountains.

In 2005, the 13-year-old, who was much taller than her peers, attracted the attention of a rowing coach who came to look for potential paddlers in her school.     2    

“Every day my canoe turned over dozens of times. I drank lots of water in rivers,” recalls Xu of her first canoeing training. Xu kept training for a year and she made the final of a national race for teenage athletes out of a dozen paddlers at the centre.

In 2013, the news that women’s canoeing was still not an Olympic event dealt her a heavy blow.     3     Xu gave up her career and found her first job as a saleswoman in a furniture company.

When Xu Shixiao went to work as usual in the furniture company five years ago, she was surprised to get a call from her former coach, inquiring about her willingness to return to canoeing and compete in the Tokyo Olympic Games.     4     “I never thought that one day I could go back to the sport. Now that I have started again, I will do my best,” says Xu.

    5     She is also looking forward to taking part in the Paris Olympics in 2024.

A．Xu quickly made her decision.

B．Yet Xu’s journey to the Olympics was a rough one.

C．It was impossible for her to change the sport at age 21.

D．She made all efforts to reach the goal and never gave up.

E．Xu agreed to train at a rowing centre because she thought rowing a boat was fun.

F．Compared with athletes who are in their early 20s, Xu’s physical recovery is slower.

G．The Olympic medalist will participate in competitions at home and abroad this year.

4 . Anyone who’s lived through middle school knows those years can be particularly challenging. Some researches show youths across the U.S. are struggling with mental health. The physical health benefits of bike riding have been well-documented. Wilson, a researcher at Loma Linda University School of Medicine, and his co-authors carried out a new study to see if taking part in a cycling program could result in measurable changes in mind for teenagers.

The study involved more than 1,200 students, ages 11 to 14. Students participated in a cycling class for at least three days a week, for a period of 6 weeks. They learned cycling safety and practicing skills outdoors while raising their heart rate and just having fun. The students completed standardized questionnaires before and after the program designed to measure their health.

“We know cycling can benefit the body. Our research shows how it benefits the mind and social relationships as well. Bike riding can be an ideal activity for adolescents because of the benefits it offers,” said Wilson.

“Cycling engages several parts of brain function. You are looking at your hearing, you’re balancing, you’re navigating and turning. Oftentimes, you’re doing it with someone else, so there’s the positive effect of company or group activity,” said Allan Reiss, a professor at Stanford University School of Medicine.

While exercise has powerful mental health benefits, it’s not universal. For example, previous research has shown that teenage girls are at higher risk of mental health problems like depression and anxiety than boys. The current study found that, while middle school girls reported increased well-being after participating in the cycling program, that increase “may just reach the kind of baseline level for male students,” Wilson said. And other aspects of healthy living are also important, noted Wilson. The study found that teenagers who didn’t limit screen time to a maximum of two hours a day, or who got less than the recommended 8.5 hours of sleep, saw less improvement in their well-being, he said.

1. What does the new study mainly focus on?

A．Challenges in middle school.	B．Youths in America.
C．Physical benefits of cycling.	D．Mental effects of bike riding.

2. What did the students do in the program?

A．Attend the cycling class for a week.

B．Learn how to keep safe while cycling.

C．Raise their heart rate by cycling indoors.

D．Design questions to measure their health.

3. What is Reiss’s attitude to the result of the study?

A．Supportive.

B．Doubtful.

C．Unclear.

D．Negative.

4. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．Application of the research results.

B．Doubts about the research methods.

C．Further explanation of the research findings.

D．Supporting evidence from previous research.

5 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

When I was six, I played my first soccer game. It was a real game, complete with coaches, uniforms, and parents cheering from the sidelines.

Our two teams, Team One and Team Two, seemed pretty evenly matched, at least in the beginning. The first period ended without a single goal scored by either side. We were all still learning how to play the game properly, and our inexperience ran through this part. We stumbled over the ball, tripped over our own feet, and often completely missed our kicks. But what mattered most was that we were having fun, pure and simple.

The second quarter brought a significant change in the game. Our coach decided to pull out most of our starting players and put in the substitutes (替补), except for me—I was left guarding the goal. On the other side, Team Two’s coach decided to keep their best players on the field, which made things even more challenging for us. It seemed that winning suddenly become essential, even for us six-year-olds.

Team Two started to rule the game, and I found myself surrounded by their players whenever they came near our goal. I was determined to do my best, but it was tough. I couldn’t match the skills of three or four other really good players. Team Two began to score, one goal after another. I threw myself in front of the ball with all the energy I could gather, trying desperately to stop them but in vain.

The pressure was mounting, and I could feel my frustration building with every goal that slipped past me. I shouted, I ran, and I dove, but they kept scoring. I gave it everything I had, but it seemed useless.

My parents were there on the sidelines, and I could see them in the crowd. As the game progressed, I could see the change in my father’s expression. He had been urging me to try harder, yelling advice and encouragement from the sidelines, but now he seemed different. I could see the pain in his eyes, the pain he felt seeing me struggle. It made me want to cry.

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。

Team Two scored their fourth goal, and it was half-time break.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In that moment, what my father said meant the world to me.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6 . 学校将开设更多课外活动，假如你是李华，请代表班级向学生会主席David写信，推荐一项团体运动，并给出理由。内容包括：
1.推荐项目；
2.推荐理由。
注意:1.词数80字左右，可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。参考词汇: extra-curricular activities。
2.开头已给出，不计入总字数。请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Dear David,

I’m Li hua, from Class 2 Grade Three.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

7 . Sports play a key role in the physical and mental development of children. Although it’s great to see a child succeed in one sport, it’s important to keep their activities in balance. Participation in multiple sports enables children to acquire a knowledge of many movement skills. In addition to this, here are some other good reasons why kids should be encouraged to play several sorts of sports.

Repetitive movements can overstress growing bodies which later on can lead to injuries. With multi-sports, each sport works the body slightly differently. This will lead to fewer overuse injuries. Also, kids who overspecialize in one sport may end up losing interest and eventually give up. Specializing in a sport raises expectations and may put too much pressure on young kids. Having a variety of experiences will keep children interested and motivated, and even make them enjoy sports without any pressure.

Multi-sports also allow kids to experience different roles. Being a goalkeeper in a football team is very different from being a point guard in basketball. Being exposed to baseball develops better hand-eye coordination (协调). Soccer develops better footwork (步法). Volleyball develops jumping and hand-eye coordination. Martial arts develop strength, mobility, and discipline. Swimming develops full-body coordination and strength. The list goes on and on! Participation in multiple sports broadens a child’s developmental social, and situational experience. It opens up opportunities to become a better competitor and a promising athlete — flexible and energetic.

Many sports superstars like Stephen Curry achieved their standing today by playing multiple sports. Curry played basketball but he also played baseball, football, soccer, and everything else in a sports buffet. What worked for Curry, experts say, could work for most of us.

Besides developing a wide range of sports skills, more importantly, multi-sports provide opportunities for children to discover their liking. With the help of the right coaches, sports become fun, inspiring kids’ interests. So if you can’t decide whether your child should focus on one sport or try some different sports, I hope you can make a better decision now.

1. What will happen to kids if they do one sport repeatedly?

A．They can stay more focused.

B．They can spare more time to study.

C．They can be skilled at the sport early.

D．They can be more likely to get injured.

2. What’s implied about multi-sports in Paragraph 3?

A．They inspire kids’ sporting spirit.

B．They help kids develop their special talents.

C．They have much higher requirements for kids.

D．They help promote kids’ all-round development.

3. What does the author want to express in the last paragraph?

A．Multi-sports help kids find their favorite sports.

B．Sports skills make kids more popular at school.

C．Parents should lower their expectations for kids.

D．Children should turn their interests into professions.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．How sports benefit kids.

B．What sports children should try.

C．Why kids should try multi-sports.

D．Why multi-sports are popular today.

8 . The benefits of regular exercise are well documented but there’s a new bonus to add to the ever-growing list. New researchers found that middle-aged women who were physically fit could be nearly 90 percent less likely to develop dementia in later life, and as they did, it came on a decade later than less sporty women.

Lead researcher Dr. Helena Horder, of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, said : "These findings are exciting because it’s possible that improving people's cardiovascular （心血管的）fitness in middle age could delay or even prevent them from developing dementia. "

For the study, 191 women with an average age of 50 took a bicycle exercise test until they were exhausted to measure their peak （最大值的） cardiovascular capacity. The average peak workload was measured at 103 watts.

A total of 40 women met the criteria for a high fitness level, or 120 watts or higher. A total of 92 women were in the medium fitness category; and 59 women were in the low fitness category, defined as a peak workload of 80 watts or less, or having their exercise tests stopped because of high blood pressure, chest pain or other cardiovascular problems.

These women were then tested for dementia six times over the following four decades. During that time, 44 of the women developed dementia. Five percent of the highly fit women developed dementia, compared to 25 percent of the women with medium fitness and 32 percent of the women with low fitness.

"However, this study does not show cause and effect between cardiovascular fitness and dementia, it only shows an association. More research is needed to see if improved fitness could have a positive effect on the risk of dementia and also to look at when during a lifetime a high fitness level is most important. " She also admitted that a relatively small number of women were studied, all of whom were form Sweden, so the results might not be applicable to other groups.

1. What is on the ever-growing list mentioned in the first paragraph?

A．Positive effects of doing exercises.

B．Exercises suitable for the middle-aged.

C．Experimental studies on diseases.

D．Advantages of sporty woman over man

2. Why did the researchers ask the women to do bicycle exercise?

A．To predict their maximum heart rate.

B．To assess their cardiovascular capacity

C．To change their habits of working out

D．To detect their potential health problems

3. What do we know about Dr Horder's study?

A．It aimed to find a cure for dementia.

B．Data collection was a lengthy process.

C．Some participants withdrew from it.

D．The results were far from satisfactory.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．More Women Are Exercising to Prevent Dementia

B．Middle-Aged Women Need to Do More Exercise

C．Fit Women Are Less Likely to Develop Dementia

D．Biking Improves Women's Cardiovascular Fitness

9 . 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。

98-year-old Zhang Hexian, better known as “Kung Fu Grandma”, has impressed Internet users     1     her athletic spirit and lifelong career in martial arts. Zhang can be seen in a video showing her Kung Fu moves at a local martial arts     2     (compete) in the village of Zhangkeng, located in Ninghai, East China’s Zhejiang Province,     3     attracted public attention.     4     (amazing), the two-minute video     5     (post)online also caught the attention of Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, saying, “Kung Fu spirit never     6     (get) old!

It wasn’t just Zhang Hexian     7     surprised Internet users. It’s said that the practice of Kung Fu in the village of Zhangkeng has a tradition of over 500 years. Zhang, a member of the    8     (eight) generation of the family martial arts, started her career when she was a little girl.

Internet users have expressed their respect for the “Kung Fu Grandma” and praised her for being so     9     (energy) at her age. Some of them were also attracted by the long tradition in this village. “It’s not easy for a 500-year tradition     10     (survive).We should protect it as much as possible.” an Internet user wrote on Weibo.