If you enjoy walking for exercise, there’s a simple way to meet your demand—change your walk into a ruck, and it’s an increasingly popular form of exercise.
Rucking is walking with weight on your back. The term “rucking” comes from ruck marching, a core skill used by the military around the world. One of the tests the army normally gives to soldiers is a 12-mile ruck, which they must complete within three hours while carrying a weight of at least 35 pounds.
The reason why rucking is growing in popularity is that it’s an easy and all-body exercise. One study in 2019 showed that 10 weeks of weighted walking improved physical performance. Since rucking is usually performed outdoors, there is no doubt that it’s also good for your mental health. Lots of studies suggest that the mental health benefits of being in a natural environment are huge.
There are several tips for your rucking when you get started. First, don’t be too eager. As with any new exercise, you’ll need to begin slowly. Start with an empty backpack (背包) and walk a distance you’ve already done. When you start adding weight to your pack, try something low, like 10% of your body weight. Adding weight is going to put more stress on your ankles, knees, hips and back, so do it gradually. Another option is to start with a weighted vest (背心) instead of a backpack. This spreads the weight between your front and back. And of course, don’t forget your feet. Select a comfortable pair of shoes to prevent getting hurt.
1. What is rucking?(不多于六个单词)2. Why is rucking popular?(不多于六个单词)
3. Where is rucking usually performed?(不多于一个单词)
4. What is the last paragraph mainly about?(不多于三个单词)
The First Kite
Kites have been around for thousands of years. The first kites were created in China. There are three stories about how the first kite was born.
Many people believe that the kite was created when people watched birds fly. They then attempted to make a light object shaped like a bird that could fly high in the wind.
The second story goes like this. The kite was born as Chinese children sat below a catalpa tree (梓树). A catalpa tree is known for large leaves and seed pods (荚), which can be over 10 inches long. The catalpa tree’s seed pods have two “wings” that help the seeds move far from the base of the tree. As the leaves and seed pods sailed on an upward wind, the children became inspired to create their own kites.
There is a Chinese legend (传说) telling a different story. When a farmer was working in his field one morning, the wind blew his hat off many times. He had to stop to run after his hat. When the farmer went in for lunch, he had an idea that he could tie one end of a thin rope to his hat and the other end around his wrist (手腕). That afternoon, he went to work again. A sudden and strong wind swept the hat off his head and carried it high into the sky. But the farmer no longer needed to run after his hat. At that time, he got the idea of making a kite.
The idea for a kite could have been born as people watched birds fly, sat below a catalpa tree or found a way to get back a hat. Like the roots of many inventions, these stories are each inspired by people’s experiences or observations of the natural world.
1. Where were the first kites created? (不多于两个单词)2. In the first story, what inspired people to make kites? (不多于五个单词)
3. What gave the farmer the idea of making kites? (不多于四个单词)
4. How do people get the ideas for inventions? (不多于九个单词)
Junior Alvarado, a high school student in the Washington Leadership Academy, often struggled in his math classes and earned poor grades. The teachers at the Washington Leadership Academy used computer programs to identify the areas he was weak in and design a learning plan just for him.
“They explain the problem step by step. It wouldn’t be as fast, but at your speed,” said the 15—year—old, “Now I feel better about my math skills.”
The use of technology in schools is part of a larger idea of personalized learning. This idea has been gaining in popularity in recent years. Personalized learning is away of teaching centering around the interests and needs of individual students instead of entire classes as a whole. It includes flexible learning environments and specially—designed education plans. Students can decide what and how they learn. In that way, they are able to master subjects at their own speed.
Joseph Webb, headmaster of the Washington Leadership Academy, says the digital tools help teachers identify problems students are facing before they become too serious. “We can solve them right then and there; we don’t have to wait for the problems to come to us,” he said.
Still, many researchers say it is too early to tell if personalized learning works better than traditional teaching. A recent study found that personalized learning only led to small improvements. It found only a 3—percent improvement in math and even smaller improvements in reading compared to traditional teaching methods. In addition, experts in children’s health warn that the overuse of technology can damage face—to—face relationships and young people’s interest in physical activity.
Some teachers have their doubts as well. Marla Kilfoyle, a teacher in a public high school, admits that technology can be helpful in the classroom in many ways. But she argues that no computer program should ever replace the personal touch, support and inspiration teachers give their students.
1. How did teachers help Junior Alvarado to improve his math grades? (no more than 15 words)2. According to the passage，what is personalized learning? (no more than 13 words)
3. What does the underlined word “they” in paragraph 4 refer to? (no more than 1 word)
4. Why do Marla Kilfoyle believe computer programs will never replace teachers? (no more than 10 words)
“What is the most enjoyable part of your senior high school life? ” when asked this question, many students replied that club activities interested them most in school life. They enjoyed being with the club members who shared the same hobby with them.
In most of the schools, students are free to choose the clubs they are particularly interested in. Some students join one club, and some join two or more. Only a very few do not take part at all. The students run all the clubs themselves without the help of teachers. There are a number of sports and arts clubs that students may join. Sports clubs include football, volleyball, basketball, handball, hockey, tennis, badminton, gymnastics, judo and kendo（剑道）. They take place in the school gym or the school playing fields. There are also arts activities such as the painting and calligraphy club, dance club, the school orchestra and the school choir（合唱团）. The clubs meet two to four times a week after school. Sports coaches and club leaders are often school graduates who come back to help.
Club activities after class play an important part in students' school life. Young people spend a lot of time together in club activities and they often become true friends. These friendships often last a long time after graduation. Some become life-long friends. There is a popular belief that true friends are people who have had similar life experiences. Many graduates say that their best memories of Senior High school life are the days they spent in the mountains during the summer vacation, practicing and training with other club members.
1. Who runs the school clubs?2. Where do sports club activities take place?
3. How often do the members of the school clubs meet?
4. Why are the school clubs important?
5. Which club will you join? Give your reasons.
Home alone: Are you ready?
Do you know that in the US almost half of all kids aged 6 to 13 are home alone for part of the day? The boys in the Home Alone movies certainly have fun, but the whole experience can be freaky sometimes. These days, even a lot of adults are scared to be alone in the house! It’s totally understandable if you or someone you know are nervous about being home alone.
Take Jessi and her brother Joey as an example. For over five years now, they’ve been taking care of themselves until their mum comes home from work. Jessi says that the worst thing about it is when she or her brother is locked out. Then they have to wait on the porch until the other gets home! Sometimes, both of them get locked out! Fortunately, they each have a cellphone so they can call their mum when that happens.
Your parents think you’re ready, but do you?
At first it sounds cool to be home alone, right? Think of the freedom you’d have around the house! There’s nobody to stop you from playing video games or watching your favourite TV show!
Joey admits that he likes being able to watch TV shows or listen to music he likes. “ It’s more freedom, ” he says, “ but it’s also more responsibility. ”
So there you are listening to that CD your parents hate. Then what’s that? You hear a noise outside. It sounds like it could be a person on the front doorstep, and there’s been a string of robberies in the area lately. Suddenly, your unsupervised (没人监管的) freedom doesn’t feel so safe anymore.
It’s a normal feeling and it doesn’t mean you’re a “baby”. There’s always stuff going on in the world to shake our feelings of security. You might feel totally fine about being alone when you’re 10. Then, two years later, something happens that makes you feel different about it. Every person and every home environment is unique.
If you have worries about being home alone, it’s really important to speak out about them, even though it may cost money to get a sitter or your parent has to rearrange his or her schedule.
1. What will Jessi and Joey do if both of them get locked out? ( no more than 6 words )2. What’s the main idea of Paragraph 4? ( no more than 6 words )
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
It is always cool to be home alone — freedom you’d have around the house! There’s nobody to stop you from playing games or watching your favourite TV show.
4. What will you do when you are alone at home? ( About 40 words. )
A Rubbish Collector's Work Is Never Done
Brian Kane was a rubbish collector in Denver, Colorado. Eight hours a day, five days a week, fifty weeks a year, he rode on the back of a garbage truck. At each stop, he would jog to the back of buildings, then drag heavy rubbish cans to the truck. Brian never complained.
Brian saw these hardships as opportunities to become strong and fit. His job was a training ground for his lifelong dream: to climb Mount Qomolangma. On his thirtieth birthday, Brian took a leave from his job and flew to Nepal to begin the long, difficult journey up Mount Qomolangma.
Brian first climbed to a base camp. He planned to bring three oxygen containers with him to the top. At 29, 028 feet, it would be hard to survive without extra oxygen. Over the next two months, Brian climbed to 26, 000 feet, to Camp Four—the last place to rest below the top of the mountain. But when Brian saw this camp, he fell to his knees. “Rubbish!” he cried. Nearly a thousand empty oxygen containers littered the camp area. Humans had turned this beautiful, far-away place into a big rubbish pile. Brian was very sad. But with a strong determination he continued to follow his dream. Two days later he stood proudly on the top of Mount Qomolangma. He had reached the “roof of the world!”
Two days after this great achievement, Brian put a dozen empty oxygen containers in his pack and headed down the mountain He smiled to himself as he realized that the work of a rubbish collector is great and never done.
1. What was Brian Kane?(不多于三个单词)2. What was Brian's lifelong dream?(不多于四个单词)
3. How did Brian feel when he saw the rubbish pile at Camp Four?(不多于两个单词)
4. What do you think of Brian Kane?(一个单词)
Never Too Old to Shine
When Wang Deshun showed on the stage as a male model in his late 70s, many thought he had reached his apex (顶点). However, the 85-year-old showed them he's still flying.
The white-bearded Wang took flight in Beijing Miyun District in a SW100 light aircraft on Aug 17, 2021. During the course of the flight, he completed turns and climbs on his own, becoming the oldest person to undertake flight training in China.
His physical stats proved enough to apply for a flight license due to his many years of exercise. At Miyun Airport in Beijing, he was guided by a professional team that made a training plan for him.
“I've been dreaming of flying for more than 50 years so I thought I should learn. I thought I could do this," Wang said.
This is not the first time Wang has wowed (使喝彩) his fellow Chinese citizens. Born in a rural family in Shengyang，Liaoning Province in 1936, Wang started to work as a bus conductor and then a factory worker. In 1960, he became a stage actor and appeared in bit parts in films such as Brave Journey to Northeast and Miss Granny.
Wang continued to challenge himself throughout his life. At 44 he learned English, and at 50 he began fitness training. He learnt to ride a horse at 65, to ride a motorcycle at 78, and hit the catwalk at 79, when he took part in Beijing Fashion Week and rose to social media fame. Walking down the catwalk completely shirtless, he wowed audiences and was nicknamed "China's hottest grandpa".
"It's never too old to have your dream," he said. "Age has never been a problem. Just do it."
1. What did Wang Deshun do on Aug 17, 2021?2. What was Wang's first job in his life?
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
Wang challenged himself throughout his life, for he was nicknamed "China's hottest grandpa".
4. Have you ever challenged yourself? Please give an example. (In about 40 words)
