On February 13, 2023, Wu Yibing made history,
Brought to a tennis court for the first time at just five,
“Looking back, I feel like I wouldn’t have been here if not for the ups and downs over the past few years. I take all the setbacks and struggles
2 . Wang Shuang was just five when her parents divorced, dropped her at her uncle’s and left. Football, as it often is, became an escape.
At seven, she was spotted by coach Xu Yilong, who found Wang quick in her playful behaviour. As the only girl in the boys’ team, Wang’s performances were impressive, earning her the nickname “Iron Girl.” And soon, she sensed the sport’s power. Football allowed her to “release herself” and realize “whatever happens, football never leaves you alone.”
However, life was never smooth sailing. The constant jibes (嘲讽) from some people, who always tried to push her down and destroy her hopes, affected her so deeply that she lost confidence.” They were saying I had no talent at all. Gradually, I felt really so. “Wang once wrote. But never did she stop playing. When she was called up to the national team, aged 17,Wang thought, “Me? Are you sure?” When a world-famous club wanted to sign her, she was “excited that an excellent coach thought I was good.” It was only then that she felt confident in her abilities. “I felt recognized. Perhaps I had a bit of talent after all.”
Not any “bit of talent”; the genius is praised as China’s once-in-a-generation player.
China is a pioneer of women’s football in Asia and has won the continental championship eight times, including seven straight titles between 1986 and 1999.That was their golden age. Gradually, though, the dynasty declined. It is hoped that Wang will inspire the women’s football of the country to its former height.
Coaches are almost always hesitant to speak about individual players. But when coach Shui was asked about Wang before the match against Vietnam, she couldn’t stop mentioning her influence on the team. Unfailingly performing on the big stage, Wang did not let her team down. When they lacked a quality ball, she delivered two high assists that finally led her team into the last-four clash (交锋).
“Nobody knows how hard it was,“ declared Wang after the match. “We overcame difficulties. We also showed our strong spiritual power. I am proud of my team.”
1. What can we infer about Wang from the second paragraph?| A．She earned a living on her own. | B．She felt the power of sports. |
| C．She was laughed at by the boys. | D．She found a sense of belonging |
| A．By winning recognition. | B．By getting encouragement. |
| C．By playing in the national team. | D．By ignoring other people’s jibes. |
| A．Caring. | B．Unwilling. | C．Favorable. | D．Demanding |
| A．Wang Shuang: A Steel Rose | B．Wang Shuang: A Child Genius |
| C．Wang Shuang: A Football Pioneer | D．Wang Shuang: A Golden Age Successor· |
3 .
The documentary displays Lang’s inspiring journey from her gold medal victory as a volleyball player in the 1984 Olympics to her amazing career as a successful coach for both Team USA from 2005 to 2008 and China since 2013. She was the first person to win Olympic volleyball gold as a player and coach. Lang Ping revealed the secret to such remarkable achievements in the documentary. As she said, “
But illness is certainly not the only difficulty Lang has faced. In 2005, she struggled with balancing raising her daughter Lydia Bai Lang, who lived in the US, and her coaching career. She eventually decided to work for USA Volleyball that year.
There is no doubt that Lang is one of the greatest players and coaches in history. As an American athlete commented in the documentary,
| A．Who is Lang Ping? |
| B．Lang is the hardest to defeat. |
| C．I believe volleyball was my life. |
| D．What makes one a great person? |
| E．Glory and challenges go hand in hand. |
| F．Lang Ping is like Michael Jordan in our minds. |
| G．This decision aroused a lot of negative comments in China. |
4 . David Beckham was born in 1975 in London, at a place called Leytonstone. When he was a young boy, his greatest passion was in football. He played it whenever he had the chance. Sometimes he would go and watch a game with his friends. When David Beckham was 12 years old, he won the Bobby Charlton Soccer Skills award. This was an important step forward for this young boy, and it led him to go for a visit to a football training camp in Spain. As a boy he played for schools of Essex and also for his county team.
In 1991, he became a trainee with Manchester United. This meant that he could practice football as much as he wanted to and play for the highly successful Manchester United Youth Cup team and Under-21 team. In April, 1995 he played his first football league game against Leeds Untied. During 1995 and 1996, David became a regular member of the team and Manchester United won in both football seasons, with David scoring many goals.
His goals made him a household name. In the first game of the 1996-1997 season, he scored a surprising goal from beyond the halfway line, seeing the goalkeeper a little way out of his goal; Beckham became famous overnight. He continued to score astonishing goals, especially from free-kicks. The speed of one of his shots was timed at 157 kph. He also had the ability to make the ball go from left to right, or right to left, whenever he chose. Goalkeepers were never sure where the ball was going, and it regularly ended up in the goal.
1. Which word can take the place of the underlined word “passion” in Paragraph 1?| A．success | B．interest |
| C．prize | D．skill |
| A．helped him to gain many prizes for Essex |
| B．kept him playing for Leeds United |
| C．offered him the chance to join the national team |
| D．made him popular and famous |
a. Beckham played his first football league game
b. Beckham won the Bobby Charlton Soccer Skills award
c. Beckham played for Manchester United Youth Cup team
d. Beckham went to Spain to join a football training camp
e. Beckham played for the schools of Essex
| A．e, d, a, c, b | B．b, e, d, a, c |
| C．e, b, a, d, c | D．b, d, e, c, a |
| A．how Beckham became a successful football player |
| B．what abilities Beckham had to score so many goals |
| C．when Beckham became famous all over Britain |
| D．why Beckham could win in football league games |
