1 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. cracked B. court C. assured D. stressed E. harboring F. making G. roared H. groundbreaking I. ultimate J. sensation K. check

“Queen Wen” Ready to Reign

Zheng Qinwen has become the second Chinese to ever reach a major singles final after Li Na’s pioneering triumph at the Australian Open a decade ago. So close to the championship and so disappointed! Yet, it is with so much pride that we can reflect on the journey of a Grand Slam champion in the     1    . Despite her tough final loss to defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, the tennis     2     Zheng’s amazing run at the Australian Open has served up another major boost for the sport in China.

An aggressive talent,     3     championship dreams since watching Li in 2014, Zheng was one step away from having her own name on the same trophy, as she started battle against the mighty Sabalenka on Saturday evening,     4     by an enthusiastic Chinese crowd at the Rod Laver Arena and the entire tennis community back home.

Two sets and 76 minutes later, Zheng’s first Grand Slam final ended in an alert reality     5     that, the 21-year-old still has plenty of catching up to do before reaching the very top of the game, technically and mentally, even though she     6     the world top 10. It is a must because, if one loses, there must be a reason behind it. Zheng has to try to figure out why, and then she will come back stronger and better next time.

Coming up just one step short of the     7     prize, Zheng held back tears at the award ceremony while gazing at the trophy when Sabalenka lifted it for a second time in a row. She     8     how much better she could have done during the postmatch interviews, even with media all greeting her with words of encouragement. Nothing seemed enough to satisfy the ambitious competitor, who’s already achieved many “firsts” for Chinese tennis over the past two weeks.

With Zheng leading the way, China will have seven female players ranked within the top 100. This progress owes a lot to Li’s     9     career, which helped encourage Zheng’s generation to dream bigger. Witnessing the collective rise of the next generation, Li said she can rest     10     that the game’s future is in good hands.

2 . 请在方框中选择合适的词汇，填入答题卡的空格中（只填代码），使短文完整连贯。
注意： (1) 每个选项至多只能使用一次； (2) 方框中有一个多余词汇。

A. take up       B. suggested       C. favorite       D. career       E. responded to       F. in shape G. down        H. at a certain time       I. to have completed       J. rather than       K. setting the record for

Mathea Allansmith isn’t your typical grandmother. She’s the oldest woman in the world     1     a marathon. She was 92 years 194 days old when she crossed the finish line at the 2022 Honolulu Marathon,     2     the oldest female to finish a marathon.

Mathea, now 94, of Koloa, Hawaii, USA, stays in shape all year round by running seven days a week, no matter what the weather is. Whether there is rain or sunshine, she covers 36 miles every week, even when she’s on holiday. The retired doctor didn’t     3     running until she was 46 years old—after a friend     4     she should run two miles per day.

“The Honolulu Marathon is my     5     marathon mainly because it doesn’t close the gate     6     , which allows even the slowest runner to finish the race,” she said. “It’s one of the best races.

Mathea, who doesn’t allow her age to slow her     7     , thinks she is the happiest person when she’s on the road. She enjoys running for miles and waving and saying hello to the people she passes. To stay in shape, Mathea keeps a steady training routine (惯例) . “I train all year round but increase the mileage (里程) 18 weeks before a marathon,” she said.

Mathea said it was her     8     as a doctor that allowed her to understand how her body and mind     9     diet and exercise. “I see the direct relation between moving and health,” she said. “It is important to reduce stress     10     ignoring it without a plan on how to do so. Of course, exercise of any kind is a natural stress reducer.”

3 . Directions:   Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. ultimately B. crowned     C. string       D. distancing   E. secure       F. rewarded G. spectacular H. prominence     I. edge             J. sustaining     K. proudly

Just Focus on Your Own Way

Head held high as she took the court moments after her Chinese team entered the arena, she waved and smiled in several directions. She then paced around the floor observing China’s championship opponents from Serbia (塞尔维亚). She     1     sang through the national anthem, guided her team to defend the title and made her own history, too. Lang Ping became the first person to win back-to-back World Cup championships both as a player (1981,1985) and as a coach (2015, 2019).

Lang, a significant cultural icon in China, rose to    2     as a volleyball player in the early 1980s. She, along with her teammates, was     3     four-time world champions in international competitions between 1981 and 1985. This    4     of victories pushed women’s volleyball to the forefront of Chinese sports discussions. Before this time, only table tennis had taken on a characterization as the sport in which the Chinese boasted about an outright     5    . As the leading outside hitter (主攻手), Lang herself was honored as the MVP of women’s volleyball at the 1984 Olympics.

After she retired from playing, Lang moved to the United States to experience what she called a “normal life”,     6     herself from her national fame. In 1987, she started coaching the women’s volleyball team at the University of New Mexico. Having honed her coaching skills with these young athletes over a five-year period, Lang became the head coach of China women’s national team in 1995.   She     7     led the team to a silver medal at the 1996 Olympics and a second place at the World Championship two years later. In 2005, Lang set her sights on a new challenge: coaching the U.S. women’s national volleyball team. The first foreign female to coach a major sport for the United States, she devoted herself to the job, despite     8     criticism back home. Lang returned to coach the Chinese national team for the second time in 2013. After guiding the team to the gold medal at the 2016 Olympics, she became the first person in volleyball history to     9     Olympic titles both as a player and as a coach. However, when asked about her success, Lang just said, “It’s not important for me to make history. But I’m so happy for the girls. They trained very hard.”

Lang’s     10     life is displayed in a recently announced documentary entitled The Iron Hammer, named after her nickname. The film not only tells her story but showcases her internal strength and commitment to greatness in the sport. Furthermore, her ability to break down gender barriers has inspired women to achieve new heights in the sport, a legacy that still inspires hope in the youth of today.