1 . Imagine a fire burning in your mouth and stomach. Now, imagine a bottle of yogurt.This yogurt is your only means (方法) of escape. The pain is extreme great，but still, you manage to hang on. Now, imagine 12other contestants (参赛者) to your left and right, each suffering from the same great heat. Finally, imagine a huge crowd of people watching the impressive view.

This is what it was like for me when I first took part in the Chili Pepper Eating Contest of 2019. Hosted by The Beijinget as part of the weekend Hot Spicy Festival in Beijing, the contest was an open invitational, drawing in those brave enough to test their passion and willpower for eating spicy chilis.

Before coming to China in 2017,I had no idea chili eating contests like this even existed.I knew about food eating competitions, sure; but I had no idea that you could become a superstar just by eating chilis. It was also my first time getting on stage in front of such a large crowd, so there were butterflies in my stomach even before I introduced chilis into the mix.

Since I was young,I grew up eating policy curries (咖喱) with my dad — perhaps quite unusual by American Midwestern standards. Sometimes, we ordered the curry so spicy it would make our faces red as tears streamed down. But, in truth, I loved the unique feelings eating spicy food gave me. These feelings were what led me to find myself on the stage that day.

Nobody believed that I would be able to pull through. But, to everyone’s amazement (and even my own), I won! And then I won again the following year in 2020! While the grand prize was welcomed, the satisfaction of knowing I was a champion of something I loved doing and was good at was reward enough.

1. What is Paragraph 1 mainly about?

A．People’s feelings when eating chilis.

B．People’s problems when eating chilis.

C．The popularity of the chili eating contest.

D．The author’s experience at a chili eating contest.

2. What do we know about the Eating Contest?

A．It attracted foolish people.

B．It was open to strong men.

C．It could make people well-known.

D．It weakened peple’s will power.

3. Why did the author like eating spicy food when he was young?

A．It was a reminder of his happy time.

B．It brought him a different experience.

C．It was a tradition in his hometown.

D．It was convenient to buy spicy food.

4. How did the author feel about his performance in the contests?

A．Surprised and proud.

B．Relaxed and satisfied.

C．Shocked and regretful.

D．Disappointed and annoyed.

2 . 语法填空。

It used to be impossible to spend a long winter holiday. But now, though the winter vacation has been over, it’s still necessary     1     me to stay at home because of my illness. As people say, being left alone all day can drive a man crazy. A couple of weeks ago my parents invited a teacher     2    (give) me lessons online.

At first, I didn’t know how     3    (take) classes through the Internet. Now I have got used to my teacher and the situation. Before class I go online waiting for my teacher to come, for it is terribly rude     4     a student to come late. In each class, the teacher teaches me     5     to do and how to do it. After class I finish my homework.     6    (be) honest, although I study relatively hard, the result isn’t as good as in school. Yesterday I failed to pass the exam, which made my teacher very disappointed. However,     7    (attend) classes at home is a comfort for me.

    8     to go to school is unknown, as no one knows how long it will be before I completely recover. But I believe, now that the winter is over and the spring has come, the school day is not far away. I believe that I will treasure my time     9    (be) at school and work even harder. I also believe in the future I will become another Zhong Nanshan, who is surely     10    (shoulder) the responsibility of protecting people’s lives and health.