1 . Making time for leisure activities can have a truly positive effect on your physical and mental well-being.    1    

Why do you need hobbies?

A 2015 US study in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine found that people were more positive, less bored, less stressed and had a lower heart rate when engaged in a leisure activity. Numerous other studies have shown that hobbies reduce stress.    2    

    3    

Start with what you enjoyed in the past. Did you once play football? Take it up again or try something else which satisfies your competitive spirit or the fun you get from being part of a team. Experts recommend a healthy mix of hobbies that give you physical, social and cognitive benefits.

Which leisure activities are good for physical health?

It’s clear that exercise is going to be good for you physically. Even regular walking can bring benefits for fitness.    4    and it’s sociable too. And both gardening and DIY could reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke by up to 30 percent among over-sixties.

Which pastimes keep your mind active?

    5    They are associated with a lower risk of dementia (痴呆), along with board games, which are perhaps more sociable than playing a violin. Older choir singers have better verbal flexibility, indicating better cognitive flexibility, than people of a similar age who don’t sing in a choir, according to a recent Finnish study.

A．How do you start a hobby?

B．While dancing is a great workout,

C．How do you choose the right hobby?

D．Learn a language or an instrument and read books.

E．Learning something new is a great way to train your brain.

F．And you may have some questions to figure out as follows.

G．And they boost mood, wellbeing, life satisfaction and even heart health.

2 . 340-pound Andy Duran decided to return to his favorite high school hobby—skateboarding.

However, Duran’s _________ began before he even stepped on a skateboard. He couldn’t find any resources (资源) for _________ skateboarders—what types of skateboards to _________ and where to buy plus-size shirts.

What Duran did find instead was an unfounded _________. “People say that if you’re over 190 pounds you shouldn’t be on a skateboard,” he says.

Determined to do something to _________ the description of plus-size people in sports, Duran set up Chub Rollz—a skateboarding community for overweight skateboarders. To encourage plus-size people to _________ the fun sport, Duran created a list of recommended _________ for them. He also hosted skateboarding classes to teach beginners.

The comments on Chub Rollz have been _________. Following an article about his action on the Internet, Duran received a lot of messages from _________ showing thanks for giving them courage to stand on skateboards.

Duran believes a lot more needs to be done to __________ body image stereotypes (成见). “Maybe skateboard shops should create a __________ environment for us and all types of boards should be made—everyone is making lighter products, but sometimes we need other __________,” he explains. For those __________ about taking up their favorite sports due to their __________, Duran has this to say, “Be __________ to yourself, as you’re often your worst critic (批评家). That you don’t see it doesn’t mean you can’t do it.”

1.

A．chances

B．protests

C．challenges

D．arrangements

2.

A．new

B．fat

C．gifted

D．young

3.

A．register

B．design

C．sell

D．try

4.

A．proof

B．guideline

C．report

D．belief

5.

A．check

B．change

C．stress

D．match

6.

A．play

B．promote

C．like

D．rate

7.

A．products

B．books

C．hobbies

D．sizes

8.

A．unusual

B．positive

C．informal

D．immediate

9.

A．volunteers

B．students

C．strangers

D．neighbors

10.

A．understand

B．control

C．compare

D．remove

11.

A．safe

B．competitive

C．welcoming

D．healthy

12.

A．choices

B．plans

C．measures

D．experiences

13.

A．careful

B．curious

C．certain

D．doubtful

14.

A．skill

B．weight

C．popularity

D．age

15.

A．useful

B．open

C．kind

D．faithful

3 . Barbara, 70, and me, at 71, have swum together for at least 50 years. We swim in a quiet cove (小海湾). It’s home to seagulls, a duck or two, and kayaks (独木舟) on occasion. The difficult summer drought of 2021 brought a burning sun that warmed the water. As the drought eased and the water cooled in late August, we decided to keep swimming. We have both read Bonnie Tsui’s Why We Swim, a fine book about cold-water swimming. We challenged ourselves to swim for as long as possible through September and into October.

I have long loved swimming, though the fear of being seen as fat has dogged me. I am one of those female bodies poorly displayed in bathing suits. Cold-water swimming deepened my sense of well-being and let me use my body. It became a ritual Barbara and I embraced as swimming sisters. When she returned to the United States immediately after our Canadian Thanksgiving, I did not know how I could continue our cold-water tradition. I wasn’t prepared to freeze alone.

But, I had to swim; there were larger commitments I should stick to. In the summer, we planned to cross from the cove to an island across the lake. I had to stay fit. We also planned to host a cold-water swimming race for locals in the fall. We would make it an annual event, improving our strength and endurance (耐力) so that, in our 80s, we might swim through October and into November.

With these plans in mind, I joined my local city pool. I had not been in a public pool for about 30 years. But my body said swim, my brain said swim and my heart, could not let go. So I went anyway.

I am swimming. I am alive to my love of the water, alive to my promise for the spring and the summer that will come. I intend to step back into the lake in May, and through September and October with Barbara. We are perfectly matched in our devotion, and increasingly aware of the miracle of being able-bodied enough to share the cold-water wonder side by side.

1. Why was the book Why We Swim mentioned in the first paragraph?

A．It guided the author to learn to swim.

B．It analyzes the advantages of swimming.

C．It is the author’s favorite book about swimming.

D．It partly contributed to the author and Barbara’s common interest.

2. What does the underlined word “commitments” probably mean in paragraph 3?

A．Promises .

B．Preparations .

C．Requirements .

D．Opportunities .

3. What effort did the author make to achieve her goals?

A．She went to a gym to improve her strength.

B．She became a member of the local public pool.

C．She swam across the lake to the island on her own.

D．She participated in a local cold-water swimming race.

4. What is the author’s purpose in writing this article?

A．To describe her friendship with Barbara.

B．To express her passion for cold-water swimming.

C．To recommend people to go swimming to keep fit.

D．To explain how she overcame her fear of swimming in public places.

4 . When I was a young student, none of my friends listened to classical music. Few learned to play an _______ for more than a year or two. They were listening to the big bands. But dad _______ me to learn to play the piano and I studied for three years. And later, you know, I gave it up. But one day one thing changed me _______.

One Saturday, I went to a _______ birthday party of one of my classmates and there were quite a crowd of people of my _______. And some of the kids were fooling around at the piano while the parents are _______ us a big meal. Then one of the girls _______ stopped talking, looked at me and said, “Robert, you took piano lessons. _______, play something!”

“No, I’m not going to play the piano.” I _______ that no one in that room would show________ in the kind of music that I could play. But though I was ________ objecting, I was pushed by my friends toward the piano. I was “________” to sit down. And there I was face to face with eighty-eight black and white ________.

What to play? The only thing that came to my ________ was Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. So, I began with the slow ________. And after two measures I became aware that there was a ________ in the room. After the next two measures, I felt people ________ toward me, and then the parents came out of the kitchen ________. I played the whole first movement and when I was through, the applause and cheers were ________ to believe.

If I had known that this would have happened, I never would have given up ________ playing the piano.

1.

A．apartment

B．instrument

C．equipment

D．argument

2.

A．advised

B．allowed

C．instructed

D．persuaded

3.

A．completely

B．generally

C．cruelly

D．hopefully

4.

A．boring

B．secure

C．sweet

D．brief

5.

A．city

B．age

C．height

D．dream

6.

A．buying

B．earning

C．breaking

D．cooking

7.

A．actually

B．foolishly

C．suddenly

D．curiously

8.

A．Come on

B．Get up

C．Break out

D．Carry on

9.

A．admitted

B．observed

C．figured

D．regretted

10.

A．knowledge

B．delight

C．respect

D．interest

11.

A．shyly

B．strongly

C．luckily

D．hardly

12.

A．forced

B．guided

C．invited

D．protected

13.

A．keys

B．letters

C．words

D．pictures

14.

A．music

B．party

C．meal

D．mind

15.

A．ending

B．opening

C．reading

D．stop

16.

A．quarrel

B．relaxation

C．silence

D．noise

17.

A．moving

B．sending

C．looking

D．hearing

18.

A．satisfied

B．annoyed

C．disappointed

D．surprised

19.

A．easy

B．hard

C．certain

D．glad

20.

A．remembering

B．considering

C．practising

D．imaging

5 . Winter _________ Eastern Canada into a deep freeze. We sat at home, waiting for the COVID-19 cases to decrease and for the weather to improve. Each of us looked forward to something to keep us _________ the isolation: seeing friends, eating in restaurants, watching a movie at a cinema ... My hope has quietly been _________ dust in the garage since November.

My bike got stolen within months of moving to Toronto. I rode my old bike faithfully for almost 20 years before getting the replacement, which then got stolen, forcing me back to Old Faithful. The faint of heart might have _________ biking completely at that point, but not me, _________ what biking means to me: freedom.

Every spring I take Old Faithful down from the rack, clean it, lubricate it and pump up the tires. As time goes by, the old gal has started showing her age, and now there are more replacement parts on her than _________ ones. But with all bike stores being _________ on new models as the pandemic has swept them clean, she is all I have.

On my bike, I’m limitless and unshackled by gas tanks or batteries; as long as I’m alive and eating, I’ve got fuel and can pedal to the ends of Earth if I want. No _________ is impassable. Jammed roads mean nothing: I can still weave between cars in traffic. This memory means even more to me with the experience of _________.

Society gritted its teeth (咬紧牙关) in the knowledge that we just had to __________ it out for a year to get to the other side. Then Delta hit. Then Omicron. A year __________ into two, and that’s when the walls really started closing in. That’s when we really needed hope. So, I count the days until I can return to my bike. On my bike, I achieve another state of mind. As ridiculous as it sounds, in the old days when I __________ up a hill, in my mind I became the leader in the Tour de France and that inner-city hill became the Alps. I would push myself to reach the top each time. I wanted to feel that little __________ of making it to the summit, knowing that doing so told me once again that I could go anywhere and that nothing could hold me back. I was free.

Every few years I add a new ache or pain. I am starting to get old. At some point, I won’t be able to tackle those hills the way I used to, but biking is a time-limited undertaking and is worth every __________. Therefore, every time I encounter a hill, I don’t give up. I never want to lose this sense of __________. I’m waiting for that first warm day when I’ll escape the pandemic walls. I want to put on my helmet and for one brief, beautiful moment, be free again.

1.

A．scared

B．plunged

C．frosted

D．sealed

2.

A．going through

B．suffering from

C．holding up

D．putting off

3.

A．stuffing

B．gathering

C．assembling

D．coating

4.

A．forgotten

B．undertaken

C．loathed

D．abandoned

5.

A．regardless of

B．no matter

C．in spite of

D．because of

6.

A．excess

B．replaced

C．original

D．backup

7.

A．dependent

B．hard

C．keen

D．low

8.

A．shortcut

B．vehicle

C．obstacle

D．spot

9.

A．lockdown

B．congestion

C．meltdown

D．recovery

10.

A．spill

B．tough

C．cross

D．stress

11.

A．bumped

B．rushed

C．slipped

D．turned

12.

A．rounded

B．powered

C．leapt

D．scaled

13.

A．presence

B．interest

C．spark

D．thrill

14.

A．tumble

B．strike

C．stretch

D．rumble

15.

A．proportion

B．belonging

C．freedom

D．relief

6 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What does the woman think of reading?

A．Relaxing.

B．Beneficial.

C．Uninteresting.

2. Why does the man read?

A．To have enjoyment.

B．To make his teacher happy.

C．To collect material for his paper.

3. What is the man’s advice about reading?

A．If you know nothing about a book, you should not pick it up.

B．If you’re not interested in a book, you should stop reading it.

C．If you force yourself to read a book, you’ll become interested in it.

4. What can the woman learn from the man?

A．How to choose books to read.

B．What kinds of books are interesting.

C．Where to get help to improve reading ability.

7 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What makes the woman feel uncomfortable?

A．A sea plant.

B．The seawater.

C．The diving suit.

2. What is the most exciting activity for the man?

A．Diving.

B．Rock climbing.

C．Bungee jumping.

3. What does the woman imply in the end?

A．She loves bungee jumping.

B．She will never dive again.

C．She decides to go rock climbing.

8 . 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。

Chinese calligraphy has always fascinated me. My grandpa has been deeply invested in his calligraphy practice: getting up early in the morning to bike to     1     (class) and staying up late watching videos     2     (perfect) his skills. When he visited America, his four essential tools for calligraphy     3     (put) neatly in his suitcase. With just these instruments, the dining room tables would be covered with sheets upon sheets of his writing in just a few days. He would always make a small space on the table for me to put my book so we could be together despite     4     (do) separate deeds. As he wrote, I read— often peeking (偷看) over the book pages to watch him fill up the paper inch     5     inch.

One day, I     6     (curious) asked him to teach me. My grandpa was always so happy to teacher me because he wanted me to learn     7     many things as possible about my motherland’s culture.

When I was fifteen, my grandpa     8     (give) me one of my most     9     (treasure) gifts. He gifted me an incredible Chinese calligraphy scroll (卷轴): it was long and beautiful. Each morning I wake up to     10     scroll hung up in my bedroom: a symbol of my grandpa’s love and passion for life.

9 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. Where did the man learn to sail?

A．In Spain.

B．In the UK.

C．In Africa.

2. What is the speaker's biggest danger while sailing?

A．Suffering from bad weather.

B．Being attacked by sharks.

C．Not having enough water.

3. How does the man currently earn money?

A．By cleaning and selling boats.

B．By taking tourists on trips.

C．By teaching children how to sail.

10 . Some people find hobbies boring or simply think of them as a waste of time. However, what they do not know is that hobbies can do a lot of good to a person in his or her everyday life.

Hobbies can make new social interactions. Many hobbies get you out in your communities.     1     Countless studies have found that social interactions are a key to happiness and a meaningful life, and hobbies have the potential to create precious new ties.

    2     Hobbies give you something to talk about at parties and around the water cooler. They add layers to your identity. People want to be around you because you always have a sense of curiosity and stories to tell.

Hobbies help you structure your time. This is so amazing.     3     When the evening is unscheduled, you might find yourself working late into the night, designing a work project or answering emails. Chances are, if you have a book club meeting that night, you may get those tasks done much more quickly.     4    

Hobbies help you reduce pressure. Studies show that learning something new or improving a skill gives you a sense of achievement.     5     Now imagine that after work you head out to your soccer league or pottery (陶艺) class. These activities are more than only relaxing. They remind you that you are not only an employee, but also an athlete or an artist. Hobbies let you forget your worries, overcome boredom, and have fun.

A．Hobbies make you interesting.

B．You may have had such an experience one evening.

C．Hobbies make you inspire others around you as well.

D．This can make you meet new people, forming new bonds.

E．This proves hobbies can create more time by encouraging efficiency.

F．Hobbies help you make more friends who will support you in the office.

G．Imagine a rough day at the office, where you work so hard and feel stressful.