2 . Some Winter Activities

Winter activities are underestimated (低估). The days may be shorter, but the list of fun activities isn’t. Don’t let the winter blues take over.     1    

Finding your favourite.     2     Nobody likes cardio (有氧运动) for a long time, but signing up for an adult sports team, or taking a yoga class on the weekend can be a fun way to break up the boredom of going to the gym. Recreational (娱乐的) sports are also a great way to meet new people.

Walking on snow.     3     Walking with snowshoes is friendly to beginners, and suitable for kids and seniors alike. You can buy a set for under $100 or rent some for the afternoon. Take a friend or walk alone to enjoy the peacefulness of the outdoors in winter.

Skiing. Those that love it really love it. Hitting the ski hills is an old wintertime tradition. It gets you outside, boosts your mood, and serves as a core workout. You don’t need the latest gear (设备) to be able to have fun.     4     If you’re feeling tired of too much indoor time, get your heart pumping at a nearby ski hill.

    5     Taking an online class, or picking up an instrument for the first time, can be incredibly rewarding. Expanding your professional skill can do wonders for your future job prospects. It may take a little planning, but consider learning something new this season.

A．Go to the gym.

B．Learning something.

C．Most ski fields rent gear too.

D．Be active and try these winter activities.

E．The following are things you can do at home.

F．You needn’t be an athlete to enjoy this seasonal activity.

G．The key to keeping healthy is finding what you enjoy doing.

3 . Trainers and parents saw children play sports at a young age and then saw them become professional. Many correlated the training to success. Competitive sports are good for young children because they teach children life skills, provide health benefits, and offer special opportunities.

To begin with, sports teach children life skills. A formal athlete stated, “I played soccer in high school and college and found team sports weren’t just about winning, but also about developing a solid ethic(行为准则), and learning why that’s important.” In short, playing highly competitive sports teaches kids many life skills like teamwork. People will have to use teamwork for the rest of their life, and sports can help them improve that skill. Taking part in sports can help develop a positive attitude towards life, which will help in the long run.

Sports are also good for kids because they provide health benefits. It is healthier for a kid to play a sport competitively than to waste time playing video games all day. Furthermore, a research group of University of California said, “96 percent of the participants(参与者) said they enjoy their sports. They’re all loving life.” That is to say, kids playing highly competitive sports tend to enjoy life instead of doing something else like watching TV.

On the other hand, some people might argue that competitive sports are bad for young children because they are so time-consuming. However, the time spent is not “robbing” kids of their childhood, but offers unique opportunities. Athletes can get success to live their dream life by playing sports. Even though sports are time-consuming, they offer distinctive opportunities.

In conclusion, competitive sports are good for children because they can provide wholesome benefits, create new experiences, and build skills that will last a lifetime.

1. Why is the formal athlete mentioned in paragraph 2?

A．To show a reason	B．To give an example.
C．To list a background.	D．To draw out a new point.

2. What is the most participants’ attitude to sports?

A．Supportive.

B．Uncertain.

C．Uncaring.

D．Doubtful.

3. What does the underlined word “distinctive” in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Common

B．Unreasonable

C．Unique.

D．Frequent.

4. What does the text mainly talk about?

A．The ways to play sports.

B．The reasons for playing sports.

C．The problems of kids’ playing sports.

D．The benefits of kids’ playing sports.

4 . A small study out of Skidmore College examined the advantages of morning vs, evening exercise for both women and men. Paul, professor for health at Skidmore, led the study.

“We had the groups divided into evening and morning groups,” he says. “We found women and men answered differently to different types of exercise depending on the time of the day, which surprised us.”

The study showed that for women who want to lower blood pressure (血压), the risk of heart disease or reduce fat, morning exercise works best. Those women hoping for upper body muscle (肌肉) gains or mood (心情) improvement should consider evening exercise. For the men, the findings were somewhat different: Evening exercise lowers blood pressure, the risk of heart disease, and feelings of tiredness. But similar to women, they burn more fat with morning exercise.

“For many people, the best time to exercise will depend on their chronotype,” says Heisz, author of Move the Body, Heal the Mind.

“Chronotype is your body’s natural habit to sleep at a certain time—it’s what decides whether you’re a night owl or an early bird. For the 25% of the population that considers themselves a night owl, getting both enough sleep and enough exercise can be difficult,” adds Heisz.

He continues, “Sleep—which provides your body the necessary time to recover (恢复) and make gains from exercise—should always be the first choice. When it comes to exercise, regardless of research on the advantages of certain exercises at particular times of the day, your results will not be good if it doesn’t allow enough time for sleep.”

1. What can women get by doing evening exercise according to the study?

A．A fat loss.

B．A good mood.

C．A lower blood pressure.

D．A smaller risk of heart disease.

2. What does the author intend to do in paragraph 5?

A．Give an example.	B．Tell the difference.
C．Do an experiment.	D．Explain a term.

3. What does Heisz think is important to achieve good results of exercise?

A．Enough sleep.	B．Low-fat food.
C．Plenty of water.	D．Lots of exercise.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．A Night Owl or An Early Bird

B．Why Fitness Plan Being Important

C．How to Change Your Exercise Time

D．The Best Time of a Day to Exercise

6 . Nenad Bach, an American composer and singer who lives with Parkinson’s disease (帕金森病) is the founder of “Ping-pong Parkinson”, a movement that promotes ping-pong as a therapy (疗法) to improve the lives of Parkinson’s patients worldwide.

After being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2010, Bach found that his tremors (颤抖) and other symptoms were keeping him from playing his guitar. But a friend introduced him to ping-pong, also known as table tennis, and he soon found that both his motor skills and his mood seemed to improve when he played. Bach’s doctor confirmed his improved state. And that’s when the idea for “Ping-pong Parkinson” took root.

In 2017, Bach worked with well-known New York Times crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz. Shortz also happens to be the owner of the Westchester Table Tennis Center. In October of 2019, the first Parkinson’s World Table Tennis Championship was held at the Center, attracting people with Parkinson’s disease from as far away as Sweden, Japan, Brazil, Croatia, England, and China.

Recently, a small study was conducted by scientists at Fukuoka University in Japan. People with Parkinson’s disease participated in a table tennis exercise program once a week for six months. Participants experienced significant improvements in facial expression, posture rigidity, speed of movement and hand tremors. They also experienced improvements in speech, handwriting, getting dressed, getting out of bed and walking.

Dr. Ken-ichi Inoue, the study’s author, comments, “While this study was small, with twelve participants, the results are encouraging because they show ping-pong, a relatively inexpensive form of therapy, may improve some symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.” Dr. Inoue is planning a much larger study to confirm his findings.

1. Why did Bach pick up ping-pong?

A．He found it great fun.

B．He followed his doctor’s advice.

C．He wanted to improve his conditions.

D．His friend needed someone to play it with.

2. What can be inferred from the text?

A．“Ping-pong Parkinson” met with wide objections.

B．Doing word puzzles benefits people living with Parkinson’s disease.

C．Bach taught people living with Parkinson’s disease to play the guitar.

D．The first Parkinson’s World Table Tennis Championship was held in the US.

3. What is a limitation of Dr. Inoue’s research?

A．Small subject number.	B．Short studying period.
C．Incomplete study aspects.	D．Limited subject performances.

4. What’s the author’s intention in writing the text?

A．To promote a sports event.

B．To tell the story of Nenad Bach’s struggle.

C．To introduce a therapy for Parkinson’s disease.

D．To present the findings of Nenad Bach’s research.

7 . At an age where many of his contemporaries are winding down, Jo Schoonbroodt is somehow speeding up. On Sunday, the 71-year-old from the Netherlands, ran a marathon in 2hr 54min 19sec to become the fastest septuagenarian (70-90 年龄组) in history.

A few days later, when the Times catches up with him, his achievement is still sinking in. “I only started jogging at 36 because my doctor told me I had high cholesterol (胆固醇),” he says. “But last year I ran 7,242 kilometres, which is more than double what I did in my car.”

But the secrets of his success might surprise you。 “Most runners train too hard. I do a lot of my training with groups who run very slowly. And then I build on these basics with some faster interval training.”

Schoonbroodt often runs at 9-or 10-minute mile pace, far slower than the 6.38min / mile he ran for 26.2 miles to set his world record, but he says the crucial thing is that he listens to his body. “A lot of people follow a training plan or coach and push on even when their body is saying: ‘No, this is not a good day to do it.’ But if you go out the door and just do what you feel, it’s easier to keep running and stay injury-free.”

Being a late bloomer (大器晚成), he believes, has actually helped him because his ego (自我意识) never had to worry about chasing faster times of his youth. “Because I started so late, I missed my best years. But that’s no problem. Everything is still new to me.”     

Schoonbroodt, meanwhile, has no plans to put his feet up. “My next marathon is in two and a half weeks, on an old Roman road built 2,000 years ago,” he says, the excitement obvious. It will be his third in 2023. And with that he is off. After all, the quest (追求) for another sub-three-hour marathon waits for no man. Not even one who is 71.

1. What message does Schoonbrodt’s story carry?

A．It is never too late to run.	B．More haste, less speed.
C．Time waits for no man.	D．An earlier bird catches the worm.

2. What is the secret behind Schoonbrodt’s success?

A．He competed with slower runners.

B．He made full use of the intervals.

C．He trained in line with his condition.

D．He ran faster in the races than in trainings.

3. Why is being a late bloomer helpful to Schoonbrodt?

A．He can draw lessons from other runners.

B．He has no youthful success to think back to.

C．He can equip himself with new running skills.

D．He has a strong desire to make up for the lost time.

4. How does Schoonbrodt talk about his next marathon?

A．He is unsure of winning it.	B．He is eager to participate in it.
C．He has no plan to enter for it.	D．He will not run it in three hours.

9 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

Eartha lost her balance and fell heavily onto the floor. “I’ll never be as flexible as you are, Grandma.” she sighed softly.

Eartha’s Grandma had been practising yoga for more than 50 years, who could twist, bend and curl her body with ease. She could even stand on her hands and pull her body into different poses.

“Eartha, your name means ‘patience’.You need patience for yoga,” said her Grandma.

Like many schools in the country,Eartha’ s school held an annual yoga competition. Eartha wanted to make her Grandma proud. But she could hardly stand on one leg.

Grandma returned to the kitchen.Eartha kept practicing hard. She stood straight, her arms at her sides. She moved her hands and knees, arching her back. All of these poses were easy,while the competition was certain to be harder. So she tried more challenging poses, lying on her stomach and pushing up on her hands. Her arms soon got tired and she collapsed to the floor. Eartha wandered into the kitchen.

“Finished already?” asked Grandma.

“It’s hard,” Eartha said. “How did you get to be so strong?”

Grandma smiled. “Patience.”

The next morning, Eartha felt ached and sore all over the body. Her legs hurt so badly from the poses she practiced that she even wanted to quit. However, her grandmother’s words echoed in her mind, and she held the pose for a longer time.

Each day Eartha would practice anew pose, before going over the poses she had practiced the previous few days.With the date of the competition approaching, she started to feel stronger and more flexible. Her arms and legs stopped trembling.

The day of the yoga competition arrived as expected. In the gym, Eartha lay on her back with her knees bent and placed her hands on the floor behind her. Everything went smoothly. Just then,so eager was she to win Grandma’s pride that her poses displayed a mix of impatience, and rigidness. Eartha fell on the mat, which cost her edge over other competitors. A bell rang, ending the first half of the competition.

1.续写词数应为150左右:
2.请在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Thinking she ruined all because of impatience, Eartha looked at the audience for Grandma.

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Calm and confident, Eartha stepped on the stage for the second half of the competition.

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