1 . Even though people have been paralyzed (瘫痪的) playing sports like rugby and football, extreme sports take the whole ordeal (磨难) to the next level. Sports like downhill cycling are very dangerous because one would be going downhill, over rocky or dirt zone, through forests, even at potentially deadly speeds. A slip up could be your downfall.
Nobody who gets into extreme sports goes with the desire to do harm to themselves. With that, athletes train for years and years before they attempt anything extreme. To most people, extreme sports are extreme simply because they take more skill than what an average person has. An athlete with skill and training makes an extreme thing become a daily routine, which does not wipe out the danger, but greatly reduces it.
Even when there is a lot of skill involved, things might not go the athlete’s way, not at all. Luck and circumstances have a lot to do with how things develop, whether above 8,000 meters or in a wood, going downhill. In some places, crossing the street is an extreme sport, considering how wild traffic can get.
Some view parkour, the sports of running, jumping and climbing under, around and through buildings, as an extreme sport, while it is more of a life philosophy, where the athlete does not have to do anything remotely dangerous. Free soloing, which means climbing a rock or ice face without safety gear, is absolutely deadly, where one slip means almost certain death, depending on the height, of course. Skateboarding is relatively safe, but if you constantly find ridiculous places to practice on, like the fence of a bridge, then things can get very complicated. The extreme part depends on the athlete.
To summarize, yes, extreme sports are dangerous, but the danger depends on the athlete, their choice of sport, direction in which they take it, as well as the circumstances. Some things are out of our control, while others we can influence through exercise and healthier risk choices.
1. Why is downhill cycling mentioned in Paragraph 1?| A．To call for attention to extreme sports. | B．To introduce the origin of extreme sports. |
| C．To illustrate the danger of extreme sports. | D．To show the complexity of the extreme sports. |
| A．Extreme sports differ from one another. |
| B．Skill matters a lot in maintaining safety. |
| C．Athlete’s luck is a key factor that influences safety. |
| D．Extreme sports are more dangerous than regular sports. |
| A．explain danger depends on the athlete | B．show free soloing is the most dangerous |
| C．compare which one involves the most skill | D．demonstrate how to choose an extreme sport |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Objective. | C．Intolerant. | D．Uninterested. |
| A．Do Extreme Sports Test Your Courage? |
| B．Why Should Extreme Sports Be Banned? |
| C．Why Do We Love Extreme Sports So Much? |
| D．Are Extreme Sports Really That Dangerous? |
2 . If you’re a runner who secretly hates running, here’s some good news: settling into a leisurely jog rather than an all-out run may actually be better for your health in the long term.
A team from Denmark followed over 5, 000 people taking part in the Copenhagen City Heart Study, and tracked whether they were non-joggers, or joggers who kept a slow, moderate (中等的), or fast pace. The participants’ health was tracked over the next 12 years, and so was their mortality (死亡率): 28 of the joggers and 128 of the non-joggers died.
The connection was this: Joggers of mild and moderate intensity had a lower risk of death than the fast joggers. In fact, the lowest mortality risk was that of the mild intensity joggers. The fast-paced joggers had about the same mortality rate as sedentary (久坐的) people. This suggests that there may be an upper limit to hard exercise, after which the benefits fall off.
“The U-shaped association between jogging and mortality suggests there may be an upper limit for exercise amount that is best for health benefits,” said study author Peter Schnohr. “Anything more is not just unnecessary; it may be harmful.” From the current study, jogging just three times per week, for less than 2.5 hours per week was associated with the lowest overall mortality risk.
There have been a lot of mixed messages about the “right” amount of exercise and what intensity is best. The World Health Organization has suggested that the current 150 minutes per week recommendations are strenuous for most people to tackle, and that expectations should be lowered, since, after all, anything is better than nothing. Everyone probably has a level of activity that feels best to him or her. But at least the growing consensus seems to be that more — if you’re pushing yourself very hard— is not necessarily better. And it may even be worse.
1. What was the study designed to find out?| A．The relation between exercise amount and health. |
| B．The difference between non-joggers and joggers. |
| C．The advantages of jogging over running. |
| D．The common causes of death from exercise. |
| A．Those jogging just three times per week. | B．Those jogging 150 minutes per week. |
| C．Those fast-paced joggers. | D．Those slow-paced joggers. |
| A．The early bird catches the worm. | B．Wealth is nothing without health. |
| C．To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short. | D．Enough exercise brings about happiness. |
| A．Intense. | B．Wide-ranging. |
| C．Necessary. | D．Far-reaching. |
| A．Why Jogging May Be Better For Your Health Than Running? |
| B．Can Jogging Increase Your Weight? |
| C．How Does Jogging Affect Your Health? |
| D．How Often Should Beginners Run? |
3 . In 1965, three fathers in Washington faced a dilemma familiar to beleaguered (被困扰的) parents in 2021: How to keep their restless children entertained. They threw together wooden paddles, a badminton net and a plastic ball. The sport “pickleball” was born, with its name — according to one legend — originating from a dog named Pickle, which kept running away with the ball.
Today, pickleball, which is a hybrid (混合物) of tennis, badminton and ping-pong, is the fastest-growing sport in America. In the five years to the end of 2019, pickleball participation grew by more than 7%, while Americans’ overall activity level stayed flat, according to the Sport & Fitness Industry Association. And the sport has picked up more swing definitely, thanks to COVID-19 in 2020. Last March, when quarantines (隔离期) went into effect and gyms were closed, portable pickleball nets temporarily sold out. Players set up courts, which are half the size of tennis courts, in driveways.
The 3.5 million Americans who play pickleball are about one-tenth the number who golf and one-fifth the number who play tennis. Yet there are reasons to bet on the sport’s spread. Like many outdoor activities, pickleball is social, but it is easier to learn than tennis and faster and less expensive than golf. Country clubs and recreation centers across the country are changing some of their tennis courts into pickleball courts to meet demand. The more places there are to play, the more players will try the sport.
“Pickleball was seen as a threat in the tennis community,” says Stu Upson of USA Pickleball, the sport’s national governing body, who used to work for the International Tennis Hall of Fame. But now, he insists, it is viewed as an opportunity. Tennis pros are adding pickleball lessons to their list. As more people take up the sport, demand for televised matches and sponsorships will increase. “It’s reasonable that pickleball could become an Olympic sport. But to be recognized by the International Olympic Committee, we need at least 70 countries with pickleball federations (联合会), so it’s not going to be in the next four or eight years,” says Mr. Upson.
1. Why was pickleball invented initially?| A．To afford children amusements. | B．To provide special training for dogs. |
| C．To reduce parents’ pressure of work. | D．To help children build up their health. |
| A．Pickleball has achieved its dominance in sports market in America. |
| B．Playing pickleball was the most popular sport in the US during the quarantine. |
| C．Americans’ participation in sports except pickleball decreased from 2015 to 2019. |
| D．Pickleball began to regain its popularity around the world due to COVID-19. |
| A．Its playing skills are easy to master. | B．It’s the first choice for people to socialize. |
| C．It can replace other sports during COVID-19. | D．Its courts could easily be altered from tennis courts. |
| A．Pickleball is bound to have a place at the Olympics. |
| B．Tennis will fade out with the rapid spread of pickleball. |
| C．Pickleball remains to be a major threat to tennis community. |
| D．It would take great efforts for pickleball to be selected for the Olympics. |
| A．Great popularity of pickleball in America. | B．The development of pickleball in America. |
| C．The influence of pickleball on pecople’s lives. | D．The threat of pickleball in the tennis community. |
4 . A world-champion body builder has no more muscles than does a 90-pound person who is physically weak. So what makes him so strong? What other qualities does he need?
Muscles are made of thousands of stringy fibers-a number that is fixed during childhood-which contract(收缩）when doing work. Strength does not depend on the number of fibers but on the function of their thickness and how many of them contract at the same time.
Exercise actually damages the muscles. During the recovery stage, the muscle fibers increase in size. Exercise also trains more muscle fibers to work at one time. If a muscle is weak or untrained, for example, only 10 percent of its fibers will contract, whereas up to 90 percent of the fibers in a weight lifter's biceps(二头肌）will contract.
Aside from the strength, two other factors go into making an athlete: fitness and endurance. Fitness is related to the condition of the heart. During exercises, there is an increase in the amount of blood returning to the heart from the muscles. A typical volume for a runner at rest is about 5 quarts a minute, compared with 30 quarts during a vigorous trial(运动测试). This greater volume means more work for the heart-a muscular balloon that expands and contract is to take in blood and push it out. Like any other muscle, the heart enlarges and gets stronger with routine exercise.
Endurance, or the length of time muscles can work, depends in part on how much fuel－in this case sugar-the muscles can store. A muscle that is continually exercised until it runs out of sugar tends to store more when it refuels at the next meal. And more sugar can translate into greater endurance the next time the muscle is put to the test.
1. What determines the strength of a world-champion body builder?| A．The thickness of fibers and the number of those contracting contemporarily. |
| B．The number of fibers and the amount of exercise he does at the same time. |
| C．The function of fibers and their thickness. |
| D．The function of fibers and their recovery. |
| A．It helps fibers more easily to contract. |
| B．It makes fibers increase quickly in size. |
| C．It makes more fibers weak or untrained. |
| D．It helps more fibers to work at one time. |
| A．The heart bears the task of making more blood during a vigorous trial. |
| B．The heart needs to bear the fast heart beating during a vigorous trial. |
| C．The heart takes in more blood and pushes it out during a vigorous trial. |
| D．The heart enlarges and becomes stronger routinely during a vigorous trial. |
| A．The more sugar muscles store, the thicker the fibers in them become. |
| B．The more sugar a muscle consumes, the less it tends to store next time. |
| C．The more sugar the muscles of an athlete store, the longer time they can work. |
| D．The amount of sugar in muscles largely depends on when they refuel at the nest meal. |
| A．Strong Heart and World-champion | B．Strength, Fitness and Endurance |
| C．Body Building and Muscles | D．Resources of Strength |
5 . It will come as no comfort to a child shivering (打哆嗦) on a playing field on a cold winter’s day. But regular organized school sport helps children in their academic studies in years to come. The researchers said other “structured” activities such as music or religious activities were not as beneficial for attention as taking part in a games lesson. The difference in academic ability was noticeable even at age ten, with those who had taken in sports since the start of junior school performing better than those who hadn’t.
The Canadian study looked at children aged six and then ten. Professor Linda Pagani said:“We worked with information provided by parents and teachers to compare kindergarteners’ activities with their classroom activities as they grew up. By the time they reached the fourth grade, kids who played structured sports were clearly better at following instructions and remaining focused in the classroom. There is something special to the sporting environment — perhaps the sense of belonging to a team to a special group with a common goal — that appears to help kids understand the importance of respecting the rules and honoring responsibilities.”
Researchers began studying 2,694 Canadian children around the age of six, with teachers filled in questionnaires about their behavior in school. Meanwhile, the children’s parents were interviewed by phone or in person about their home life. The exercise was the repeated four years later to test what effect the behavior had.
Professor Pagani said: “We found children who had better behavior in the kindergarten class were more likely to be involved in sport by age ten. Nevertheless, we found those children who were specifically involved in team sports at kindergarten scored higher by the time they reached the fourth grade.” The researchers believe sporting activities and attention skills go hand in hand. Professor Pagani added: “The results should be encouraging for schools looking to cut childhood obesity rates and low attainment in schools.”
1. What kinds of children may do better in their academic study according to paragraph one?| A．Those who join in structured activities. |
| B．Those who don’t shiver on a cold winter’s day. |
| C．Those who don’t like school sports. |
| D．Those who take part in game lessons. |
| A．The classroom activities. | B．The results of the exams. |
| C．The performance at kindergarten. | D．The time spent in classrooms. |
| A．understand each other better | B．follow the rules |
| C．respect the teachers | D．give up |
| A．How scientists carried out the research. |
| B．Why parents were interviewed by phone. |
| C．How kids behaved at home or at school. |
| D．How many sports kids did at school. |
| A．The research will be of great benefit. |
| B．It’s necessary for children go to kindergartens. |
| C．Childhood obesity rates can lead to low attainment. |
| D．Team sports will be reduced at kindergartens. |
6 . For a while, my neighborhood was taken over by an army of joggers. They were there all the time: early mornings, noons and evenings. There were little old ladies in gray sweaters, young couples in Adidas shoes, middle-aged men with red faces. “Come on!” My friend Alex encouraged me to join him as he jogged by my house every evening. “You’ll feel great.”
Well, I had nothing against feeling great and if Alex could jog every day, anyone could. So I took up jogging seriously and gave it a good two months of my life, and not a day more. Based on my experience, jogging is the most overvalued form of exercise around, and judging from the number of the people who left our neighborhood jogging army, I’m not alone in my opinion.
First of all, jogging is very hard on the body. Your legs and feet take a real pounding running down a road for two or three miles. I developed foot, leg and back problems. Then I read about a nationally famous jogger who died of a heart attack while jogging, and I had something else to worry about. Jogging doesn’t kill hundreds of people, but if you have any physical weaknesses, jogging will surely bring them out, as they did with me.
Secondly, I got no enjoyment out of jogging. Putting one foot in front of the other for forty-five minutes isn’t my idea of fun. Jogging is also a lonely pastime. Some joggers say, “I love being out there with just my thoughts.” Well, my thoughts began to bore me, and most of them were on how much my legs hurt.
And how could I enjoy something that brought me pain? And that wasn’t just the first week; it was practically every day for two months. I never got past the pain level, and pain isn’t fun. What a cruel way to do it! So many other exercises, including walking, lead to almost the same results painlessly, so why jog?
I don’t jog any more, and I don’t think I ever will. I’m walking two miles three times a week at a fast pace, and that feels good. I bicycle to work when the weather is good. I’m getting exercise, and I’m enjoying it at the same time. I could never say the same for jogging, and I’ve found a lot of better ways to stay in shape.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?| A．Alex organized an army of joggers. |
| B．People jogged only during the daytime. |
| C．Jogging became very popular in the neighborhood. |
| D．Jogging provided a chance to get together. |
| A．He felt it was worth a try. | B．He was very fond of it. |
| C．He was strongly against it. | D．He thought it must be painful. |
| A．physical weaknesses | B．heart attacks |
| C．famous joggers | D．back problems |
| A．He disliked doing exercise outside. | B．He was worried about being left alone. |
| C．He was afraid of having a heart attack. | D．He found it neither healthy nor interesting. |
| A．not everyone enjoys jogging |
| B．he is the only person who hates jogging |
| C．nothing other than jogging can help people keep fit |
| D．jogging makes people feel greater than any other sport |
7 . Children used to be able to play freely, exploring and interacting with the natural world with little or no supervision(监督) by adults. They were free to invent games of their own. Nowadays, however, we control the lives of our children much more, giving them fewer chances for free play. Many children in England used to spend hours playing on their bikes, having all sorts of adventures, but this is now considered too dangerous. Some working families can't care for their children after school, so the children have to stay indoors or attend supervised after-school activities.
The result is that some children have little time for play any more and when they do it's often spent in front of the television or computer. In the past, children in Brazil played a game which involves spinning (旋转) a large seed with a hole in it to create a scream-like noise. They rarely play this game nowadays.
Studies show that outdoor environments help all people by reducing stress and creating a general feeling of well-being. When children play in the open air, they are more likely to have positive feelings about each other.
Outdoor environments are also important for children's development of independence. When playing outside, children can gradually increase the distance from adults. Adults are then more willing to trust their children, an important element in confidence-building which improves the relationship between child and parent.
Outdoors, children have more chances to use all their senses. They have greater freedom not only to run and shout, but also to interact with the environment. Activities which may not be allowed indoors are perfectly acceptable outdoors; children are free to play messy games out in the open air that just wouldn't be permitted in the home.
Children experience the natural environment differently from adults. Adults typically see nature as background to what they are doing, while for children it is a hands-on experience. The expensive toys and indoor educational games cannot substitute for the experience of direct interaction with nature. They cannot replace the sensation where a child's attention is suddenly caught by the sunlight through leaves or the gentle noise of water flowing by.
1. The author mentions a Brazilian game to show that _______.| A．it was common for children to invent games in the past |
| B．TV and computer are more popular than outdoor games |
| C．Brazilian children used to play outdoor games |
| D．children seldom play outdoors nowadays |
| A．They don't control the lives of their children anymore. |
| B．They have more confidence in their children. |
| C．They want their children to stay indoors. |
| D．They experience less stress. |
| A．take the place of | B．be based on |
| C．be used as | D．get through |
| A．introduce some outdoor games |
| B．present a study on outdoor play |
| C．encourage people to interact more with nature |
| D．advise parents to let children play outdoors more |
Seven years ago, my wife told our 6-year-old daughter about our wedding weekend. My wife had moved back home to spend the weekend with her family.
As I was tucking our daughter in (把女儿的被子掖好) later that night, she asked if she could “come home like mommy did” when she got married one day. (Hopefully, one day far off into the future...) I told her our house would always be open to her. She gave me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. She was extremely happy.
After a few seconds, I could see her mind churning (思绪翻腾) — the happiness dissipated. She pushed her finger into my belly and told me in low spirits, “Your belly is too big and you are too fat. I don’t know if you are going to make it.”
I was shocked. It was true that my health had fallen into a huge decline in the previous five years as I was building Contegix. I had not thought of it as destroying a future with my family. A 6-year-old girl saw what I missed.
I decided to run a mile the next morning. I couldn’t make it 1/4 mile. I didn’t give up and went out the next morning.
Seven years later, I have lost 60 pounds and regularly run ultra marathons. I attempted my first 100 miles last August, but I missed the terminal point at mile 87 after running on a torn hamstring (腿筋撕裂) for the previous 79 miles.
Yet, the most important distance I will ever go will be walking her down the aisle (结婚) one day. I would not make it if it hadn’t been for the honesty and innocence of a 6-year-old.
1. Why was the author’s daughter happy? (no more than 15 words)2. What does the underlined word “dissipated” in Paragraph 3 mean? (one word)
3. What happened to the author as he was building Contegix? (no more than 10 words)
4. What does the author regularly do seven years later? (no more than 5 words)
5. What do you think of the author? Please explain. (no more than 25 words)
It’s becoming more and more common for people to live to 100 or longer. In fact, researchers say that more than a third of all babies now born in wealthy nations are likely to reach their 100th birthdays, thanks to advanced medical technology and treatment. Here are some of the best strategies for becoming a centenarian.
Eat vegetables and nuts. A study found that those who ate mainly vegetables gained an extra year and a half over meat-eaters; those who ate nuts regularly lived two years longer.
Make friends. Another study found that people with strong social networks were 50 percent less likely to die over a certain period. If you don’t have many friends or relatives in your local community, you can join in the voluntary activities or take part in a hobby group. You will stay happy and healthy through building the connections.
Don’t smoke. This is important: With occasional exceptions, smokers die younger than non-smokers. Even if you have had the habit for decades, quitting will help with your health greatly. It’s important to get your loved ones to stop it, too. People who breathed in secondhand smoke were 26 percent more likely to get heart disease than those who rarely stayed with smokers.
Improve your lifestyle. Along with healthy eating, you should focus on stress management, regular exercise, and building healthy relationships. When you eat more healthily, manage stress, exercise and love more, your brain actually gets more blood flow and more oxygen.
Have a sense of purpose. A study found that the common feature in communities with many people who are 100 or older was that older people still took part in daily life, through tasks such as cooking, cleaning and gardening. They feel the motivation(动机) to stay active, to get out of bed in the morning and live for a purpose.
1. What does the text mainly talk about? (No more than 8 words.)2. Please explain the underlined word “centenarian” in English? (No more than 8 words.)
3. Why is secondhand smoke harmful to people according to the passage? (15 words.)
4. How can we make friends if we don’t have many friends or relatives nearby in the author’s opinion? (No more than 10 words)
5. If you want to live longer, which of the strategies do you think is the best and why?(No more than 25 words.)
