1 . I have an amazing connection with marathons. I didn’t realize until I started running in my 30s that running was a battle against myself, not about competition or whether or not I was athletic. It was all about the battle against my own body and mind. A test of will!

I remember back to my 7th year in school. In my first P. E. class, the teacher required us to run laps and then hit a softball. I didn’t do either well. He later informed me that I was not athletic. Though he didn’t mean it, that stuck with me for years.

A month before my first marathon, one of my ankles was injured and this meant not running for two weeks，leaving me only two weeks to train. Yet, I was determined to go ahead. The night before my marathon, I dreamt that I couldn’t even find the finish line. I woke up sweating and nervous, but ready to prove something to myself.

Shortly after crossing the start line, my shoe ties became undone. So I stopped to readjust. Not the start I wanted !

At mile 3, I passed a sign: “GO FOR IT, RUNNERS!”

By mile 17, I became out of breath and the once injured ankle hurt badly. Despite the pain, I stayed the course walking a bit and then running again.

By mile 21, I was starving!

As I approached mile 23, I could see my wife waving a sign. She is my biggest fan. She never minded the alarm clock sounding at 4 am or questioned my expenses on running.

I was one of the final runners to finish. But I finished! And I got a medal. In fact, I got the same medal as the one that the guy who came in first place had.

Determined to be myself, move forward, free of shame and worldly labels, I can now call myself a marathon winner.

1. What does the underlined “that” in Para. 2 refer to?

A．His teacher’s request.	B．His failed sports.
C．His no-talent in sports.	D．The awkward memory.

2. What happened in the author’s first marathon?

A．He made it eventually.	B．He has lost confidence.
C．He gave up halfway.	D．He was too nervous to finish.

3. How did the author’s wife respond to his running?

A．Doubted.

B．Supported.

C．Indifferent.

D．Unconcerned.

4. What can we learn from the text?

A．One is never too old to learn.	B．Failure is the mother of success.
C．A winner is one with a great effort of will.	D．A man owes his success to his family support.

2 . I recall when I was a young girl back in Canada, I was sitting and watching a baseball game on TV with my father and we started to debate the importance of sports. Different from my father, I argued with all the overconfidence of a teenager that sports is more than just a hobby to keep us physically healthy and went as far as claiming that" There would be more wars if we didn't have sports!"

As an adult, my teenage tendencies of exaggeration(夸张) may have faded but I still firmly believe that sports is more than just a hobby for both participants and audience. The challenging times we are all living through right now with coronavirus is proof to this. The effect of cancelling all sports from professional leagues right down to amateur budding athletic programs, can be felt by millions of people worldwide. To many the social emotional impact is stronger than the physical. The loss of the sense of community, of belonging, and of an extended family is real for many girls, boys, men and women everywhere. Others are feeling physical challenges as well as they are struggling to stay active during these times.

But the human race is incredible and adaptable in tough situations, and sports once again is playing a role. Sports teams are staying in touch online and are a source of much needed support, love and laughter in these times. So many professional athletes are playing vital roles through this crisis by sharing their messages of support and at times, making valuable monetary donations to the cause. Even in areas of isolation(隔离), people are coming out on their balconies and leading their neighbours through a workout programme to help them stay active. Others are turning to online workout programmes to follow. Once again, sports is finding its way.

So, in challenging times such as now, people are still empowered to continue their sports journey and stay strong and healthy.

1. What may the author's father agree about sports?

A．It is a personal hobby.	B．It boosts confidence.
C．It affects social relations.	D．It helps avoid wars.

2. How does life without sports affect people?

A．They lack family connection.	B．They have lost their hobbies.
C．They feel bored more than lonely.	D．They suffer both in body and mind.

3. How do isolated people respond to the tough situations?

A．Struggle to be athletes.	B．Try to stay physically active.
C．Make donations to good causes.	D．Design new sports programmes.

4. What is the best title?

A．Sports reduces risks in our lives	B．Sports continues to offer strength
C．Sports makes the impossible possible	D．Sports has new functions in the pandemic

3 . All over the world people enjoy sports. Sports help to keep people healthy and happy, and to live longer.     1    . They buy tickets or turn on their TVs to watch the games. Often they get very excited when their player or team wins.

    2     Football, for example, has spread around the world. Swimming is popular in all countries near the sea or in those with many rivers. What fun it is to jump into a pool or lake, whether in China, Egypt or Italy!     3    . Think how many lovers to skate or ski in Japan, Norway or Canada.

Some sports or games go back thousands of years, like running or jumping. Chinese wushu, for example, has a very long history. But basketball and volleyball are rather new. Neither one is a hundred years old yet.    4    . Water-skiing is one of the newest in the family of sports.

People from different countries may not be able to understand each other, but after a game together they often become good friends.     5    . One learns to fight hard but fight fair, to win without pride and to lose with grace.(胜不骄，败不馁)

A．And think of people in cold countries.

B．Sports help to train a person’s character.

C．Not a few people like sports in the world.

D．Many people like to watch others play games.

E．People aren’t inventing new sports or games.

F．Some sports are so interesting that people everywhere take part in them.

G．People are inventing new sports or games all the time.

4 . If you were to ask me what my favourite sport is, my answer would be swimming. I started learning how to swim when I was five years old and I have been swimming ever since.

There are many reasons why I love swimming but I'll just share a few with you.     1    

The first reason that I love swimming is that it can be extremely relaxing.     2     I find that whenever I leave the pool I feel totally relaxed.

On the other hand, it can also be a fast-paced-competitive sport which raises your heartbeat. It's amazing pushing yourself to the challenge of beating someone else to the finish line.     3     Trying little tricks like underwater handstands and flips（做翻滚）also puts a big smile on my face.

Another reason is that swimming has more variety than other sports.     4     So it doesn't feel like you're stuck doing the same thing over and over again. Adding swimming equipment changes the experience yet again and can help you develop your swimming technique.

    5     Not only is it good for your health, but you never know when you'll need your ability to swim.

A．Also, it's a life skill which everyone should have.

B．Maybe I can even encourage you to go for a swim.

C．The swimming pool makes you feel instantly better.

D．Swimming offers many different styles or movements.

E．In summer, swimming provides a nice, refreshing break!

F．And it's great fun racing across the pool as fast as you can!

G．I love the feeling of floating on the water and feeling almost weightless.

5 . It's the start of a new year, when your fitness goals are set and you engage in the challenge.     1     Their standards of “too big” are not even achievable in their lifetime, let alone a few months of training, which brings my tips.

Set realistic goals! The process of building muscle is an absolutely slow one that requires strong will to gain. Consistently causing protein synthesis （合成）in specific muscle fibers will allow muscle to develop. However, all individuals are not equal in the process.    2     Gaining muscle will happen quickly to a new gym-goer, but take a long time for someone that has been training for years.

Stick to specific training for the goals you set to achieve.     3    This will require you to restrict the diet, and it will prevent you gaining muscle. Diet reflects the training load. The training reflects your goals. It's like swimming upstream, think strong, fast and flexible. If you are running a marathon, the goals are different and train accordingly!

    4     Fat has taken some time to develop, so it will not be lost overnight. Allow the hormonal triggers （生理诱因）in the body to work more efficiently to regulate volume of food. Taking out additional sugars is one of the most important steps to regulate volumes of food to switch off desire for food.

Once a goal is reached, do not go back to what you did before. When people finish their transformation, the hormone profile is very weak to fat deposition （沉积）。Every training session should be a step toward a lasting transformation, with a diet improving the level of exercise.     5    

A．Don't try to achieve too much at once.

B．Why do so few people see their goals through?

C．Give yourself a realistic timeline when it comes to fat loss.

D．Keeping running slowly leads to very big changes over time.

E．Appreciate that you are taking time for your own development.

F．Place restrictions on your diet and follow good food eating patterns.

G．Also, it depends on how long you have been training to achieve muscle growth.

6 . You can run pretty much anywhere, with pretty much no equipment. So it must be easy to start-just put one foot in front of the other, right?

Not quite.

Starting a new training program, like most things, is stepping into unfamiliar area.     1     . Most people start out too hard, which leads to unnecessary tiredness and possible injury; or they just bum out,   feeling that the last thing they want to do is go out for another heavy,   painful run. Getting past that early period is the key to both running's benefits and pleasures.

    2     You may want to start running to make your heart stronger, to up your endurance for other sports, or even just to fit into your tux（晚礼服,）again. Those are all worthy goals and setting them is a valuable aid to getting where you want to go.

If you like a challenge, your goal might be running the local 5K, or something more ambitious, like finishing a Tough Mudder obstacle run or qualifying for the Boston Marathon. A typical beginner who trains properly—without overdoing it — can safely finish a 5K after about three months.     3    

Whatever you decide to aim for, committing to it will help your progress greatly.     4     . While a short,   easy run a few times a week is better than nothing,   it's not nearly as exciting as looking up at — then reaching — the next level.

Then don't get ahead of yourself.     5     . And gradually you can become a good run beginner.

A．Figure out why you're running.

B．The new training program will pay off.

C．And it is possible for a marathon after a year.

D．Otherwise you tend to make no further progress.

E．That is a remarkable achievement for a run beginner.

F．You should resist the urge to run too hard, too much, or too often.

G．You're eager but unsure, excited but potentially easy to make errors.

7 . Exercise helps to keep us in good health. Doctors at the American Heart Association suggest getting at least 150 minutes of proper physical activity every week. Many people exercise for a few minutes every day or every other day. So, getting 150 minutes every week is easy.

But what about those times when you are sick? If you do not feel well, should you keep following your exercise habit? Following are the answers from health experts.

Edward R. Laskowski is a doctor at the Mayo Clinic. He and other experts have a general rule about exercising when you are sick. It is usually fine to exercise properly (not hard), he explains, if your symptoms are all “above the neck”. These signs may include a runny nose, sneezing or a sore throat.

Geralyn Coopersmith, a physical fitness trainer who has written several books on exercise offers similar advice. However, both Coopersmith and Dr. Laskowski suggest taking a break from exercising if signs of your illness appears “below the neck”. Pay special attention to symptoms such as chest congestion, bad cough or pain in the stomach.

There are other symptoms that can tell you to avoid exercise. They include a higher than normal body temperature, a sense of feeling very tired, and widespread muscle pain.

Both Coopersmith and Dr. Laskowski suggest listening to your body. If you feel really bad, take a break and let your body rest. If you don’t feel too bad, these experts both suggest cutting down the amount of exercise. For example, if you usually run, take a quick walk instead.

1. How long should people do exercise according to doctors?

A．No less than two and a half hours a week.	B．One hundred and fifty minutes each day.
C．At least a few minutes every day.	D．About 150 minutes every other day.

2. People with symptoms “below the neck” are advised to ______.

A．stop exercise	B．walk instead of run
C．ignore the symptoms	D．do less exercise

3. What does the underlined part “listening to your body” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Taking good care of yourself.

B．Learning to take advice of your body.

C．Making decisions according to your physical condition.

D．Listening to music when exercising to keep healthy.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．Warnings against exercise when you are ill.

B．Harmful results of exercise when you are ill.

C．Time for exercise when you are ill.

D．Professional suggestions on exercise when you are ill.

8 . Are you trying to find the best time for exercise?     1     Follow these tips to figure out what fitness routine works best for you.

Dawn, dusk or dead of night — when’s the best time to work out? Well, that depends on when’s the best time for you, because the benefits of physical activity depend upon how consistent you are.     2     But if you’re not a morning person, it may not work for you to try to get up at dawn to work out. The key is to do what’s most likely to work for you consistently.

    3     If you find that working out too late in the evening keeps you from falling asleep easily, shift your exercise session earlier in the day or try less intense, more mindful forms of movement.

To stay motivated, choose activities you enjoy. If you’re a social person, do something that engages you socially. Take a group exercise class, join a recreational team or walk with a group of friends. If you prefer having time alone, walking, swimming or biking solo might be a better fit for you.     4    

There are so many choices.     5     Having a variety of fitness activities to choose from may keep you from getting bored or burnt out.

A．The truth is, it’s personal!

B．Don’t limit yourself to just one.

C．There are other important considerations.

D．Use your body clock as a guide to when to go for a walk.

E．You might have heard that the best time to exercise is early in the morning.

F．If you’d like to spend more time with your family, find an activity you can all do together.

G．If your schedule isn’t predictable (可预测的), you may need to be flexible and have a plan for various times of day.

9 . The health benefits of staying active are already well-known. It can help you manage weight, keep blood sugar levels down and reduce risk factors for heart disease.

Now, a new study suggests that regularly playing sports, especially badminton or tennis, is not only healthy but also reduces your risk of death, at any age, by approximately 50%. This is a big scale population study to explore the health benefits of sports in terms of death rate. The study evaluated responses from 80, 306 adults aged 30 and above in England and Scotland, who were surveyed about their health, lifestyle and exercise patterns.

After adjusting factors such as age, sex, weight, smoking habits, alcohol use, education and other forms of exercise besides the named sports, the researchers compared the risk of death among people who took part in a sport to those who didn’t. The percentage of reduced risk of death was found to be: 47% for racket（球拍）sports, 28% for swimming and 15% for cycling.

In addition to this, the study didn’t find any significant reduction in the risk for sports like running and football. The findings also exposed that over 44% of the participants met the guidelines for the recommended exercise levels to stay fit and healthy, which amounts to 150 minutes of moderate(适度的) physical activity in a week.

Does this mean you stop running or playing football and switch to tennis instead? Every kind of sport and physical activity has different physical, social and mental benefits attached to it. The apparent lack of benefits of running and football could result from several variables that were not taken into account.

Being active helps you feel happier and live longer. So, the most important step is to take part in any kind of sport that you are likely to enjoy and follow in the long term.

1. How is the study conducted?

A．By doing comparative experiments.	B．By analyzing previous data.
C．By evaluating survey information.	D．By tracking participants for a long time.

2. What does the underlined part “the named sports” refer to?

A．Ball sports.	B．Racket sports.
C．Individual sports.	D．Traditional sports.

3. What can we infer from paragraph 5?

A．Few people will play football.	B．Tennis will become more popular.
C．The result of this study is wrong.	D．The study needs to be further improved.

4. What does the author advise people to do?

A．Stick to any sport that you like.	B．Play badminton and tennis only.
C．Stop running and playing football.	D．Do any sport according to guidelines.

10 . For sports fans, nothing could be better than watching a live event on TV or at a sports field. But there’s nothing worse than that event being called off because of bad weather. Bad light, a water-logged court or too much heat can cause matches to be postponed. But according to the latest research, extreme weather might be disturbing the sporting calendar more than ever in the future.

In one sport, golf, major tournaments like The Open, are already predicted to be victims of our changing climate. In the UK, an organization called The Climate Coalition says that golf courses such as St Andrews could be under water by the end of the century if sea levels rise even slightly. It told the BBC that its research predicts "cancelled football matches, flooded cricket grounds and golf courses sinking into the sea."

The threat to sporting events from climate change has been further highlighted in a new report, officially approved and licensed by the Rapid Transition Alliance. Writing about this for the BBC, Matt McGrath says that "By 2050, it's estimated that almost one in four English football league grounds can expect flooding every year." This will mean fewer matches played, less opportunity to watch the beautiful game and reduced government taxation from ticket sales.

Cricket also faces huge challenges globally as temperatures rise in places like India, Australia and the West Indies. The report says that stadiums in Adelaide and Perth will see a 60% increase in days with temperatures over 40 degrees centigrade over the next decade.

Of course, we know that the solution lies with reducing our carbon footprint. We could travel less to attend sports events, and reduce our waste when we do go. But this latest report finds that sports leaders are generally failing to address the issue seriously. However, because sport is universally popular and can be very influential, maybe it should be players, teams and their sponsors as well as fans who should promote a wide low carbon message to help protect sporting fields—before it’s 'game over'.

1. What is the latest research above mainly concerned with?

A．the forbidden sporting events	B．the influential climate change
C．the severe environmental pollution	D．the rising sea level

2. What influence will the extreme weather have on the sports?

A．Football fans cannot afford the entrance fee.

B．Overheat will largely affect the cricket calendar.

C．The golf games will thoroughly disappear due to rising sea level.

D．Sports leaders will face bigger challenges to lead their teams to win.

3. What does the underlined part “the issue” refer to in the last paragraph?

A．the constant increase in sea level	B．the fading popularity of sport events
C．the changing attitude of sponsors.	D．the effective reduction of carbon footprint

4. The research is introduced to us mainly to ___________.

A．inform the readers of the worsening global climate change

B．require governments’ protection of sporting fields

C．promote awareness of low carbon life on sports

D．urge financial support from sponsors