1 . 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.

2 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What is snowboarding like according to the woman?

A．Difficult.

B．Dangerous.

C．Annoying.

2. Why do many people try snowboarding out?

A．For improving the beginners' skills.

B．For the increased awareness about it.

C．For these new places for the Olympics.

3. Who will enjoy the Olympics most?

A．The kids.

B．The young.

C．The old.

4. What will the woman do next?

A．Buy snow pants.

B．Learn speed skating.

C．Try extreme sports.

3 . Safe and Easy Workouts for Seniors

As you get older, it’s important to remain active and not to forget your health. There are plenty of all-time best exercises for weight loss, but not all are perfect for older individuals hoping to break a sweat.     1    

You might believe that certain workouts, like pushups (俯卧撑), are only for the young. In fact, they can be changed to best suit someone’s desired difficulty level.     2     Keep your back straight and bend your elbows, bringing your chest toward the wall, and press back. Repeat as desired.

Overhead arm raises can benefit seniors with joint (关节) pain. Using a weighted object such as a bottle of water, position yourself shoulder-width apart. With your shoulders back and arms lifted to 90 degrees, breathe out as you lift the bottles over your head and breathe in as you lower your arms.     3    

Endurance workouts increase your breathing and get your heart pumping. Dancing can improve the health of your heart and lungs and keep you healthy as you perform daily tasks.     4     The goal is to build up to at least 150 minutes of activity a week that makes you breathe hard.

    5     Higher daily step counts have also been linked with lower all-cause mortality (死亡率). It can also keep you healthy as you observe nature in your own backyard. Schedule a daily walk into your everyday routine. This simple activity can keep your heart healthy, keep you energetic and improve your mood.

A．Taking a walk outside can change your life.

B．Drink enough water each time you work out.

C．Start close to the wall, hands touching the wall.

D．Put on your favorite song(s) and move to the beat.

E．If they seem too light, find a slightly heavier object.

F．Regular exercise is a must to everyone, seniors included.

G．So here are some perfect workouts for seniors aged 50 and up.

4 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. afford B. attention C. beneficial D. incredibly E. lowers F. memory G. opposite H. priority I. regularly J. schedule K. significant

How Does Exercise Improve Academic Performance?

You already know that regular exercise is important for controlling weight and avoiding a variety of health conditions. But it can also improve your academic performance. As an expert said, “What we know is that students who exercise     1    , at least 3 times a week, graduate at higher rates than those who do not exercise.”

It’s tempting to think you’re so busy that you can’t     2     to exercise. However, the exact     3     is true: you will have to deal with many problems because of lack of exercise. Even if you can’t spare 30 minutes, 5- or 10-minute exercises during the course of the day could make a     4     difference in your academic performance. Five-minute walking every hour had a positive impact on mood, fatigue (极度疲劳), and hunger at the end of a day. This may be particularly     5     to students who also work a full-time job and study in the evening and nighttime hours.

Exercise     6     stress and anxiety while increasing focus. A study by researchers at the University of Illinois found that physical activity increased the ability of elementary school students to pay     7    , and also increased their academic performance.

Exercise also improves academic performance in other ways. 1. Exercise requires time management. Arranging for exercise forces students to also     8     study time and this teaches them the importance of block timing, and urges them to give     9     to their studies. 2. Exercise reduces stress. These reductions are very important to students, because too much stress is bad to memory production and your ability to seep: two key things needed to score high on exams. 3. Exercise leads to a better quality of sleep. Better sleep means moving your studies from short term to long term     10     during REM, a period of sleep. That way, on test day you remember that tiny fact that gets you the scores you need.

5 . The benefits of regular exercise are well documented but there’s a new bonus to add to the ever-growing list. New researchers found that middle-aged women who were physically fit could be nearly 90 percent less likely to develop dementia in later life, and as they did, it came on a decade later than less sporty women.

Lead researcher Dr. Helena Horder, of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, said : "These findings are exciting because it’s possible that improving people's cardiovascular （心血管的）fitness in middle age could delay or even prevent them from developing dementia. "

For the study, 191 women with an average age of 50 took a bicycle exercise test until they were exhausted to measure their peak （最大值的） cardiovascular capacity. The average peak workload was measured at 103 watts.

A total of 40 women met the criteria for a high fitness level, or 120 watts or higher. A total of 92 women were in the medium fitness category; and 59 women were in the low fitness category, defined as a peak workload of 80 watts or less, or having their exercise tests stopped because of high blood pressure, chest pain or other cardiovascular problems.

These women were then tested for dementia six times over the following four decades. During that time, 44 of the women developed dementia. Five percent of the highly fit women developed dementia, compared to 25 percent of the women with medium fitness and 32 percent of the women with low fitness.

"However, this study does not show cause and effect between cardiovascular fitness and dementia, it only shows an association. More research is needed to see if improved fitness could have a positive effect on the risk of dementia and also to look at when during a lifetime a high fitness level is most important. " She also admitted that a relatively small number of women were studied, all of whom were form Sweden, so the results might not be applicable to other groups.

1. What is on the ever-growing list mentioned in the first paragraph?

A．Positive effects of doing exercises.

B．Exercises suitable for the middle-aged.

C．Experimental studies on diseases.

D．Advantages of sporty woman over man

2. Why did the researchers ask the women to do bicycle exercise?

A．To predict their maximum heart rate.

B．To assess their cardiovascular capacity

C．To change their habits of working out

D．To detect their potential health problems

3. What do we know about Dr Horder's study?

A．It aimed to find a cure for dementia.

B．Data collection was a lengthy process.

C．Some participants withdrew from it.

D．The results were far from satisfactory.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．More Women Are Exercising to Prevent Dementia

B．Middle-Aged Women Need to Do More Exercise

C．Fit Women Are Less Likely to Develop Dementia

D．Biking Improves Women's Cardiovascular Fitness

6 . Races

Virtual(虚拟的）races-but the running is real! Here are some of the best online races.

RAINBOWS VIRTUAL 5K

This is a fun run designed to be completed in any way that is proper for you-whether you run or walk in the garden,dance and walk fast along with your dog. All the organisers ask is that you complete 5K—in one go or over several days of your choice.

￡20,rainbows.co,uk/events/rainbows-virtual-5k

MILTON KEYNES MARATHON WEEKEND VIRTUAL 5K

Part of the yearly September Milton Keynes running festival, this year you can complete the 5Kvirtually. Complete it in your own time—in the garden or on an exercise machine if need be. You can also complete it in smaller runs.

From ￡18,mkmarathon. com/virtual-race

10K GARDEN CHALLENGE

A virtual race you can complete in your garden or at a local open space or park. Put on your shoes and complete 10K as speedily as you can. The event helps raise money for mental(精神的)health,with 15% of the entry fee being given to Bath Mind.By the way,the medal(奖牌)is environment-friendly.

￡15,womensrunning.co. uk/ neus/ keep-motivated-with-our-womens-runing-virtual-challenges

ROCK 'N' ROLL VIRTUAL

Sign up with the virtual running club and compete in weekly events alongside runners from around the world. Challenges include running an 8K and 15K in one weekend or running a l5Kwithin a 30-hour time window. Running challenges are all free to enter, but you can buy merchandise(商品）and medals if you want to add to your wall.

Free to join,buy your medals from ￡20,runrocknrollvr.com

1. If Mary wants to run just for fun,she will most likely visit________.

A．womensrunning.co.uk/news /keep-motivated-with-our-womens-running-virtual-challenges

B．rainbows.co.uk/events/rainbows-virtual-5k

C．mkmarathon.com/virtual-race

D．runrocknrollvr.com

2. Which of the following races cares about people's mental health?

A．10K GARDEN CHALLENGE.

B．RAINBOWS VIRTUAL 5K.

C．ROCK ' N' ROLL VIRTUAL.

D．MILTON KEYNES MARATHON WEEKEND VIRTUAL 5K.

3. What do we know about ROCK'N'ROLL VIRTUAL?

A．It is held once a year.

B．It welcomes local runners only.

C．It offers different choices to people.

D．It requires people to pay the entry fee.

7 . 假如你是Jerry，你的朋友Tom正要减肥，现在向你询问如何能成功减肥。请根据以下要点给他回封信，并表达你希望他早日减肥成功。
1）积极的心态；
2）均衡的食谱；
3）定期体育运动；
4）最关键的在于坚持。
注意：1)词数100左右；开头语和结束语已为你写好，不计入总词数。
2)可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
参考词汇：塑造身材 shape a figure     定期的 regular
Dear Tom,

How nice to hear from you!

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Jerry

8 . The Biggest Stadiums in the World

People have been pouring into stadiums since the days of ancient Greece. In around 80 A.D., the Romans built the Colosseum, which remains the world’s best known stadium and continues to inform contemporary design. Rome’s Colosseum was 157 feet tall and had 80 entrances, seating 50,000 people. However, that was small fry compared with the city’s Circus Maximus, which accommodated around 250,000 people.

These days, safety regulations-not to mention the modern sports fan’s desire for a good view and comfortable seat — tend to keep stadium capacities (容量) slightly lower. Even soccer fans tend to have a seat each; gone are the days of thousands standing to watch the match.

For the biggest stadiums in the world, we have used data supplied by the World Atlas list so far, which ranks them by their stated permanent capacity, as well as updated information from official stadium websites.

All these stadiums are still functional, still open and still hosting the biggest events in world sport.

·Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, Pyongyang D.P.R. Korea. Capacity: 150,000. Opened: May 1,1989.

·Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U. S. Capacity: 107,601. Opened: October 1, 1927.

·Beaver Stadium, State College, Pennsylvania, U. S. Capacity: 106,572. Opened: September 17, 1960.

·Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, U. S. Capacity: 104,944. Opened: October 7,1922.

·Kyle Field, College Station, Texas, U. S. Capacity: 102,512. Opened: September 24, 1927.

1. How many people could the Circus Maximus hold?

A．104,944.

B．107,601.

C．About 150,000.

D．About 250,000.

2. Of the following stadiums, which is the oldest?

A．Michigan Stadium.

B．Beaver Stadium.

C．Ohio Stadium.

D．Kyle Field.

3. What do the listed stadiums have in common?

A．They host big games.	B．They have become tourist attractions.
C．They were built by Americans.	D．They are favored by architects.