1 . NEW STORY CONTEST

Ah, the New Year — a time for visiting friends and family as we ring out the old, ring in the new and imagine all the new adventures that await us in the year ahead.

Who knows what you’ll find when you open the door to your dryer or gaze up at the night sky? Will you write about a visit from a mythical creature, or maybe a lost animal? Will the visitor cause a problem — or solve one?

Whoever your visitor is, every buggy in Cricket (an American children’s magazine) Country will be gathered around the mailbox, awaiting the visit of your best story — just 350 words or less, please — featuring a surprising or unexpected visitor. Happy New Year!

Contest Rules

Your contest entry must be original. Ideas and words should not be copied.

Your entry must be signed by your parent or guardian, saying it is original, that no help was given, and granting Cricket permission to publish prize-winning entries in the May 2024 issue or on our website.

Be sure to include your name, age and full address on your entry.

Only one entry per person, please.

If you want your work returned, enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope for each entry.

Incomplete entries cannot be considered. Your entry will be incomplete if you forget to include your age or the signature of your parent or guardian that confirms that your work is original.

Your entry must be received by April 25, 2024.

Send entries to Cricket League, P. O. Box 300, Peru, IL 61354. (No faxes or email submissions, please!)

1. The theme of the new story contest is “_________”.

A．new adventures	B．New Year’s resolution
C．unexpected visitors	D．surprising inventions

2. Every contest entry must ________.

A．be sent by means of email	B．arrive after January 25,2018
C．be the contestant’s own work	D．contain no less than 350 words

3. Each contestant’s parent or guardian must sign the entry to agree that ________.

A．the prize-winning entry can be publicized on the media

B．all the required information has been included

C．the content of the story is based on a real event

D．editors can make revision to the participant’s entry

2 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。1.

A．Nervous.

B．Excited.

C．Sleepless.

D．Frustrated.

2.

A．High requirements.

B．Flexible schedules.

C．High frequency.

D．Opposite rules.

3.

A．The man held a childhood dream of being a professional player.

B．The man had taken it for granted that he would be a basketball star sooner or later.

C．The man felt uncomfortable when he first received so much attention from others.

D．The man relieved himself by adjusting the focus of his attention in time.

4.

A．We should not take it seriously.

B．We should compete with each other.

C．We should enjoy ourselves in it.

D．We should never miss a game.

3 . 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. brush        B. draw        C. state        D. cautionary       E. report       F. run G. packed        H. shot        I. introduced        J. phenomenon        K. exceptional

Rongjiang county, tucked away in the rainy hills of south-west China, has little going for it at first glance. The grey tiles covering houses in the county sea give it a rather drab feel. Locals often have to find work elsewhere, travelling to distant factories and construction sites.

Yet this summer it was Chinese from far-off cities who flocked to Rongjiang. They came to watch an amateur football league involving 20 of the county’s villages. It started in May and quickly became a       1    . Weekend matches between teams made up of butchers and farmers drew crowds of nearly 50, 000, straining the local stadium. Millions more watched on Weibo, a Twitter-like platform, and Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.

There are many reasons behind the popularity of the Rongjiang league, which is men only. Start with the     2     of professional football. Despite decades of investment, the country’s players are not very good. The men’s national team, made up of players from China’s top league, ranks 78th in the world (the women rank 14th). It has only qualified for the World Cup once, in 2002, when it failed to score a single goal.

The Rongjiang league, by contrast, has an authentic, even wholesome feel. Football in the county dates back to the 1940s, when it was     3     by university students who were fleeing China’s cities during the invasion by Japan. Today the games are free to watch and feel enjoyably low pressure. Players     4     off their missed shots with smiles. After a penalty shoot-out in the semi-finals, fans swarmed the pitch waving China’s national flag. The winners of this year’s tournament, from a village in Chejiang township, walked away with a cow. The two runners-up won three pigs and three goats, respectively.

The league’s cultural diversity is another     5    . The players come from several minority ethnic groups, of which the biggest are the Dong and the Miao. During breaks in the matches, villagers in traditional silver headdresses often dance for the crowd.

To the delight of officials at all levels, the league appears to have stimulated the local economy. During the Dragon Boat festival in June tourism spending     6     up, much of it coming from football fans. Vendors at the hundreds of stalls set up by the local government outside the stadium     7     a brisk trade. A man hawking barbecue skewers says he has doubled his income.

But there are concerns that the success of Rongjiang may be fleeting. Attracting crowds to this part of China is not easy. The city of Zibo, in the northern province of Shandong, provides a     8     tale. It became a social-media phenomenon when word of its delicious kebabs began making the rounds earlier this year. Tourists flocked to the city, where officials turned arenas into makeshift dining halls. But after a few months of this barbecue craze, interest in Zibo slumped.

Still, officials think they have found a winning strategy for the countryside. A new football league began this month and will     9     until October. It involves nearly 300 amateur teams from all around China. Each is named after a food. On August 13th a team called the Sour Soups from the nearby city of Kaili beat the Bamboo Shoots from the southern province of Guangdong. The stadium in Rongjiang was still     10    .

4 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。

1.

A．His regular water therapy.	B．His disability to swim like others.
C．Lack of proper training.	D．A terrible experience in a pool.

2.

A．He wanted to train an Olympic champion.

B．He hoped kids like Zulfic could learn swimming.

C．He wanted to improve physical education for kids.

D．The existing swimming equipment wasn’t standard.

3.

A．He will soon compete in a world game.

B．He could swim twice as fast as average swimmers.

C．He could swim the length of Olympic-sized pools with help.

D．He won a local swimming competition for disabled people.

5 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word given in the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word that you do not need.

A. included                 B. promising                 C. achievements                 D. proved          E. transfer F. outstanding             G. sign                           H. appearances                  I. scoring          J. capture            K. referred

Ronaldo Luiz Nazario de Lima was born on 22 September 1976 in a poor suburb of Rio de Janeiro. Like most of his childhood friends, Ronaldo began his football (soccer) career playing barefoot in the streets of his neighbourhood. At the age of 14, he joined Sao Cristovao football club and only two years later became the star of Cruzeiro Esporte Clube in Belo Horizonte     1     a total of 58 goals in 60 matches and earning himself a reputation for his explosive pace and     2     finishing skills. His goal — scoring record and unusual quickness led him to be     3     in the Brazilian World Cup winning team the following year. After the World Cup, many top European football clubs were trying to     4     him. Many people, including Brazilian football legend Pele, considered him as the most     5     footballer of his generation.

Since his     6     to Dutch team PSV Eindhoven, Ronaldo’s biography has been one success after another. Two Copa America’s, a UEFA Super Cup, a Dutch Cup, a Spanish Super Cup, and two Player of the Year awards from FIFA, all in the space of two years, are some of Ronaldo’s impressive     7    . On arrival to Inter Milan in 1997, Ronaldo became the idol of the local fans who refer to him as “il Fenomeno (奇才)”.

Since the 1998 World Cup he has suffered serious knee injuries that have severely limited his     8    . Just when people began to wonder whether Ronaldo would be able to continue with his football career, he     9     to the world that he still could play. In the World Cup held in Korea and Japan, the magical striker won the Golden Shoe award and tied Pele’s Brazilian record for career World Cup goals with 12. He helped Brazil     10     its fifth World Cup championship on 30 June with a 2-0 win over Germany. It was the third time that Ronaldo had ever played in the World Cup.

6 .

A．She became the club champion though her leg muscles tightened.

B．She lost to the club champion because of her leg muscle pain.

C．She failed to win the club championship for her leg muscle pain.

D．She lost to the match because of proud.

7 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。1.

A．15,000

B．5,000,000

C．15,000,000

D．50,000,000

2.

A．The Chinese people are really good at the world’s most popular sport, soccer.

B．Within next decades, more than 90,000 soccer fields will be built across the country.

C．Chinese men have qualified for the World Cup final twice in history.

D．In contrast to men, Chinese women soccer players are more successful.

3.

A．Some billionaires in China.	B．President Xi Jinping.
C．Jackson Martinez.	D．The Chinese people.

8 . The TheatreWorks Writers’ Lab:

a development space for worldwide writers

24-HOUR WRITING COMPETITION

A programme of TheatreWorks Writer’s Lab

LET YOUR IDEAS SPARK

5 Stimuli

24 Hours

1 script

Are you up for it? Anyone can discover a new you through the competition!

The 24-hour writing competition organized by TheatreWorks Writers’ Lab is back for its 9th year!(Held at the peaceful seaside resort, Aloha Changi, the challenge is on again to stimulate one’s heart and mind to produce a script within 24 hours.)

TheatreWorks Writers’ Lab has for the past 16 years discovered and nurtured new talent, and provided research and development opportunities for existing writers.

Dates: Thu 29 July (4 pm) to Fri 30 July(4pm) 2010

Venue: Aloha Chanji

Competition Categories     Prizes for each category

Youth Category 1st Prize: $800

15 to 18 years 2nd Prize: $500

Open Category 3rd Prize: $200

19 years and above Merit Prize: $100

Registration Fee Registration Deadline

Youth-$25   15 July 2016

Open-$25     Limited to 100 places

Visit www.theatreworks.org for a registration form.

1. The underlined word “nurtured” probably means _________.

A．discovered

B．provided

C．emphasized

D．cultivated

2. This event has been held for _________ years.

A．5

B．8

C．16

D．24

3. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．The event was held by TheatreWorks Writers’ Lab.

B．The highest prize is $800.

C．The competition is limited to existing writers.

D．The registration forms can be downloaded online.

9 . In sport the sexes are separate. Women and men do not run or swim in the same races. Women are less strong than men. That at least is what people say. Women are called the weaker sex, or, if men want to please them, the fair sex. But boys and girls are taught together at schools and universities. There are women who are famous Prime Ministers, scientists and writers. And women live longer than men. A European woman can expect to live until the age of 74, a man only until he is 68. Are women’s bodies really weaker?

The fastest men can run a mile in under 4 minutes. The best women need 4.5 minutes. Women’s time is always slower than men’s, but some facts are a surprise. Some of the fastest women swimmers today are teenage girls. One of them swam 400 meters in 4 minutes 21.2 seconds when she was only 16. The first ‘Tartan’ in film was an Olympic swimmer, Johnny Weissmuller. His fastest 400 meters was 4 minutes 49.1 seconds, which is 37.9 seconds slower than a girl 50 years later! This does not mean that women are catching men up. Conditions are very different now and sport is much more serious. It is so serious that some women athletes are given hormone injections. At the Olympics a doctor has to check whether the women athletes are really women or not. It seems sad that sport has such problems. Life can be very complicated when there are two separate sexes!

1. Women are called the weaker sex because _________.

A．women do as much as men	B．people think women are weaker than men
C．sport is easier for men than for women	D．in sport the two sexes are always together

2. Which of the following is true?

A．Boys and girls study separately everywhere.

B．Women do not run or swim in races with men.

C．Famous Prime Ministers are women.

D．Men can expect to live longer than women in Europe.

3. The underlined part “That at least is what people say” means people _________.

A．say other things, too	B．don’t say this much
C．say this but may not think so	D．only think this

4. In this passage the author implies that _________.

A．women are weaker than men, but faster	B．women are slower than men, but stronger
C．men are not always stronger and faster than women	D．men are faster and stronger than women

10 . Kobe Bryant

After 10 seasons wearing the No. 8 on his back, Kobe Bryant will become No. 24 next season. The reason for the surprising decision by the Los Angeles Lakers super guard last week has become a hot topic for debate.

Bryant wore No. 8 when he was in early high school, but he changed to No. 33 in his senior year. He switched to No. 8 when he was selected by the Lakers in 1996, and has been not changed since.

Bryant has refused to explain the decision until the end of the play-offs. So guessing Bryant’s motive has become a popular game among NBA fans and newspaper columnists.

There are all kinds of speculations. Many say that Bryant wants to leave the past behind and have a fresh start. He has often been criticized for playing to benefit himself and not the team as a whole. Others say that he may be trying to compare himself to Michael Jordan. Jordan was famous for his No. 23 jersey. Some, such as NBC Sport columnist Michael Ventre, argue that it is “all about money”. Bryant will make more money by selling new jersey to his fans.

Some speculations are more about fun. For example, there is an opinion that Kobe is actually just a dihard fan of the popular TV drama “24”.

All this talk has turned the number changed into a major issue. It seems that there is a lot of fuss over something that should be pretty simple.

Jersey numbers have their own special significance in American sports, especially basketball. Players choose their number when they join a team and they usually stick with that number for the rest of their career. When a great player retires, his team will honor him by retiring his number.

To some extent, the jersey is the player, and the player is jersey. Thus, when you see the famous No. 23 for the Chicago Bulls, you immediately think about Michael Jordan. A No. 32 Miami Heats jersey recalls the image of Shaquille O’ Neal, and the Houston rockets’ No. 11 belongs only to Yao Ming.

Lots of stories are behind players’ jersey number selections. Jordan said that he chose No. 23 because it was roughly half of 45. Jordan’s elder brother wore the No. 45 in college. Yao Ming once revealed that the No. 11 stands for two people in love—meaning him and his girlfriend Ye Li.

1. Which team has Bryant played for?

A．The Los Angels Lakers.	B．The Houston rockets.
C．The Chicago Bulls.	D．The Miami Heats.

2. How long has Bryant Wore No. 8?

A．For two years and a half.	B．For ten years.
C．Since he entered high school.	D．Since he left high school.

3. Which of the following is NOT a speculation about Bryant’s motive to change his number?

A．He wants to leave his past behind and have a fresh start.

B．He wants to compare himself to Jordan.

C．He wants to earn more money.

D．He wants to show that he is man of great importance.

4. Why did Jordan choose No. 23?

A．Because that number would make him famous.

B．Because that number will make you miss him.

C．Because that number was related to the number his brother once wore.

D．Because that number was easy to remember.