1 . Skiing has been around since early civilization, evidenced by a 5,000-year-old rock carving representing men on skis hunting deer in Norway, and the discovery of a ski dating back to 6000 B.C. found in Vis, Russia. Historians debate where skiing first got its start, though; some argue that it was in Altay, China, in 8000 B.C.
Modern skiing, however, can date back to the Scandinavians, who mainly used skis as a means of travel or for other practical purposes, particularly the Indigenous Sámi people in Norway, Finland, and Sweden, writes Raymond Flower in The History of Skiing and Other Winter Sports. Norse myths (挪威神话) even described Ull, a winter god, on skis with curved tips and included other stories of heroes and goddesses skiing down mountains.
Some of the first official competitions began around 1850 in Norway, with the first recorded race in Sweden held outside Stockholm in 1879. Skiing became a household word with the publication of the popular book offering a thrilling account of Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen’s difficult and historic journey on skis across Greenland in 1888.
The sport spread to the Swiss Alps, where it was enjoyed largely by British vacationers, before clubs popped up around the world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Variations of the sport developed over the years, such as the slalom race (障碍滑雪), downhill jumping, and mountaineering. The British are largely credited with transforming skiing from its Scandinavian roots into the highly competitive sport it is now. In 1921, they developed rules that became widely accepted and adjusted the slalom race to include flag gates to test the skill of skiers’ turns.
Skiing then exploded in popularity after World War II, when ski resorts (胜地) gradually developed to receive single-day skiers as well as those taking longer vacations.
1. What can we learn about Raymond Flower?| A．He wrote about skiing. | B．He invented skiing. |
| C．He recorded Norse myths. | D．He was good at rock carving. |
| A．Some official competitions were held. | B．The British spread it all over the world. |
| C．It was written in the textbook on history. | D．An adventure book about skiing came out. |
| A．The Swiss. | B．The British. | C．The Norse. | D．The Finn. |
| A．How Did Skiing Develop in Norway? | B．Why Did People Kill Time by Skiing? |
| C．What Are Skiing Adventures All About? | D．What Are the Ancient Origins of Skiing? |
2 . Writing Competitions
The Bristol Short Story Prize
It’s an international writing competition founded by the editors of the quarterly cultural magazine Bristol Review of Books in 2007. The 2022 Bristol Short Story Prize is open to everyone. The first prize is ￡1,000. Entries must be unpublished stories with 4, 000 words at most. The judges are Tom Drake-Lee, Irenosen Okojie and Jessica Taylor.
Admission fee:￡9
The Bath Novel Award
Since its launch nine years ago, the international Bath Novel Award has helped spotlight and support new writers. The prize is￡3,000. In the event of a joint win, the prize money will be shared equally between winners. It’s open to unpublished and independently published novelists. This year’s judge is Nelle Andrew. All genres are welcome. Writers must submit the first 5,000 words plus one-page synopsis of the novel.
Admission fee:￡29
The BBC National Short Story Award
The BBC National Short Story Award 2022 with Cambridge University invites entries of short stories up to 8,000 words. It’s an award that has enriched the careers of writers since it was founded seventeen years ago. The winner of the contest for single short stories will receive￡15,000. This year’s judges are author Elizabeth Day and broadcaster Katie Thistleton.
Admission fee: free
The Creative Future Writers’ Award
Founded in 2013, it’s an annual development program for talented writers who lack opportunities due to health problems or social circumstances. This year’s theme is How It Started. Prizes include￡10,000 of cash and top writing development prizes supplied by publishers and development agencies.
Writers should submit one piece of writing in one category (50-line poetry to the maximum or 2,000-word fiction to the maximum). The judges are Dorothy Koomson, Joelle Taylor, Aki Schilz and Sarala Estruch.
Admission fee: free
1. Who may act as a judge for The Bristol Short Story Prize in 2022?| A．Joelle Taylor. | B．Nelle Andrew. | C．Katie Thistleton. | D．Jessica Taylor. |
| A．They were founded in the same year. | B．They have a strict genre requirement. |
| C．They set the same cash bonus. | D．They require no admission fee. |
| A．The Bath Novel Award. | B．The Bristol Short Story Prize. |
| C．The Creative Future Writers’ Award. | D．The BBC National Short Story Award. |
3 . The heat of competitions is a funny thing. And it is also a way of making us better. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) competitions are no different, offering local, and even national events across a number of related subjects.
Congressional App Challenge (CAC)
What: A public challenge where students must build an app of their choice. The apps are judged in competitions hosted by Members of Congress.
When: The challenge takes place from July through early November.
Prize: Winners receive recognition by their Member of Congress and have their work put on display in the Capitol Building.
Emperor Science Award (ESA)
What: A competition committed to helping develop students who have a passion for science. Come and join in the next generation of cancer researchers.
When: Check the website for 2021 deadlines.
Prize: 100 winning students will be paired with a university-level mentoring scientist to work together on a cancer research project. Students will also receive a Google Chromebook and $1,500 for project expenses!
Regeneron Science Talent Search (RSTS)
What: The nation’s oldest and most respected science competition. Competitors to this competition must conduct an original research project and supplement their applications with recommendation letters.
When: Applications for the 2022 competition opened in summer 2021.
Prize: Over $2 million in awards are given; first-place prize is $250,000.
Think Challenges
What: Organized by a group of undergraduates from MIT, this competition is for high school students who are in the early stages of an original research project.
When: 2021 registration is now closed; check back soon for 2022 details!
Prize: Selected finalists are invited to 4-day all-expenses-paid trip to MIT’s campus to meet professors and tour labs! Finalists also have weekly mentorship (导师制) meetings and are given $1, 000 to fund their research project.
1. If you have interest in designing app, you’d better apply for ________.| A．Emperor Science Award | B．Congressional App Challenge |
| C．Regeneron Science Talent Search | D．Think Challenges |
| A．It is hosted by Members of Congress. |
| B．It aims to develop cancer researchers. |
| C．It is organized by a group of MIT undergraduates. |
| D．It is the most ancient and highly recognized. |
| A．All competitors in CAC will have works shown in Capitol Building. |
| B．Winners in ESA will work on cancer with other students. |
| C．2022 registration for Think Challenge will be opened soon. |
| D．The first place winner in RSTS will win the least money. |
4 . Surfing has deep roots, but for the first time, surfers are competing for medals at the Summer Olympics. At Tsurigasaki Beach, 40 miles from Tokyo, they’re also riding big waves ahead of a storm.
“The incoming tide (潮汐) push over the afternoon does look to provide a lot of fun waves,” reports Kurt Korte, the official surf forecaster for the Tokyo Olympics. He works for Surfline, a company based in Huntington Beach, California. He says while it might rain at Tsurigasaki Beach, it should be a great day for the surfing finals at the Olympics.
While new to the Olympics, surfing has a long history. In pre-Inca Peru and wherever there’s been a nearby ocean, people have long been surfing in one form or another, Ancient warriors (武士) in Tahiti and Samoa used to train by surfing. In Polynesia, surfing was also considered an art form. But modern surfing became popular near the start of the 20th century in Hawaii.
Getting surfing to the Olympics was a dream of Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku more than a century ago. Decades before Hawaii became a U.S. state, he earned five Olympic medals for swimming, starting in 1912. Kahanamoku had grown up surfing with his brothers in Waikiki. A news reporter in the 1960’s once asked him, “Duke, was it more of a thrill (激动) for you to win those Olympic Games, or ride some of those big waves you used to ride? “I think surfing is much more to me, the greatest thrill of my life,” he answered.
Former professional surfer Matt Warshaw said, “Unlike most other sports in competition at the Olympics, so much of surfing depends on Mother Nature:the wind and the waves.” At the moment, these surfers are hoping for some sick waves for the Olympic finals. But with the ocean, you never know.
1. What do Korte’s words suggest about the day?| A．It will be sunny and very hot. | B．It will bring satisfactory waves. |
| C．It will rain out the surfing event. | D．It will be great for swimming. |
| A．It was considered an art form in Tahiti. |
| B．It was introduced to Hawaii from Polynesia. |
| C．It was a type of training for Samoan warriors. |
| D．It was a highly competitive sport in pre-Inca Peru. |
| A．They were a dream coming true. | B．They changed his view on himself. |
| C．They paled in comparison with surfing. | D．They inspired him to pursue other sports. |
| A．In the later part of the 1960’s. | B．During the Tokyo Olympics. |
| C．At the start of the 20th century. | D．Before Hawaii joined the U.S. |
Though the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics ended on Feb. 20, it has left a deep impression
At Beijing 2022, a total of 2,877 athletes from 91 countries and regions
Athletes competed courageously
As the first global multi-sport event held as scheduled during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Beijing Winter Games prioritized the health and
6 . I carried the flame in 1984 in the torch relay (火炬传递)as it made its way across the country to the Olympics in Los Angeles. What an honour that was! I wasn’t an Olympic athlete. My dad did some voluntary work for the Olympics, for which I was offered the opportunity.
On one May night, the flame began its route across America, covering 15,000 kilometres. It inched its way up the coast from New York, each runner carrying it for a kilometre. Some of the runners were legendary (享有盛名的), like the granddaughter of gold medaled Jesse Owen. Others were common people like me and supporters of the cause.
I had been sent a uniform and the official torch. I held it as I stood waiting for the flame to arrive. Part of me wondered if it would even arrive. Would they ever find enough runners to cover that enormous distance? Other people were huddled (挤在一起)in the dark on the sidewalk. What would they see?
All at once it happened. A runner appeared and lit my torch. I was sent on my way, jogging down the highway. There was no question whether I had worried about finding my way in the dark. People lined the road, clapping and shouting as I passed. Actually, it was not for me but for the cause that I represented. Soon, I passed the flame on to the next runner, who would pass it along to the next until it finally reached gold medalist Rafer Johnson who would carry it into the L. A. Coliseum.
How lucky I was to play a part! But I think we all have these opportunities to carry the torch, for we are all the light of the world. Therefore, why not let your light shine?
1. What do the underlined words “the cause” in paragraph 2 refer to?| A．The Olympics. | B．The voluntary work |
| C．The torch relay. | D．The wonderful competition. |
| A．Excited. | B．Disappointed. | C．Worried | D．Satisfied. |
| A．To encourage him to move faster. | B．To show their support for him. |
| C．To praise the career he chose. | D．To cheer for the Olympic spirits. |
| A．He thought little of being a torch carrier |
| B．He preferred to see others carry the torch. |
| C．He felt proud of having such an experience |
| D．He advised us to value every chance we have. |
7 . The Olympic Games began more than two thousand years ago in Greece. The first Olympic Games were held in 766 BC. They went on for a thousand years and then were stopped. In 1896, 1,500 years later, the Olympic Games began again. Winter sports began to be a part of the Olympic Games in 1924.
The Olympic Symbol (标记) is five colored rings. They show the friendship of people’s. They also show five continents (洲): Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa and America. Each ring has a different color: blue, yellow, black, green and red.
The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not wining but taking part in.
1. The first Olympic Games were held in ________ .| A．1896 | B．1500 | C．766 BC | D．1924 |
| A．Amusement | B．happiness | C．friendship | D．love |
| A．winning is the most important thing |
| B．taking part in is the most important thing |
| C．winning is more important than taking part in |
| D．taking part in is the same important as winning |
8 . Marathon is the supreme discipline of long-distance running. They are not only attractive for top athletes, but also for hobby runners. The choice of events is almost endless. Now we have put together some most breathtakingly beautiful ones that you’ll be tempted (诱惑) to run holding a camera.
Ultra-trail Angkor, Cambodia
The newest of a series of Angkor marathons, this endurance test offers 32-km, 64-km and 128-km routes around the famous temples, including Bayon and Angkor Wat. Watch out for monkeys, and the gigantic tree vines that memorably hug some of the great buildings.
Dodo Trail, Mauritius
Crossing rugged coastline and tropical forests, the Dodo Trail is full of wildlife, although the famous dodo bird remains, sadly, extinct. While the demanding 50km Xtreme route covers 828m-high Black River Peak, a beginner-friendly Mini Dodo Trail (10 km) is easier.
Great Ocean Road marathon, Australia
Another well-known scenic coastal drive, southern Australia’s Great Ocean Road stages a footrace every May. Neck-ache could be a problem: in one direction lies the scenic South Sea, and in another handsome forest and, if you’re lucky, a koala or two. Be warned, however, that the series of steep slopes make this one of the toughest marathons.
Big Five marathon, South Africa
Marathon meets safari at the privately owned Entabeni Game Reserve every June. The start time is dependent on the race-day location of the Big Five members – African elephants, Cape buffalo, lions, leopards and rhinos – as organizers try to guarantee sightings.
1. Which marathon is suitable for less experienced runners?| A．Ultra-trail Angkor. |
| B．Dodo Trail. |
| C．Great Ocean Road marathon. |
| D．Big Five marathon. |
| A．To highlight the wonderful scenery. |
| B．To present the difficulty ofthe event. |
| C．To attract attention to physical health. |
| D．To warn runners ofdangerous animals. |
| A．Risky and tiring routes. |
| B．Beautiful coastal views. |
| C．Chances to see wild animals. |
| D．Fixed time for annual events. |
The game of weiqi can date back to 4000 years ago. There are mentions of a similar game
The name “Go” comes from its name in Japan. Like many Japanese traditions it
内容包括：
1．表示祝贺；
2．她在奥运会上的优异成绩；
3．个人感想。
注意事项：
1．词数：100词左右；
2．开头及结尾已为你写好，不计入总词数；
3．可适当增加细节使语句连贯、通顺。
Dear Eileen,
It is universally acknowledged that the 24th Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics was a success.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
