The Asian Para Games is the largest multi-sport event for the disabled in Asia. Up to now, the organizers
The launch ceremony kicked off
Athlete Tan Yujiao,
As 188 torchbearers were representatives with a disability, intelligent bionic (仿生学的) hands and legs as well as intelligent guide dogs
“We wish to convey the idea that technology can be much
Jumping Over Boundaries
When I was in elementary school, we had an annual sports day. Girls could do many things like hopscotch, jump rope, tetherball, and dodgeball, except high jumping. Only boys could do high jumping.
That’s what I wanted to do — high jumping. So I went to the coach.
“Girls don’t do high jumping,” the coach said. “Girls have all these other things they can do.” He excitedly described how much fun it would be.
I’d been high jumping in the backyard with my five brothers for years. Although I am a girl, I did high jumping pretty well. My brothers could rarely beat me. Whenever my back crossed the bar, that feeling is extremely wonderful. I went home and told my mother what the coach had said. My mother, a small, thin woman only four feet eleven inches tall, said, “I think we should go visit him.”
“Visit who?” I asked confusedly.
“The headmaster.”
“Visit the headmaster?” I was terrified. Would I get in trouble? Would my mother and I be crossing boundaries we shouldn’t cross?
My mom and I went to Mr. White’s office. “Linda wants to do the high jump,” my mother said.
“Mrs. Martinez, you don’t understand. This is the tradition of our Annual Sports Day,” he said.
“But Mr. White, I don’t know where it says that girls cannot do this.”
The headmaster couldn’t find any rules that said girls couldn’t do the high jump. “I have to think about this,” he said at last.
When we got home, my mom told me something I would always remember: this wasn’t just about me. “Maybe other girls want to do this, too,” she said.
My mother waited a week, but still didn’t get the headmaster’s reply. So she walked over to the school again. “Mr. White, please. I ask you this not for me and not for Linda, but let’s just see how it works.” In the end, Mr. White agreed.
I stood on the field of the high jumping competition.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________To my surprise, some of the cheers I got were from boys!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3 . “The Worthington Christian defeated the Westerville North by 2—1 in an Ohio boys’ soccer game on Saturday.” That’s according to a story that appeared last month in The Columbus Dispatch. That lead was written not by a sportswriter, but by an artificial intelligence (AI) tool.
Many news organizations are now examining how AI might be used in their work. But if they begin their “experimenting” with high school sports because they are less momentous than war, peace, climate change and politics, they may miss something crucial. Nothing may be more important to the students who play high school sports, and to their families, neighborhoods, and sometimes, the whole town. That next game is what the students train for, work toward, and dream about. Someday, almost all student athletes will go on to have jobs in front of screens, in office parks, at schools, in hospitals or on construction sites. They may suffer blows and setbacks. But the high school games they played and watched, as well as their hopes and cheers, will stay vivid in their memories.
I have a small idea. If newspapers will no longer send staff reporters to cover high school games, why not hire high school student journalists? News organizations can pay students an hourly wage to cover high school games. The young reporters might learn how to be fair to all sides, write vividly, and attract readers. That’s what some celebrities in sports did, and do.
And think of the great writers who were inspired by sports: Hemingway on fishing, Bernard Malamud and Marianne Moore on baseball, Chen Zhongshi on football, and CLR James on cricket, who said, “There can be raw pain and bleeding where so many thousands see the inevitable (不可避免的) ups and downs of only a game.” A good high school writer, unlike a robot, could tell readers not just the score, but the stories of the game.
1. Why is the lead mentioned in the first paragraph?| A．To introduce an original idea. | B．To show AI’s wide application. |
| C．To bring in the opinion about AI. | D．To stress AI’s importance to news. |
| A．Hopeful. | B．Eye-catching. | C．Competitive. | D．Far-reaching. |
| A．Rich in contents. | B．Fair in comments. |
| C．Centered on results. | D．Targeted on readers. |
| A．News Organizations Are Abusing AI | B．High Schoolers Can Do What AI Can’t |
| C．Great Writers Are Crazy About Sports | D．AI Ruins High School Students’ Memory |
1. What does the competition try to find this year?
| A．The best dancer. | B．The best actor. | C．The best singer. |
| A．By fax. | B．By phone. | C．Through the Internet. |
| A．At 10:30 pm. | B．At 9:00 pm. | C．At 8:00 pm. |
| A．It is bigger than the old one. |
| B．It will be free for the first week. |
| C．It will be open earlier than planned. |
5 . Kenya’s EliudKipchoge made history by running the 26.2 miles in less than two hours, faster than any other person in history. His time of 1:59:40 required him to maintain an average pace of about 4:35 per mile!
Upon crossing the finish line, Kipchoge, who spent four months training, said, “That was the best moment of my life. The pressure was very big on my shoulders. I got a phone call from the President of Kenya.”
The Prater Park course in Vienna, Austria, was carefully selected, taking into account factors like temperature and wind speed to ensure the perfect racing. His speed was maintained by 41 medium and long-distance runners. An electric car projected a green laser ahead of the runners to guide them along the best route. To save time, Kipchoge was fed pre-prepared drinks and energy on the course at 3.1-mile intervals.
The historic run was Kipchoge’s second attempt at breaking the two-hour marathon barrier. The Kenyan runner first tried to accomplish the feat on May 6, 2017, at Nike’s Breaking2 event, which took place on a Formula One racetrack in Monza, Italy. However, while Kipchoge’s 2:00:25 time was the fastest ever attained by a human, it was not under the desired two hours. However, the lack of acknowledgement does not bother Kipchoge.
Kipchoge was not the only Kenyan runner to make headlines that weekend. On Sunday, October 13, 2019, Brigid Kosgei made history of her own at the Chicago Marathon. Her time of 2:14:04, outpaced British runner Paula Radcliffe ‘s 16-year-old record by an impressive 81 seconds, earning Kosgei the title of the world’s fastest female marathoner!
1. Why did Kipchoge have bigger pressure?| A．He intended to make history. |
| B．The president of Kenya rang him. |
| C．The coming marathon was fierce. |
| D．His training was harder than ever. |
| A．Tell us Kipchoge’s determination. |
| B．Summarize Kipchoge’s contributions. |
| C．Praise Kipchoge for his thoughtfulness. |
| D．Show Kipchoge planned the marathon carefully. |
| A．Concerned. | B．Astonished. | C．Upset. | D．Calm. |
| A．Beat. | B．Equaled. | C．Stuck. | D．Set. |
6 . As a chess coach, David Bishop is often asked the same question by his students: “Mr. Bishop, what’s your favorite chess piece?” “I get that a lot,” said Bishop, who answers that — yes— the bishop (象) is a favorite piece, after the Queen.
Bishop began playing chess at age 10 and has been addicted ever since. In 2013, Bishop retired. Then he worked as a custodian (监护人) with his friends at a local high school. A few weeks later, Bishop discovered that the school had a chess club. He asked the teacher in charge if he could help out. When that teacher retired in 2015, Bishop took over the club, and in an effort to “make it more fun”, he started a competitive team so that students interested in taking the sport more seriously could play other schools.
“It’s such a powerful game that really promotes strategy and great administration functioning,” Bishop said. “This is beyond a game; it’s critical thinking skills, which is what we want students to do out in the world. I think this is the best sport that kids can play.”
The 2019-2022 season was a particularly big one, and his students won the state finals. Jennifer Cyr, the president of the school, said Bishop has unwavering commitment to the game and to the students. “I’m so grateful for his work,” she noted. “He really inspires students to be their best.”
However, for Bishop, what is far more rewarding than the recognition, he said, is watching his students blossom into excellent players. “I love our teams, and I love seeing the progress in kids as they get older,” he said. “They also progress in their confidence and self-esteem (自尊).” Some students have gotten so good at the game, he said, that they’re “at the point where I can’t keep catching up with them. They beat me.”
1. What caused Bishop to take over the school chess club?| A．The high school’s repeated invitations. |
| B．His decades of crazy enthusiasm for chess. |
| C．The desire to solve the students’ problems. |
| D．His decades of dream of becoming a coach. |
| A．By winning series of chess competitions. |
| B．By performing administration functioning. |
| C．By shaping the students through competitions. |
| D．By accessing the students’ critical thinking skills. |
| A．It was a form of social practice. | B．It could make him more confident. |
| C．It earned more respect for the students. | D．It was far beyond workout for the brain. |
| A．Convincing. | B．Responsive. | C．Creative. | D．Praiseworthy. |
The Hangzhou Asian Games,
Sustainability (持续性) has been
8 . Traditional Chinese culture featured noticeably in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Hangzhou Asian Games. While they stressed the solar terms, the he-he culture, meaning harmony and cooperation, was a common thread that ran through them.
Each of the 24 solar terms coincides with (与……一致) events in the natural world. The terms were put forward more than 2,000 years ago to guide not only agricultural activities, but also customs concerning food, dressing and social life. Nowadays, although Chinese people refer to more modern systems in daily life, except for in the agricultural area, they maintain a strong emotional and cultural bond with the solar terms as reminders of the wit (才智), creativity and diligence (勤奋) of their ancestors.
“I previously had no connection to Hangzhou, but now, after the closing ceremony, I think I share a special bond with this city, said Wan Li, a 22-year-old college student at Fujian Normal University. “Watching the ceremony was also a wonderful chance for me to learn about the he-he culture, in which I was uninterested before.”
Kong Xianglong, a research assistant who worked in Hangzhou on an Asian Games research program and watched the ceremonies, expressed his admiration for the show as well as the Asian Games volunteers, who he said were walking examples of the he-he culture.
“The dance performances were absolutely attractive, a perfect display of the he-he idea and a highlight of the Asian Games,” Kong told Beijing Review. “The considerate service the volunteers provided every day actually invited people to learn about the he-he culture, which moved me a lot.”
Pakistani cricketer Muhammad said he believes that the opening and closing ceremonies played an important role in bringing people from different countries together. “I saw a lot of different countries’ athletes coming together, sharing their cultures and performing. I see a huge success,” he told Xinhua News Agency.
1. What can be learned about the solar terms?| A．They thoroughly guide modern life. | B．They belong to the past. |
| C．They lend to be ignored. | D．They apply to farming. |
| A．It stimulated her passion for Chinese culture. |
| B．It strengthened her bond with the world. |
| C．It deepened her understanding of the Games. |
| D．It restored her confidence in the athletes. |
| A．They bridge cultural differences. | B．They show Chinese philosophy. |
| C．They ensure athletes’ better performances. | D．They demonstrate the power of China. |
| A．A guidebook. | B．A news report. | C．Science fiction. | D．A textbook. |
9 . Dealing with Stress in Sports
Sports are a great way to have fun while staying fit. Sports also teach important life lessons like working as a team.
Competing always leads to some stress. And that can be good.
Keep stress levels down when you aren’t competing.
Finally don’t forget that no one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes in sports. It is part of the game.
Whether you play on the school team or at a weekend pick-up game, the point is to have fun. By keeping that as the first place, you can learn to deal with the stress that is a natural part of competition.
| A．There will always be some stress in sports |
| B．A little stress helps the body face a challenge |
| C．Why not be quick to forgive mistakes and move on |
| D．If you have too much going on, think about doing more exercising |
| E．It is best to eat well and get enough sleep, especially before games |
| F．Aren’t sports about staying active, developing as a player and making friends |
| G．But it’s not always easy to keep it together when it feels like winning is everything |
10 . As a captain, you should know exactly what to do when your team lose a game because how your team deals with defeat has an important impact on how they perform in the next match.
Emotions are OK.
You shouldn’t deny your players the opportunity to show their emotions when they lose but make sure they know where the boundaries are.
Have a post-match routine.
Introduce a post-match routine that players follow — win or lose. For instance, you could encourage them to shake hands with opponents, and the referee, as soon as the final whistle sounds.
Encourage positivity.
Always acknowledge the disappointment of your players, but emphasize the positive elements of the performance. It is important that players go home with a positive mindset after the game.
If you are going through some bad results, one way of keeping players motivated is to de-emphasize winning and focus on improving skills. After a defeat, if you make your next match a must-win game, you are putting more pressure on your players than is needed. Instead, try setting the team realistic goals within the game.
| A．Stay cool as a captain. |
| B．Take the focus off winning. |
| C．Such routine can help players deal with losing graciously. |
| D．No one individual is ever responsible for victory or defeat. |
| E．They should know they have achieved something despite the result. |
| F．You should help your team understand why losing can be a step forward. |
| G．Set standards of behaviour and give punishment if players don’t follow them. |
