1 . Scientists from Georgia Tech have developed a new robot named ESTHER (Experimental Sport Tennis Wheelchair Robot), which can move around the court and even return human serves.
The team believes the robot could serve as a training partner (搭档) for professional players in the future, lowering the pressure of training with another human.
The robot is the brainchild of Georgia Tech’s Matthew Gombolay, professor of robotics in the School of Interactive Computing. He wanted to develop a better training challenge than a ball feeder that stays in one place, one that would act like an always on-call partner or even team up with someone in doubles matches. The result is ESTHER, an adapted wheelchair tennis chair that can race to balls at ten metres per second and probably outplay a human.
Mr Gombolay explains: “The wheelchair has the ability to rapidly move around the court and get into position (恰当位置) to hit a ground stroke (击落地球). ESTHER can move up to two metres after a ball is struck to hit a successful return, which is comparable to the longest distance moved by human players for 80 per cent of shots (击球).”
The robot was named in homage to well-known wheelchair tennis player Esther Vergeer, who held the world No. 1 position in women’s wheelchair tennis for almost 13 years straight.
The team placed a network of cameras around a tennis court and used computer vision algorithms (视觉算法) to help ESTHER recognise an incoming tennis ball. Using cameras from different positions, they could know where the ball is in the air and feed this information to ESTHER. The team reached a breakthrough when they successfully and continually programmed ESTHER to track the tennis ball coming toward it and to hit a return.
ESTHER will now be developed to act as a highly-skilled tennis player.
1. What is ESTHER able to do?| A．Return a shot. | B．Clean up a court. | C．Push a wheelchair. | D．Control a ball feeder. |
| A．In search of. | B．In honour of. | C．As a result of. | D．With the help of. |
| A．They improve its vision. | B．They direct it to the ball. |
| C．They help it stay in position. | D．They picture unexpected things in the air. |
| A．Athletes in wheelchairs | B．An all-purpose robot at home |
| C．Rules are changing for tennis courts | D．A robot moves around the tennis court |
It was the first swim meet of the year for our newly formed middle-school swimming team. The atmosphere during the three-hour bus journey was filled with anticipation as the group of forty-eight young teenagers thought of nothing but victory. However, the excitement turned into shock as our kids got off the bus and stared in disbelief at their muscle-filled Greek-god-like opponents.
The coach checked the schedule “Surely there has been a mistake,” he thought. But the schedule only confirmed that this was the right location and time.
The two teams formed a line on the side of the pool. Whistles blew, races were started and races were lost. Haifway through the meet, coach Huey realized that there were no participants for one of the events.
“Okay kids, who want to swim the five-hundred-yard freestyle?” the coach asked. Several bands shot up, including Justin’s “I’ll race, coach!” he shouted. The coach looked down at the youngest boy and said, “Justin, this race covers twenty lengths of the pool. I’ve only seen you swum eight”.
“I can do it. Coach. Let me try,” Justin insisted . Coach Huey hesitantly agreed. ”After all, “be thought,” it’s not the winning but the effort and determination that build character.“
The whistle blew and the opponents rushed through the water and finished the race in just six minutes and fifty seconds. The winners gathered on the sidelines to socialize while our group struggled to finish. After three more minutes. the last exhausted (筋疲力尽的) members of our team came out from the water-except for Justin.
Justin was stealing breaths as his hands slapped against the water, pushing i: aside to push his thin body forward. It appeared that he might go under at any minute, yet something seemed to keep pushing him forward.
“Why doesn’t the coach intervene?” the parents whispered among themselves. “It looks like he’s about to drown, and the race was over four minutes ago.”
注意：1.续写词数应为150个左右：
2.请按如下格式作答。
Approaching Justin, the coach noticed the determination in the young swimmer’s eyes.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Touched by the scene, members of the opposing team also cheered Justin as he continued to swim.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3 . No FIFA World Cup would be complete without “psychic(通灵的)” animals predicting the winners, and Qatar 2022 was the same. A range of animals—big and small—have tried to predict the scoreline.
It all started with Paul, the ”psychic“ octopus(章鱼). He put TV experts to shame with an unbelievable group of correct World Cup winner predictions at the Aquarium Sea Life Center in Oberhausen, Germany. He correctly predicted eight World Cup matches at South Africa’s tournament in 2010, including Spain beating the Netherlands in the World Cup final.
Paul’s successor, Rubio the octopus, did not end well. It became a star in Japan for its 100%success in predicting group-stage matches, including Japan’s win against Colombia in the 2018 World Cup held in Russia. Rubio did not get the chance to make its prediction for the Round-of-16 after it was cut into pieces and turned into seafood.
Taiyo the otter had good news for Japanese fans at the 2022 World cup in Qatar, correctly predicting Japan’s group-stage win over Germany. From his home at the Maxell Aqua Park Shinagawa in Japan, Taiyo was given three buckets(桶)to choose from—Japan(blue), draw (yellow)and Germany(red)—and did not hesitate about picking up his tiny football and placing his bet on Japan. He was widely praised online for his action.
And let’s not forget another star—Marcus, the “mystic pig”. In the 2018 World Cup, Marcus predicted a World Cup victory for England after selecting apples with the England flag on British morning television. However, Marcus’ fortune-telling record was shattered when England was knocked out in the semi-final.
Nelly the elephant from Serengeti Park in Hodenhagen, Germany, also meant business when she had a group of 30 out of 33 matches correct predictions in the 2006 World Cup, the 2010 World Cup and the 2012 Euro.
Camilla the ”mystic“ camel from Melton Mowbray in England did have good news for England, however. She correctly predicted the Three Lions’ group-stage win over Iran at the Qatar World Cup. Her owners said that their camel was ”never wrong“.
1. What can we learn about Rubio?| A．It ended up being eaten. | B．It missed the 2018 World Cup. |
| C．It performed much better than Paul. | D．It became famous after the Round-of-16. |
| A．It knew Japanese players well. | B．It could recognize many colors. |
| C．It was quick at decision-making. | D．It was good at catching a football. |
| A．Updated. | B．Shared. | C．Removed. | D．Broken. |
| A．He doesn’t give his opinion. | B．He is doubtful about them. |
| C．He thinks them interesting. | D．He is supportive to them. |
The basketball court was filled with eager students and cheerleaders were waving their pompoms at the stands. Excited cheers could be heard from all sides of the court. My teammates and I got fully prepared for our basketball competition. Our hearts were pounding in expectation of the competition ahead.
“And let’s all welcome the Blue Team!” the emcee (主持人) announced through the microphone. All of us marched in proudly as everyone cheered at the top of their lungs. “And welcome the Red Team!” the emcee announced, and the Red Team came in. We were astonished to see that the Red Team was filled with tall and strong members! We were trembling with fear as we walked slowly towards the centre of the court. As we were short of teammates, our confidence in winning wavered (减弱).
The judge threw the ball and the other team quickly caught it! The ball danced between their hands. Our defence seemed to be in slow motion compared to the Red Team’s swiftness. Soon, the other team scored!
We were losing the match as time passed. To make matters worse, our star player, Tom, even tripped and fell, hurting his ankle! We were losing hope as our best player was gone. Just then, our captain called for a time-out. On the bench, our captain announced that this would be his last match. “Come on! Don’t give up! I want to win one last trophy (奖杯) before I quit. Let’s do it!” he insisted, giving us a wide smile. Hearing this, our team held our fists tightly. We were focused on winning this match and making our captain proud! The judge threw the ball once more. I jumped as high as I could and caught the ball. I ran as fast as lightning and scored. Our opponents were nervous but they still scored a few goals to catch up. A few minutes later, we were neck to neck, locked in a tie.
注意：1．续写词数应为150个左右；2．请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Whoever scored this one goal would win the competition!
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The crowd erupted into deafening applause.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________5 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。
My son Joey was born with disabled feet. The doctors assured us that with treatment he would be able to walk normally — but would never run very well. The first three years of his life were spent in surgery, casts and braces. By the time he was eight, you wouldn’t know he had a problem when you saw him walk.
The children in our neighborhood ran around as most children do during play, and Joey would jump right in and run and play, too. Although I was a little worried about his state, we never told him that he probably wouldn’t be able to run as well as the other children. So he didn’t know it. Every day after school, he would run and jump crazily, laughing cheerfully with his friends. Before bed, he was delighted to share everything that he enjoyed with me, and the brightness on his face drove away all my anxiety.
In his seventh grade, the school planned to hold a cross-country race. On hearing the news, he jumped with joy, and he decided to go out for the cross-country team. What worried me most was the extreme strength and patience that was required for the race. However, his strong determination eventually changed my attitude towards the event. I made up mind to be in favor of him. Every day he trained with the team. He worked harder and ran more than any of the others — perhaps he sensed that the abilities that seemed to come naturally to so many others did not come naturally to him. Although the entire team runs, only the top seven runners have the potential to score points for the school. We didn’t tell him he probably would never make the team, so he didn’t know.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150个左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
One day, he got a fever, and I advised him to have a rest.
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Two weeks later, the big day came.
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6 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。
I grew up in southeastern Michigan. I was a fan of Detroit Tigers, a famous baseball team, as a young boy.
My childhood dream was to be like my hero, Al Kaline, and someday play for the Tigers. My Dad would take me to Tiger Stadium several times a year and my hero Al Kaline would never let me down. We never attended a game that he didn’t get at least one hit.
I was crazy about baseball. If there was a game in my high school, I was never absent. I kept practising so that I could achieve my dream of playing for the Tigers, and I was doing well at each level of play. Later, I got a chance to sign up for a strong American Legion baseball program. There I met our coach, Bob Ohm, who knew a lot of baseball and taught each of us the basics as well as more advanced baseball skills. With Bob Ohm’s help and my hard work, I had set new records in many baseball championships.
My dream to be like my hero seemed to draw near. One summer, I went up to play the final season in Marinette. There were scouts who came to find the best players. This was it! My big chance!
Well, as the game progressed I hit the ball very well getting five hits in the game. Unfortunately, I also made four mistakes. The final mistake actually drew laughter from the crowd.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150个左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
After the game, I knew my dream of playing professional baseball was lost.
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Today, I teach baseball in a high school.
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[The Underdog]
Paul jumped up and rushed onto the court... When the game ended, our team
I was never a fast runner and thus I always didn’t like running. Throughout my childhood, whenever we competed in the 50-meter run, the 400-meter, or any other type of race, I would finish in the bottom half. In my late teens, as a member of a baseball team, I was the slowest runner on the team. In the preseason training, I was always the one running by myself at the end.
Therefore, twenty years later, when I entered my first official running race — a 3,000-meter challenge in my city — at age 38, I certainly didn’t expect to win or come close to winning.
I was there because my college friend Jim Hosek was the director of the race, and he asked me to run. The race was aimed at raising money for the unfortunate patients in a hospital and encouraging the patients and their fanilies to be brave, determined, and confident with sportsmanship.
It was a heartwarming program.I wanted to support it, so I showed up, paid the entrance fee, had a number pinned (把……别住) on my back, and moved over to the starting line. There, I waited with about 300 other runners for the race to begin. I was nervous. Would I be the last one to finish a race again? Could I even finish the race? I wondered.
Before long, someone spoke into a microphole, “Anyone weighing over 200 pounds comes down to the scale (秤), please.” Knowing I was over 200 pounds, I walked down to the scale. A man told me to stand on it. “Two hundred and three pounds,” he said. Then he wrote down the race number that was on my back. Out of curiosity, I asked him why he did so,and then I was told there would be an award ceremony (仪式) after the race. One award was for the first finisher in the over 200-pound group, and this special award would be announced at the end of the ceremony.
Not expecting the award, I ran towards the starting line, never realizing there were only two runners weighing over 200 pounds.
Paragraph 1:Soon after, the race started.
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Paragraph 2:
Then came the last award, and to my surprise, my name was announced.
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“World record broken!” On Aug 12, 2022, 17-year-old Ma Jiajun from Jilin excitedly posted
He has set a new world record for “the most consecutive jump rope triples (连续三摇跳绳)” with 701 times. Ma is more than 180 centimeters tall, but he used to be short and thin in primary school.
“The training was much
After breaking the record, Ma
“Village Basketball Association” or “Village BA” is
The village-level basketball
