1 . Zheng Qinwen announced herself as a major new force in women’s tennis with an import French Open debut (首秀) last month. Now the Chinese teenager hopes the fighting spirit she showed at the Grand Slam (大满贯) tournament can encourage kids starting out in the sport to chase their dreams on the court with the same determination.
“If tennis is your dream, I think you always have to fight for your dream. Because we only have one life, you shouldn’t have any regrets,” Zheng said last week in an interview.
The 19-year-old showed she possesses the talent to be a contender at the very top level of tennis with a breakout campaign at French Open.
Accounting for two-time Grand Slam winner Simona Halep along the way, Zhengs journey was ended in the fourth round by a three-set defeat to eventual champion Iga Swiatek. Zheng, though gave the Polish world No. 1 a big scare, battling back from 3-0 down in the first set to force, and win, a tiebreak (平分决胜局)。
“That was the first time I had played the world No.1, so I really wanted to grab this chance so I could judge her level and test myself,” said Zheng. “I didn’t want to give her the match so easy like that. It was pretty difficult for me to hold on in that match because of what my body was going through, but I wanted to show her I'm not easily beaten.
Looking back at Zheng Qinwen’s performances in this year’s French Open, there’s no doubt that she’s a true fighter. Zheng says she avoids being discouraged by higher-ranked opponents by simply focusing on the next point, one shot at a time.Supported by her team, she hopes she can one day win a Grand Slam title.
Zheng’s impressive French Open run has inevitably led to comparisons with China’s solitary Grand Slam singles championLi Na, who won the 2011 French Open and 2014 Australian Open titles.
“When I was a kid, Li Na showed that Asian people also can do something really good in tennis. She was the first one. I will just focus on my own game and then let’s see if I can really compete at the highest level,” said Zheng.
1. What does the underlined word “contender” in paragraph 3 mean?| A．Organizer. | B．Announcer. | C．Competitor. | D．Designer. |
| A．Iga Swiatek beat Zheng easily. |
| B．Zheng lost to Iga Swiatek at last. |
| C．Zheng won the match despite her pain. |
| D．Iga Swiatek lost because of her mistakes. |
| A．To explain why Li Na has achieved a lot |
| B．To prove failure is the mother of success. |
| C．To show how excellent Zheng Qinwen is. |
| D．To compare the difference between Zheng Qinwen and LI Na |
| A．Optimistic and generous. |
| B．Struggling and determined |
| C．Independent and helpful. |
| D．Adventurous and realistic. |
The frightening day of our diving test was here. Our parents thought we were lucky to have an Olympic-size swimming pool at the school. My mom stressed that the swimming pool was one of the best in our city. But I didn’t feel happy about it at all. Instead, I felt afraid of the swimming pool. It was mainly because I was terribly shy.
I was so shy that I always sat at the back of the room in class so I’d not be called upon to read. As for the present physical education class each Monday morning, I would work my way to the back of the line forming at the diving board so I would not have to practice the dives.
Now, it was another Monday morning - the morning of our diving test. My blood ran cold when the teacher Ms. Robbins announced that we would be graded for our final on the most difficult dive- the jackknife. And she added, “This diving test is important. The one who fails has to spare time in the following Monday mornings to practice diving in this swimming pool and attend this test again.”
My body kept shaking with fear as the line to the scary diving board shortened. As I watched, each student seemed to perform the challenging dive effortlessly. And shortly I would have to attempt something that I had never even practiced before.
Then I remembered someone telling me that when you picture yourself doing a skill over and over, it’s just as effective as physically practicing that skill. So I watched carefully as each classmate jumped at the end of the board once, added a jump for height, folded their body in half to reach for their toes, and finally straightened out like an arrow for going into the water. After carefully watching for a while, I was actually in a state of surprise, because all of a sudden I realized that it was possible for me to perform these four steps of diving.
Eventually all classmates except me finished jumping. The teacher announced that it was my turn.
注意：1. 续与词数应为150左右；2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
With my heart knocking wildly, I walked down the diving board towards its end.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Knowing I failed, I climbed out of the pool, embarrassed.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1. 比赛的目的；
2. 比赛的内容（汉语语言能力、中国文化技能）；
3. 比赛时间地点；
4. 期待大家参加。
注意:
1. 词数80左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇: “汉语桥”世界中学生比赛 the “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Middle School Students
NOTICE
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4 . Australian Open Wheelchair Tennis Winners
Wheelchair tennis champ Kunieda won the men's Australian Open once more on Thursday, beating a player from the United Kingdom. Diede Groot won the women's wheelchair finals by defeating Aniek van Koot.
This is the 11th time winning the Australian Open for Japan's Kunieda. But the two hours and 12 minutes match wasn't an easy one. He won the first set, but the player from the United Kingdom took the second set. Kunieda came roaring back in the third set to take the prize, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2. He seemed to surprise even himself. "I played the best tennis of my career," he said, "Especially in the final set. I don't know how I did it, but I pushed past my limit. "He staged a comeback after losing in the semi-finals of last year's Australian Open. But it's probably not surprising, for someone who has won several Paralympic Gold Medals and 26 Grand Slam（大满贯）singles victories.
In the women's wheelchair finals, it was a contest between two athletes from the Netherlands. From early on, Diede Groot seemed to be in control. Much of the difference in play came from Groot's strong and steady serve. She made her first serve count 74% of the time, In the second set, she got out to a 5-0 lead before giving up a game to Aniek van Koot. But it didn't take her long to get back on track, winning the match 6-1, 6-1. The entire match took less than an hour. "I'm super happy," said Diede Groot. "It's the beginning of the year. I think I've showed everyone that I'm ready for the rest of the year." It was her 13th Grand Slam singles title. Last year, she earned a "Golden Slam" by winning all four Grand Slam tournaments, as well as a Paralympic gold.
1. How did Kunieda feel after the match?| A．Confused. | B．Surprised. | C．Disappointed. | D．Worried. |
| A．Rebuilt his confidence. | B．Pushed himself forward. |
| C．Returned to a previous stage. | D．Quit the Paralympics. |
| A．She got back on track after an hour. | B．She was in control of the whole game. |
| C．She won her 13th Golden Slam last year. | D．She lost to Aniek van Koot in the second set. |
| A．A news report. | B．A biography. | C．A poster. | D．A research paper. |
Rivaldo was playing football from the age of 4. When he was 7, he joined a local football club. He attended the training regularly but never got a chance to play in matches. But the coach had faith in him. He told Rivaldo that he should focus on his training, and one day he would get the chance. Rivaldo had no other option but to continue training in the club. He was training very hard and focused on improving himself.
Even after two years in the club, he never played in a match. He was not even allowed to travel along with the team. One day their club had a charity match, where a famous footballer was a chief guest. While the team was planning to travel, one of the support staff who used to take care of kits got ill. So, they needed someone for this.
The coach thought this should be an opportunity for Rivaldo. So, he told him to travel with the team and take care of the kits. Other support staff objected to it, but he convinced them.
The team reached the stadium. There were a lot of crowds to witness the celebrity footballer. For Rivaldo, this is his first-time experience in the stadium. He was helping the other players with the kits for the pre-match training. The coach came for a chat with Rivaldo. He told Rivaldo, “You are playing today.”
Rivaldo, for a moment, got frozen and asked him why. He said, “One of the players from the team got injured while training. So, we are short of players. We need someone to be in the field to make it 11. But I know you are more than that. So, go and prove yourself”. There was resistance from the support staff. Luckily for Rivaldo, the coach, through the organizing committee, convinced Rivaldo’s team management to allow him to play.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
When the match started, Rivaldo was running like a deer.
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After the match, the celebrity footballer walked to Rivaldo.
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6 . Two world championships were decided this weekend on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean. In England, the Rugby World Cup was decided. In New York, the baseball season saw its final match. More than 80,000 audiences watched New Zealand win the Rugby championship 34-17 over Australia. The match was held on Saturday at the famous Twickenham Stadium near London.
It was the second world title for New Zealand. Fans call the team “All Blacks” because of their black uniforms. A day later, the baseball World Series came to a close with a win by the Kansas City Royals over the New York Mets.
In the World Series, the first team to win four games claims victory. The Royals won four of the first five games played with the Mets. Kansas City last won in 1985.
The Rugby World Cup opened on September 18, when England defeated Fiji. Forty-eight matches and six weeks later, New Zealand won the title. Going into the tournament, the All Blacks were ranked No.1 in the world.
Every tournament like this has a “favorite”, or the team expected to win. The tournament also has an “underdog” , or the team less likely to win. But the underdog often becomes a favorite. This year in the Rugby World Cup, the “underdog” team was Japan.
Coming into the tournament, Japan was ranked 13th in the world. But after an inspiring showing in the group stage of the tournament, Japan moved up three places to 10th. Aside from the championship game itself, the match that created the biggest surprise came when Japan defeated world No.3 South Africa 34-32.The Associated Press called it “the biggest shock in Rugby World Cup history”.
South Africa was a two-time World Cup champion. Japan had only ever won one match in the World Cup before that game.
1. Why were the two major sports events reported together?| A．They were both held in developed countries. |
| B．Their results both came out at the same time. |
| C．The winners were both not expected. |
| D．They both belong to sports competitions. |
| A．a player regarded as the most valuable |
| B．a team whose players are most skilled |
| C．a player who is the most popular |
| D．a team more likely to come first |
| A．It created a big surprise. |
| B．It tried their best to play. |
| C．It acted as it was expected. |
| D．It surprisingly won third. |
7 . China’s EDward Gaming, a five-person team of the Chinese e-sports club, earned their first-ever League of Legends World Championship title with 3-2 win over South Korea’s DWG KIA in the Worlds 2021 final Reykjavik, Iceland. EDG ended a historic tournament run with their first-ever Summoner’s Cup. During the process, EDG was among the tournament favorite teams, but they didn’t look like a champion team for most of the event. They struggled in the group stage. In the final the EDG people were expected to show up, and they did.
EDG made it past the quarterfinals for the first time in the organization’s history at Worlds 2021 and made their first time past the top eight. Not only did EDG break their own curse and make the organization’s own history, but they also made League of Legends history.
“I started the journey with EDG in 2015 and had a brilliant start, along with difficulties and setbacks. Being able to win the world championship after all these years persistence, it’s been all worth it.” said 23-year-old Tian, the Grand Slam winner.
EDG, the only non-South Korean team in the last four and underdog before the final, amazed DK, the defending champion, in the opening game of the final thanks to their excellent team fight.
With the popularity of digital technology, new forms of cultural exchanges have been emerging, of which e-sports are of the hottest. Unlike texts and videos, e-sports break the barriers of language and are understandable around the world.
1. Which of the following statement is TRUE about China’s EDward Gaming?| A．It is the most popular team. |
| B．Its victory is hard-fought. |
| C．It won the title without much difficulty. |
| D．It was regarded as a champion team before the final. |
| A．He plays an important role in the team. |
| B．He once regretted joining EDward Gaming. |
| C．He has made contributions to the victory of the team. |
| D．Sticking to the career is not easy but worthwhile. |
| A．an outstanding team | B．a promising team | C．a weak team | D．a champion team |
| A．ambiguous | B．disapproving | C．negative | D．positive |
8 . Two days after eight e-sports (电子竞技) games were officially announced to be included in the 19th Asian Games, China’s Edward Gaming (EDG) team earned its first League of Legends World Championship title with a 3-2 win over South Korea in a tough battle on November 7th, immediately drawing cheers from people around the country. The topic “EDG wins” had been viewed more than 2.63 billion times as of press on Sina Weibo, ranking the top trending topic for a long time.
With the popularity of digital technology, new forms of cultural exchanges have been appearing, of which e-sports are the most popular. Unlike texts and videos, e-sports go beyond the barriers of language and are understandable around the world. E-sports mostly appeal to those in their early 20s, as shown by the carnival (狂欢) of college students. That in turn makes them a good bridge of communication between young Chinese people and their counterparts (对应的人) around the world.
More importantly, the e-sports industry is sustainable in spreading Chinese culture, as the large audiences mean huge commercial potential. In 2020 alone, the sales revenue of the domestic e-sports industry exceeded 278.69 billion yuan, and involved 280,000 enterprises which in turn created over 10 million jobs. According to a media report, nearly 95 percent of graduates from e-sports majors at the Communication University of China in Nanjing, succeeded in finding a job after graduation this year, with 62 percent of them devoted to the e-sports industry, including video game clubs, game design companies and game competition operation companies.
The inclusion of e-sports in major sporting events has been a much-discussed topic in recent years. With more Chinese gaming clubs and teams emerging, the industry is expected to further prosper and continue spreading Chinese culture to the world.
1. What did people on Chinese social media cheer for?| A．Eight e-sports would be included in Asian Games. |
| B．China’s e-sports industry was recognized by the world. |
| C．EDG won the League of Legends World Championship. |
| D．The 19th Asian Games were announced to be held in China. |
| A．They appeal to people of all ages. |
| B．They become a symbol of Chinese culture. |
| C．They result in the development of digital technology. |
| D．They strengthen the bond between young people around the world. |
| A．The high demands on e-sports players. |
| B．The difficulties of developing e-sports. |
| C．The importance of game design companies. |
| D．The contributions of e-sports industry to the economy. |
| A．Hopeful. | B．Ambiguous. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Conservative. |
Table tennis, also known as ping pong, is the
Ping pong is built on Chinese culture, down to the roots. Ping pong tables
In China, the government plays a huge part in developing sports. Children talented in table tennis attend special schools in
China
Many countries have only one “World Class” ping pong player, but China has a pool of great talent. Ping pong is a game of Chinese people. They own it. The rest of the world borrows it from them.
10 . Skipping Stones Youth Honor Awards
The Youth Honor Awards recognize creative and artistic works by young people that promote multicultural, international and nature awareness.
Original writing (essays, interviews, poems, plays, short stories, etc.) and art( photos. paintings. Cartoons, etc.) from youth. aged 7 to 17, should be typed or neatly handwritten. Essays should be under 1,000 words and poems should be under 30 lines. Non-English writings, photo essays and art pieces (up to 8) are equally welcome.
You may also choose to stress the work of a youth organization or group project. Using the same guidelines as above, tell us how the group works to preserve nature or enrich the community, its members and the lives of others.
Entries must be e-mailed or postmarked by 25 June. Please include the following:
A cover letter telling about yourself and your works, age, address and telephone number or e-mail, which we need to contact you during August if you are a winner.
A Certificate of Originality and a Parental Permission to publish your work We reserve the right to publish your entry at our judgement.
Send a $5 entry fee. If you enter the honor awards program and also subscribe ($25/year), you can enter without the entry fee. If you are entering electronically, we can send you an online request for $7, which includes the entry fee of $5, plus an additional $2 convenience fee.
Ten winning entries will be published in the October issue. Winners will receive an Honor Award Certificate, a subscription to Skipping Stones and five books.
Send your award entries and submissions by e-mail or post to the address below,
P. o Box 3939
Eugene. OR 97403 USA.
In fo@Ski ppingStones.Org
1. Which of the following works are not accepted?| A．Works presented in May. | B．Works including 10 art pieces. |
| C．Works written in Chinese. | D．Works from youth organizations. |
| A．In June. | B．In July. | C．In August. | D．In October. |
| A．$ 2. | B．$ 3. | C．$ 5. | D．$7. |
