1 . Baseball is known as the national entertainment in America. As children, many Americans play baseball in Little League teams. Later, some go on to play in Major League Baseball teams.     1    

The game itself is fairly easy to play. There are two teams of nine players each.     2       These bases are about 30 meters apart and are known as first base, second base, third base and home. The part of the field closest to the bases is called the infield. The part further away is the outfield.

During the game, a pitcher ( 投手) from one team throws a ball to a batter (the person holding a baseball bat) from the opposing team. The batter, who is standing on the home plate, tries to hit the ball and run around the bases.     3     The main objective is to score more runs than the opposing team.

The first recorded game was played in 1846 in Hoboken, New Jersey. And since then, baseball has grown in popularity.     4     Some of the most famous players from the past include Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Hank Greenberg, and Jackie Robinson.

Famous modern players include Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter who play for the New York Yankees, Manny Ramirez who plays for the Tampa Bay Rays, Joe Mauer who plays for the Minnesota Twins, and Albert Pujols who plays for the St Louis Cardinals. A player doesn’t have to be from the state he plays for, so baseball teams are very diverse.     5     Every year, the teams trade players.

A．Baseball also reshaped the nation’s calendar.

B．In 1992, the sport was introduced as an Olympic game.

C．They play on a field with four bases in the shape of a diamond.

D．Others become sports fans and follow their team everywhere.

E．Baseball terms and phrases soon became part of the national vocabulary.

F．If he goes around the four bases and touches them in the correct order, it’s a run.

G．For example, Alex Pujols plays for a team in Missouri but is from the Dominican Republic.

2 . Many companies employ some form of ranking systems to assess employees’ performance, and then determine promotion accordingly. Performance rankings don’t necessarily involve competition for physical or financial resources, but they do create competition for another kind of resource: social status.

To better understand how social status ranking affects men and women differently, my colleagues and I conducted a series of lab experiments. The participants were asked to complete simple tasks and they were told that they would receive one Euro for each task they completed. This meant they were all equally rewarded, and were thus not competing for financial resources. Then, we told one group of participants that they would be ranked against each other based on their performance, while participants in the other group weren’t told anything.

We found that just anticipating that they would be ranked significantly impacted participants’ performance, and that the impact was noticeably different for men and for women. When participants weren’t told that they’d be ranked, men and women performed at essentially the same level. But when they were told that they would be ranked, men performed better than those who weren’t told anything, while women performed a lot worse.

It’s also found that the gender difference caused by competitive environments isn’t simply because of the misconception that women are naturally less competitive than men. Rather, these environments trigger the assumption that men are superior and that women should be kind to others. And it in turn leads to gender differences in performance.

In sum, these findings suggest that competitive social ranking systems can have a major effect on performance, and more importantly, they can have very different effects on men and on women. It’s hard to imagine a world in which competition is removed entirely —so how can organizations get the benefits of competitive environments while providing a fairer environment for their female employees?

1. Performance rankings certainly involve competition for ________.

A．financial reward	B．social status
C．physical resources	D．higher income

2. What can we learn from the lab experiments?

A．The effect of ranking differed for men and women.

B．Participants would be financially rewarded differently.

C．Both groups of participants knew they would be ranked.

D．Women would perform better if they knew they’d be ranked.

3. What may cause gender differences in performance?

A．The competitive environments caused by social prejudice.

B．The belief that men are better and that women should be kind.

C．The misconception that women are trained to be less competitive.

D．The fact that the ranking system treats men and women differently.

4. What may be talked about next?

A．How gender inequality can be removed for good.

B．How organizations get more benefits of gender equality.

C．How to provide a fairer environment for female employees.

D．How to conduct an accurate study about working performance.

3 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Although his quadruple Axel (阿克塞尔四周跳) challenge in Olympic free skate fell short, Yuzuru Hanyu still somehow made history.     1     a last-ditch attempt to save a medal, the “Ice Prince” took on figure skating’s most difficult jump－the 4 1/2-rotation quadruple Axel. Unexpectedly,     2     27-year-old under-rotated and stumbled upon landing. He fell again attempting a quadruple Salchow (萨霍夫四周跳).

Taking a bow to the     3     (recognize) from audience and touching the ice before stepping off the rink at the Capital Indoor Stadium, the two-time defending champion cut a lonely figure sitting by himself as he awaited his score,     4     (strengthen) the feeling that this could have been his swan song. “I made a big mistake in the quad Salchow, but I performed well to the music Heaven and Earth. I     5     (regret) the performance in the short program the other day, but I did my best today,” said Hanyu.

Hanyu started skating at the age of 4, and made his international debut(首次亮相) at the 2008 Junior Grand Prix Merano Cup, where he finished     6    (five). After joining the adult ranks, he quickly began to rack up(累计) silverware and milestones. He became the first Asian     7    (win) men’s singles Olympic gold at the 2014 Sochi Games.

China’s Jin Boyang, who performed     8     (energetic) and finished ninth, also expressed admiration. “It’s incredible that he took on the challenge of the quad axel at the age of 27 at his third Olympics. It shows his hunger to keep striving for     9     (great) performances, which is     10     the spirit of sports and the Olympics is all about. We can all learn from it,” Jin said.

4 . Gold Coast Suns VS. North Melbourne

Venue: Metricon Stadium

Date and time: Sunday, 30 August, 2021, 6:10 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Gates open: 5 p.m.

Important information

Nerang Station shuttles will operate for this game. Make sure you don’t miss the opening bounce at 6:10 p.m. Plan your journey and arrive well before the match starts.

Scheduled services

Use the journey planner to find out which scheduled bus and train services travel to and from Metricon Stadium. Check for current and upcoming service changes.

Metricon Stadium is close to Nerang station, and bus stops on Nerang-Broadbeach Road and Birmingham Road (approximately 470 metres away).

Major track closure — Northern lines Saturday 29 & Sunday 30 August

Timetabled rail buses will operate, but please allow extra time when heading to the game.

Additional services

Trains

No additional trains will operate for this event.

Buses

No additional buses will operate for this event.

Boowaggan Road and Broadbeach South station shuttles will not operate for this event.

Ticket and fare information

Free travel with Surfside Buslines and Queensland Rail.

If you have a pre-purchased game ticket or Suns membership card, you can travel free to and from the game on all regular Queensland Rail City Network trains and Surfside Buslines services.

Free travel begins 4 hours before and concludes 4 hours after the event ends.

Event information

Visit the Metricon Stadium website or call 5510 6000 for more information.

1. When will the stadium open?

A．At 6:10 p.m.

B．At 8:30 p.m.

C．At 5:00 p.m.

D．At 8:10 a.m.

2. Which transport means can you take for free?

A．Rail buses.

B．Trains.

C．Shuttles.

D．Queensland Rail.

3. Who is this passage written for?

A．Businessmen.

B．Audiences.

C．Passengers.

D．Tourists.