1 . A pickup game is a game of some kind that is not part of a regularly scheduled season of competition or a championship series.    1    . There are no repercussions (负面影响) beyond the final score in terms of standings or future commitment.

    2    . But the types of games that use the term have expanded today. It is now used to refer to casually scheduled games of softball, volleyball, tennis, and even chess.

Pickup games are spontaneous (自发的) and informal.     3    . An all-men’s pickup game may be played as “Shirts vs No Shirts”; it is an easy way to identify teammates and distinguish them from the competitors. “Inside Shirts vs Out Shirts” “White Shirts vs Colored Shirts” and “Men vs Women” are other teams created with the goal of knowing who is who.

Recently, attempts have been made to use the Internet to schedule pickup games. This is a way of helping players connect with other players in their local area and allowing them to have complete teams whenever possible.     4    .   For example, gender, game choice, age, location, and how far they are willing to travel to a game. The main draw of pickup games is that they are meant to be a fun way to practice or show off skills with friends. If a player makes a mistake, he won’t be taken out of the game and worried about losing his playing time.     5    .

A．You could play pickup football, baseball, etc.

B．He can laugh it off and continue on with the game.

C．This method makes the game much more competitive.

D．Potential players are asked to provide their information.

E．The term “pick up game” often refers to basketball games.

F．Instead, it is a game with teams often made up on the spot.

G．But people have a variety of methods to pick teams and identify them.

2 . 为了让学生全面发展，你校在课外活动中，举办了主题为“Life Skills Show”比赛，你赢得了一等奖。请你就你的参赛经历写一篇短文向校英文报投稿，内容包括：
1. 活动目的；
2. 介绍你参赛的生活技能（烹饪或手工等）；
3. 个人感受。
注意：1. 写作词数应为80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Life Skills Show

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3 . The Geography Bee, more properly known as the National Geographic Bee, begins in schools with students from fourth through eighth grade across the United States in December and January.

Each school champion takes a written test upon winning the Bee in their school. One hundred school winners from each state proceed to the State Level Finals in April, based on their scores on a written test scored by the National Geographic Society. The ten finalists compete on day two and the winner is announced and wins a college scholarship.     1    .

An atlas (地图册) can help you become very familiar with the continents, countries states, islands, and major physical features of our planet.     2    .

Prepare flashcards or use some other technique to memorize the capitals of the countries and the capitals of the fifty United States.

Take as many practice quizzes as possible. There are hundreds of multiple-choice Geography Quizzes that will definitely help.     3    . Be sure to use an atlas to look up or understand the questions that you’ve missed.

Read the newspaper and news magazines to learn about geography and to stay up-to-date with major news and events happening around the world.     4    . These events usually occur in the latter part of the year before the Bee. Look up any unfamiliar place names you encounter.

Knowing the main languages, currencies, religions, and former country names is definitely a bonus. It’s most important at the state and national levels.     5    . If you can review the key concepts of physical geography from the physical geography textbook, do so!

A．So start with a world map

B．Get information in a library

C．National Geographic offers a daily GeoBee Quiz online

D．Some Bee questions come from the geography of current events

E．Become familiar with the terms and concepts of Physical Geography

F．What follows are tips to help you prepare for the National Geographic Bee

G．Use Outline Maps of the world and continents to test yourself on this information

4 . Need more excitement in your life? Maybe it’s time to take up an extreme sport!

    1     Each year they are becoming more and more popular.Some examples of extreme sports include base jumping, ice climbing, cave diving, and...cheese rolling?!

No one knows exactly how it started, but Cooper’s Hill Cheese­Rolling Race is an annual event that has taken place for over 100 years.The name comes from Cooper’s Hill where the “sport” takes place, just outside the village of Brockworth, England.

    2     A wheel of cheese is thrown down a hill while a group of people chase after it, trying to be the first to catch it or reach the bottom of the hill.The cheese weighs just over 3kg and picks up a lot of speed travelling down the very steep slope(斜坡).     3     And if you come second or third you’ll receive ￡10. Incredibly, the event has become so popular that people travel from all over the world to take part—even from as far away as Canada and Australia.

But what makes the sport so extreme, and why has the local government tried to ban the tradition? Injuries—and lots of them.The hill is so steep that it’s not actually possible to run down it.    4     Ambulances arrive at the event before the race even starts in preparation for all those who will need a trip to the hospital.Go to YouTube and search for “Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling” to see the event in action.    5     Maybe you will want to have a try someday.

A．It’s as silly as it sounds.

B．If you win, you get to keep the cheese.

C．Is it wrong to let children do extreme sports?

D．These popular activities can be extremely dangerous.

E．Be prepared to both laugh and cover your eyes in shock.

F．Instead, you fall, bounce and roll your way to the bottom.

G．Extreme sports are activities that involve a high amount of danger and excitement.

5 . Men’s sport has for decades benefited from what investors call a “flywheel effect”. Big broadcast and sponsorship deals throw money into the game readily.    1    . That, in turn, generates even more money the next time around.

Women’s sport has long suffered the opposite phenomenon.    2    With few games available, viewers cannot tune in, and few viewers means little money.

The flywheel may, at last, be starting to turn round.    3    The first quarter of 2022 saw the highest viewership, up by around 50% on 2019, the last full year before the pandemic. Women’s sport is resisting a general trend for people to watch less television. Streaming (流媒体), meanwhile, offers a way to show games without expensive deals with broadcasters, helping to build fanbases.

    4    Viewership of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) in America rose by 50% in 2021 compared with 2020. In February, the WNBA felt confident, raising $75 million and valuing it at $1 billion. The prize pool for this year’s Women’s Championship is $16 million, double the value in 2017.

One big change is that several big rights-holders, including FIFA and World Rugby, now sell, sponsorship rights for women’s events, separately, rather than bonded with the men’s tournaments.    5    

A．Start with viewing figures.

B．Money is starting to follow eyeballs.

C．Many associations fund the women’s sports.

D．Some think sponsors get a better deal with women’s sports.

E．Broadcasters have unwillingly shown it without being sure that people will watch.

F．That attracts more players and raises the level of play, which helps attract more viewers.

G．That forces buyers and sellers to think about exactly how much such rights might be worth.

6 . Sports day! These two words can inspire both joy and terror in the hearts of students everywhere. For many, sports day can be a great day of fun and the chance to bag a prize or two.     1    

Today, more and more schools have recognized the importance of exercise.     2     They hope that by making sports days less competitive, children of all abilities will be motivated to take part without fear of losing. Exercise and fitness is important for everyone, no matter how good at sport you are.     3    

However, some people feel that it’s important that sport has winners and that learning to lose is just as important as learning how to win.     4     Particularly, on a sports day which is your chance to really prove yourself!

There are lots of people who agree with the idea—parents in particular! According to a 2017 survey by Families Online, 82% of parents say they prefer “traditional” competitive sports days.     5     It’s also an opportunity for some children to show off their physical and sporting skills.

People have different ideas about whether it is the winning or the taking part that counts when it comes to school sports days. So, should School Sports Day be competitive or not? We want to know your ideas.

A．What’s the point if no one wins?

B．Should sport just be about winning?

C．Many of them have “non-competitive” sports days.

D．Everyone should be celebrated for trying and playing their part.

E．Many adults are worried that their kids can get injured when doing sports.

F．For others, it might feel like having to take part in something they aren’t good at.

G．Many adults feel that children can learn valuable lessons in both winning and losing.

7 . Nowadays, in many places of the world, kids play soccer less than before.     1     Besides, many parents don’t know soccer’s real help to kids. Here are some reasons why kids should play the beautiful game.

Soccer is a team sport.

Teamwork is a life skill that kids need to learn. Being part of a team isn’t just about learning how to work together and share talents. It’s also about teaching kids how to face failure. It doesn’t end there, either. Being part of a team lets kids know how to take responsibility for their behavior.    2    

Soccer shapes motor skills (运动技能).

Nowadays, many kids prefer to stay in their rooms to have fun through TV, video games and smartphones.    3    It can cause them to lose out on valuable motor skills. By playing youth soccer, kids get a chance to develop their physical strength and motor skills.

    4    

Soccer can improve students’ concentration (专注) in the classroom. Besides, soccer is a fast-paced game, so kids can learn how to solve problems quickly. Plus, soccer is a sport which involves getting the ball from point A to point B. So kids’ visual-spatial (视觉空间) ability can be improved when they play the game, which can help them learn subjects like Physics.

Soccer improves the personal character.

The World Health Organization recommends kid get at least 60 minutes of exercises daily. This isn’t only for the physical benefits but also for the benefits to the personal character.     5     And these kids often have more self-confidence.

A．Youth soccer helps improve family relationships.

B．So they have less time outdoors for sports.

C．Soccer plays a part in school performance.

D．Being part of a team can help you make many friends.

E．One cause is that many kids are busy with their studies.

F．Usually kids who like sports such as soccer are more outgoing.

G．After all, if one player performs badly, the rest of the team will suffer for it.

8 . How did football become the most popular sport?

There’s no question that football is the global sport. Basketball, tennis, cricket, and other sports are popular too, but nothing comes close to football.

The global fame of teams such as Manchester United, Arsenal, Barcelona, or Real Madrid and competitions such as the Champions League have ensured that football never dies.

    1     . The numbers are greater when compared to any other sport, and this drives the popularity of football up.

When did it all start?

Modern football originally appeared in Britain in the XIX century. Folk football matches have been played before in many cities and towns, but never on a professional level.     2    , but football eventually blossomed as a winter sport game played in different schools.

The Rules Development

The rules were dictated by each school, and this difference made it difficult for players to look at it in any other way than a leisure game. It all changed in 1849 at the University of Cambridge that invented a set of standard rules known as the Cambridge rules of football.     3     and from that moment, a new star sport was born.

Internal organizations

By the early XX century, football has spread all across Europe. Internal organization came in 1904, when FIFA was found by representatives of many international football associations.     4    . It took just around 50 years for football to reach its apex, especially in the UK after England won the World Cup in 1966.

Moving forward

England’s international success boosted the popularity of the sport in the country. The Premier League as it is now was established in 1992, but it was still present in another format before it. From the 1990s onward, it became a truly impressive piece of football machinery, becoming the world’s top football league in the process.

    5    . Of course, the Champions League is right up there in terms of revenue and fans, putting Europe’s top football clubs against each other.(377words)

A．The first official football rules were printed in 1863

B．It is impossible for any other sport to take its place

C．Being played in every country in the world, football provides dozens of superstars

D．Urbanization and industrialization undermined the game’s status in the XIX century

E．With up to 6 clubs fighting for the title, the PL is surely the best football league in Europe

F．Major TV deals and player branded products have contributed to football’s status around the world

G．It became the governing body for numerous associations in Europe, giving birth to modern football