1 . An Olympic Village is a place that houses Olympic competitors. It is a place where they prepare for what might be the most important moment in their life. But we want to know more about this mysterious place: What really happens in the village?
We asked swimmer Natalie Coughlin, a three time Olympian and 12 -time medalist. She says, “People think it’s a lot more attractive and interesting than it is. It isn’t. It’s like a huge college campus, including a bank, a salon, a post office, and a huge cafeteria- except that everyone is anxious, getting ready for their biggest event under unbelievably high pressure (压力).”
But some other Olympians look differently at their campus. “It’s like the first day of college,” water polo player Tony Azevedo says. “You’re super excited. Everyone s meeting people and trying to socialize with others,”
Coughlin says the best spot to be in the village is the cafeteria. Not only does it provide a place to talk with the rest of the athletes from your country but it’s a great chance for people watching. One of her favorite games was to tell what sport someone in front of her took based on their body type.
Living in the same village means athletes run into one another all the time. Coughlin shares this story: While in London in 2012, at one point applause (欢呼) broke out at the arrival of someone. Coughlin thought it was one of the British royals (王室成员), but it ended up being Jamaica’s Usain Bolt (the world’s greatest runner alive). Runner Allyson Felix— a winner of six gold Olympic medals— has also had her run-ins. In 2008, she came across the world-famous U. S. men’s basketball team, including Anthony, Bryant, Wade and other top players.
It’s “a pretty wild scene, the biggest melting pot— a place where large numbers of people, ideas, and cultures are mixed together— you’ve been in,” said swimmer Eric Shanteau. Felix agrees, saying, “You get to meet people from other countries that you wouldn’t even come into contact with. To me that’s the coolest thing.
1. What does Coughlin say about the Olympic villagers?| A．They spend most of their time relaxing. |
| B．They enjoy the village very much. |
| C．They like to make friends. |
| D．They are very nervous. |
| A．She often tried guessing a person’ s sport. |
| B．She often tasted food from other countries. |
| C．She often listened to other athletes’ stories. |
| D．She often spent time with basketball players. |
| A．Why Olympians are so popular. |
| B．Why the Olympic Village is mysterious. |
| C．How they met superstars in the village. |
| D．How they communicated with other players. |
| A．Spending time with some old foreign friends. |
| B．Mixing with people from around the world. |
| C．The positive influence of the Olympic spirit. |
| D．The competitive atmosphere in the village. |
2 . E-sports describes the world of competitive, organized video gaming. Competitors from different leagues or teams compete in the same video games: Fortnite, League of Legends, Counter-Strike, Call of Duty, to name a few. These gamers are watched and followed by millions of their fans all over the world, who attend live events or watch on TV or online. Streaming services, like Twitch, allow viewers to watch their favorite gamers playing in real time.
According to a report from Newzoo, a market analytics (分析) company, 380 million people worldwide will watch e-sports this year. Most of these e-sports lovers will watch from North America, China and South Korea.
Colleges have even got in on the action. More than 50 colleges in America have e-sports programs, recognized by a governing body called the National Association of Collegiate E-sports. NACE tournaments (锦标赛) give out thousands of dollars in prize money, which is put to scholarships for the winners.
E-sports players, like traditional athletes, can make big money. Tournaments can provide millions of dollars in prize money, which is typically divided among the players on the winning teams. That means a world’s very tip-top player can easily earn up to seven figures of money in a year. Teams and event organizers also earn money from ticket sales for these competitions. The popular League of Legends Tournament from 2017 brought in $5.5 million in ticket sales.
At the end of 2018, 1.6 billion people had some knowledge of e-sports — that’s more than one fifth of the entire world’s population. E-sports will continue to grow as an industry in the foreseeable future. So if you haven’t heard much about e-sports yet, give it time. Its spread, both globally and culturally, is certain to happen.
1. How do e-sports players compete against each other?| A．By watching videos games. | B．By designing e-sports programs. |
| C．By playing in the same video games | D．By going to the gym. |
| A．Scholarships. | B．Cars. | C．Houses. | D．Tickets. |
| A．$1.000. | B．$10,000. | C．$100,000. | D．$1,000,000. |
| A．E-sports is popular with a few people. |
| B．E-sports is likely to develop well. |
| C．People all over the world have some knowledge of e-sports. |
| D．People are curious about e-sports. |
3 . Clothing decorated with lucky animals such as Chinese dragons and phoenixes (凤凰), and designers devoted to making China's Olympians look good, all these reflect that the Chinese Olympic Team is not only focused on winning medals, but also showing the beauty of China to the world.
The first impressive moment for Chinese fashion started from the opening ceremony of the Olympics. The Chinese team's uniforms used red as a main color, which represents wishes for a good start for Team China. The Team's uniforms, combining red with white, were designed by a group of designers from the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology. The uniforms are decorated with a peony (牡丹), which is China's national flower, and the style of the flower was inspired by an ancient Ming Dynasty bowl at the Palace Museum.
Some Chinese gymnastics' uniforms also use the traditional Chinese symbols such as the Chinese phoenix. China's trampoline (蹦床) gold medalist Zhu Xueying said she was pleased with her uniform that looked like a traditional qipao decorated with a phoenix. The bright red uniforms have traditional elements (元素) on the neckline—a qipao knot (结) and a Chinese phoenix. The pattern on the front of the chest represented the hope that the gymnasts would dance in the sky.
The uniform for Chen Meng, another gold medalist in the women's table tennis event, was designed especially for her. The uniform is pink because that is Chen's favorite color and the designers embroidered (刺绣) a Chinese dragon on her right shoulder to represent the hope that she can take off like a powerful dragon.
“I have been watching the Olympics. The uniforms for the Chinese team have added many fashionable elements,” Zhang Yan, a young Chinese designer told the reporter. The most impressive uniforms for him have been those that the Chinese athletes wore on the podiums (领奖台). The elements formed in the clothing designs, including the curving shapes, the colors and the Chinese standing collar, make them both beautiful and practical. “When the athletes stand on the podium, I think the Chinese design is not only attractive, but also a kind of new fashion. The confidence shown in the clothing is really strong.” Zhang Yan said.
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?| A．The colors the Chinese team's uniforms. |
| B．The designers of the Chinese team's uniforms. |
| C．The characteristics of the Chinese team's uniforms. |
| D．The style of the Chinese team's uniforms. |
| A．The same color. | B．The same style of Qipao. |
| C．The same phoenix. | D．The similar wishes. |
| A．Clothes Chinese athletes wore on the podiums were the most attractive. |
| B．Strong confidence is shown in the clothing of Chinese athletes. |
| C．Zhang Yan took part in designing the Chinese Olympic uniforms. |
| D．The Chinese design will be No.1 in the fashion market. |
| A．Chinese Athletes Realizing Dreams in the Olympics. |
| B．Chinese Uniforms is Different at the Olympic Games. |
| C．Chinese Olympic Uniforms Shining at the Olympic Games. |
| D．Chinese Team Becoming better and better at the Olympics. |
4 . Being an Olympian (奥运会选手) demands focus, determination, and a competitive spirit. Plus, representing your country is a lot of pressure. However, two athletes recently showed the world another quality that is definitely worth championing.
Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim and Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi were competing in the high jump on Sunday when they reached a stalemate (僵局). Both men had managed to jump over a surprising 2.37 meters with no faults along the way. However, after three attempts neither managed the next level of 2.39 meters.
An Olympic official suggested a jump-off between the two friends and rivals (竞争对手) to determine who would get the gold medal. But Barshim had another plan to reward their efforts.
“Can we have two golds?” he asked the official.
The official agreed and the two men jumped for joy. This was the first time a gold medal had been shared since 1912. “He is one of my best friends, not only on the track, but outside the track. We work together. This is a dream come true.” shared Barshim.
The decision to share the medal was particularly meaningful to Tamberi. The Italian had suffered an ankle injury that prevented him from competing in the Rio Olympics in 2016, and it nearly put an end to his career altogether. So this year he brought along his cast to this year's Olympics with “Road to Tokyo 2021” to inspire him along the way.
For Barshim, the gold has topped off his already impressive medal collection, having received a bronze and a silver medal in 2012 and 2016 respectively.
Despite all the glory of receiving a gold medal for their countries, their achievement means so much more. These two individuals, trying to do their very best for their countries, have provided a wonderful example to all those competing in sports. They've summed up exactly what it means to take part in a global event with a generous and compassionate (有同情心的) spirit.
1. What happened to Barshim and Tamberi in the competition?| A．They ended in a tie. | B．They quit the competition. |
| C．They set a new record. | D．They ran out of strength. |
| A．Debate. | B．Vote. |
| C．Celebration. | D．Extra round. |
| A．It could bring him a lot of money. | B．It may make up for his regret in 2016. |
| C．It was a glory for his country. | D．It could complete his medal collection. |
| A．The importance of sharing. |
| B．The glory of winning gold medals. |
| C．The valuable and special team spirit. |
| D．The considerate and sharing Olympic spirit. |
5 . As is known to all. the first modern Olympics were held there in 1896. But the history of the Olympics in Greece dates back to much earlier.
The first ancient Olympics were held in 776 B. C. The games got their name from Olympia, the Greek city where they took place.
Like the Summer Olympics of today, the ancient Olympics were held every four years. One of the main features (特点) of the ancient Olympics was the Olympic truce (休战).The truce meant that all wars were stopped, so that athletes and spectators could compete and travel in peace. Thousands of people from all over the Greek world came to watch.
During the first Olympics, there was only one competition—a 218-yard (200-meter) race. But over time the games grew to include wrestling, chariot racing, boxing and other sports. Women were not allowed to compete, but they had their own separate games.
“The ancient athletes became celebrities (名人)， just like today. They often lived the rest of their lives being treated to free dinners.” Cerrato said “City-states even tried to steal away each other's athletes by offering them various awards.”
Unlike today's Olympics, the ancient Olympics were held to honor Zeus. Greeks thought that Zeus was the leader of the many gods and goddesses they believed in. But what comes as a surprise to many people is the fact that many athletes competed completely naked(裸体的)！
The ancient Olympics existed until 393 A. D. But the modern Olympics are still going strong. “The Olympics” gather athletes from around the world，said Sue Macy, author of a new National Geographic book, Swifter, Higher, Stronger： A Photographic History of the Summer Olympics. “It’s so much bigger today.”
1. What would be the best title of the passage?| A．History of the Olympics. | B．Features of the Olympics. |
| C．Truce of the Olympics. | D．Swifter. Higher, Stronger. |
| A．the ancient Olympics attracted people all over the world |
| B．men as well as women could compete in the games |
| C．the ancient Olympics were an important event in Greece |
| D．there were many kinds of races at that time |
| A．all the people in Greece would stop working |
| B．people stopped fighting to take part in the games |
| C．people from all over the world came to see the games |
| D．most of the athletes came from those who won the fight |
| A．organized the games | B．played in the games |
| C．watched the games | D．had no chance to watch the games |
6 . Ellie was a skilled gymnast（体操运动员）. But she liked showing off（炫耀））. At the gymnastics tryout（选拔赛）, she put on a perfect performance. "See who can do that! " she said proudly.
The next Friday, the list was posted announcing who had made the team. Ellie's name wasn't on it. "It's unfair. I'm better than all the other girls! " she said. She went to see the coach.
"You are quite talented, but your attitude is terrible, " the coach said. "Making the gymnastics team isn't just about gymnastics. It's also about being on a team. " That night Ellie complained to her parents. Her mother was angry, but her father said that the coach had a point. They had a big argument. Ellie couldn't sleep. She kept thinking about what the coach had said.
Ellie couldn't stay away from the gym, so she practiced alone. One day, after watching Ann fall off the parallel bars（双杠）again and again, Ellie ran to her and explained to Ann what she was doing wrong. Ann did as Ellie suggested and improved. Ellie didn't notice the coach was looking at her. Over the next few months, Ellie always helped the other girls. They did better and better. "We couldn't have done this without Ellie's help, " the girls said.
The following year, Ellie tried out for the gymnastics team again. This time, she was modest. When the girls praised her, she just smiled and thanked them. When the coach posted the list of who had made the team, her name was on it. Ellie and the other girls were all very happy.
1. How did Ellie feel when she went to see the coach?| A．Angry. | B．Happy. | C．Proud. | D．Nervous. |
| A．she slept too much in the afternoon |
| B．she had an argument with her mother |
| C．she was worried about the gymnastics tryout |
| D．she was thinking about the meanings of the coach's words |
①Ellie practiced alone. ②Ellie's parents argued.
③Ellie coached other girls. ④Ellie showed off at the gymnastics tryout.
| A．③①④② | B．③④②① | C．④②①③ | D．④①③② |
| A．A serious coach | B．A gymnastics team | C．Gymnastics tryouts | D．Gymnastics competitions |
