13-year-old twin brother and sister Zhao Ziqian and Zhao Qinman are from Dongguan, Guangdong Province. They enter the waters off Xinbu Island in Haikou     1     (participate) in a swimming challenge across the Qiongzhou Strait,     2     lies between the island province of Hainan and the Leizhou Peninsula in Guangdong.

On Aug. 21, 2023, the twins     3     (successful) swam across the country’s Qiongzhou Strait, becoming the first set of twins to achieve the swimming feat (功绩). They were also the first     4     the 84th batch (批) of challengers to reach the shore in the attempt to swim across the Qiongzhou Strait, which is about 20 kilometers at its     5     (narrow) point. A total of six challengers from Dongguan took part in the activity. They entered the waters off Xinbu Island,     6     (begin) their challenge at 4:34 a.m. on Aug. 21 under the     7     (guide) of local teams.

According to Zhao Ziqian, the older brother, challengers could fuel their body with bottled water, bananas, chocolate and other food     8     (throw) down to them from protecting ships every 40-60 minutes.

The twins’ parents     9     (stay) with them and cheered them on throughout the journey. Their father, a former soldier, said he sent his children to swimming classes to help them build toughness     10     that he would continue to strengthen their physical fitness.

Highland barley (青稞) has been a main food of Xizang for thousands of years. Recently, it has helped Chinese bakers win international awards in Europe.

Lin Yeqiang and Feng Yingjie     1     (announce) as victors after a three-day baking     2     (compete) in Munich, Germany, last week known as the “iba. UIBC. CUP of Bakers 2023”. The Chinese team took first prize after     3     (defeat) the other bakers from 12 countries, including Japan, France, Germany and Italy, during the event,     4     ran from Oet. 22 to 24.

The event was held at the Baking Exhibition Center in Munich,     5     leading global meeting place since 1949. Most of the flour     6     (use) worldwide in the baking industry usually comes from developed Western countries. But this time,     7     was highland barley flour from Xizang that helped Lin and Feng beat their peers.

“This shows that highland barley has been recognized by the international baking industry, and that it provides a new alternative to high-end baking flour,” said Wang Zi, coach of the Chinese bakery team. Highland barley has     8     (gradual) gained more popularity overseas in recent years. It is considered a     9     (health) food, enriched with nutrients such as dietary fiber, beta-glucans, vitamins and other trace elements.

“Using highland barley to make fermented seeds integrates traditional Chinese cultural elements with their baking and gives the world a better understanding     10     the unique charm of Chinese baking,” Wang said.

For the last two weeks, 32 women’s football teams have been playing in stadiums (体育场) across Australia and New Zealand as part of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Along the way, there have been some     1    (excite) matches, along with several surprises. Now there are only eight teams     2    (leave).

This is the     3    (nine) Women’s World Cup. The competition     4    (begin) in 1991 and is held every four years. For the first time ever, the competition is being hosted     5    more than one country. The first match took place in New Zealand. The final match will    6     (hold) at Stadium Australia in Melbourne on August 20.

In another change, this year, for the first time ever, 32 teams were invited to compete.   In the past, there were only 24 teams. For the eight     7    (country), this was the first time they’d ever made it into the World Cup.

Some people criticized (批评) the move, saying the new teams were too weak. But several teams     8     were included for the first time performed (表现) very well even beating teams that were expected     9     (do) much better. Morocco beat both South Korea     10    Colombia. Morocco is the only one of the new teams to make it into the final 16 teams in the competition.

On September 23rd, at the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games     1     (hold) in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, torchbearers (火炬手) from both the virtual and real worlds lit the torch together,

The torch used in the relay (接力) of the 19th Asian Games     2     (name) the “Eternal Flame”. The 73-centimeter-high torch weighs 1.2 kilograms, and     3     (it) surface features patterns from ancient Chinese culture combined     4     modern design principles.

The design of the torch was inspired by jade cong from the Liangzhu Archaeological Ruins,     5    is located in today’s Hangzhou and has been written on the World Heritage List as a     6    (culture) site since July 2019. Jade cong, or yucong, is an ancient ritual article (礼器), proving the     7    (exist) of at least 5,000 years of Chinese civilization.

“The 19th Asian Games will leave     8    (last) memories for people around the world,” said Li Yiqing, spokesperson for the 19th Asian Games opening and closing ceremonies operations center.

The torch relay for the 19th Asian Games     9    (begin) in Hangzhou on September 8 and ended on September 20. It featured 2,022 torchbearers who passed the torch through 11 cities in Zhejiang Province, showcasing Chinese culture and heartwarming     10    (story) of ordinary people.

The awards ceremony for China’s Amazing Decade: My Story, a contest open to non-Chinese to share their stories about the nation over the past 10 years,    1    (hold) on Thursday in Beijing. A total of 60 works received awards at the event jointly     2    (organize) by China Daily and Bank of China.

The ceremony also saw the launch of the book My China Story: China in the Eyes of Foreign Youth, a compilation (汇编) of 27 essays     3    both English and Chinese from the contest in 2021, by authors from 18 countries.

Liu Weiling, editor-in-chief of China Daily, said the event showcased the great changes in the new age and the achievements of Chinese modernization over the past decade, presenting a     4    (rely), admirable and respectable image of China. “The authors are     5    (witness) and recorders of China’s development in the newer a,    6    quite a few of them are also participants in development over the past decade. When they take the vivid stories and experiences back to    7    (they) home countries, it will benefit the people of those countries and promote cultural exchanges,” he said.

Chang Cai,    8    Australian visiting scholar at Nanjing Agricultural University     9    received second prize in the contest, shared her story of participating in a veterinary epidemiology (兽医流行病学) training project in China,    10    (involve) tens of thousands of veterinary officials and academics from more than 30 universities.

Shocking     1    (extreme) strong soccer teams like Argentina and Germany in their group games, Asian teams have been a breath of fresh air at the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

For Chinese fans     2    (cheer) on these underdogs, it’s a case of mixed     3    (emotion). Each victory has also been     4     reminder of their own national team’s absence from the tournament. Team China has not qualified for the World Cup finals since a single appearance in 2002, and recent form     5    (suggest) there is a long journey ahead for the team to return to Asia’s elite(精英) rank.

Saudi Arabia sprang the first Asian surprise in Qatar     6     Nov 22, a 2-1 defeat of Lionel Messi’s Argentina. The following day, Japan delivered another 2-1 victory, over European powerhouse Germany. Iran then bounced back from a 6-2 drubbing(轻取) against England to outplay Wales,     7    (lead) by former Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale.

The shock victories have thrilled success-starved Chinese fans     8     named humorously the overachieving teams “the light of Asian soccer”, while topics related to the wins     9    (become) top trending news on Chinese social media ever since.

The upsets caused many fans to express     10    (they) disappointment over Team China’s struggles.

Li Yue     1     (bear) with asthma and he never thought he’d be a runner! He only joined his local athletics club because his doctor told him that in     2     (he) particular case exercise could improve how his lungs work. But before he knew it, he was taking part     3     local races. This year he won silver in the under 18’s 10,000 metres!

Sarah didn’t do any exercise—not even any jogging not so long ago. Then she discovered an app     4     (call) Running Power,     5     lists your performance against other     6     (run) in your social network. Now she no longer uses the app, but she has fallen in love with running.

David is a computer engineer. The work can be quite     7     (stress) at times, though, which in turn makes him feel anxious. To help deal with this, he goes running as often as he     8     (possible) can.

Grace entered the Great Gorilla Run in London this year. This is a programme run by The Gorilla Organization     9     (raise) money to save the world’s last remaining gorillas from dying out. Each runner receives a gorilla suit and off they go! The funniest moment was when someone watching the race offered her     10     banana—a real treat for a running gorilla!

Winter sports were already popular in China a thousand years ago in the form of Bingxi (冰嬉), or play on ice. Bingxi as     1    form of performance for the court began in the Song Dynasty and reached its peak during Qing. A Bingxi painting in the collection of the Palace Museum portrays scenes of Bingxi during the Qing Dynasty. A closer look at the painting will show that there are many     2     (similarity) between how ancient Chinese people enjoyed games on ice and modern day     3     (compete) events at the Winter Olympic Games.

In the painting, the emperor,     4     (seat) inside his ice bed, was watching skaters compete     5    (fierce). Three types of ice skating were performed, the first one of     6     is speed race, similar to modern speed skating. Participants raced to the emperor’s ice bed from 2 to 3 kilometers away.     7     reached the emperor first won first prize. The second is figure skating. Jumps, spins and pair work moves common in modern day figure skating can all be found in the painting. The third is the soccer on ice. Participants in two teams skated, kicked and tried to score goals. If the “tool” for scoring goals     8     (change) from legs to sticks, it is highly comparable to hockey.

To this day, the interest     9     winter sports in Chinese people has never decreased. Each winter, in Beihai and Shichahai of Beijing, people are still enjoying     10     (they) forms of Bingxi.

A new competition has been added to the calendar of world sports events—the Balloon World Cup. We are all familiar     1     the “sport” of keeping balloon up. Most of us have joined in the decades—old pastime of     2     (keep) a balloon up in the air without letting it touch the floor. Spanish soccer star Gerard Pique loved this so much     3     he developed it into an international event. The first Balloon World Cup     4     (hold) in Spain on Thursday. Peru's Francesco de la Cruz was the very first man     5    (win) world champion. He defeated Germany's Jan Spiess in the final with a 6-2 victory.

Mr. Pique got his     6     (inspire) for the tournament from Tik Tok videos that went popular. He loved watching clips of the game     7     (play) by an American family during the COVID-19 lockdown. It then developed from the family's living room into a “Keep-Up Balloon League”. Pique then made the game global. The contests took place on an 8m x 8m court,       8     contained living room furniture as     9     (obstacle). Teams from 32 countries participated. Pique said, “It's something     10     (total) different. Sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone and try new things.” There are hopes that it could become an Olympics event.

With the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games     1     (approach), our city government has recently launched     2     series of activities aimed     3     (popularize) ice and snow sports on campuses.

First of all,     4     can arouse students' interest in ice and snow sports such as skating is held at schools. Besides, skills relevant     5     ice and snow sports     6     (teach) in PE classes. More happily, during the coming winter vacation, students are freely admitted to some ski resorts and outdoor ice rinks (溜冰场),     7     they can enjoy themselves, practice and improve     8     (they) skating and skiing skills. Not only will the activities promote ice and snow sports but they can help students to     9     (strength) their bodies

Anyone interested is     10     (sincere) invited to join us and have fun on the ice and snow.