The Ontario Convention Center was filled with     1     (excite)on Saturday as hundreds of players competed in the 2023 US Open Table Tennis Championships. The tournament attracted players from around the world, among     2     were Wu Bohan and Zhang Yuwen. Representing Peking University,     3     Chinese pair will participate in a series of events to celebrate the 52nd anniversary of Ping-Pong Diplomacy.

When Dell Sweeris, now a 78-year-old, watched the intense action at the championship, fond memories     4     (come) flooding back. With a smile playing on his lips (嘴角), he reflected on how a simple game of ping-pong had once bridged political chasms (鸿沟)    5     brought nations closer together.

“I was so fortunate     6     (be) on the US national team in 1972 when the Chinese team came here,” Sweeris recalled. “They sent legends (传奇人物) here and I luckily traveled with them.”

While     7     (meet) some legendary players of the Ping-Pong Diplomacy era, Sweeris became friends with Liu Wei, a former world champion and now a professor at Peking University.

    8     the coach of the Peking University table tennis team, Liu said his team was on a mission to spread the spirit of Ping-Pong Diplomacy. “It is about the continuity of friendship,”she said. “It will     9    (pass) on to the next generation through the medium of table tennis. One of the driving forces behind this continuity is the     10     (share) love for this sport by the people of both China and the United States.”

The Asian Games is the largest sporting event in Asia. Its predecessor (前身) was the Far Eastern Games. In 1948, Guru Dutt Sondhi, leader of Indian sports, felt the Far Eastern Games were not good enough     1     (reflect) the level of Asian sports and the unity spirit of Asian people, and suggested     2     (establish) the Asian Games so that all Asian countries could participate.

The 19th Asian Games was held in Hangzhou from September 23 to October 8, 2023,     3     12,417 athletes from all 45 Asian countries and regions participating. Several rising sports     4     are popular among young people made their first     5     (appear) at this year’s Games, such as break dance and e-sports. After a 13-year absence     6     it first appeared at the Guangzhou Games in 2010, Weiqi,     7     mind sport, returned to the Hangzhou Games. Certain     8     (region) sports in Asia, especially dragon boat racing, though not     9     (recognize) as Olympic sports,     10     (be) medal-awarded events at this Asian Games.

The Cun BA basketball tournament, one of China’s popular grassroots sports competitions, plans more interactions with NBA professionals in the current season. “We plan to take the championship team to     1     exchange program with the NBA, allowing them     2     (experience), learn from and interact with professional NBA players,” Cen Jianglong, head of Taipan and co-organizer of the tournament, said on Friday.

The basketball games, originally held to mark a local festival,     3     (go) viral in 2022, garnering online views of more than 1.5 billion that year. In 2023, the event received over 55 billion views,     4     (far) consolidating its status as a cultural and sporting phenomenon.

In its     5     (three) year, Cun BA remains both a basketball competition and a carnival. On opening day, singers performed,     6     the aim of conveying cultural confidence to the audience and improving awareness of preserving traditional culture, according to the organizers,     7     hope that such activities will attract even more     8     (spectator) to the games.

The Cun BA phenomenon has not only energized the local economy, but has also contributed to the overall development of Taipan village and the surrounding regions. Sports events,     9     (combine) with entertainment activities at the grassroots level,     10     (drive) local cultural and tourism development in a number of regions across the country.

The Organizing Committee for the 9th Asian Winter Games     1     (official) showed the emblem, mascots (吉祥物) and slogan on Thursday for the regional games     2     (schedule) for February 2025 in Harbin, Heilongjiang province.

The mascots of the 9th Asian Winter Games—Siberian tigers “Binbin” and “Nini”—made their public debut (首次亮相) amid cheers at an unveiling ceremony in Harbin. They were created by a team from the Academy of Fine Arts at Tsinghua University, and symbolize the in-depth     3     (explore) and shape of the unique natural and cultural heritage of the Northeast—the Siberian tiger culture. “The archetypes (原型) of Binbin and Nini are two cute little Siberian tigers born in September 2023 at the Siberian Tiger Park in Harbin,” Zhang Qixiang, mayor of Harbin, said at the ceremony. “Their names mean ‘Welcome to Harbin’, and show Harbin’s eager anticipation and sincere welcome to friends from Asian countries.” Binbin represents the ice events as he shows off his winter sportswear and shares his joy of ice dancing,    4     Nini represents the snow events,    5     (wear) traditional Chinese clothes.

In traditional Chinese culture, the tiger is a symbol of good luck and is endowed (赋予) with many positive characteristics, among     6     integrity, strength and courage are highly     7     (consistency) with the Olympic spirit.

The emblem of the 9th Asian Winter Games in 2025—“Breakthrough” —was also created by the team from the Academy of Fine Arts at Tsinghua University, and expresses the beautiful pursuit of accelerating the construction of China’s sports power in the new era, making constant efforts to challenge the goal of higher, faster and stronger, and making new contributions to Asian ice and snow sports.

The slogan of the 9th Asian Winter Games—“Dream of Winter. Love among Asia” —highlights the concept of connecting Asian countries     8     ice and snow, creating new growth     9     (pole) of ice and snow economy, and promoting cultural exchanges between Asian countries, according to the committee.

It also highlights the practice of the vision of “a community with a shared future for mankind”, and the Asian Winter Games should     10     (use) as a link to promote cooperation and common development among Asian countries.

Last year, Chinese from far-off cities flocked to Rongjiang County to watch an amateur village football super league, the VSL, or, CunChao. There was an audience of 50,000 once     1     (attract) to just one game, with millions more watching on Weibo and Douyin.

Football in Rongjiang County has a time-honored history,     2     (date) back to the 1940s. Back then, villagers made appointments to“play football together,”which could happen on any surface — whether it was on a grassland     3     on a concrete courtyard. At present, Rongjiang County has 14 standard football fields, all of     4     open for free. Every village has     5     (it) own team or even teams, with over 1000 players registered in the county. Let’s “play football together,”— a line villagers have     6     (repeat) said for over eight decades, has taken on an evolving implication with time.

The league’s cultural     7     (diverse) is another draw. During breaks in the matches, performances like the grand song of the Dong ethnic group, and the Lusheng dance of the Miao ethnic group were on show just on the pitch with their traditional ethnic costumes     8    .

People’s hopes for the     9     (harmony) countryside as well as the vigor of rural life     10    (bring) out to the fullest on this CunChao game.

On February 10, 2024 ambitious young scientists flooded Brown University’s classrooms and laboratories, ready to put their knowledge to the test at the 7th Annual Brown Science Olympiad tournament, which provided a     1     (true) enriching and enjoyable experience for all involved.

The STEM competition welcomes nearly 1, 000 high schoolers from across New England.     2     (feature) a lineup of 23 diverse challenges, the single-day academic tournament integrates written assessments with hands-on design and build tasks. Each challenge     3     (score) individually, with points awarded based on performance, accuracy and completion of tasks. Teams win by accumulating (累积) the highest total score across all 23 challenges in the tournament.

Contestants get     4     (them) involved in various scientific disciplines, from fundamental subjects like biology, chemistry and physics to     5     (specialize) areas such as astronomy and robotics. Throughout the event, students engage     6     a series of activities in a day filed with curiosity, creativity, exploring the     7     (wonder) of science and pushing the boundaries of their intellectual capabilities.

But the Brown tournament isn’t just about becoming a strong competitor. It also offers a platform for young scientists     8     (wander) Brown’s campus. “With the tournament, you can get an insight into college life and     9     great understanding of the whole college experience,” Golditch a contestant, said. “Participating in the Science Olympiad has been the most valuable experience     10     allows us to explore fun science concepts,” added Golditch.

7 . 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。

The basketball finals of the Village Basketball Association (VBA), an amateur inter-village event     1    (originate) from Taijiang county in Guizhou province, concluded on Oct 28 in Guizhou. Just one month later, another basketball match reawakened     2     passion for the sport in the hearts of Guizhou residents.

On Nov 29, two teams took to a brand-new basketball court-the Gatorade Dream Court     3     (construct) by Gatorade, a sports beverage brand. The spectator stands     4     (fill) with cheering fans, adding to the vibrant atmosphere as the players showcased their skills. Coming from diverse corners of China and representing     5    (vary) professional backgrounds, the players showcased a remarkable unity and impressive athleticism the moment they     6     (step) onto the court, bound together by their shared passion and love for the game.

In 2016, the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council released the “Healthy China 2030” blueprint,     7     serves as a general guideline for promoting the public’s health over the next 15 years. China is     8    (steady) advancing towards overall better health for the nation, as well as becoming an international sports powerhouse,     9     grassroots sports playing a crucial role. The VBA has sparked a trend of organizing village basketball events across the country, reflecting the     10     (enthusiastic) of the Chinese people for grassroots sports.

Curly the robot beats athletes at curling

A robot has beaten top-class humans at the sport of curling (冰壶运动). Klaus-Robert Muller at the Berlin Institute of Technology in Germany and his workmates built the robot,    1    (call) Curly, to master the sport.

In curling, players slide heavy stones down an icy path towards a target (宫垒). Players compete in two teams of four, with most players    2    (take) turns to “throw” a stone or to use brooms (冰壶刷)    3    (sweep) the ice in front of a moving stone. Points are given for stones closest    4     the centre of the target and a team wins by having the highest score.

Curly won three out of four     5    (match) against top-class South Korean women’ s curling teams. The robot throws stones, but doesn’t sweep.

Placed on wheels, the robot has     6     long neck with a video camera to check     7     stones are. Curly’s     8    (power) learning program takes into consideration the position (位置) of other stones and the state of the ice when deciding the next moves. Once the game     9    (begin), Curly continuously learned how to improve on    10    (it) earlier moves, based on the errors it had made.

The Village Super Football League, or the “Cunchao” in Chinese, in Rongjiang county, Southwest China’s Guizhou Province came to an end     1     Saturday night. The grass-roots sport tournament     2     (last) for nearly three months, drawing attention across the country and boosting the local economy in the region.

Each weekend saw the sports facility in Rongjiang county     3     (crowd) by football fans from all over China. Since the beginning of the “Cunchao”, the government of Rongjiang county has set aside a special area for night time economy,     4     (include) free stalls, areas for barbecue, snacks and cold drinks,     5     became another local popular venue following football field.

From July 1 to 16, Rongjiang county recorded     6     total of 921,200 visits, generating income of 1.08 billion yuan.     7     (variety) of local traditional agricultural and textile (纺织品) products also gained huge popularity due to the football tournament     8     the online and offline sales surpassed 20 million yuan, according to the report.

A yellow cow, three black haired pigs and three goats     9     (award) to the winner of the first place, second place and third place of the “Cunchao” tournament,     10     (respective). All the livestock were locally raised.

The medals of the 19th Asian Games were created after nearly two years of team effort.

“We     1     (have) no idea at the beginning. To be honest, it was difficult to deliver Hangzhou’s thousands of years of culture and showcase its unique features to the world in such a small medal,” Zhang recalls.

    2     more than 20 drafts, the final design of the medal features the natural landscape of Hangzhou in the style of a traditional painting--    3     (mist) hills, a rippling lake, and rolling mountains on the front,     4     the back face features the logo of the Olympic Council of Asia.

The design of the medal     5     (highlight) Hangzhou’s ecological importance, with its beautiful scenery, clear water and rolling hills. The bridge-shaped buckle (锁扣) at the top of the ribbon (带子) symbolizes     6     famous water towns of the Yangtze River Delta region.

    7     (participate) in the opening bidding (招标) for the Asian Games project, their designs stood out from more than 4,200     8     (competitor).

“Having the opportunity to participate in the design of the Games is     9     (actual) a lifelong pursuit for us as designers,” says Fang.

The team conducted a great deal of initial research     10     (select) elements that can represent Hangzhou, Zhejiang, and China.