The Champion of No Score
Maggie hated Tuesdays—Tuesdays meant gym class, gym class meant picking teams and picking teams meant Maggie would be picked last.
As a newcomer, she’d come up with a special title for each classmate to remember the other kids. There was Kevin, Champion of the Clean Desk. Lynnie, Champion of Knowing the Answer First… Thinking hard, she finally decided her own title: Champion of Quiet.
Maggie felt blue as Tuesday fell again. Mr. Murphy, the gym teacher, asked for volunteer captains to pick their own basketball teams. The usual hands shot into the air. Maggie sighed and glanced to her right. She caught the eye of Jasmine. Champion of Awkward, a girl who was sometimes picked last, too. Then Maggie had an idea. So when Mr. Murphy asked if anyone else wanted to volunteer, Maggie felt her hand slowly rise. Looking again at Jasmine, she took a big breath. Maybe it was time for her to use her voice.
“Maggie?” Mr. Murphy smiled. “You want a turn?”
“Yes,” she said.
The class whispered. Maggie leading a team?
“Yes,” she answered again, louder this time.
Mr. Murphy waved Maggie to the front, where the other three captains—Champion of Jumping Rope, Champion of Never Misses a Shot, and Champion of Doesn’t Know How to Lose—stood, ready to choose their teams.
“Maggie, you get first pick,” said Mr. Murphy. “Jasmine,” announced Maggie. The class snickered. A joke? More than once, Jasmine had tried to score on the wrong basket. Eyes wide, Jasmine took her place beside Maggie. The other three captains called out familiar names—the best players on the basketball court. It was Maggie’s turn again. “I choose Frank.” Frank (Champion of the Untied Shoelace) could not throw, or catch. He knew what it felt like to be the last pick. But not today.
Three very talented teams took shape. And then there was Maggie’s team. Maggie looked at her teammates. There stood Jasmine and Frank, plus Gillian (Champion of Chatter) and George (Champion of Sleepy). “I have chosen the worst team in the history of the world,” Maggie thought to herself.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150个左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Hand in hand, the Maggie team walked onto the court.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________They did lose big, but something positive began to unfold in them.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2 . Chinese athlete Zhang Weili gave the world something to remember at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 292 in Boston. She kept her strawweight (草量级) champion title with an outstanding performance over Brazil’s Amanda Lemos, setting many striking records in the process.
Zhang, the women’s pound-for-pound number one fighter in the world, arrived on the east coast of America as the favorite against the dangerous Brazilian striker, Lemos.
The superior advantage for Zhang began in the opening round. She landed an early strong low kick to put Lemos down. But just as Lemos appeared close to being stopped, she surprised Zhang with a D’Arce choke (达斯绞). When everyone thought it could be the end for Zhang, the champion’s strength carried her through, taking her out of the choke and into position to deliver a quick beating on the ground.
At the end of the battle, Lemos even got a second chance in the fourth round. But in the end, it was business as usual for Zhang, who nearly ended the fight with a knockdown in the final round, finishing as the winner with a scorecard of 50-43, 50-44, and 49-45.
During the exciting match, Zhang set many new records in women’s Mixed Martial Arts(MMA). She finished with 296 strikes, breaking the previous record of 249 held by Valentina Shevchenko. And with Lemos only connecting 29 times, Zhang also set the record for the largest striking differential in women’s MMA by 267 strikes.
In a post-fight interview, Zhang spoke through a translator to thank the Boston crowd for their energy. “My name is ZhangWeili,” then she said in English, cupping her hand to her ear to raise cheers from the crowd. “I’m from China. Do you remember me?”
1. What made Zhang Weili spotlighted by the world?| A．She donated all she had to UFC292. |
| B．She won world champion titles in a row. |
| C．She set many extraordinary records in UFC292. |
| D．She represented China to participate in the game. |
| A．She called for a time out. | B．The referee stopped Lemos. |
| C．She used a special technique. | D．She used her strength to get out. |
| A．By listing statistics. | B．By explaining reasons. |
| C．By giving examples. | D．By making comparisons. |
| A．Easy-going. | B．Strong-willed. | C．Hard-working. | D．Warm-hearted. |
1. What will the competition try to find next year?
| A．The best dancer. | B．The best actor. | C．The best singer. |
| A．At 10:30 am. | B．At 9:00 am. | C．At 8:00 am. |
| A．It will be free for the first week. |
| B．It will open earlier than expected. |
| C．It will be bigger than the old one. |
| A．On a program. | B．In a gym. | C．At home. |
4 . Best Poetry Writing Contests in 2024
The Poetry. com ContestPoetry. com offers monthly contests for poets worldwide to build passion and enjoyment for the creative poem writing process! Poems remain anonymous (匿名) before applicants vote on what they believe should be the winning entry.
Top Prize: $500
Additional prizes: personalized Poetry. com gifts for runners-up
Entry fee: $25
Deadline: December 31, 2024
Wine Country Writers’ Festival Writing ContestWelcome to the 4th annual Wine Country Writers’ Festival (WCWF) writing contest. Three categories and over$1,800 total value in cash and prizes are to be awarded. Enter your short fiction or nonfiction (2,000 words max) or up to 48 lines of poetry. Judged blindly by professional writers. No previously published works.
Top Prize: $200
Additional prizes: free registration package to the Wine Country Writers’ Festival
Entry fee: $11
Deadline: June 02, 2024
Tom Howard Poetry ContestWelcome to the 20th annual Tom Howard Poetry Contest. Submit your published or unpublished work, a poem in any style, whether it rhymes or not.
Top Prize: $3,000
Additional prizes: $200 for 10 honorable mentions
Entry fee: $20
Deadline: October 01, 2024
The One Page Poetry ContestOne Page Poetry focuses on the art of expressing a poetic theme on a single page, whether your poem is four lines or forty, whether yours is a love poem, inspirational poem, or just one that is fun. We welcome all poetic forms, as long as they fit on a single page.
Top Prize: $2,000
Additional prizes: 2nd: 1,000; 3rd: 500
Entry fee: $25
Deadline: September 30, 2024
1. Which of the following offers the highest top prize?| A．The Poetry. com Contest. | B．WCWF Writing Contest. |
| C．Tom Howard Poetry Contest. | D．The One Page Poetry Contest. |
| A．It is held once a year. | B．It has honorable mentions. |
| C．It judges entries blindly. | D．It accepts other types besides poetry. |
| A．They charge $25 for entry fee. |
| B．They have professionals as judges. |
| C．They require poems on one page. |
| D．They offer tailored gifts as prizes. |
1. What can we learn about Harry?
| A．He won the championship. |
| B．He found the game very easy. |
| C．He was better at snowboarding. |
| A．Refreshed. | B．Exhausted. | C．Grateful. |
At Piedmont Middle School, a kid could run track or play tennis, but everyone wanted to be on the soccer team. Piedmont and the surrounding towns were pretty small, so instead of having separate girls and boys teams, each school had one team made up of both girls and boys. Laura had dreamed of earning glory for the team Los Halcones ever since the first grade when her older brother Toni won in the county middle school championship. Now he was away at college on a soccer scholarship. The day she joined the team as a sixth-grader, she felt like she could fly.
But, unfortunately, her joy didn’t last. She spent most of the season on the bench.
Walking to the car after the last game of the season, Laura tried to smile at her mother. Having spent yet another game sitting on the bench, Laura hadn’t even broken a sweat. “Well, at least you don’t have to wash my uniform,” she joked, but she could feel tears in her eyes. Her mother said, “You still have chances. Don’t lose heart. Toni once made the same mistake. And now you can watch soccer videos to learn more skills when sitting there.” Laura could only shake her head.
Lying in bed that night, Laura thought back to her first game, the day of her huge mistake.
“Pass, pass, pass!”
“Clear that ball!”
Voices yelled from every side. Laura ran nervously in front of the goal (球门) as both teams rushed down the field. She knew the children in green were her teammates. Those in blue were on the other team. At that time, a boy on the opposing team had the ball when a battle for that ball broke out a few feet from her. Green and blue uniforms swirled (打转) around her, and Laura could barely keep track of the ball. Then, suddenly, it came her way!
“Laura, I’m open!” one of her teammates called from near the sideline. Then Laura kicked the ball.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
But the ball went in the completely wrong direction!
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Sitting on the bench for game after game, Laura decided to tell Toni that she wanted to quit.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1. What did the IOC announce on Monday?
| A．The change of the Youth Olympics. |
| B．The time of the Paris Olympic Games. |
| C．The addition of breaking to the Olympics. |
| A．To appeal to young people. |
| B．To make the Olympics fairer. |
| C．To replace old Olympic events. |
| A．Tahiti allows the surfing event. |
| B．Tahiti needs more attention. |
| C．Tahiti is a popular place. |
8 . Reader’s Digest has launched its 2024 Beautiful Britain competition to celebrate the nature, landscapes and urban sides of Britain. The competition is running until the 12th of May and anyone can send in an original photo for consideration.
The aim of the competition is to view Britain from interesting, unique and unusual viewpoints and to focus on its diversity (多样性). Entrants (参赛者) are required to send in a high resolution photo via an entry form or directly by email to photocomps@readersdigest.co.uk for consideration.
Entrants for the competition will also need to include a full name, their location and a contact number, sending in a previously unpublished photo to be considered. Photos sent in will be judged by award winning photographer James Eckersley, who specializes in portraiture.
The winning entry will be featured on the back cover of Reader’s Digest’s July 2024 issue, with the winner also receiving a £400 Amazon voucher and a Royal photographic society membership for a year. The second-place entrant will win a £250 camera world voucher and the third-place will receive either an experience or a workshop course voucher from Jessops. For full details and ways to enter, click here.
About Reader’s Digest:
Launched in 1922, Reader’s Digest has built 100 years of trust with a loyal audience and has become one of the largest circulating magazines in the world. The first UK edition of Reader’s Digest hit the shelves in March 1938 and Reader’s Digest has produced an edition for eager readers every month since then.
1. What is the competition intended to do?| A．Promote British tourism. | B．Attract top photographers. |
| C．Celebrate British diversity. | D．Encourage photo creativity. |
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
| A．A news report. | B．An art book. | C．A magazine. | D．A website. |
Since Anna fell on the mattress from the horizontal bar(高低杠) four days before while doing a somersault (空翻) , she had kept her beautiful and once proud head bent. Now she was back at the Capital Airport from abroad. Upon entering the lobby, Anna wished she could hide her head under her collar. She was ashamed to face the people who had come to welcome her right at the airport, to be interviewed by the reporters, or to meet her sister and brother-in-law. She was even afraid to see the warm-hearted stewardess—one of her admirers. Each time she went abroad from the airport, this stewardess would rush up to help her with her luggage. What a shame that she had absolutely failed!
Two years before, Anna had gone abroad to take part in an international competition for the first time. Among so many girls who had already won fame abroad, she attracted little attention. Yet because her mind was kept free of her anxiety about failure, she unexpectedly won two World Titles. When she returned home that year, she was given an enthusiastic welcome in the same lobby. Many hands stretched out to her, many camera lenses focused on her. A reporter in glasses kept pestering her with the question, “What do you like best?” She was wondering how to respond when she caught sight of a bouquet of flowers. Then she said, “Flowers!” Following her remarks, bunches of flowers were at once presented out to her, too many for her to hold.
This time when Anna was a little off balance on the horizontal bar, she became so worried that she lost self-control and fell off. This failure was followed by several more in other events.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右：
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Afterwards in order to avoid people at the airport, Anna dragged behind the team.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________All of a sudden, she saw a familiar figure.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The boiling hot sun beamed onto us as we walked out for the state-cup finals. The mix of excitement and nervousness created tension in the air as everyone walked out onto the football field. I could feel my heart pounding everywhere in my body as both teams lined up.
Starting midfield, like always. 90-minute game, like always. But this was the most extraordinary stage we’ve ever played on. All parents of us were invited to watch the match. As we got ready for kickoff, fear took over my body. Coach says confidence is the biggest part of the game, but for me, it’s my biggest enemy.
My thoughts were interrupted as the high-pitched whistle stabbed my ears, and the game began. The ball came straight to me. I drove forward, slipped around a defender (后卫), and lost it. On the very next play, I gave it straight away again. I could feel my confidence just seeping away. I told myself I wouldn’t lose it again.
“Come on, Aidan, keep the ball!” shouted Griffin, my teammate. It wasn’t mean or anything. We’ve known each other for years and played together for a long time. But it was not helping. I just played it safe next time and passed it back. Barely even on target, I was losing it. I could feel our coach, Caden’s eyes burning into the back of my head.
“Aidan, stay out wide on the start and get up that field. You’ve done it before, it’s coming to you on this kickoff. Use your speed.” once again shouted Griffin. But I didn’t feel fast enough. I felt like there were rocks tied to my ankles when I ran.
The whistle blew twice for halftime. The score was still 0-0. It was a bad game on our part, sun peeked through my hair into my eyes. My mouth was as dry as a desert.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；2.请按下列格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
“Are you OK?” Griffin passed me a bottle of water.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Exchanging a high-five with the coach, we walked back onto the field.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
