1 . No Guts, No Glory? The Fear and Attraction of Risky Winter Sports

Once I went flying off the side of a mountain on skis. Certainly, I didn’t mean to. Before I _________ the ground, there was a surprising amount of time for reflection—and more on the long painful journey down to the ambulance.

The Winter Olympics are here, and I’ll be astonished with my heart in my mouth, watching ski-jumping and people hurtling downhill at _________ speed one way and another. But why are we so attracted to doing, watching and glamorizing dangerous activity? Is it really the thrill (兴奋) of the adrenaline (肾上腺素) rush? I hate that part when I take a big risk of any kind.

It _________ out I’m not the only one. The popular “thrill-seeker” explanation put forward by Marvin Zuckerman and others that sensation seeking is a basic personality trait has been strongly _________. Thrill-seeking is common in the young, especially young males. Many pay a high _________ for it. But our relationship with fear, courage and risk-taking is _________.

Eric Brymer and Robert Schweitzer asked people who had been doing an extreme sport for many years, to reflect   _________ on the experience. For these people, it wasn’t that they didn’t feel fear, or that they were attracted to the feeling of fear. They saw fear as an important tool to _________ danger—and working through it was a transformative experience. Part of the reward was the sense of one-ness with nature that lay beyond the _________.

For me, reading what the research participants said was __________ and there was a lot that was easy to relate to. __________, it seemed as though they believed they were only taking on risks over which they could prevail (战胜). Presumably, many of the people who are severely injured thought so too. I wonder if many who draw the short __________ regret it?

I have an almost total lack of mastery of winter sports. The contrast between my enthusiasm and lack of skill   __________ the somewhat spectacular accident at the start of this post. But just what kind of risks are we talking about with winter sports more commonly? For example, Brian Chaze and Patrick McDonald gathered published data on head injuries in winter sports. They advocated __________ use for sledding and skating as well. Children who hurt their heads sledding need hospitalization twice as much as for head injuries in other sports. Helmets aren’t used much, though.

Perhaps the best __________ from watching the winter Olympians is not the glamour of their risk-taking, but the way they rock those helmets.

1.

A．left

B．hit

C．flew

D．lost

2.

A．short-lived

B．mind-numbing

C．break-neck

D．long-drawn-out

3.

A．turns

B．hangs

C．takes

D．bursts

4.

A．applauded

B．prohibited

C．recommended

D．challenged

5.

A．interest

B．respect

C．priority

D．price

6.

A．simple

B．straightforward

C．complicated

D．close

7.

A．swiftly

B．deeply

C．intensely

D．temporarily

8.

A．identify

B．dread

C．treasure

D．conduct

9.

A．experience

B．society

C．fear

D．environment

10.

A．enlightening

B．distressing

C．entertaining

D．confusing

11.

A．Hence

B．Furthermore

C．Rather

D．However

12.

A．scene

B．picture

C．odds

D．straw

13.

A．stands for

B．accounts for

C．checks out

D．points out

14.

A．belt

B．helmet

C．protection

D．blade

15.

A．take-away

B．carry-out

C．take-off

D．try-out

2 . Directions: Read the following three passages. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.

Are Competitive Game Harmful to Children?

There is a cry of rage, and a tennis racket crashes to the ground. Jake, age 7, has just lost another match and is now in tears beside the court. His sister Sally, just one year older, looks at her mother and rolls her eyes: it is hard to enjoy when this keeps happening. It is not an unusual situation, and it is one reason why many people argue that competition is bad for children. However, the truth is that competitive games are a valuable preparation for life.

Games with winners and losers given children the chance to experience life’s ups and downs. Take Jake, for example: even though is unhappy now, he will probably be smiling and laughing with his sister in a few minutes, just like the last time this happened. Gradually, he will learn that the world does not end when you lose a game. Eventually, he may even be able to lose with a smile on his face. This is an important lesson. Not everything in life goes the way you would like, and it is important to know how to handle disappointment when it occurs.

Children who participate in competitive games develop qualities that will allow them to succeed in the complex world of adult life. For example, one of the missions of the Youth Olympic Games is to inspire young people to adopt the Olympic values, which include striving, determination, and optimism. Competition creates the desire to do better. Children have to learn to succeed in a competitive atmosphere in order to take advantage of opportunities in the future. Although it is possible to win by chance occasionally, people who win and keep winning work very hard to achieve their success.

Of course, there are parents who argue that children of Jake’s age are too young to handle the pain of losing. But whether we like it or not, adult life is very competitive, and keeping children away from competition does them more harm than good.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Rosa's Sports Photo Competition Entry

Ice hockey is played on an ice rink with a goal net at each end. Two teams on skates compete to score goals by using a stick, curved at one end,     1    (hit) a small, hard rubber disc, called a puck. There may be 20 players in each team, but only six can be on the rink at any time. One of them is the goalkeeper, who     2    (allow) to catch the puck or block it with any part of their body, as well as with their sick. Ice hockey has always been most popular in places     3     cold winters, for example in Canada, northern European, countries and the northern states of the USA. However, with indoor ice rinks, many other countries have started competing in this sport and ice hockey events held all year around.

In this photo,     4    (take) during a match between Hungary and Holland, you can see two players who are trying to control the puck. Their bodies are bumping together and the Dutch player is finding it hard to keep his balance on one leg, but they are both concentrating on reaching the puck with their sticks. I chose this action photo because it shows     5     exciting and competitive the game is. The light shining on the ice gives you an idea of the hard surface,     6     makes ice hockey the fastest team sport in the world. The puck can travel up to 160 kph and players may shake at about 40 kph. They must be ready to race forward, stop or turn quickly and changes suddenly from attacking to defending.

Also,     7     the photo shows, ice hockey is a very physical contact sport. Injuries are common, especially     8     players crash into each other. In the photo you can see the helmets that protect their heads and the thick pads that are worn on their legs, knees and shoulders. The game is so challenging that players can usually only stay on the ice for about two minutes before     9     (replace). It is their amazing physical skill and speed     10     make ice hockey so exciting to watch.