1 . As a hockey parent, while watching my son played from Mite to Bantam, House League to Travel, I’ve learned that losing may be best for kids.

In his third season in 2019, my son’s team never lost more than three straight games. There was happiness, boasting, celebration, pizza. In short, it was a typically good youth hockey season. He improved as a player, but did not much change as a person.

However, what happened the next year added its story to the legends of sporting incompetence. Not merely weak but prettily bad, this team lost 40 of their first 50 games, most of the defeats coming in the course of two losing streaks. For a time, I worried that these streaks would kill my child’s love of the game.

But that’s not what happened. As bad as it got, the losing was clarifying. It weeded out the kids who were in it less for the game than the glory, leaving just the die-hards behind. What started as a list of 17 of the team was cut down to 12. It was especially instructive for the kids. It taught him a great truth of the world: For everyone good, there is someone better.

What’s more, the kids were learning the game in a way that only losing can teach. Each player got to play everywhere, to learn and appreciate the role of every position on the ice. They kept an eye on their opponents too, studying and incorporating the tricks of success. In an effort to break the streak, they went back to basics, accepted the wisdom of the hockey ancients: If playing like a team, they can defeat a collection of all-stars; If doing small and unappreciated tasks well, they can get the goal.

This new team had character and could never be counted out, no matter the score. They had learned the most important lesson: You can lose without being beaten. They squeaked into the state tournament, then made it all the way to the final, where the winner was decided in overtime. When they lost that game and went into the handshake line, it was not as runners-up but as a team that had been made into winners in the only way that will stick — by losing.

1. What does the author think about the son’s team in the third season in 2019?

A．The team had a bad performance.

B．The team didn’t live up to the author’s expectations.

C．The team played typically well and won all the games.

D．The team didn’t have the spirit of facing failure.

2. What does the underlined word “clarify” refer to?

A．The losing made the kids better understand hockey.

B．The losing helped the kids learn a great truth of the world.

C．The losing separated true player from those playing for glory.

D．The losing boosted the kids’ teamwork.

3. According to the author, what have the son’s team learned?

A．For everything big, there is something bigger.

B．Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

C．God helps those who help themselves.

D．The hardest battle you’re going to fight is the battle to be just you.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．How Kids Can Deal With Losing	B．What Kids Can Learn From Losing
C．Why Kids Can Benefit From Losing	D．How Kids Can Get Over From Losing

2 . When Baron Pierre de Coubertin set up the first modern Olympics in Athens in 1896, he declared that “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning, but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering, but fighting well.”     1    

The hosting countries spend huge amounts of money to hold the 16-day event.     2     And that money is not spent to come in fourth; the only thing that matters is having “the best Games” and winning medals—preferably gold.

The figures are enormous! Depending on who you ask, China spent 40 billion dollars on the Beijing Olympics and Russia invested 50 billion in Sochi. In terms of money for athletes, the UK spent over 400 million dollars supporting 1,300 top competitors. This funding is directly linked to success: those who fail to achieve their targets will have their funding cut and, in some cases, completely removed.     3    

In both sports and life, you tend to get what you pay for.     4     China came in first in Beijing, and Great Britain got its highest ranking in over 100 years in 2016. The question is whether this search for success at all costs comes at the expense of investing in something which is arguably more valuable: local clubs and competitions; facilities for people to stay healthy and play for fun.

    5     However, this feeling is only temporary, while taking part in regular exercise and sports has been shown to have long-term physical and psychological benefits. Given this, surely spending more money on increasing sports participation from the lowest levels up would be a better way of tackling some of the health and social challenges that many countries face.

A．So much for the value of just “taking part”.

B．The more money you spend, the better the results.

C．Seeing your team win can obviously lift your spirits.

D．The Rio and London Games each cost between 14 and 18 billion dollars.

E．Many of the countries taking part invest huge sums in programs for elite(精英的) athletes.

F．There are around 400,000 young people in this system, whose main purpose is to win glory for their nation.

G．These days, it can seem that this core principle has been forgotten, overtaken by the other motto de Coubertin is known for: “faster, higher, and stronger”.