1 . Move over soccer, basketball and football, there’s a new competition sweeping Australia. It’s competitive bird calling. Yes, bird calling!
Scores of kids in New South Wales are spending their spare time practicing for the Bournda Bird Olympics, an event that aims at young bird-callers against each other to see who can deliver the clearest, most enthusiastic and most accurate bird call. The principal of the Bournda Environmental Education Centre, Doug Reckord, encourages the kids to listen to bird calls on YouTube to prepare for the event. The children also work on identifying birds by their beaks, claws and calls.
Surprisingly, the Bournda Bird Olympics isn’t Australia’s first competition with competitive bird calling. The first competition took place in Sydney in 1912. It was supported by the Gould League of Bird Lovers, a foundation that encouraged children to bird watch and learn about birds.
Even back then, New South Wales was the country’s bird calling leader. Students from the New South Wales region had access to much more bird sounds than city kids. They won the Dawson Memorial Shield for best bird calling six times between 1953 and 1962. Today, New South Wales is bringing back the bird calls. Led by the Bournda Environmental Education Centre, the Bournda Bird Olympics renewed in 2018. The event now features former bird calling champion, Bruce Chapman, as the “celebrity” judge.
When showtime finally arrives, three judges at the Bournda Bird Olympics rate people taking part on their enthusiasm, accuracy and clearness. The players can earn a maximum of three points in each type. Some 45 children took part in the 2022 event. The most popular bird call to imitate (模仿) was the kookaburra’s unique laugh. But the winner that year came from a girl copying a king parrot. Her call sounded so accurate that a king parrot in the trees actually called back to her.
1. What’s Doug Reckord’s attitude to bird calling?| A．Curious. | B．Positive. | C．Uncaring. | D．Objective. |
| A．A project. | B．A school club. | C．A game. | D．An organization. |
| A．The basic rules of bird calling. | B．The bright future of bird calling. |
| C．New South Wales’ participation. | D．New South Wales’ training. |
| A．It was true to life. | B．It was the sweetest. |
| C．It was the most popular. | D．It was full of enthusiasm. |
2 . Nowadays, in many places of the world, kids play soccer less than before.
Soccer is a team sport.
Teamwork is a life skill that kids need to learn. Being part of a team isn’t just about learning how to work together and share talents. It’s also about teaching kids how to face failure. It doesn’t end there, either. Being part of a team lets kids know how to take responsibility for their behavior.
Soccer shapes motor skills (运动技能).
Nowadays, many kids prefer to stay in their rooms to have fun through TV, video games and smartphones.
Soccer can improve students’ concentration (专注) in the classroom. Besides, soccer is a fast-paced game, so kids can learn how to solve problems quickly. Plus, soccer is a sport which involves getting the ball from point A to point B. So kids’ visual-spatial (视觉空间) ability can be improved when they play the game, which can help them learn subjects like Physics.
Soccer improves the personal character.
The World Health Organization recommends kid get at least 60 minutes of exercises daily. This isn’t only for the physical benefits but also for the benefits to the personal character.
| A．Youth soccer helps improve family relationships. |
| B．So they have less time outdoors for sports. |
| C．Soccer plays a part in school performance. |
| D．Being part of a team can help you make many friends. |
| E．One cause is that many kids are busy with their studies. |
| F．Usually kids who like sports such as soccer are more outgoing. |
| G．After all, if one player performs badly, the rest of the team will suffer for it. |
