1 . With her paddle slicing through the water swiftly, 37-year-old Chinese canoeist (皮筏艇运动员) Xie Maosan enjoyed a significant lead in the women’s KLI canoe final and won the first gold medal of the 4th Asian Para Games on Monday.

Born to a rural family in Anhui Province in 1986 and afflicted by Poliomyelitis (小儿麻痹症), Xie couldn’t _______ before the age of 10. Throughout her childhood, as she recalled, the _______ stares of relatives and mockery from classmates made her more determined to _______ herself.

In her teens, with the _______ and understanding of her mother, Xie decided to master a craft to _______. She packed up her belongings, went to the county to learn tailoring for three years, and then became a tailor. Later, she went to Shanghai to learn CAD pattern-making.

“Regardless of the career path I choose, I always push myself _______. I want to prove to everyone that we are _______ capable,” she shared at the post-race press conference, tears in her eyes.

In 2015, things _______ when news reached her of the national team’s _______ for canoeing talents. Without hesitation, she ________, and at 29, she joined the national canoeing team.

Recalling her initial days, Xie said, “Lacking a foundation in sports, it was truly ________ for me at the beginning. I ________ into the water multiple times during training. Not knowing how to swim, I almost passed out from choking on water.”

Despite all the hardships, ________ to win glory for her country kept Xie going. At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, Xie finished fifth in the women’s KL1 canoeing final. “________ me, canoeing is a ________, as it gave me confidence and a new life,” said Xie.

1.

A．walk

B．hear

C．see

D．speak

2.

A．warm

B．cold

C．angry

D．kind

3.

A．defend

B．prove

C．improve

D．encourage

4.

A．concern

B．favour

C．admission

D．support

5.

A．make a fortune

B．make a difference

C．make a living

D．make a contribution

6.

A．more

B．less

C．better

D．harder

7.

A．definitely

B．equally

C．entirely

D．actually

8.

A．adopted

B．recovered

C．changed

D．started

9.

A．search

B．application

C．expectation

D．research

10.

A．left

B．challenged

C．refused

D．volunteered

11.

A．easy

B．calm

C．painful

D．awesome

12.

A．fell

B．jumped

C．crashed

D．dropped

13.

A．capability

B．desire

C．responsibility

D．attitude

14.

A．As for

B．According to

C．Because of

D．In addition to

15.

A．rebirth

B．relief

C．recovery

D．reward

2 . The Davis Stampede is a long-standing tradition with running and walking. The event includes 5km, 10km, and half marathon routes, which are loop (环形) courses that travel along both roadways and Davis’ tree-lined greenbelts.

Entry to the event includes a short-sleeve T-shirt, a finisher medal, timing and post-race refreshments (点心). Experienced pacers will lead pace groups in the half marathon for goal finish times from 1:30, 1:35, 1:40, 2:55 to 3:00. They can help you reach your goal time, set a new personal best record and have a great race.

A free kids’ fun run is offered to kids aged 13 and under. Both a 1/4-mile course and a 1/2-mile course are offered. The kids’ runs start at 10:30.

Date: Sunday, December 17, 2023

Location: Playfields Park, South Davis

Distance: 5km, 10km, half marathon, kids’ run.

Post-race email: Please read out post-race email (sent to all registered athletes on Sunday, December 17) here.

Photos: Available here

Status of medals: All medals have been distributed to Fleet Feet’s as indicated in the above email, or shipped (based on the county of residence). You can view our list of shipped medals and the shipping date in the email. For those whose medals were shipped, if your medal hasn’t arrived, contact us so that we can track it.

1. How can experienced pacers help people?

A．By teaching them running and walking skills.

B．By completing a full marathon with them.

C．By relaxing their muscles after a race.

D．By helping them get their best results.

2. What is the fact about the Davis Stampede?

A．It has a fairly short history.

B．It is held in the countryside.

C．It is intended for professional runners.

D．It offers free courses for children under 13.

3. What does the post-race email show?

A．The competitor list.	B．The schedule of the race.
C．The shipping date of medals.	D．The organizing committee of the event.

3 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. How often is the contest held?

A．Twice every other year.

B．Once every other year.

C．Once every six months.

2. How long will the contest last?

A．20 minutes.

B．45 minutes.

C．65 minutes.

3. What will the top 10% of all the students in the contest receive?

A．“National Honour Roll” medals.

B．“Team Achievement” medal.

C．“Team Winner” medal.

4. What is the speaker?

A．A senior high student.

B．A maths teacher.

C．A radio host.

4 . The design of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic torch (火炬) was shown on July 25, marking almost a year until the opening ceremony (典礼) of the Paris Olympic Games.

The torch, measuring 70 centimeters and weighing 3.3 pounds, is made with lightweight radiant steel and is known for its champagne color, a color of French white wine.

Mathieu Lehanneur, the designer of the torch said that he drew inspiration from three Paris 2024 symbols-equality, water and   peacefulness. Equality is shown by perfect balance. Peacefulness is shown by the gentleness of the curves. The lower half features a relief pattern that copies the movement of the River Seine, along which the opening ceremony will be held.

It will be the first torch in the history of the Games to be used for both the Olympics and Paralympics. Past designs have shared similarities but are different in shape and color. This is part of the organizing committee’s plan to “build bridges between the Olympic and Paralympic Games”, Paris 2024’s president Tony Estanguet said in a statement.

Equality means putting the same ambition into organising the Paralympic Games as the Olympic Games. Following on from the medals to the mascots, the Olympic and Paralympic Games will share the same torch design.

Equality in the Paris 2024 project is also reflected in the strong promise to equality in the Olympic Games: For the first time in the history of the Games, as many women as men will take part in the competitions. Reflecting this desire for peace, the torch, with its curves and rounded lines, is filled with   gentleness. The design of the torch delivers generosity and unity.

“Such a project is a dream for a designer, because it’s a project that connects something symbolic and technical in one, for a big moment,” Lehanneur said.

1. What is paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．The shape of the torch.

B．The inspiration of the torch.

C．The ceremony of the Games.

D．The location of the opening ceremony.

2. What is special about the torch?

A．It is very heavy.

B．It is perfect in shape.

C．It copies the movement of the River Seine

D．It will be used in the Olympics and Paralympics

3. What can we infer from what Lehanneur said in the last paragraph?

A．He had a passion for sports.

B．He wanted to be a well-known designer.

C．He felt a sense of achievement and pride.

D．He wished to connect everything together.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．A designer realized his dream	B．Inspiration of the 2024 Games
C．Paris 2024 showed torch design	D．Equality, water and peacefulness

5 . 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。

For the last two weeks, 32 women’s football teams have been playing in stadiums (体育场) across Australia and New Zealand as part of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Along the way, there have been some     1    (excite) matches, along with several surprises. Now there are only eight teams     2    (leave).

This is the     3    (nine) Women’s World Cup. The competition     4    (begin) in 1991 and is held every four years. For the first time ever, the competition is being hosted     5    more than one country. The first match took place in New Zealand. The final match will    6     (hold) at Stadium Australia in Melbourne on August 20.

In another change, this year, for the first time ever, 32 teams were invited to compete.   In the past, there were only 24 teams. For the eight     7    (country), this was the first time they’d ever made it into the World Cup.

Some people criticized (批评) the move, saying the new teams were too weak. But several teams     8     were included for the first time performed (表现) very well even beating teams that were expected     9     (do) much better. Morocco beat both South Korea     10    Colombia. Morocco is the only one of the new teams to make it into the final 16 teams in the competition.

6 . 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。

So far, the village soccer super league in Rongjiang county, Southwest China's Guizhou province, has become     1     popular that it has caught the attention of famous figures such as former soccer player Michael Owen.

On June 12, former national soccer player Fan Zhiyi responded     2     an invitation from players from Guizhou's villager soccer super league. Fan expressed his     3     (excite) and promised to join them on June 22 in Rongjiang, where he will also bring his team to play a match with them on June 23.

Before this, Hong Kong movie star Natalis Chan also     4     (challenge) the village soccer super league and promised to bring his celebrity(名人) soccer team for a     5     (friend) match. The celebrity football team includes many famous     6    (star) such as Alan Tam, Eric Tsang, Andy Lau, Hacken Lee, and Jacky Cheung.

The Guizhou village soccer super league’s players,     7    come from all walks of life, include truck drivers, carpenters, shopkeepers, construction workers, farmers, and more. They all share     8     same passion for soccer and are devoted to     9     (put) on an exciting show.

Following the final match of the village soccer super league on July 29, Rongjiang will launch a national invitation competition, inviting teams from all over China     10     (participate) in the event.