阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Pedestrianism, an early form of racewalking, was a(n) 1. (extreme) popular sport in 18th- and 19th-century Britain, 2. (attract) huge crowds of spectators (观众). Individuals would either aim to walk a certain distance within a(n) 3. (limit) period of time or compete against other pedestrians.
Perhaps the most famous 4. (walk) was Captain Robert Barclay Allardice, whose extraordinary (非凡的) achievements earned 5. (he) the title of the “Celebrated Pedestrian”. The Scotsman's most memorable performance 6. (take) place in 1809, when he walked 1,000 miles in 1,000 hours for a bet of 1,000 guineas (an old British unit of money). Many considered 7. unlikely that he would complete the challenge, 8. required him to walk a mile an hour, for forty-two days and nights. He proved them wrong, though the task was so physically demanding that by the end of the walk he had lost nearly fifteen kilos 9. weight.
Since the 20th century, interest in walking as a sport has dropped. Racewalking is still an Olympic sport, but fails 10. (catch) the public attention as it did.
The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall was the part of the Great Wall I liked to visit. ____, one day in May 2000, I chose something wilder, more ____: Simatai. This section of the Great Wall has far fewer visitors than most other sections of the wall.
At the entrance to Simatai was a group of vendors (小贩) trying to ____ postcards. One tiny old lady seemed to ____ me wherever I went, and I was becoming increasingly ____. “How many times does it take for ‘No!' to sink in?” I thought. I finally ended up running away just to ___ this tiny woman.
Once I caught sight of the Great Wall, ____ overtook me, and the tiny old lady with the postcards ____ from my thoughts. I raced up the Great Wall ____. Then, halfway up, I stopped and suddenly realised I was rushing along a ____ “path” no wider than a meter. There were ____ “walls” — only steep drops on either side. I remembered then that ____ had fallen to their deaths in this section. I was so fearful that I ____ there completely stock-still.
Suddenly, I felt a small hand on my back and a ____ voice telling me, in Chinese, not to be ___, that she would slowly lead me to the top. Half an hour later, we ____ a section that had a few remnants (剩余的小部分) of the wall. I was able to turn around to see who had given such ____ to me in my hour of greatest ____. It was the tiny old lady I'd told a dozen times — eventually shouting at her — that I didn't want any ____. I felt really ____ of myself. I gave her a big hug, and then later bought every one of her postcards.
1.A. Instead B. However C. Therefore D. Besides
2.A. pleasant B. important C. popular D. challenging
3.A. sell B. count C. write D. collect
4.A. support B. follow C. need D. protect
5.A. puzzled B. upset C. lonely D. active
6.A. meet B. help C. escape D. greet
7.A. doubt B. surprise C. nervousness D. excitement
8.A. learned B. benefited C. disappeared D. suffered
9.A. recently B. impatiently C. secretly D. immediately
10.A. familiar B. dangerous C. correct D. crowded
11.A. no B. some C. enough D. many
12.A. shoppers B. owners C. vendors D. tourists
13.A. hid B. sat C. lay D. stood
14.A. silly B. female C. sleepy D. childish
15.A. afraid B. sorry C. lazy D. shy
16.A. left B. crossed C. avoided D. reached
17.A. friendship B. experience C. kindness D. imagination
18.A. pain B. fear C. anger D. regret
19.A. guides B. routes C. postcards D. foods
20.A. proud B. certain C. careful D. ashamed
Tips to stay safe and make smart choices
Even if you’re a genius (天才) at school, you still might be lost when it comes to getting from point A to point B. Don’t get caught in a strange place without these basic safety tips.
★Know where you’re going.
Before you set out in an unfamiliar area, go to Google Maps to plan your journey and print it out. 1. Make sure that the location services are turned on on your phone, just in case you get lost.
★Know where your stuff is.
Never leave your backpack or shopping bags out of your sight. Carry your wallet in your front pocket or keep it close to your body. 2. A fun day out can turn into the worst headache ever if you realize you’ve left something behind.
★3.
If you have the choice between a busy street and a deserted one, always pick the busy one. You are more likely to be attacked on dark, empty sidewalks than on ones with a crowd.
★Travel in packs.
Don’t go anywhere — especially an unfamiliar place — without a friend or two. 4.
★Don’t let your music drown you out.
There’s nothing wrong with listening to your iPod as you walk around town, but keep it at a low enough volume (音量) so you can still hear passing cars. Losing concentration puts you at risk from accidents, attacks and getting lost. 5. Don’t do it. Keep your head up and pay attention to the people and things going on around you.
A. Pick your streets smart.
B. Always choose your own ways.
C. Be sure you’ve got everything at all times.
D. Take out your phone and call the police.
E. This also goes for texting while walking.
F. You can also use your phone’s GPS to map the route.
G. If you must go out alone, be sure to tell someone where you’re going.
Dressing against the cold is hard when you're a 6,000-pound elephant. But thanks to some generous knitters (编织者) in Mathura, India, a group of elephants have giant handmade sweaters to help them stay warm during the cold winter. When worn with their bright red leg coverings, their new outfits look like comfortable nightclothes for them!
The huge sweaters were made for elephants at the Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation and Care Center. It takes care of 20 blind, lame, or injured elephants. They were saved from abuse (虐待). Some lived in circuses, some were bought and sold illegally, and some were not receiving enough care. In India, elephants are sometimes kept in crowded inner cities and used in street performances or for begging. This causes physical and emotional harm to the wild animals. Wildlife SOS provides food, care, and medical attention to those animals.
Because most of the elephants housed at the center are recovering from injuries or are elderly, “it is important to keep our elephants protected from the bitter cold during this extreme winter,” explains Kartick Satyanarayan, the co-founder and CEO of Wildlife SOS. “They are weak and vulnerable (脆弱的), having suffered so much abuse, making it easy for them to catch diseases such as pneumonia (lung infection). The cold also worsens their arthritis (关节炎), which is a common issue that our saved elephants have to deal with.”
At first, Wildlife SOS made giant jackets out of tarp (防水帆布) for the elephants to wear. Then they asked people in nearby villages to help out by making colorful knitted sweaters. Knitting the sweaters is a big undertaking. Each one takes about four weeks to create, with volunteers working together on the very large sweaters. Wildlife SOS hopes to save 50 more elephants this year — which means there could be a lot more knitting to do!
1.What can we learn about the knitted sweaters for elephants?
A. They are made of tarp.
B. They are all in bright red.
C. They are made entirely by hand.
D. They are designed for the elderly.
2.What do the 20 elephants who dress in huge sweaters have in common?
A. They are all good at street performances.
B. They all weigh over 6,000 pounds.
C. They were all found in the wild.
D. They were all badly treated.
3.What does Kartick Satyanarayan mainly explain?
A. The current situation of elephants in India.
B. The possibility of better protecting elephants.
C. The necessity of making sweaters for elephants.
D. The reason why Wildlife SOS rescues elephants.
Recent studies have shown that challenging your brain, by spurring (刺激) the brain to create new patterns, is very important to keep your brain active and healthy as you age. Lifelong learning is a health club for our minds, bodies and spirits. This is why we parents should also teach our children to be lifelong learners. Dr. Marilyn Price-Mitchell, an American psychologist, and youth development expert, shares some ways for us to do this.
1. Ask questions.
When your child asks you a question, don't answer it straight away. Instead, help him or her bring up “questions that pique their curiosity.” This way, we help children make connections between what they're learning at school and the world beyond their classroom. We also show them that learning does not, and should not, end when one is “done with school” — it's actually a lifelong process!
2. Let them fail.
Our kids love learning about different scientific concepts (概念) via The Magic School Bus videos on YouTube. And one of the characters, Miss Frizzle (the science teacher) always says this phrase: “Take chances, make mistakes, and get messy.” I always quote (引述) her when the kids say they're afraid to do or learn something because they might do it wrong or make a mistake. If we don't allow our kids to fail, they won't be able to learn to “use mistakes and failures to make lifelong learning easier,” as Dr. Price-Mitchell says.
3. Learn through experience.
This is very true for all of us, especially children. In the words of Dr. Price-Mitchell, “Learning through experience, not just from books, is one of the best ways to give the youth the skills they need for lifelong learning, living, and working in the 21st century.”
Of course, we should also set an example for our children — by learning continuously, and expanding our knowledge and experiences.
1.What does the underlined word “pique” in the text probably mean?
A. Change.
B. Awaken.
C. Balance.
D. Prevent.
2.What's the author's attitude to what Miss Frizzle always says?
A. Worried.
B. Doubtful.
C. Uncaring.
D. Supportive.
3.Which of the following shows the importance of learning through experience?
A. Learning is not child's play; we cannot learn without pain.
B. It is not that I'm so smart. But I stay with the questions much longer.
C. If you don't learn to think when you are young, you may never learn.
D. Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.
4.In which part of a newspaper will the text most probably appear?
A. Health.
B. Culture.
C. Education.
D. Popular science.
Rugby players have a reputation of being big, strong and rude on the field. But Takamasa Hoshiyama, 17, says the reality of rugby is very different from what it looks like.
“Whatever your size or speed, anyone can play rugby,” says the Island School student, who also plays on the U19 Hong Kong rugby team.
Taka has been playing rugby since he was just four years old, following in the footsteps of his father. “My dad played rugby and he was keen (渴望的) for me to play,” says Taka. A lot has happened to Taka since his first game with his father. In the 2014 New Year's Day game against the Overseas Barbarians, he was named Man of the Match, and has taken the role of captain in his club team.
And of course, he's grown throughout his years of playing rugby — in more ways than one. “When I started playing, I was scrum-half (争球前卫), usually the smallest guy on the field,” says Taka. “But as I grew, I changed position. Now I am a front row prop — one of the big guys that holds the scrum together.”
“Rugby has done a lot for me,” he says. “It has really made me focused, and that is thanks to my coaches as well as my teammates who brought me to where I am now.”
Taka says that being part of a team and experiencing that growth together is one of the best parts of the sport. “Rugby creates a unity within the team and helps develop a mutual (相互的) respect between other teams and players,” he explains. “Training is hard and matches are physically demanding, but it is a team sport and you have to do your job for the team.”
Now Taka wants to help others experience the same growth he has. In his free time, he coaches younger rugby teams. He says it is especially rewarding to find “unusual strengths and capabilities within players and encourage them to work on those.”
1.What does Taka think of rugby?
A. It requires fast speed.
B. It has a role for everyone.
C. It's a game full of violence.
D. It's too competitive for kids.
2.What has happened to Taka since he started playing rugby?
A. He has realized what his father never could.
B. He has built up both his physical and mental strength.
C. He has played for the Overseas Barbarians for three years.
D. He has taken the role of captain in the Hong Kong rugby team.
3.According to Taka, what serves the most important role in playing rugby?
A. Having a high level of physical fitness.
B. Owning some unusual strengths.
C. Building a strong team spirit.
D. Having a fun-loving attitude.
4.What's Taka hoping to do now?
A. To coach national rugby teams.
B. To become a professional rugby player.
C. To get the leading role in his club team.
D. To encourage more people to enjoy rugby.
