Jumping across cities
Forget about expensive gyms; the new sport in cities is free-running. Since it started in a Paris suburb around 1995, free-running has attracted lots of fans in cities around the world. Instead of walking normally, free-runners jump over or around anything―cars, buildings, trees, or streetlights―in their way.
One of the sport’s inventors told our reporter how free-running started.
It was boring where we lived. There was nothing for us to do after school. We had done playground games like football and basketball when we were kids but we wanted something new and exciting. We started learning how to jump and run between buildings―and we loved it. Walking is a waste of time. Free-runners have to use their imaginations. Everything―a tree, a streetlight―is part of our outdoor gym. We’re like children because we have never stopped playing in the street.
The sport’s website has lots of rules, for example, don’t break people’s windows, don’t jump on flowerbeds and don’t be rude to people who want you to stop. Safety is also very important. You must start with the easy moves―you have to do thousands of small practice jumps before you try anything difficult. If you made only one mistake, you might hurt yourself badly.
A local person said, “It’s good that young people have something to do. But when they jump off buildings like cats, they sometimes frighten other people.”
Don’t try this at home: the basics of free-running
Blind Jump: a jump where you can’t see the landing spot.
Tic-tac: run and put your foot on a small step, go forward and jump over the next thing.
Basic Jump: run and jump, land on two feet while bending your knees. To finish roll into head-over-heels.
Cat Jump: run towards a wall, put both hands on the top of the wall and jump through your arms.
Free-running started __________.
| A．about twenty years ago | B．with the help of schools |
| C．in big cities of America | D．among famous sportsmen |
Free-runners shouldn’t ____________.
| A．use their imaginations | B．start with the easy moves |
| C．jump on flowerbeds | D．run between buildings |
According to the passage, free-running is a（n）__________sport.
| A．ancient | B．expensive |
| C．safe | D．exciting |
The purpose of this passage is to ___________.
| A．explain the importance of outdoor activities |
| B．introduce some information about free-running |
| C．warn children not to join in dangerous sports |
| D．advise people to do more exercise at home first |
Young children whose mothers talk with them more frequently and in more detail about people’s thoughts and feelings tend to be better at taking another person’s perspective（观点）than other children of the same age.
That’s what researchers from the University of Western Australia found in a new study published in the journal Child Development.
“Parents who frequently put themselves in someone else’s shoes in conversations with their children make it more likely their children will be able to do the same,” said lead author Brad Farrant.
Researchers of the UWA’s Telethon Institute for Child Health Research looked at the influence of how parents interact with their children to learn more about how people develop the ability to take another’s perspective.
The two-year study involved more than 120 Australian children aged between four and six, including children with typically developing language and others delayed in language acquisition（习得）.
The children completed tasks which were designed to assess their language skills, ability to infer others’ beliefs and use these to predict others’ behavior, and their ability to shift flexibly between different perspectives.
Among children with typically developing language, the researchers found that mothers who talked more often and in greater detail about people’s thoughts and feelings — commenting on how another person might react to a particular situation as well as their own feelings about the topic — had children with better language skills and better perspective-taking skills.
Children with delayed language acquisition were also delayed in their development of perspective-taking skills. This displays the role played by language as children develop the ability to take another’s perspective.
“Solving the many challenges that the world faces today requires us all to get better at taking the perspective of other people,” said Brad Farrant.According to the text, to help children gain better perspective-taking skills, parents should __________.
| A．give their children more chances to express themselves |
| B．talk more with their children about people’s feelings |
| C．encourage their children to guess other people’s thoughts |
| D．spend more time playing with their children |
Which of the following is TRUE about the study?
| A．Over one hundred American children took part in it. |
| B．All the children had delayed in language acquisition. |
| C．The children in the study were around five years old. |
| D．Mothers helped their children to complete the tasks. |
Which have an effect on the development of children’s perspective-taking skills?
| A．The surrounding environments. |
| B．Mother’s perspectives. |
| C．Personal characters. |
| D．Language skills. |
In the last paragraph, Brad Farrant __________.
| A．stressed the importance of perspective-taking skills |
| B．expressed his concern about the world’s challenges |
| C．showed how to take the perspective of other people |
| D．explained why other people’s opinions are important |
According to the text, we can learn __________.
| A．parents should talk to their children frequently no matter how old their children are |
| B．it was Brad Farrant who wrote the study in Child Development herself |
| C．the only way to improve language skill is talking to children more often |
| D．parents who are always thinking about others will help their children do the same way |
Famous as “the king of chefs and the chef of kings,” Auguste Escoffier helped raise the position of cooking from a laborer’s task to an artist’s job. Escoffier was born on October 28, 1846, in the small village of Villeneuve-Loubet, near Nice, France. Among the key figures in the boy’s life was his father, who worked primarily as a blacksmith（铁匠）. His grandmother, an enthusiastic cook, was perhaps more responsible than anyone for introducing the boy to an appreciation of the delights of cooking.
Young Escoffier attended the local school until age 12, upon which time his father thought it necessary that the boy learn a trade. In school he had shown a talent for drawing, yet he was told to regard this art only as a hobby, and to find his career in a more practical profession. Thus his father took him to Nice in 1859, where he would work as an apprentice（学徒）in his uncle’s restaurant, the respectable Le Restaurant Francais.
At Le Restaurant Francais, Escoffier was not treated as the close relative of the boss. Rather, he experienced a classically demanding apprenticeship. For this strictness of training he would later, in his memoirs（回忆录）, express gratefulness. During this time Escoffier also attended night school, and had to deal with his studies as well as the demands of a promising career.
When Escoffier was 19 and had taken on yet more responsibilities in his uncle’s restaurant, a customer recognized his skills and offered him work in Paris. This was the owner of Le Petit Moulin Rouge, one of the finest restaurants in Paris, where Escoffier was to become a sous-chef, ranking below the head chef. After three years in this position, he rose to the level of head chef, wearing the respected chef’s hat. It was his __________ who first influenced Escoffier to be interested in cooking.
| A．father | B．mother | C．uncle | D．grandmother |
We can infer that as a schoolboy, Escoffier might hope to be __________.
| A．a chef | B．a businessman | C．an artist | D．a blacksmith |
According to Paragraph 3, Escoffier __________.
| A．was badly treated by his uncle |
| B．showed great interest in writing |
| C．disliked working as an apprentice |
| D．was thankful for the strict training |
Which of the following can best describe Escoffier?
| A．Hard-working. | B．Honest. | C．Warm-hearted. | D．Modest. |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．How to become a chef in France. |
| B．The influence of Auguste Escoffier. |
| C．What an apprentice is required to do. |
| D．The early life of a famous French chef. |
I still clearly remember that day. I was on the side of the road for close to four hours with my big Jeep. I put signs in the windows that said, “NEED A JACK（千斤顶）”.
Right as I was about to give up, a truck stopped and a man got off. He sized up the situation and went back to take a jack. After about two hours, we finished the job with sweats. We were both dirty. His wife produced a large water jug for us to wash our hands in.
I tried to put $20 in the man’s hand, but he wouldn’t take it, so instead I went up and gave it to his wife as quietly as I could. I thanked them up one side and down the other. I asked the little girl, their daughter, where they lived, thinking maybe I’d send them a gift. She said they lived in Mexico. They were in Oregon now so Mommy and Daddy could pick cherries for the next few weeks. After that, they were going to pick peaches, and then go back home.
After I said my goodbyes and started walking back to the Jeep, the girl called out and asked if I’d had lunch. When I told her no, she ran up and handed me a tamale（玉米粽子）. I thanked them again and walked back to my car. When I opened the tamale, what did I find inside? My $20 bill! I ran to the van and the guy rolled down his window. He saw the $20 in my hand, started shaking his head smiling, and with what looked like great concentration said in English: “Today you, tomorrow me.” Then he rolled up his window and drove away, with his daughter waving to me from the back.
This family, working on a seasonal basis where time is money, took a couple of hours to help a stranger while others passed by quietly.
Since then I’ve helped many people like the Mexican family. I didn’t accept money. But every time I was able to help, I felt as if I was putting something in the bank.From the passage we know that __________.
| A．the Mexican man couldn’t speak English |
| B．the author’s car broke down on the road |
| C．the Mexican family came to Oregon for a visit |
| D．$20 was a small amount for the Mexican family |
Why did the author give the money quietly to the man’s wife?
| A．Because the man had refused to accept it. |
| B．Because the man’s wife needn’t wash her hands. |
| C．Because the author thought the Mexican family was poor. |
| D．Because the author thought the man’s wife would take it. |
The Mexican man helped the author because he tended to think that ___________.
| A．it was completely wrong for others to pass by quietly |
| B．it was quite easy to help the author mend the jeep |
| C．it was possible that everyone might get into trouble |
| D．the author was a polite stranger and deserved the help |
Which of the following is TRUE about the author?
| A．He hated those who didn’t offer help. |
| B．He would send a present to the family soon. |
| C．He wondered why they didn’t take the money. |
| D．He considered helping others as saving money in the bank. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．The Mexican family lived a richer life than the author. |
| B．The Mexican family did seasonal work in Oregon each year. |
| C．The author was inspired to help others by the Mexican family. |
| D．What made the writer moved was the tamale given by the girl. |
Sport is not only physically challenging, but it can also be mentally challenging. Criticism from coaches, parents, and other teammates, as well as pressure to win can create an excessive amount of anxiety or stress for young athletes(运动员). Stress can be physical, emotional, or psychological and research has indicated that it can lead to burnout. Burnout has been described as dropping or quitting of an activity that was at one time enjoyable.
The early years of development are critical years for learning about oneself. The sport setting is one where valuable experiences can take place. Young athletes can, for example, learn how to cooperate with others, make friends, and gain other social skills that will be used throughout their lives. Coaches and parents should be aware, at all times, that their feedback to youngsters can greatly affect their children. Youngsters may take their parents' and coaches' criticisms to heart and find a flaw (缺陷) in themselves.
Coaches and parents should also be cautious that youth sport participation does not become work for children. The outcome of the game should not be more important than the process of learning the sport and other life lessons. In today's youth sport setting, young athletes may be worrying more about who will win instead of enjoying themselves and the sport. Following a game many parents and coaches focus on the outcome and find fault with youngsters' performances. Positive reinforcement should be provided regardless of the outcome. Research indicates that positive reinforcement motivates and has a greater effect on learning than criticism. Again, criticism can create high levels of stress, which can lead to burnout.An effective way to prevent the burnout of young athletes is ______
| A．to reduce their mental stress |
| B．to increase their sense of success |
| C．to make sports less competitive |
| D．to make sports more challenging |
According to the passage sport is positive for young people in that ____ .
| A．it can help them learn more about society |
| B．it enables them to find flaws in themselves |
| C．it can provide them with valuable experiences |
| D．it teaches them how to set realistic goals for themselves |
Many coaches and parents are in the habit of criticizing young athletes ______ .
| A．believing that criticism is beneficial for their early development |
| B．without realizing criticism may destroy their self confidence |
| C．in order to make them remember life's lessons |
| D．so as to put more pressure on them |
According to the passage parents and coaches should _____________ .
| A．pay more attention to letting children enjoy sports |
| B．help children to win every game |
| C．train children to cope with stress |
| D．enable children to understand the positive aspect of sports |
The author's purpose in writing the passage is ____________ .
| A．to teach young athletes how to avoid burnout |
| B．to persuade young children not to worry about criticism |
| C．to stress the importance of positive reinforcement to children |
| D．to discuss the skill of combining criticism with encouragement |
Driving to a friend’s house on a recent evening, I was attracted by the sight of the full moon rising just above my friend’s rooftop. I stopped to watch it for a few moments, thinking about what a pity it is that most city people --- myself included --- usually miss sights like this because we spend most of our lives indoors.
My friend had also seen it. He grew up living in a forest in Europe, and the moon meant a lot to him then. It had touched much of his life.
I know the feeling. Last December I took my seven-year-old daughter to the mountainous jungle of northern India with some friends. We stayed in a forest rest house with no electricity or running hot water. Our group had campfires outside every night, and indoors when it was too cold outside. The moon grew to its fullest during our trip. Between me and the high mountains lay three or four valleys. Not a light shone in them and not a sound could be heard. It was one of the quietest places I have ever known, a bottomless well of silence. And above me was the full moon, which struck me deeply.
Today our lives are filled with glass, metal, plastic and fiber-glass. We have television, cell phones, pagers, electricity, heaters and ovens and air-conditioners, cars, computers.
Struggling through traffic that evening at the end of a tiring day, most of it spent indoors, I thought, “Before long, I would like to live in a small cottage. There I will grow vegetables and read books and walk in the mountains. And perhaps write, but not in anger. I may become an old man there, and wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled and measure out my life in coffee spoons. But I will be able to walk outside on a cold silent night and touched the moon.”The best title for the passage would be _________.
| A．Touched by the Moon |
| B．The Pleasures of Modern Life |
| C．A Bottomless well of Silence |
| D．Break away from Modern life |
The writer felt sorry for himself because __________.
| A．there was too much pollution. |
| B．he failed to see the fullest moon. |
| C．he didn’t adapt to modern inventions |
| D．there were too many accidents on the road. |
What impressed the writer most in the mountainous jungle of northern India?
| A．No modern equipment. | B．Complete silence. |
| C．The nice moon. | D．The high mountain. |
Modern things are mentioned mainly to ___________.
| A．show that the writer likes city life very much. |
| B．tell us that people greatly benefit from modern life. |
| C．explain that people have less chances to enjoy nature. |
| D．show that we can also enjoy nature at home through them. |
The author wrote the passage to __________.
| A．express the feeling of returning to nature. |
| B．show the love for the moonlight. |
| C．advise modern people to learn to live. |
| D．want to communicate longing for modern life. |
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