The ancient Xi’an held China’s 14th National Games in September. 【小题1】 (be) the capital of 13 dynasties (朝代) throughout Chinese history, the ancient city has never been far from sports. Starting from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty (618—907), 【小题2】 city has held many sports events. Cuju, the origin (起源) of modern football, was an ancient Chinese 【小题3】 (compete) game requiring kicking a ball into a net.

【小题4】 (describe) as a form of entertainment among the public, Cuju first appeared in the ancient Chinese historical work Zhan Guo Ce (Strategies of the Warring States). In this period, people played the game 【小题5】 fun. Later, Cuju was 【小题6】 (usual) played in the army for military training purposes during the Han Dynasty. Emperor Hangaozu Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Western Han Dynasty not only liked watching Cuju games, but always tried his footwork on the playground. Liu Che, emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, 【小题7】 was crazy about Cuju, would build a Cuju field wherever his army went. He used Cuju as a way 【小题8】 (train) soldiers. The 【小题9】 (early) record of women Cuju players can date back to the Han Dynasty.

As a way of national culture protection, Cuju 【小题10】 (list) into the first group of China’s intangible cultural heritages (非物质文化遗产) in 2006.

Tennis super star Naomi Osaka lit the 2020 Tokyo Olympics flame. The Games 【小题1】 (official) started, although a year late. A possible fifth wave (波) of COVID-19 in Japan’s capital put in doubt 【小题2】 or not they would go ahead. COVID-19 greatly influenced the event. There 【小题3】 (be) no fans and several athletes couldn’t attend the Games after testing positive (阳性的). Japan hoped the Games would show 【小题4】 (it) culture to the world. The opening ceremony (仪式) ended at midnight with 【小题5】 amazing fireworks show.

Only 950 people attended the opening ceremony. Attendees 【小题6】 (include) Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and the US First Lady Jill Biden. Emperor Naruhito declared (宣布) the Games open. President of IOC Thomas Bach said: “It is very 【小题7】 (difference) from what we imagined, but let us value this moment because finally we are all here together. Today is a moment 【小题8】 hope.” Naomi Osaka posted a message on Twitter after 【小题9】 (light) the flame. She said it was “undoubtedly the 【小题10】 (great) honour (荣誉) I will ever have in my life.”

Pedestrianism, an early form of racewalking, was a(n) 【小题1】 (extreme) popular sport in 18th- and 19th-century Britain, 【小题2】 (attract) huge crowds of spectators (观众). Individuals would either aim to walk a certain distance within a(n) 【小题3】 (limit) period of time or compete against other pedestrians.

Perhaps the most famous 【小题4】 (walk) was Captain Robert Barclay Allardice, whose extraordinary (非凡的) achievements earned 【小题5】 (he) the title of the “Celebrated Pedestrian”. The Scotsman’s most memorable performance 【小题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 【小题7】 unlikely that he would complete the challenge, 【小题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 【小题9】 weight.

Since the 20th century, interest in walking as a sport has dropped. Racewalking is still an Olympic sport, but fails 【小题10】 (catch) the public attention as it did.