Pickleball匹克球—流行運動新寵

張艷峰

主題語境：體育運動篇幅：370詞建議用時：7分鐘

1 Pickleball is one of the hottest trends in sports andpopular culture. The International Pickleball Federation， with78 member countries and counting， is working to make surepickleball will be part of the 2028 Olympic Games in LosAngeles.

2 Pickleball takes components from tennis， badmintonand table tennis. It's played on a badminton?sized courtwith a slightly lowered tennis net， using a square bat and asmall perforated （有孔的） plastic ball that's similar in sizeto a tennis ball， but much lighter. Since the lighter balldoesn't bounce as much， it's easier to get hits going.

3 Unlike tennis， you can score only when it's your turn toserve. The goal is to keep the ball in the air， and if your opponent （called the receiver） failsto return the ball over the net， either from the serve or in a rally， you get the point. Be sureto hit with enough force or you'll end up with a falafel—pickleball slang （俚語） for a shotthat falls short of the net. Matches can be played in doubles or singles， and games areplayed to 11 points （and must be won by a difference of at least 2 points）. Lose with a scoreof 110and you've been“ pickled”！

4 Part of the appeal is that pickleball is easy to learn and you don't have to be superathletic to pick it up. Fans range from kids to seniors， with those aged 18 to 34 making upthe fastestgrowingplayer group.

5 Playing the game can improve your handeyecoordination and increase reactiontime. And because you can vary the intensity， pickleball suits serious athletes and weekendwarriors in a similar way. It's a great aerobic （有氧的） workout， and because it's a lowimpactsport， it's easy on your joints.

6 You don't need to join a league or have a pickleball court to get in on the action. Anysmooth surface will work， as long as you have a net， a ball and a bat. People who are reallyinto the sport can join tournaments at various levels. The first World Pickleball Games washeld at the Austin Pickle Ranch in Austin， Texas. By 2030， pickleball is expected to haveas many as 40 million players worldwide.

Reading

Check

1. What's the purpose of the text？

A. To show how popular pickleball is.

B. To tell readers the rules of pickleball.

C. To introduce a kind of sport—pickleball.

D. To encourage readers to play pickleball.

2. Why is pickleball more and more popular？

A. It is hottest in sports and popular culture.

B. It is wellreceived

in those aged between 18 and 34.

C. It is wellknown

for its aerobic workout.

D. It is easy to learn and has low requirements.

3. What does the underlined word“ pickled” mean in paragraph 3？

A. In a surprised state.

B. In a confident mind.

C. In a difficult situation.

D. In a friendly atmosphere.

4. What do you need to do to play pickleball？

A. Take part in a league.

B. Have a pickleball court.

C. Have a net， a ball and a bat.

D. Get equipment and a place.

Language

Study

Ⅰ. Difficult sentence in the text

It's played on a badmintonsizedcourt with a slightly lowered tennis net， using asquare bat and a small perforated plastic ball that's similar in size to a tennis ball， butmuch lighter. 匹克球是用方形球拍和有孔的塑料球在羽毛球場大小的場地上進行的，場地用的是稍低的網(wǎng)球網(wǎng)，塑料球與網(wǎng)球差不多大，但是卻輕得多。

【點石成金】本句中，on a badmintonsizedcourt with a slightly lowered tennis net是介詞短語作地點狀語；using a square bat and a small perforated plastic ball是現(xiàn)在分詞短語作方式狀語；that's similar in size to a tennis ball， but much lighter是定語從句，修飾ball。

Ⅱ. Fill in the blanks with the words and phrases in the box in proper forms.

serve pick up score fail end up with range from increase vary

1. Where did you__________your English？

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3. The jobs__________advertising sales to engineering.

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