Part A: Reading Comprehension
Text 1
Every Saturday morning, at 9 am, more than 50,000 runners set off to run 5km around their local park. The Parkrun phenomenon began with a dozen friends and has inspired 400 events in the UK and more abroad. Events are free, staffed by thousands of volunteers. Runners range from four years old to grandparents; their times range from Andrew Baddeley’s world record 13 minutes 48 seconds up to an hour.
Parkrun is succeeding where London’s Olympic “legacy” is failing. Ten years ago on Monday, it was announced that the Games of the 30th Olympiad would be in London. Planning documents pledged that the great legacy of the Games would be to lever a nation of sport lovers away from their couches. The population would be fitter, healthier and produce more winners. It has not happened. The number of adults doing weekly sport did rise, by nearly 2 million in the run-up to 2012—but the general population was growing faster. Worse, the numbers are now falling at an accelerating rate. The opposition claims primary school pupils doing at least two hours of sport a week have nearly halved. Obesity has risen among adults and children. Official retrospections continue as to why London 2012 failed to “inspire a generation.” The success of Parkrun offers answers.
Parkun is not a race but a time trial: Your only competitor is the clock. The ethos welcomes anybody. There is as much joy over a puffed-out first-timer being clapped over the line as there is about top talent shining. The Olympic bidders, by contrast, wanted to get more people doing sports and to produce more elite athletes. The dual aim was mixed up: The stress on success over taking part was intimidating for newcomers.
Indeed, there is something a little absurd in the state getting involved in the planning of such a fundamentally “grassroots” concept as community sports associations. If there is a role for government, it should really be getting involved in providing common goods—making sure there is space for playing fields and the money to pave tennis and netball courts, and encouraging the provision of all these activities in schools. But successive governments have presided over selling green spaces, squeezing money from local authorities and declining attention on sport in education. Instead of wordy, worthy strategies, future governments need to do more to provide the conditions for sport to thrive. Or at least not make them worse.
21. According to Paragraph 1, Parkrun has
22. The author believes that London’s Olympic “legacy” has failed to
23. Parkrun is different from Olympic games in that it
24. With regard to mass sport, the author holds that governments should
25. The author’s attitude to what UK governments have done for sports is
答案解析 (Answers & Explanations)
21. [A] gained great popularity.
解析：第一段提到 Parkrun 每周有超过 50,000 人参加，并在英国启发了 400 个活动，在国外也有开展。这说明该项活动“获得了极大的普及/欢迎（gained great popularity）”。B项“创造工作”错误，文中明确说是志愿者服务的。
22. [B] promote sport participation.
解析：第二段指出，伦敦奥运会的规划文件保证了重大的遗产是将国家从沙发上撬动起来，让人口更健康。然而，“这并没有发生（It has not happened）”。文中通过数据说明成年人每周体育运动人数增速赶不上人口增速，且目前正在加速下降。因此，奥运遗产未能“促进体育参与（promote sport participation）”。
23. [C] does not emphasize elitism.
解析：第三段对比了 Parkrun 和奥运会：Parkrun 并非比赛，唯一的对手是时钟；它欢迎任何人，对喘不过气的新手和顶尖天才一视同仁。而奥运招标者想要产出更多的精英运动员（elite athletes）。这种对成功的强调让新手望而却步。因此，Parkrun 的不同之处在于它“不强调精英主义（does not emphasize elitism）”。
24. [D] invest in public sports facilities.
解析：第四段指出，如果政府有作用，它应该真正参与到“提供公共产品（providing common goods）”中——确保有运动场空间、有钱铺设球场，并鼓励学校开展活动。这些具体措施对应的就是选项D“投资公共体育设施”。
25. [B] critical.
解析：第四段末尾，作者指出历届政府主持了出售绿地、榨取地方当局资金、减少教育中的体育关注。作者认为政府与其搞冗长虚伪的战略，不如多做点实事提供条件，“或者至少别让情况变得更糟（not make them worse）”。这种负面的评价反映出作者的态度是“批判的（critical）”。
核心长难句精解 (High-Light)
1. 介词短语作状语与定语从句的嵌套：
"Planning documents pledged that the great legacy of the Games would be to lever a nation of sport lovers away from their couches."
【解析】that 引导宾语从句说明 pledge（保证）的内容。在从句中，表语是不定式短语 `to lever...`。`lever A away from B` 是一个形象生动的表达，意为“把 A 从 B 撬开”，在这里指让英国人不再宅在沙发上，走出去运动。
"Planning documents pledged that the great legacy of the Games would be to lever a nation of sport lovers away from their couches."
【解析】that 引导宾语从句说明 pledge（保证）的内容。在从句中，表语是不定式短语 `to lever...`。`lever A away from B` 是一个形象生动的表达，意为“把 A 从 B 撬开”，在这里指让英国人不再宅在沙发上，走出去运动。
2. 比较结构 as... as... 的灵活运用：
"There is as much joy over a puffed-out first-timer being clapped over the line as there is about top talent shining."
【解析】这句话用了 `as... as...` 结构来表达平等的价值。直译为：看到一个喘不过气的初次参加者在掌声中冲过终点线，所获得的快乐（joy），**和**看到顶尖天才闪耀（shining）所获得的快乐是一样多的。这体现了 Parkrun 极其包容的体育精神。
"There is as much joy over a puffed-out first-timer being clapped over the line as there is about top talent shining."
【解析】这句话用了 `as... as...` 结构来表达平等的价值。直译为：看到一个喘不过气的初次参加者在掌声中冲过终点线，所获得的快乐（joy），**和**看到顶尖天才闪耀（shining）所获得的快乐是一样多的。这体现了 Parkrun 极其包容的体育精神。
3. 复杂的动名词结构作宾语：
"Indeed, there is something a little absurd in the state getting involved in the planning of such a fundamentally “grassroots” concept as community sports associations."
【解析】`getting involved in...` 是动名词短语，作为介词 `in` 的宾语，前面的 `the state` 是动名词的逻辑主语。整句话表达了作者的一个核心观点：国家去规划像社区体育协会这样底层的、草根的概念，本身就有点荒谬。
"Indeed, there is something a little absurd in the state getting involved in the planning of such a fundamentally “grassroots” concept as community sports associations."
【解析】`getting involved in...` 是动名词短语，作为介词 `in` 的宾语，前面的 `the state` 是动名词的逻辑主语。整句话表达了作者的一个核心观点：国家去规划像社区体育协会这样底层的、草根的概念，本身就有点荒谬。