1 . The Olympic Games are well known and always receive the world’s attention, but there has been another little-known Olympic event in the UK for hundreds of years. And it's an event which some say helped start the Olympic movement in this country. The Cotswold Olimpicks take place every year on a Friday in spring. They are held in a village in England known as the Cotswold. It isn’t clear when the first event took place but some say it was as early as 1612.
The Cotswold Olimpicks were the idea of a lawyer called Robert Dover but no one knows exactly why he organized the games. Some people say he wanted to encourage people to support their king and country. Another explanation is that Dover was keen (渴望的) to bring people together, in particular the rich and poor from the local community. Whatever the reason. the yearly games quickly became popular. People competed in familiar activities such as horse-racing, running, jumping, and wrestling; famous people of the time attended it and poets wrote about the celebrations. It is even said that Shakespeare mentioned the Cotswold Olimpicks in The Merry Wives of Windsor, though the play may have been written some time before the first games.
As the Cotswold Olimpicks grew in popularity, a group of people known as the Puritans(清教徒) started to object to them for religious reasons, saying they encouraged bad behaviour. The games came to an end at the start of the English Civil War but in 1660 they were re-introduced. Over time they became more and more popular and there are records of 30, 000 people attending in one year. However, the games also attracted people who were more interested in the celebrations than the sporting events. Finally, they came to an end once again in 1852. However, this was not the end of the Cotswold Olimpicks. They were re-introduced again in 1966 and have since been recognized by the British Olympic Committee. Out of respect to their history, the modern games are watched over by a man dressed as Sir Robert Dover, riding on horseback and accompanied by a representative of King James I. Unlike the real Olympic Games, the Cotswold Olimpicks has only about two hours and they are followed by celebrations in the village.
1. What can we learn about the Cotswold Olimpicks?A.They last as long as the Olympic Games. |
B.They are held in different seasons in different years. |
C.They are closely connected with celebrations. |
D.They are held at the same place as the Olympic Games. |
A.celebrities of the time liked Shakespeare's plays |
B.the Cotswold Olimpicks were well received at the time |
C.the Cotswold Olimpicks were as famous as Shakespeare's plays |
D.poets of the time liked to take part in the Cotswold Olimpicks games |
A.Fewer and fewer people took part in the games. |
B.A religious group were against the games. |
C.It was forbidden by the British Olympic Committee. |
D.People prefer celebrations to the sporting events. |
A.Robert Dover | B.King James I |
C.the British Olympic Committee | D.the English Civil War |
That Beijing, together with Zhangjiakou, succeeded in getting the chance to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, speeds up the development of Zhangjiakou City. Word came
3 . When Lew Alcindor was 13, and obviously still growing, a group of schools began offering him scholarships. The Alcindor decided to send their only child to Power Memorial Academy, a small school on Manhattan’s West Side.
At Power, Alcindor came under the control of Coach Jack Donohue, a strict young man who already gained his fames as one of the best coaches in the city. Donohue brought Alcindor along slowly. As a first-year student, the boy was not able to do much but wave his long skinny arms and shoot a basket now and then. But by the second year, when he was 15 years old and nearly 7 feet tall, Alcindor was quick and skilful enough to make the high school All-American team and to lead Power to an undefeated season.
From then on he simply got better. Some rival coaches (对方教练) used to take their teams quickly away from the floor before Power warmed up so that their players would not see him any sooner than they had to. Wearing size 16D shoes and sucking a chewing gum, Alcindor would loosen up by starting his leaping lay-ups (擦板球). Then he would casually shoot the ball with either hand, to the delight of the fans.
When reporters and photographers began to follow Alcindor closely, Donohue protected his boy firmly. He simply ordered Lew to talk to no member of the press, and this suited Lew fine. He was not comfortable talking to grown-ups, perhaps because he towered over them. Discouraged photographers began following him in secret as though he were an easily-frightened giraffe. Once after ducking into a subway to escape, Alcindor told a friend that it was all becoming like policemen and robbers. “People want you not for yourself,” Donohue warned him, “But because you’re a basketball player. Don’t forget that.”
1. Many schools offered Alcindor scholarships because ______.A.he was young | B.he was hardworking |
C.he was tall for his age | D.he was skillful at playing basketball |
A.Serious, popular and slow | B.Tall, skillful and successful |
C.Kind, powerful and undefeated | D.Well-known, strict and experienced |
A.Their teams refused to play against Power | B.Their teams feared to see Alcindor |
C.Their teams would lose courage | D.Their teams would lose interest |
A.How Donohue protect Alcindor from the press | B.How Alcindor disliked meeting reporter |
C.Why the press followed Alcindor closely | D.Why the public wanted Alcindor badly |