5 . Once upon a time, when you first attended a youth sporting event, your parents probably weren't expecting you to become a professional athlete.They signed up for a basketball, football or swimming course for you in the hope that you might learn lessons about winning gentlemanly, losing with dignity(尊严)and insisting on it when things get hard. Yes, playing games is good exercise, but it is the life lessons that matter most.

For many of us, instead of looking to improve our minds and spirits, we began judging progress only by the size of our muscles or the numbers on a weighing machine. The thought that athletic competition is about greater life lessons and the building of character has been further undermined(削弱)by headlines about professional athletes.

“And yet there's still strong evidence that sports strongly improve certain personal qualities,” says Angela Lumpkin, Professor of the Department of Health, Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Kansas. And that's true for athletes of any age.Amateur sports(业余体育运动)provide a safe place for competition. They also provide a practice ground for managing stress.

The advantages of taking part in a sport can seep(渗透)into your professional life, too. In basketball, for example, “Getting everyone to play the right role on the court is the key to success,” says Alan Arlt, the founder of the Life Time Fitness basketball program Ultimate Hoops. “That is certainly useful in the business world, where everyone understands their own role in the organization.” “In athletic events, you go through good and bad times often in the period of two hours,” says former NBA head coach Flip Saunders. “Do you have the calm manner to settle yourself down, or do you totally lose it and get thrown out of the game which hurts both you and your team？All of that on­court experience has a real effect on how you deal with real­life situations.”

1. What would parents expect when their children joined in sports?

A．To win as many games as possible.

B．To improve their health.

C．To make more friends.

D．To get through difficulties.

2. What can we learn from Paragraph 2?

A．People play sports to build their character.

B．People still hold the idea that sports can keep us fit.

C．People keep playing sports to improve minds and spirits.

D．People pay more attention to the news of professional athletes.

3. Amateur sports are mentioned in Paragraph 3 in order to        .

A．support Lumpkin's idea

B．introduce the next topic

C．show another piece of evidence

D．show the main idea of the paragraph

4. According to the last paragraph, the sports experience has a real effect on        .

A．how to succeed in the future

B．how to keep calm in certain situations

C．how to deal with real­life situations

D．how to understand the role on the court

6 . Basketball star Lebron James made ＄33 million last year. And that probably doesn’t surprise anyone. We’re used to watching professional athletes(运动员) make and spend millions of dollars.

But there was a time when professional athletes could barely buy a car. For most sports teams in 1950, there were main ways to make money. They sold tickets to games and popcorn in the stadium. For fans, it was a good deal(交易). You could see a Brooklyn Dodgers baseball game for 60 cents. For players, the deal wasn’t so great. There wasn't much money to go around. So salaries(薪水) stayed low. In some professional sports, players couldn’t spend the off-season working out. They had to get second jobs so they could pay the rent.

In the 1960s, television changed everything. In 1950, only 1 in 10 American homes had TVs. By 1960, 9 in 10 homes had TVs. And people loved watching sports. At first, team owners were worried about TV. They thought fans wouldn't pay to come to the stadium anymore. But the TV networks paid millions of dollars for the right to show games. That’s when sports teams started to get rich. Finally, the teams shared their wealth with players. In 1974, several baseball teams wanted a player named Catfish Hunter, who chose to play for the New York Yankees. They paid him ＄1 million just for picking their team. Since then, athletes have only gotten richer. In 2018, the highest-paid player in baseball will make ＄33 million. In basketball, the average salary is about ＄7 million a year.

Are sports stars worth the money? Many fans seem to think so. They will pay crazy prices to cheer for their favorite players.

1. What does the underlined word “barely” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．finally

B．hardly

C．usually

D．personally

2. What would fans think of paying 60 cents for a Brooklyn Dodgers baseball game in 1950?

A．It was unfair to players.	B．It was a bit expensive.
C．It was cheap at the price.	D．It was less attractive to them.

3. What influence did TV have on sports in the 1960s?

A．Sports became a big business.

B．People were more willing to play sports.

C．More and more fans came to the stadium.

D．Tickets to games became more expensive.

4. What does the text mainly tell us?

A．How sports stars become famous.

B．Why fans are crazy about sports star.

C．Why sports become more and more popular.

D．How professional athletes started getting rich.

7 . Along with soccer, basketball is a global sport. As you read this. young people somewhere in the world are happily passing, dribbling(运球) and shooting. It’s enormous fun and a joyful way to spend time with others.

Basketball is a game for everyone. Unlike golf or tennis. it doesn't require great wealth or a lot of space to play. After all, not many people have a golf course-sized backyard. and tennis equipment is expensive. Basketball, by contrast, just needs a wall with a hoop and a ball.

So after its invention by Canadian-American physical educator James Naismith in 1891, the sport took off within US citizens, who quickly became attracted to the game because it suited their circumstances. Today, 127 years later, basketball remains one of the most popular sports in the US, and the National Basketball Association (NBA)has an increasing appeal for fans around the world.

The success of basketball as global phenomenon is undoubtedly related to the way African-Americans play the game.” The basketball court reflected some of the major cultural shifts in America, such as from forbidding African-Americans to play basketball to allowing them to play in the NBA, "the LIVESTRONG website noted.

From the 1950s onwards, segregation rules, which had prohibited African-Americans from playing basketball in NBA games, were no longer used in the US. In 1950, when Earl Lloyd started to play for the Washington Capitols, things began to change. Since then, most of the greats of the game have been African-Americans, like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

It's not difficult to see that there's a strong link between political liberation and basketball. Something of this is expressed in a quote from the US author John Edgar Wideman. He makes a connection between basketball and hope:" When it's' played the way it's supposed to be played. basketball happens in the air; flying, floating, raised above the floor, letting the oppressed(受压制的) people of this earth imagine themselves in their dreams.”

1. What advantage does basketball have over golf or tennis, according to the author?

A．It can be played everywhere.

B．It doesn't cost much.

C．It doesn't require too much skill.

D．It interests almost everyone.

2. What can we learn about basketball from Paragraph 3?

A．The sport was created by a PE teacher.

B．The sport was not popular with people at first.

C．Its rules have been changed a lot to suit new circumstances.

D．The NBA. with a history of 127 Years. attracts people worldwide

3. The main purpose of Paragraph 5 is to             .

A．explain the origin and rules of NBA games in the 1950s

B．prove the popularity of basketball among African-Americans

C．stress the success African-Americans in basketball

D．show how racial integration took place in basketball

4. What do John Edgar Wideman's words mean?

A．Basketball is sometimes a useful tool for politicians.

B．American people usually have a basketball dream.

C．Basketball stands for the freedom and hopes of people.

D．Political oppression is a serious problem in the US.

8 . Every January, more than 3,000 people take part in one of the most difficult races on Earth: the Tough Man competition in the UK. The participants run, swim and climb around the 15 km course. But this is no normal race. These runners have to crawl through tunnels, run across a field of nettles(荨麻) and jump over fire. What’s more, the competition takes place in January when temperatures are freezing. People travel from throughout the world to participate in it.

The competition is quite dangerous and every year there are accidents. Injuries like broken bones and cuts are quite common. One-third of the participants do not complete it. Runners have to be very athletic and most people train all the year to prepare for it. There are similar events, but this is the first one in the world. Many people do the competition because it is so famous. Every year the organizers change the events and add new things. This means that the competition stays thrilling and challenging, so people go back year after year.

First, the participants run 1 km along a muddy road. Next, they crawl under low nets on the ground. After the nets, the runners jump off a high platform into a lake and swim for 1 km. Then, they reach the field of fire. Here, the runners run across a field and jump over small bonfires(篝火). Next, the participants must crawl through a long tunnel which is partly under water. Finally, the runners run 2 km through nettles before they reach the finishing line.

1. According to the text, the participants in the competition ________.

A．are required to run 15km	B．may take the risk of being injured
C．have to take a medical examination	D．are trained to deal with emergencies

2. What do we learn about the Tough Man competition?

A．It is exciting but quite tough.

B．It is intended for overweight people.

C．The participants are mainly British natives.

D．Only one-third of the participants can make it.

3. To attract participants, the organizers usually ________.

A．create more items	B．hold the similar activities
C．hold the competition in winter	D．organize the competition in different counties

4. The purpose of the text is to ________.

A．warn the participants of danger	B．advertise the Tough Man competition
C．introduce the Tough Man competition	D．inform the participants of the competition

9 . Roller coasters are fast and exciting. But passing a painful kidney (肾) stones is not. The process is painful and can take a long time. But American researchers have found that a roller coaster ride just might help those suffering from a kidney stone. They say such rides help patients pass the stones with a 70 percent success rate.

David Wartinger led the study. He found that where the person sits on the roller coaster can make a big difference. He said, “In the pilot study, sitting in the last car of the roller coaster showed about a 64 percent passage rate. Sitting in the first few cars only had a 16 percent success rate.”

It also mattered where the stones were located in the kidney. The researchers found that stones located in the upper part of the kidney model were passed 100 percent.

When it comes to passing kidney stones, not all roller coasters are equal. The researchers used 174 kidney stones of differing shapes, sizes and weights to see if each model worked on the same ride and on two other roller coasters. They found that Big Thunder Mountain was the only one that worked. The other two roller coasters both failed the test. Wartinger said the other rides were too fast and too violent. The movement forced the stones against the side of the kidney. He said that the ideal roller coaster is rough and quick with some twists and turns.

Wartinger thinks roller coaster rides could also be used as a preventative measure. He said that a yearly ride on a roller coaster could even prevent stones from developing. “You need to heed the warnings before going on a roller coaster,” he said. “If you have a kidney stone, but are otherwise healthy and meet the requirements of the ride, patients should try it.”

He adds that it’s definitely a lower cost alternative to other treatments. And riding a roller coaster is definitely more fun!

1. According to the text, passing kidney stone is ______.

A．fast	B．exciting
C．interesting	D．painful

2. Which of the following benefits people with a kidney stone most?

A．Sitting in the first car of a roller coaster.

B．Sitting in the middle car of a roller coaster.

C．Sitting in big roller coasters with doctors’ care.

D．Sitting in rough and fast roller coasters with twists and turns.

3. What’s Wartinger’s attitude to riding roller coasters for people having a kidney stone?

A．Worried.	B．Negative.
C．Supportive.	D．Skeptical.

4. What would be the best title for the text?

A．Some treatments of kidney stones

B．Advantages of riding roller coasters

C．Roller coasters can help pass kidney stones

D．Kidney stones can be cured by riding roller coasters

10 . Sport is very popular in England. In other words lots of English people like the idea of sport． A lot watch sport on TV． But the number who take part in（参加）sport is quite small． On the whole English people prefer to be fat rather than thin．
The most popular sport in England is football． Football is played on Saturday afternoon in most towns and the supporters（球迷）of a certain team will travel from one end of the country to the other to see their team play． There are four divisions（级别）of the football league．Not surprisingly the best teams are in the first division． But the best supporters are often in the fourth division． You have to be a good supporter to watch the fourth division football!
Many other sports are also played in England, such as golf, in which you try to knock a ball into a hole; basketball, in which you try to got a ball through a net（篮筐）; tennis, in which you try to hit a ball so that your opponent（对手）can not hit it． As you see, if the ball had not been invented, there would have been no sport．
　　Actually（其实）, that is not quite true． Athletics（田径）isn’t played with a ball; nor horseracing（赛马）． Perhaps that is why they are not so popular as football!
1. ________ is the most popular sport in England．

A．Basketball

B．Football

C．Golf

D．Tennis

2. You have to be a good supporter to watch ______division football．

A．the first

B．the second

C．the third

D．the fourth

3. Why do many English people not take part in sport?

A．They are too busy．

B．They like watching sport on TV．

C．They would like to be fat．

D．They prefer to be thin．

4. Why are English people interested in sport?

A．They have their football team．

B．The sport games are played on Saturday afternoon．

C．They like the idea of sport．

D．They like the famous players．