1 . For the rest of March, a disease will sweep across the US. It will keep kids home from school.       1         Employees will suddenly lose their ability to concentrate.

The disease, known as “March Madness”， refers to the yearly 65­team US men's college basketball tournament (锦标赛).       2         Teams compete against each other in a single­elimination (单局淘汰) tournament that eventually crowns a national champion.

Nearly 20 million Americans will find themselves prisoners of basketball festival madness. The fun comes partly from guessing the winners for every game. Friends compete against friends.           3         Colleagues against bosses.

Big­name schools are usually favored to advance into the tournament. But each year there are dark horses from little­known universities.

This adds to the madness. Watching a team from a school with 3,000 students beat a team from a school with 30,000, for many Americans, is an exciting experience. Two years ago, the little­known George Mason University was one of the final four teams.     4    

College basketball players are not paid, so the game is more about making a name for their university and themselves.     5     About $4 billion will be spent gambling (赌) on the event. According to Media Life magazine, the event will bring in $500 million in advertising income this year, topping the post－ season income of every US professional league, including that of the NBA.

A．Husbands against wives.

B．The players will go all out for the games.

C．But that doesn't mean money isn't involved.

D．College students will ignore piles of homework.

E．People are willing to spend more money on watching it.

F．It begins on March 15 and lasts through the beginning of April.

G．Many people had never even heard of the university before the tournament.

2 . 假定你是红星中学李华, 你的英国朋友 Peter 热爱体育运动, 他将作为交换生到你校学习一年。请你给他写一封邮件, 主要内容包括:
1. 介绍你校体育课程及活动;
2. 推荐一项中国传统体育项目。注意: 1. 词数 100 左右;
2. 可以适当增加细节, 以使行文连贯。
Dear Peter,

I’m glad to hear that you will come to our school on a one­year exchange program.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

3 . Some people put their bicycles away once they learn how to drive a car. For many people, bicycling is not just an easy way of getting around town but also an exciting sport.      1    .

One kind of race is the time trial. Each racer leaves the starting line at a different time and heads hard for the finish line. The cyclist who covers the distance in the shortest amount of time wins the race.      2    , because the bicycles are spread out and are not likely to run into each other.

Another kind of race is more difficult. A few city blocks are closed to traffic. Then all the racers line up in a tight pack and begin racing at the same time.       3    . The race requires more than speed. It also requires skillful handling of the bicycle as it runs at full speed around other bicycles. The racer who completes all the laps first is the winner.

    4    . Racers have to cover anywhere from 35 miles to almost 3,000 miles. The race course may be a straight stretch of road or a long series of roads across the country. The prize goes to the first person who crosses the finish line.

Between races cyclists stay in condition by doing exercise that builds their strength so that they can keep riding for long periods of time.       5     , they often join bicycling groups and become licensed racers. Then they can enter special races all over the country. If you’re a cyclist, keep practicing. You could become a star.

A．As cyclists become more experienced

B．A time trial is a very safe race for beginners

C．Serious cyclists often arrange to take part in races

D．Road races are usually the longest cycling contests

E．Most people will seize possible chances to get around town

F．They cover many laps, going around and around the city blocks

G．When cyclists needn’t to build themselves up for those special races

4 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1 个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Africa on G8 Agenda

The     1     (politics) leaders from eight of the world's wealthiest nations will meet in Scotland this summer.   They will   discuss the   topic   of Africa     2     detail. There are many problems for African people     3     (solve), such as     4     (poor), sex education and health care. People from all     5     the world have demanded that the leaders     6     (cancel) the debt of Africa's poorest countries to help them escape the     7     (pain) pasts.

London Wins

On July 6, 2005, London was being announced by the IOC in Singapore to be the host city for the 2012 Olympic Games. London now has the distinction of being the first city     8     (host) the event three times. The good news made the people in London     9     delighted that they celebrated     10     everywhere.

5 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Why is the woman talking to the man?

A．She wants to choose a good sport.

B．She can’t find the way to a gym.

C．She wants to join a gym.

2. What does the man like best?

A．Weight-lifting.

B．Swimming.

C．Dancing.

3. How does the man pay?

A．In cash.

B．By credit card.

C．By cheque.

4. What does the man suggest the woman do in the end?

A．Meet him tomorrow.

B．Bring her sports shoes.

C．Go dancing three times a week.

6 . It seems that the Englishmen just cannot live without sports of some kind. A famous French humorist once said that this is because the English insist on behaving like children all their lives. Wherever you go in this country, you will see both children and grown-ups knocking a ball about with a stick or something, as if in Britain men shall always remain boys and women girls! Still, it can never be bad to get exercise, can it?

Taking all amateur(业余)and professional sports in Britain into consideration, there can be no doubt that football is at the top of the list. It is called soccer in the United States. The game originated(起源于)in Britain and was played in the Middle Ages or even earlier, though as an organized game, or “association football”, it dates only from the beginning of the 19th century.

The next is rugby, which is called “football” in the United States. It is a kind of football played by two teams of fifteen players than eleven. In rugby, an oval-shaped ball is used which can be handled as well as kicked. It is a pretty rough game.

In summer, cricket is the most popular sport. In fact, it has sometimes been called the English national game. Most foreigners find the game rather slow or even boring, but it enjoys great popularity among the British.

Tennis rates high on the list, too. It was introduced into England from France in the 15th century, but it was from England that it spread to practically every country in the world.

Table tennis, or “ping-pong”, surely is not played on a great scale as it is in China or Japan. Basketball and volleyball were introduced into Britain during the late 19th century from America and are gaining popularity. Horse-back riding, swimming, rowing and golf all attract a lot of people.

1. The main purpose of Paragraph l is to tell us that the English__________.

A．are all sports lovers	B．behave like children
C．like to kick a ball around	D．can remain young all their lives

2. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true about football and rugby?

A．They differ in the shape of the ball.	B．They are played by different numbers of players.
C．They both can be handled.	D．They both can be kicked.

3. The game that was never played in Britain until the late 19th century is__________.

A．basketball

B．tennis

C．rugby

D．football

4. What would be the best title for this passage?

A．The Most Popular Sports	B．The English Sports
C．History of Sports	D．Sports in Britain

7 . If you like dangerous and exciting sports, maybe skydiving (跳伞) is for you. First skydivers jump from an airplane.     1     Sometimes, skydivers do gymnastics in the air—for example, they might hold their knees close to their bodies and turn upside down. Finally, skydivers pull a cord (绳索) and a parachute (降落伞) opens.     2     Skydivers usually wear hard helmets to protect their heads. Sometimes, skydivers are on a team in a competition such as the Olympics. The team works together and does movements in the air.     3     The team with the most points wins.

It’s difficult to see what skydivers do when you’re standing on the ground. Often, people fly in airplanes to make a tape of the skydivers.     4    

If skydiving doesn’t sound fun to you, there are plenty of other sports.     5     Surfers stand out in the middle of the ocean on a long, flat board. Surfers don’t have to worry about jumping out airplanes, of course---but don’t forget about the shark!

A．You can always try surfing.

B．Then, skydivers fall quickly toward the ground.

C．It is the best choice for you to skydive or try surfing.

D．With a video camera, the operator records their performances.

E．It is not easy to jump out of the airplane when you are in the plane.

F．Judges watch the skydivers and give them points for doing amazing things.

G．The parachute helps slow the skydiver so he or she lands on the ground safe.

8 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

Life is often a matter of waiting for the right moment to act. Sun Yang was the first Chinese man     1     (win) an Olympic gold medal in swimming. That moment     2     (come) last month, when he won the men’s 200-meter freestyle event at the Asian Games.

Sun has accomplished a Golden Grand Slam, having won the 200, 400 and 1, 500-meter freestyle events at the Asian Games, World Championships and Olympic Games. His     3     (patient) and persistence have paid off. The 26-year-old swimmer told Xinhua News Agency, “Not many swimmers could have waited for eight years over three Asian Games like me. My dream has     4     (final) come true.”

While Sun stood on a podium (领奖台)     5     (listen) to the Chinese national anthem (国歌) along with the silver and bronze medal winners, a technical problem caused the medalists’ flags to drop to the ground. Sun jumped off the podium, walked over to the officials and demanded that the flags again.     6     the end, the officials held the flags up themselves as China’s national anthem played a second time.

Many Chinese Internet users thought Suns reaction to the incident to be an act of patriotism (爱国主义). “    7     is great to win the championship, but    8    (see) our national flag go up again is also very important. Winning the title is an achievement     9     will be remembered, but raising the flag again is also of great     10     (important).”

9 . Open water swimming

I had only swum in open water a few times, and always in gentle lakes, so I wasn’t prepared for how rough Lake Windermere appeared on a cold day. A swimmer told me the water felt colder than it had been measured, and that the water was a bit rough. But I, along with 10,000 others, was about to complete the challenge.

Most of the people taking part were doing a one-mile race, and 10 races were planned over the weekend. There seemed to be a mix of open-water enthusiasts alongside complete beginners—which is precisely the aim of the swims, to get as many people as possible completing their own challenge. The oldest woman competing was 77, taking part in the two-mile race, alongside a man who last year had swum in every one-mile race.

I had chosen the third one-mile race of the day. There were over 600 people in my race. We were taken through an acclimatization area, a children’s paddling pool-sized part of the lake where we moved in to feel how cold the water was. “Not too bad” was everyone’s thought! Then we headed out towards the middle of the lake.

We’d been warned that the first 100 metres would be really rough. However, somewhere near the 750m mark I was still waiting for the calm; it felt more like swimming in the sea than a lake. I tried to focus on my breathing and technique, and just keep going. As I approached the 400m-to-go mark my lower right leg became painful. I recalled overhearing people talking about how they kept swimming through the pain, so I tried. But it didn’t work. I began to feel the entire leg tight and painful. I didn’t want to stop, so I bent my right knee and just kicked with the left leg.

Finally I saw the finishing post, and I just concentrated on getting there—still one-legged. My finishing time was 38 minutes 25 seconds but that didn’t matter—the atmosphere was fantastic and everyone felt a sense of achievement, whatever their time. I’m hooked, and want to give it another go. I’ve already signed up for my next open-water swim.

1. How did the author feel before the race?

A．Scared of the most challenging race.

B．Disappointed by the difficult conditions.

C．Concerned about the other swimmers in the race.

D．Determined to be as tough as the people around her.

2. Why does the author mention the two people in Paragraph 2?

A．To stress the importance of the race.

B．To praise the experienced swimmers.

C．To show the wide range of the participants.

D．To introduce the various events of the race.

3. The author suggests in Paragraph 4 that ______.

A．the race would cause breathing problems

B．the race became harder than she had expected

C．it was really necessary to prepare for tough swims

D．it would have been easier if she had taken others’ advice

4. What does the author talk about in the last paragraph?

A．Her confidence in her own ability.

B．Her pride in having swum so quickly.

C．Her eagerness to repeat the experience.

D．Her surprise at having managed to finish.