1 . Throughout history, humans have played some kind of kicking game. What the world now calls football, or soccer in the US, began as far back as 2500 B. C. with the Chinese game of tsu chu. The sport we know today originated in Britain. By the 1840s, England’s Football Association established a set of rules, and the modern game was born. Today, more than 120 million players all over the globe participate in the game, truly making soccer the world’s sport.

So, why is soccer so popular? Maybe it’s the game’s camaraderie: the feeling that the team on the field is your team; their win is your victory, and their loss is your defeat. Or maybe it’s the game’s international quality. In countries like France, England, Spain, and Brazil, major teams have players from many different nations, and these clubs now have fans all over the world. Or perhaps it’s the promise of great wealth. A number of professional soccer players, including Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, come from poor families. Today, both of these players make millions of euros every year.

Soccer is popular for all of these reasons, but ultimately, the main reason for its universal appeal may be this: It’s a simple game. It can be played anywhere with anything—a ball, a can, or even some bags tied together. And anyone can play it. “You don’t need to be rich...to play soccer, ” says historian Peter Alegi. “Your just need a flat space and a ball.

But joining a professional team and making a lot of money isn’t the main reason that soccer is so popular all over Africa, say Abubakari Abdul-Ganiyu, a teacher who works with youth clubs in Tamale, Ghana. “Soccer is the passion of everyone here,” he says, “It unifies us. “ In fact, more than once, the game has helped to bring people together. In Ivory Coast, for example, immigrants and Muslims faced discrimination for years. Yet many of the country’s best soccer players are from Muslim and immigrant families. As a result, the national team has become a symbol of unity and has helped to promote peace throughout the world.

1. What is this text mainly about?

A．The history of soccer.	B．Soccer clubs.
C．The popularity of soccer.	D．How African soccer began.

2. Which is not a possible reason for soccer’s popularity according to paragraph 2?

A．The team spirit among players.

B．Famous players from many different countries.

C．The number of soccer games played all over the world.

D．The possibility of making a lot of money.

3. Which of the following statements about the Ivory Coast national team is not true?

A．Many of its best players are from immigrant families.

B．One of its teachers is Abubakari Abdul-Ganiyu.

C．There are Muslim players on the team.

D．It has helped to promote peace in the country.

2 . Two Russian cosmonauts(宇航员)aboard the International Space Station (ISS) played chess against an Earth-bound grandmaster on Tuesday, in celebration of the first such game half a century ago.

Equipped with an electronic chessboard,cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vaguer played in zero gravity against 30-year-old Russian former child prodigy(神童)Sergei Karyakin. The game was broadcast live and ended in a draw after about 15 minutes.

It was organised by the space agency Roscosmos and the Russian Chess Federation to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the first Space-Earth game of chess played on June 9, 1970. "It's a huge honor for us not to lose to a grandmaster," Ivanishin said, while Vaguer added that US astronauts on the ISS watched the game and gave tips.

Karyakin, who played from Moscow's Museum of Cosmonautics, said he was jittery during the game and could not fall asleep until 4 a. m. on the night before the match.

"They played well," he said. "I can say that the human brain functions very well in space, and I have seen this today." At the age of 12 years and seven months, Karyakin became the world's youngest ever grandmaster.

Ivanishin, Vagner and US astronaut Chris Cassidy arrived on the ISS in April. On May 31, they were joined by US astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on the first manned private (light to the ISS. SpaceX made history by becoming the world's first commercial company to send humans to the ISS, leading Russia to lose its long-held monopoly(垄断)on space travel.

1. Why did the two Russian astronauts play chess on the ISS?

A．To offer a live show from the ISS.

B．To prove their success in boarding the ISS.

C．To test the human brain functions in zero gravity.

D．To celebrate the first Space-Earth chess game 50 years ago.

2. What does the underlined word "jittery" mean in the fourth paragraph?

A．Bored.

B．Disappointed.

C．Anxious.

D．Frightened.

3. What is the best title of the passage?

A．A Space-Earth Chess Game	B．A Former Child Chess Prodigy
C．A Chess Game Played on the ISS	D．A Celebration of Human Space History

3 . Improving as a runner is about more than just running all of the time.    1    In that case, you can make large improvements as a runner in a relatively short time, no matter what your sport, race, or running habits.

    2    It is common for runners to push themselves about the same amount each time, running similarly challenging runs and gradually increasing difficulty. Outstanding runners, however, alternate(交替)an easy, resting run with a very challenging one. It is during these difficult runs，when you really push yourself, that your body snakes the most significant gains.    3    Rather, it is helping rebuild and relax the muscles needed for your big runs.

Keep a relaxed but strong upper body to conserve energy efficiently. You want to keep your chin(下巴)up and your shoulders back, with loose, relaxed arm and hand muscles. Your elbows are bent at 90 degrees but swing freely. If anything, the only muscles you want to focus on keeping strong and tight are the ones in your core(核心).    4    

Use your light run to work up a light sweat. A higher body temperature ensures your muscles are loose and flexible, and your body is pumping blood effectively throughout. For everything other than easy runs, use the first five to ten minutes to build a light sweat and get your body ready for exercise.    5    Slowly pick up speed for short 10 second runs, then return to normal warm-up pace. This helps prepare your muscles for speed.

A．Don't feel like an easy day is "cheating".

B．Alternate easy and hard runs to build strength rapidly.

C．Even five minutes of walking is a good way to get started.

D．"Warming up" truly means you want to warm up your body.

E．You are to pay a little attention to details and a smart training plan.

F．That's because this will naturally help you efficiently channel energy.

G．Remember to relax your face and neck muscles instead of tensing them

4 . I was having a period of bad health. I had one operation after another. I was falling _______ faster than the doctors could put me back together. But I just couldn’t bear the operation, the hospital stay, the long recovery and the physical therapy（康复治疗）. I told my doctor I was going to try _______ else.

I’d discovered that walking gave me a little _______. So I started walking. The first day, my wife _______ off our steep Silver Lake hill to a flat street. She got me out of the car, and I walked about two blocks _______ asking to be taken home. The next day, I walked about four _______.

Slowly, feeling a little _______ every day, I began to walk a mile or more. I even _______ some hills to my route. I became interested in the network of public stairways around Silver Lake I made a _______ of it and walked every public staircase in Silver Lake. That went pretty well, so I ________ onto Echo Park. I was feeling better, so I kept going. The search finally ________ “Secret Stairs: A Walking Guide to the Historic Staircases of Los Angeles’ ”a book ________ in the spring of 2010. By then, I had ________. I’d been walking at least an hour a day for three years. My life ________ returned to normal.

In three years of walks, I’ve met dozens of people who’d had ________ experiences of rebirth or recovery. One man told me he’d lost 80 pounds walking the secret stairs and was dating for the first time in a decade. One woman told me she’d ________ knee operation. Another told me she’d been ________ to start ballroom dancing again.

All I’d ________ from the walks was relief from pain. What I got was ________, community and a whole new experience of my city. Out of the car, on my feet and moving at walking pace, I ________ Los Angeles for the first time.

1.

A．away

B．apart

C．asleep

D．about

2.

A．everything

B．nothing

C．something

D．anything

3.

A．courage

B．confidence

C．relief

D．delight

4.

A．drove

B．took

C．set

D．gave

5.

A．then

B．before

C．until

D．while

6.

A．miles

B．kilometers

C．blocks

D．streets

7.

A．happier

B．calmer

C．faster

D．stronger

8.

A．found

B．added

C．challenged

D．climbed

9.

A．review

B．search

C．goal

D．task

10.

A．moved

B．worked

C．carried

D．brought

11.

A．put into

B．knocked into

C．broke into

D．turned into

12.

A．bought

B．formed

C．published

D．created

13.

A．picked up

B．brought up

C．went up

D．kept up

14.

A．generally

B．recently

C．gradually

D．effectively

15.

A．same

B．particular

C．extra

D．similar

16.

A．received

B．avoided

C．suffered

D．stood

17.

A．able

B．worried

C．likely

D．anxious

18.

A．benefited

B．attempted

C．dreamed

D．sought

19.

A．home

B．neighborhood

C．success

D．friendship

20.

A．caught sight of

B．thought highly of

C．fell in love with

D．settled down in