The modern Olympic Games, founded in 1896, began as contests between individuals, rather than among nations, with the hope of promoting world peace through sportsmanship. In the beginning, the games were open only to _______. An amateur is a person whose involvement in an activity - from sports to science or the arts - is purely for ________. Amateurs, whatever their contributions to a field, expect to receive no form of compensation; professionals, ________, perform their work in order to earn a living.
From the perspective of many athletes, ________, the Olympic playing field has been far from fair. Restricting the Olympics to amateurs has excluded the participation of many who could not afford to be _______. Countries have always desired to send their best athletes, not their ________ ones, to the Olympic Games.
A slender and imprecise line separates what we call “financial support” from “earning money.” Do athletes “earn money” if they are reimbursed for travel expenses? What if they are paid for time lost at work or if they accept free clothing from a manufacturer or if they teach sports for a living? The runner Eric Liddell was the son of poor missionaries; in 1924 the British Olympic Committee ________ his trip to the Olympics, where he won a gold and a bronze medal. College scholarships and support from the United States Olympic Committee made it possible for American track stars Jesse Owens and Wilma Rudolph and speed skater Dan Jansen to train and compete. When the Soviet Union and its allies joined the games in 1952, the ________ of amateur became still less clear. Their athletes did not have to ________ work and training because as citizens in communist regimes, their government financial support was not considered payment for jobs.
In 1971 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ________ the word amateur from the rules, making it easier for athletes to find the ________ necessary to train and compete. In 1986, the IOC allowed professional athletes into the games.
There are those who ________ the disappearance of amateurism from the Olympic Games. For them the games ________ something special when they became just another way for athletes to earn money. Others say that the designation(命名) of amateurism was always ________; they argue that all competitors receive so much financial support as to make them paid professionals. Most agree, however, that the ________ over what constitutes(组成) an amateur will continue for a long time.
1.A.amateurs B.professionals C.men D.women
2.A.survival B.fame C.profit D.pleasure
3.A.at all costs B.by contrast C.as a result D.at first
4.A.however B.therefore C.furthermore D.instead
5.A.punished B.trained C.unpaid D.educated
6.A.youngest B.smartest C.strongest D.wealthiest
7.A.booked B.extended C.financed D.cancelled
8.A.value B.definition C.origin D.use
9.A.balance B.begin C.change D.restrict
10.A.restored B.created C.removed D.studied
11.A.field B.support C.organization D.team
12.A.regret B.investigate C.explain D.welcome
13.A.displayed B.carried C.retain D.lost
14.A.reasonable B.questionable C.unbelievable D.valuable
15.A.debate B.complaint C.concern D.inquiry
Directions: After reading the passages below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.
Vast deserts, magic carpets, and the legend of Aladdin's lamp. For most Chinese people, Saudi Arabia is a faraway land 1. (exist) only in bedtime stories.
However, connections between the two countries 2.(date) back to ancient times. The economic and cultural ties between the Tang Dynasty and the Arabian empire reached their height in the 9th century. Paper-making workshops thrived in 3. is now Saudi Arabia while Arabian knowledge of math, astronomy and medicine spread to the Middle Kingdom.
These exchanges, 4.(record) by Arabian merchants sailing along the ancient Maritime Silk Road, became material for folk tales 5.the One Thousand and One Nights stories.
Fast forward a millennium, the relationship between a modern Saudi Arabia and a progressive China 6.(enter) a new era, thanks to the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013. Saudi Arabia is one of the first countries 7.(respond) positively to the Belt and Road initiative. In terms of strategic location, Saudi Arabia serves as the central hub 8.(connect) three continents — Asia, Africa and Europe — and has been an important part of the initiative.
In fact, 9. they built diplomatic ties in 1990, the two countries have seen a sound development of partnerships. In 2015, China became Saudi Arabia's largest trade partner, while Saudi Arabia has been China's biggest crude oil supplier and largest trade partner in West Asia and Africa for years. 10. the economic gains, citizens in both countries also benefit from cultural and academic exchanges.
Directions: After reading the passages below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.
The Greek myths are almost a myth themselves.
The great dramatists Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripides drew on the myths, 1. did the Romans after them. Since then, poets, painters, sculptors, novelists — and later on, filmmakers and even comic strip authors — 2.(find) inspiration in them. Remember film Troy (2004) starring Brad Pitt? That movie remade The Iliad, Homer's e t of the Trojan Wars.
Greek myths came from oral stories. In the beginning, people told these tales to 3.. They didn't read them in books or watch them in the theater. It seems that 4. we write, paint or make films -or simply just enjoy these products —the Greek myths have a special resonance.
The names and the stories 5. be old, but the myths continue to be relevant. We can still be moved by beauty, like the story of Paris when he stole the gorgeous Helen away from her husband in Troy.
We feel pain in our hearts 6. we remember our family and friends back home. We can therefore readily understand Odysseus—”7.(separate) from his wife and son for a decade — and his desperation to get home.
The everyday life of western culture 8.(mark) by the Greek myths in all sorts of ways. Just look up into the night sky — names of the stars and constellations you see come from Greek characters.
In English, we say someone who makes money easily has "the Midas touch". But often, character from Greek mythology, who turns 9. he touches into gold. Even the products we buy in supermarkets have names 10. (inspire) by the Greeks.
阅读下面短文,根据其内容写一篇60词左右的概要。
Look inside any family home in the evening, and you might see a typical enough scene: Mom and Dad, each on their own laptop or tablet, streaming movies, catching up on work or maybe answering emails on their smartphones. Meanwhile, one child is chatting online with one school friend while texting another. The other is playing a video game with a friend on the other side of the city at the same time. Each member of the family is totally absorbed in his or her own piece of technology.
According to some experts, the effect of technology on human relationships is worrying as technology becomes a substitute for face-to-face human relationships. It appears to be the case that many people would much rather spend time with their electronic gadgets(电子产品) than with one another. Young people say it is difficult to get their parents’ attention and they have to compete with smartphones, tablets and other technology.
However, a report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project offers a more helpful and encouraging view, suggesting that far from replacing human contact, technology can actually better family relationships. Just over half of the 2,253 people surveyed agreed that technology had enabled them to increase their contact with distant family members and 47 percent said it had improved the communication with the people they lived with. Moreover, even the closest members of families need time away from each other at some point to seek their own interests. Family members who might otherwise have sat in separate rooms can now be in the same one while still occupying a different mental space.
Look back at our typical family scene above. Is it any different from four people reading their own books? Or is it driving families apart? Where technology will lead us remains to be seen. Yet there is no need to worry. As a matter of fact how it affects our family relationships depends on our attitude toward technology.
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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。
Jane Goodall was born in London in 1934. She became interested in animal stories when she was a very young child. She always dreamed of working with wild1.(animal). When she was eleven years old, she decided that she wanted2.(go) to Africa to live with and write about animals. But this was not the kind of thing young women usually did in the 1940s. Everybody was laughing except her mother. “If you3.(real) want something, you work hard, you take advantage of opportunity, you never give up, and you will find a way,” her mother said to her. The opportunity 4.(come) at last. A school friend invited her to Africa. Jane worked as5.waitress until she got enough money to travel there.
In 1957, Jane Goodall traveled to Africa. She soon met the well-known scientist Louis Leakey and began working for him as an assistant. He later asked her to study a group of chimpanzees6.(live) by a lake in Tanzania. Very little was known about wild chimpanzees at that time.
Jane spent many years studying chimpanzees 7.this area of Africa. It was not easy work. They were very shy and would run away 8.she came near. She learned to watch them from far away using binoculars ( 双 筒 望 远 镜 ). Over time, she slowly gained9.(they) trust. Watching the chimpanzees, she made many discoveries. They ate vegetables and fruit. But she found that they also eat meat. A few weeks later, she made an even more10.(surprise) discovery. She saw chimpanzees making and using tools to help them catch insects.
I’ve always had a love for baseball. So when my daughter was born, I looked forward to the time when I could share that______with her. From the time that she was quite______, we would spend lots of Sunday afternoons watching baseball games on television. As she_____ a bit older, we added the regular activity of going out in the backyard to play catch. So it should be no surprise that I was_____ to take her to see a live game someday.
There was a baseball _______ in our town one day when my daughter was about seven years old, so we made big plans to go to our first _________ baseball game together. The day finally came, and we had great seats. I ____ pointed out the position each player was playing and together we ______ each hit. We shared hot dogs and soda. To our_____, finally the team we liked won.
As we headed across the parking lot to our _________ after the game, an elderly gentleman _________ to us with a baseball in his hand and_____my daughter. “Excuse me,” he said, “I caught this baseball today and I already have a few. Would you like to have it? ” With ________ eyes, my daughter gratefully accepted the ball and we both___ the gentleman as he turned to go. It was the____ to a perfect day.
Years later, we were talking about things we had done when she was a kid. I remembered that first baseball game we attended together and, out of______, I asked her what she remembered about it. She____ responded with, “I remember that old man who _______ me the baseball!” Not the game itself, not the players or the hot dogs, but some random (随意的) person we___ in the parking lot.
Sometimes the most___ things about the events aren’t the experiences we have but the personal interactions we have with other people who are attending the same event.
1.A.entertainment B.advantage C.interest D.experience
2.A.modest B.young C.active D.outstanding
3.A.grew B.intended C.accepted D.directed
4.A.struggling B.waiting C.arguing D.longing
5.A.team B.coach C.competition D.show
6.A.convincing B.real C.charming D.crowded
7.A.eagerly B.calmly C.jokingly D.particularly
8.A.observed B.commented C.whispered D.cheered
9.A.amusement B.satisfaction C.kindness D.thanks
10.A.house B.place C.car D.direction
11.A.came B.waved C.explained D.pointed
12.A.searched for B.looked into C.listened to D.turned to
13.A.wide B.sleepy C.tearful D.hungry
14.A.comforted B.thanked C.encouraged D.inspired
15.A.chance B.summary C.period D.ending
16.A.curiosity B.control C.question D.freedom
17.A.coolly B.finally C.immediately D.gradually
18.A.gave B.lent C.returned D.found
19.A.respected B.supported C.met D.heard
20.A.ordinary B.practical C.meaningful D.useful