Nowadays, people have a heated discussion on whether the pressure on international sports players kills the essence of sport --- the pursuit of personal excellence. Children kick a football around for fun. When they get older and play for local school teams, they become competitive but they still enjoy playing. The individual representing his country cannot afford to think about enjoying himself; he has to think only about winning. He is responsible for the entire nation’s hopes, dreams and reputation.
A good example is the football World Cup. Football is the world’s most important sport. Winning the World Cup is perhaps the summit of international sporting success. Mention Argentina to someone and the chances are that he’ll think of football. In a sense, winning the World Cup put Argentina on the map.
Sports fans and supporters get quite irrational about the World Cup. People in England felt that their country was somehow important after they won in 1966. Last year thousands of Scots sold their cars, and even their houses, and spent all their money travelling to Argentina, where the finals were played.
So, am I arguing that international competition kills the idea of sport? Certainly not! Do the Argentinians really believe that because eleven of their men proved the most skillful at football, their nation is in every way better than all others? Not really, but it’s nice to know that you won and that in one way at least your country is the best.
1.According to the passage, if a sportsman only thinks about winning, he will ___________.
A.fail to succeed. B.lose enjoyment.
C.achieve success. D.go unreasonable.
2.The main idea of the first paragraph is that ____________.
A.children take part in all kinds of sports because sports activities give them pleasure.
B.competitions between different school teams make sports no longer a personal act for fun.
C.some people believe that international competition makes sports a task, a responsibility, for the individuals.
D.some people think international competition is in a way opposite to the pursuit of personal excellence.
3.What does the speaker mean when he says “In a sense, winning the World Cup put Argentina on the map”?
A.Winning the World Cup makes Argentina a football power in the world.
B.Argentina is not important before it wins the World Cup.
C.Winning the World Cup gives weight to Argentina’s position in the world.
D.Argentina is world-famous for its football because of its obvious position on the map.
4.The word “irrational” in the third paragraph means __________.
A.passionate, B.unreasonable.
C.angry, D.happy,
Sunday, October 5
Clear, 69°F
My wife, Eleanor, and I took the train from Paris to Strasbourg, where we were met by our driver and guide, and the minibus which goes along with the boat. We stopped off in Barn for an hour on the way. Then we were taken to Nancy where the boat was kept.
After the other passengers arrived, we had our first dinner on the boat. After dinner we walked into downtown Nancy, a village with a large square and wooden houses.
Monday, October 6
Rained last night, cloudy in the morning, 69°F
We spent about two hours in Nancy, then sailed on the Canal de la Marne au Rhine. Kind of a lazy day, eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner. After dinner we watched a tape on Baccarat, which we will visit tomorrow.
It was pleasant to sit out on deck and watch the scenery go by at about 3 mph.
Tuesday, October 7
Light rain, 64°F
This morning we drove over to Baccarat and toured its museum and the church, which has this unbelievable lamp that is going on a world tour the next day. We did lots of shopping, then walked across the bridge to see a very, very modern Catholic church with special Baccarat windows.
We drove to the top of the Voges Mountains and started down the eastern side. Later we drove to Sorrenbourg to see the 13th century church at the Cordeliers. It contains the largest window by Marc Chagall - 24 feet wide by 40 feet high.
Wednesday, October 8
Cloud, 65 °F
Today we sailed from Schneckenbush to Saverne. We went through two caves, an extremely unusual part of the journey. This river scenery is very different. We were in a mountain valley with grassland on one side and a forest beginning to show some color on the other.
Thursday, October 9
Cloudy, 66°F
Our dependable minibus was waiting to load the luggage and take us to the hotel where everyone went their separate ways. Our boating days are over until next time.
1.Where did the author get off the train?
A.Paris. B.Strasbourg.
C.Nancy. D.Barn.
2.On which days did the tourists spend most of their time on the boat?
A.Monday and Tuesday. B.Tuesday and Wednesday.
C.Wednesday and Thursday. D.Monday and Wednesday.
3.From the text, we learn that Baccarat and Sorrenbourg are the names of ________.
A.towns B.churches
C.museums D.mountains
In 1965, 17-year-old high school student Randy Gardner stayed awake for 264 hours to see how he’d cope without sleep. On the second day, his eyes stopped focusing. Next, he lost the ability to ________ objects by touch. By day three, Gardner was moody and uncoordinated. At the end of the experiment, he was ________ to concentrate, had trouble with short-term memory and started hallucinating(出现幻觉). Although Gardner recovered without long-term psychological or physical ________, for others, sleeplessness can result in hormone(激素) imbalance, illness, and even death.
Sleep is ________. Adults need 7 to 8 hours of sleep at night, and adolescents need about 10. In the United States, it's estimated that 30% of adults and 66% of adolescents are ________ sleep deprived. When we lose sleep, learning, memory, mood, and reaction time are affected. Sleeplessness may also cause inflammation, hallucinations, high blood pressure, and it's even been ________ to diabetes and obesity.
How can sleep ________ cause such enormous suffering? Scientists think the answer lies with the ________ of waste products in the brain. During our waking hours, our cells are busy using up our day's energy sources with get broken down into various by-products, including adenosine(腺苷酸). As adenosine builds up, it increases the ________ to sleep, also known as sleep pressure. In fact, caffeine works by ________ adenosine's receptor pathways. Other waste products also build up in the brain, and if they're not cleared away, they collectively ________ the brain and are thought to lead to the many negative symptoms of sleep deprivation.
So, what's happening in our brain when we sleep, to prevent this? Scientists found something called the Lymphatic System, a clean-up mechanism(机能) that removes this build up and is much more ________ when we're asleep. It works by using cerebrospinal fluid(脑脊髓液) to flush away toxic by-products that accumulate between cells. Lymphatic vessels, which ________ pathways for immune cells have recently been discovered in the brain, and they may also play a role in ________ the brain's daily waste products. While scientists continue exploring the restorative mechanisms behind sleep, we can be sure that sleeping is a(n) ________ if we want to maintain our health and our sanity.
1.A.produce B.identify C.move D.discover
2.A.balancing B.reminded C.struggling D.intended
3.A.ability B.outcome C.response D.damage
4.A.essential B.healthy C.investigated D.neglected
5.A.scarcely B.temporarily C.regularly D.hopefully
6.A.occurred B.linked C.increased D.developed
7.A.deprivation B.sufficiency C.absence D.pressure
8.A.accumulation B.discovery C.resource D.prevention
9.A.symptom B.power C.difficulty D.urge
10.A.clearing B.blocking C.holding D.assisting
11.A.overload B.pollute C.protect D.explore
12.A.harmful B.active C.tense D.necessary
13.A.serve as B.block up C.tear down D.point to
14.A.analyzing B.removing C.following D.dividing
15.A.system B.priority C.opportunity D.necessity
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.
