People who traveled in the past had to put up with many discomforts which we do not have nowadays, and of course they traveled far more slowly. Roads were bad indeed and you often found you could not get along at all because of the mud. In dry weather many places were thick in dust and when it was stormy, trees might fall across the road and it was nobody’s business to clear them away.

Ordinary people traveled on foot or on horseback, but everyone who could afford it kept a private coach. There were public coaches too. called “stage coaches” because long journeys took several days and were done in stages, with stops over night at inns. Some stage, coaches ran only in the summer months. Others all the year around. They were very slow and crowded and passengers often became in on the way because of the swaying (摇晃).

Break downs were frequent, since many roads were not smooth. So a coach might very easily turn right over. Early in the century coach and wagon builders were encouraged to put very wide wheels on their vehicles. So that these might level the roads a little. But many people complained of this since it slowed travel down a good deal.

Most travelers during the 18th century wrote bitterly about the state of the roads. One visitor to Sussex took six hours to travel nine miles in his coach; another wrote to a friend that on time of his journeys “almost every mile was marked by the overturn of a carriage”.

Which of the following mainly prevented people from travelling fast in the past?

A. Falling trees    B. Thick dust

C. Muddy road    D. Many discomforts

The underlined word “them” in the first paragraph refers to _____.

A. the discomforts     B. the blocked roads

C. the dusty places     D. the fallen trees

Public coaches were called “stage-coaches” because ______. 

A. the long journey was broken into several parts

B. they were slow and crowded

C. they stopped for meals at inns

D. they served public people only

The sentence “almost every mile was marked by the overturn of a carriage” suggests that ______.

A. the coaches were of poor quality

B. the writers liked to describe the road bitterly

C. the road condition was really poor

D. travelling about in the past was extremely slow

Most young people enjoy some forms of physical activity. It may be walking, cycling, or swimming, or in winter, skating or skiing. It may be a game of some forms—football, basketball, hockey, golf or tennis. It may be mountaineering.

Those who have a passion of climbing high and difficult mountains are often looked upon with astonishment. Why are men and women willing to suffer cold and hardship, and to take risks in high mountains? This astonishment is caused, probably, by the difference between mountaineering and other forms of activity to which men give their leisure.

   Mountaineering is a sport and not a game. There are no man-made rules, as others, as there are for such games as golf and football. There are, of course, rules of different kinds which would be dangerous to ignore, but it is this freedom from man-made rules that makes mountaineering attractive to many people. Those who climb mountains are free to use their own methods.

If we compare mountaineering with other more familiar sports we might think that one big difference is that mountaineering is not a “team game”. We should be mistaken in this. There are, it is true, no “ matches” between “teams” of climbers, but when climbers are on a rock face linked by a rope on which their lives may depend, there is obviously teamwork.

The mountain climber knows that he may have to fight forces that are stronger and more powerful than man. He has to fight the forces of nature. His sport requires high mental and physical qualities.

A mountain climber continues to improve in skill year by year. A skier is probably past his best by the age of thirty. But it is not unusual for men of fifty or sixty to climb the highest mountains in the Alps. They may take more time than younger men, but they perhaps climb with more skills and less waste of effort, and they certainly experience equal enjoyment.

What sports are popular among people in winter in the passage?

A. Soccer and golf.              B. Skiing and skating.   

C. Cycling and hockey.           D. Mountaineering.

The underlined word “passion” in Paragraph 2 could best be replaced by ______.

A. strong emotion               B. good way  

Mountaineering is a sport, not a game because_______.

A. it has man-made rules               

B. it is too dangerous for climbers

C. it can’t bring people joy or leisure    

D. it is free for climbers to use their own methods

We know from the passage that _______.

 A. mountaineering has no appeal for people 

B. physical quality is more important than mental one for climbers

C. a mountain climber passes his best by the age of thirty

D. it is possible for an old man of fifty or sixty to climb the Alps

What is the best title for the passage?

A. Sports in winter             B. Team work in climbing

C. Mountaineering             D. The quality for mountaineering

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