Today, roller-skating is easy and fun. But a long time ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, no one had any ideas of roller-skating. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. He liked to make things and play the violin in his free time. Joseph Merlin was a man of ideas and dreams. People called him a dreamer.
One day Merlin was invited to a party. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make an amazing entrance at the party. He had an idea. He thought everyone at the party would show much interest if he could skate into the room.
Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skates. Merlin was proud of his invention and dreamed of arrived at the party on wheels while playing the violin.
On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was surprised to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. He rolled on and on. Suddenly, he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. The mirror fell down, breaking into pieces. Merlin’s idea was so good that nobody forgot his special entrance for a long time. But could he find out a way to stop his roller skates?
【小题1】People thought Merlin was a dreamer because he __________.

Mr Bean, who is silly, awkward (笨拙的)    1   always funny and enjoyable, is a world-famous comedy character on TV and in movies. He makes people    2 through a series of simple and funny acts   3  body languages. Rowan Atkinson is the   4  who plays Mr Bean. Mr Atkinson is quite   5   for playing Mr Bean. 

Rowan was born on January 6, 1955, and   6  his early years on the family farm with his mother, three older brothers and his strict father, who did not believe   7  the value of television. For a time, he attended the same school as Tony Blair, who was two years older than him. At the age of 13, he   8   at Newcastle University where he had the highest marks in his year. At Oxford he got his Master’s degree (硕士学位) in electrical engineering. He was particularly  9  fast cars, of which he has a large collection.

Rowan’s career change from an electrical engineer to a famous comedian was partly   10  some speaking problems he had in his childhood.

While he was still at primary school, Rowan had already shown great talent in    11  . Although his teachers predicted (预言) a career in acting, Rowan was not confident   12   he met a group of talented people at university, and he realized this could be a career for him. Another important event    13  . One day in 1976, he was playing around and making faces  14 . He realized something. “I discovered my face,” he said later. John Lloyd, who worked for the BBC, says, “When I watched Mr Atkinson act for the first time, I was   15  that he would be more famous than Chaplin.”

1.                A．and            B．or             C．but  D．while

2.                A．laugh          B．sing            C．cry  D．dance

3.                A．use            B．using           C．to use    D．to using

4.                A．doctor         B．writer          C．actor     D．farmer

5.                A．honest         B．friendly `        C．helpful   D．famous

6.                A．cost           B．took           C．paid D．spent

7.                A．in             B．on             C．at   D．/

8.                A．worked         B．studied         C．played   D．helped

9.                A．good at         B．amazed at       C．interested in   D．worried about

10.               A．because        B．because of      C．so    D．since

11.               A．swimming       B．driving         C．acting D．singing

12.               A．until           B．but            C．after  D．before

13.               A．caused         B．missed         C．caught    D．occurred

14.               A．in the mirror    B．in class         C．on the wall D．in the playground

15.               A．afraid          B．sure           C．worried   D．surprised

---What’s this ____ the wall? --- It’s a photo ____ my family.

Basketball is still a young game. It's over a hundred years old. In the winter of 1891, a certain college was having some trouble with its boy students. The weather was bad and the students had to stay indoors. As they couldn't play outdoors, they were unhappy, and some even got into fights from time to time.
　　Some of the teachers, at the college asked Dr. Naismith to invent a game so that the students might have something to play with. It was not easy to invent such a game because it had to be played indoors , and the court (球场) was not very large.
　　Dr. Naismith thought for a few days and invented a kind of ball game. It was a fast, wonderful game with much moving and passing of the ball. It was played between two teams. To make a score , the ball had to be thrown into the basket ten feet(英尺) above the floor on the wall . At each end of the court there was such a basket. At first, Dr. Naismith wanted to throw the ball into a box. As he could not find boxes of the right size, he had to use fruit baskets instead. That is how the game got its name.
【小题1】 How long is it since basketball was invented?