When you think of the tremendous technological progress we have made, it’s amazing how little we have developed in other respects. We may speak scornfully of the poor old Romans because they enjoyed the seemingly excited killing that went on in their arenas（竞技场）. We may despise them because they mistook these goings on for entertainment. We may forgive them because they lived 2000 years ago and obviously knew no better. But are our feelings of superiority（优越）really justified? Are we any less blood-thirsty? Why do boxing matches, for instance, attract such universal interest? Don’t the audience who attend them hope they will see some violence? Human beings remain as bloodthirsty as ever they were. The only difference between ourselves and the Romans is that while they were honest enough to admit that they enjoyed watching hungry lions tearing people apart and eating them alive, we find all sorts of arguments to defend sports which should have been banned long ago.
　　It really is incredible that in this day and age we should still allow hunting or bull-fighting, that we should be prepared to sit back and watch two men punch each other in a boxing ring, that we should be relatively unmoved by the sight of one or a number of racing cars crashing and bursting into flames. Any talk of ‘the sporting spirit’ is merely hypocrisy（虚伪）. People take part in violent sports because of the high rewards they bring. Audience are willing to pay vast sums of money to see violence. A world heavyweight championship match, for instance, is front page news. Millions of people are disappointed if a big fight is over in two rounds instead of fifteen. They feel disappointment because they haven’t experienced the exquisite pleasure of witnessing continuous violence.
　　Why should we ban violent sports if people enjoy them so much? You may well ask. The answer is simple: they are uncivilized. For centuries man has been trying to improve himself spiritually and emotionally—though with little success. But at least we no longer tolerate the sight madmen imprisoned in cages, or public punishment of any of the countless other barbarous (野蛮的) practices which were common in the past. Prisons are no longer the harsh forbidding places they used to be. Social welfare systems are in operation in many parts of the world. Big efforts are being made to distribute wealth fairly. These changes have come about not because human beings have suddenly improved, but because positive steps were taken to change the law. The law is the biggest instrument of social change that we have and it may exert great civilizing influence. If we banned dangerous and violent sports, we would be moving one step further to improving mankind. We would recognize that violence is unworthy of human beings.
【小题1】It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s opinion of nowadays’ human beings is ________________

When you think of the tremendous technological progress we have made, it’s amazing how little we have developed in other respects. We may speak scornfully of the poor old Romans because they enjoyed the seemingly excited killing that went on in their arenas（竞技场）. We may despise them because they mistook these goings on for entertainment. We may forgive them because they lived 2000 years ago and obviously knew no better. But are our feelings of superiority（优越）really justified? Are we any less blood-thirsty? Why do boxing matches, for instance, attract such universal interest? Don’t the audience who attend them hope they will see some violence? Human beings remain as bloodthirsty as ever they were. The only difference between ourselves and the Romans is that while they were honest enough to admit that they enjoyed watching hungry lions tearing people apart and eating them alive, we find all sorts of arguments to defend sports which should have been banned long ago.

　　It really is incredible that in this day and age we should still allow hunting or bull-fighting, that we should be prepared to sit back and watch two men punch each other in a boxing ring, that we should be relatively unmoved by the sight of one or a number of racing cars crashing and bursting into flames. Any talk of ‘the sporting spirit’ is merely hypocrisy（虚伪）. People take part in violent sports because of the high rewards they bring. Audience are willing to pay vast sums of money to see violence. A world heavyweight championship match, for instance, is front page news. Millions of people are disappointed if a big fight is over in two rounds instead of fifteen. They feel disappointment because they haven’t experienced the exquisite pleasure of witnessing continuous violence.

　　Why should we ban violent sports if people enjoy them so much? You may well ask. The answer is simple: they are uncivilized. For centuries man has been trying to improve himself spiritually and emotionally—though with little success. But at least we no longer tolerate the sight madmen imprisoned in cages, or public punishment of any of the countless other barbarous (野蛮的) practices which were common in the past. Prisons are no longer the harsh forbidding places they used to be. Social welfare systems are in operation in many parts of the world. Big efforts are being made to distribute wealth fairly. These changes have come about not because human beings have suddenly improved, but because positive steps were taken to change the law. The law is the biggest instrument of social change that we have and it may exert great civilizing influence. If we banned dangerous and violent sports, we would be moving one step further to improving mankind. We would recognize that violence is unworthy of human beings.

1.It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s opinion of nowadays’ human beings is ________________

2.Why does the author mention the old Romans in this article?

3.How many dangerous sports does the author mention in this passage?

4.     What does the author want to illustrate in this article?

Do you know what kind of things the young people are reading? More and more  36  and parents have noticed another kind of pollution, which comes from the printed papers  37  on streets.
　　These printed things 38  newspapers but have hardly anything to do with 39 . You can only find reading materials badly made up there---some are too strange for anyone to 40 ,  others are frightening stories of something  41  .However, many of the young readers are getting interested in such  42  reading, which  43 them what they should pay for their breakfast and brings them nightmares（噩梦）and immoral（邪恶）ideas in  44 .  Homework is left  45 ,  and daily games are lost.
　　These sellers shout on streets selling their papers well. The writers, publishers and printers,  46  they are, we never know,  are  47 their silent money.
The sheep-skinned wolf’s story seems to have been forgotten once again .Why not 48 this kind of thing? Yes, both teachers and parents have asked each other for more strict control of the young readers.  49  ,the more you want to forbid it, the more they want to have a look at it. 50  you may even find  several children, driven by the curious natures,  51  one patched paper,  which has travelled from hand to hand.
　　It really does 52  to our society. It has already formed a sort of moral pollution. The  53  teachers and parents need more powerful support in their protection of the young generation. At the same time the young 54  need more interesting books to help them  55  those ugly papers.

When you think of the tremendous technological progress we have made, it’s amazing how little we have developed in other respects. We may speak scornfully of the poor old Romans because they enjoyed the seemingly excited killing that went on in their arenas（竞技场）. We may despise them because they mistook these goings on for entertainment. We may forgive them because they lived 2000 years ago and obviously knew no better. But are our feelings of superiority（优越）really justified? Are we any less blood-thirsty? Why do boxing matches, for instance, attract such universal interest? Don’t the audience who attend them hope they will see some violence? Human beings remain as bloodthirsty as ever they were. The only difference between ourselves and the Romans is that while they were honest enough to admit that they enjoyed watching hungry lions tearing people apart and eating them alive, we find all sorts of arguments to defend sports which should have been banned long ago.

　　It really is incredible that in this day and age we should still allow hunting or bull-fighting, that we should be prepared to sit back and watch two men punch each other in a boxing ring, that we should be relatively unmoved by the sight of one or a number of racing cars crashing and bursting into flames. Any talk of ‘the sporting spirit’ is merely hypocrisy（虚伪）. People take part in violent sports because of the high rewards they bring. Audience are willing to pay vast sums of money to see violence. A world heavyweight championship match, for instance, is front page news. Millions of people are disappointed if a big fight is over in two rounds instead of fifteen. They feel disappointment because they haven’t experienced the exquisite pleasure of witnessing continuous violence.

　　Why should we ban violent sports if people enjoy them so much? You may well ask. The answer is simple: they are uncivilized. For centuries man has been trying to improve himself spiritually and emotionally—though with little success. But at least we no longer tolerate the sight madmen imprisoned in cages, or public punishment of any of the countless other barbarous (野蛮的) practices which were common in the past. Prisons are no longer the harsh forbidding places they used to be. Social welfare systems are in operation in many parts of the world. Big efforts are being made to distribute wealth fairly. These changes have come about not because human beings have suddenly improved, but because positive steps were taken to change the law. The law is the biggest instrument of social change that we have and it may exert great civilizing influence. If we banned dangerous and violent sports, we would be moving one step further to improving mankind. We would recognize that violence is unworthy of human beings.

It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s opinion of nowadays’ human beings is ________________

A. not very high.             B. high.       C. scornful.       D. neutral

Why does the author mention the old Romans in this article?

A. To reveal that the old Romans first started violent sports.

B. To prove that the old Romans were not civilized.

C. To show human beings in the past knew nothing better.

D. To indicate human beings today are as bloodthirsty as the old Romans.

How many dangerous sports does the author mention in this passage?

A. Three.             B. Four.    C. Five.                     D. Six.

     What does the author want to illustrate in this article?

A.  By banning the violent sports, we human beings can improve ourselves.

B.  By banning the dangerous sports, we can improve the law.

C.  We must take positive steps to improve social welfare system.

D.  Law is the main instrument of social change.

Do you know what kind of things the young people are reading? More and more  36  and parents have noticed another kind of pollution, which comes from the printed papers  37  on streets.

　　These printed things 38  newspapers but have hardly anything to do with 39 . You can only find reading materials badly made up there---some are too strange for anyone to 40 ,  others are frightening stories of something  41  .However, many of the young readers are getting interested in such  42  reading, which  43 them what they should pay for their breakfast and brings them nightmares（噩梦）and immoral（邪恶）ideas in  44 .  Homework is left  45 ,  and daily games are lost.

　　These sellers shout on streets selling their papers well. The writers, publishers and printers,  46  they are, we never know,  are  47 their silent money.

The sheep-skinned wolf's story seems to have been forgotten once again .Why not 48 this kind of thing? Yes, both teachers and parents have asked each other for more strict control of the young readers.  49  ,the more you want to forbid it, the more they want to have a look at it. 50  you may even find  several children, driven by the curious natures,  51  one patched paper,  which has travelled from hand to hand.

　　It really does 52  to our society. It has already formed a sort of moral pollution. The  53  teachers and parents need more powerful support in their protection of the young generation. At the same time the young 54  need more interesting books to help them  55  those ugly papers.