A reader from Manchester writes:

Dear Julie,

My question is ----What is Britain’s favourite sport? My dad says it’s football but I think he’s wrong. I think it’s tennis. Who is right?

    It’s not an easy question t o answer. Do you mean favourite sport for people to play （ participant sport）or for people to watch（ spectator sport）? The difference is important.

  Every year, four million people in Britain go fishing but every week, fifteen million watch football on TV.

   I telephoned the Sports Council in London and asked them the question.

   “It’s difficult to say which spectator sport is Britain’s favourite. There is football, of course, but the Tnnis Championships at Wimbledon are very popular, too and don’t forget the Olympic cricket and horse-racing.”

   So I can’t really answer the question about spectator sports.

   But the question about favourite participant sport is easy. The answer is  surprising. It isn’t football or tennis or any games with a ball. To give you a clue, it begins with “w”, it’s cheap , there ‘s no special equipment and everybody in Britain does it. The answer is walking. And the second favourite? Swimming.

1．What is the story talking about?

2．Is the question from Manchester to Julie?

3．How many people in Britain watch football on TV every week?

4．Where are the Tennis Championships held?

5．What’s Britain’s favourite participant sport?

Dear Miss Li,

I’d like to thank you for sending money    1   “Animal Helpers”, an organization set up to help disabled people. You see, you have helped    2   it possible for me to have “Lucky”. My life    3  pleasure because of him now. Let me tell you my story.

Being blind, deaf, unable to walk or use your hands    4   is something that most people cannot imagine. But there are many people who face these challenges, and I am one of them. Because I can’t use my arms or legs well, things like answering the telephone, opening and   5

doors or carrying things have always been difficult for me. Then one day last year, a friend of mine said that she would like to    6  . She said she would talk to “Animal Helpers” to see   

  7    it would be possible for me to get a trained dog. She also thought a dog might cheer me up. I told her that I love animals and that I’d love to have a dog.

   8   six months of training with a dog at “Animal Helpers”, I was able to   9   him

home. My dog’s name is “Lucky” – a good name for him    10   I feel very lucky to have him. You see, I’m only able to have a “dog-helper” because of your kind donation!

  11  , you might ask? Well, he has been trained to    12   different instructions. For example, I say, “Lucky! Fetch my book,” and he does it at once. He is very clever and understands many English words, even some difficult    13   like “upstairs”.

Lucky is an    14   dog. I’ll send you a photo of him if you like, and I could show you how he helps me too one day. And so I thank you again for supporting “Animal Helpers”. It is very important that this organization does not run out of money. Your donation   15   and the money is well used to help disabled people like me.

Best wishes,

Liz Smith

1.                A．of             B．to             C．from D．away

2.                A．make          B．made          C．become  D．making

3.                A．filled with       B．is full of         C．is fill with D．is full with

4.                A．carefully        B．quick           C．easily D．easy

5.                A．moving         B．close           C．shutting  D．shut

6.                A．help me over    B．give me out      C．dress me up   D．help me out

7.                A．who           B．if              C．why D．that

8.                A．After          B．During          C．In   D．Since

9.                A．carry          B．took           C．bring D．fetch

10.               A．because        B．according to     C．depend on D．in this way

11.                                A．What do I say    B．Where is Lucky

C．What do I think of Lucky             D．How does Lucky help me

12.               A．tell            B．understand      C．listen D．see

13.               A．thing          B．word          C．ones  D．one

14.               A．amazing        B．surprising       C．clever D．annoying

15.                                A．great appreciate  B．greatly appreciate

C．is great appreciated                D．is greatly appreciated

One day, I happened to meet an Englishman in the street and soon we began to talk. As I was talking about how I was studying English, the foreigner seemed to be very surprised, gently shaking his head and saying “You don’t say!”
I was confused, and I thought, “Perhaps this is not a right thing to talk about.” Then I said to him, “Well, shall we talk about the Great Wall? Have you ever visited it?”
“Certainly! Everyone back home will laugh at me if I leave here without seeing it. The Great Wall is wonderful! ” “Yes, it is one of the wonders in the world. And people of many countries have come to visit it.” As I went on telling him more about it, he stopped me again, “You don’t say!”
I couldn’t help asking, “Why couldn’t I talk about it?”
“Well, I didn’t stop you talking about it,” he answered, greatly surprised.
“Didn’t you say ‘You don’t say!’?” I asked again.
Hearing this, the foreigner laughed loudly. He began to explain, “’You don’t say!’ means ‘Really’. Perhaps you know little about English idioms(习惯用语).”
Wow! How foolish I was! Since then I have been careful with English idioms.
【小题1】What made the foreigner laugh loudly?