Some people argue that the pressures on international sportsmen and sportswomen kill the essence(本质) of sport-seeking for 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. A single person’s representing his country cannot afford to think about enjoying himself; he has to think only about winning. He is responsible for an entire nation’s hopes, dreams and fame.
A good example is the football World Cup. Football is the world’s most important sport. It is even more important now that the United States is seriously taking it up. Winning the World Cup is perhaps the greatest 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(失去理性的) about the World Cup. People in England felt that their country was somehow important after they won in 1996. Last year thousands of Scots sold their cars, and even their houses and spent all their money traveling to Argentina where the finals were played.
So am I arguing that international competition kills the idea of sports? Certainly not! Do the Argentineans really believe that because eleven of their men proved that most skillful at football, their nation is in every way better than all others? Not really. But it’s known that you won, and that in one way at least your country is best.
【小题1】What is the writer’s main purpose in the passage?

 A well-known English magazine invited five people to answer a series of

questions. One of the questions is: Do you enjoy foreign food? Match the name of each person to one of the statements given below.

56. John Harvey:

  In fact if you go out to a restaurant, it’s very difficult to find the “British” cooking, but you can find almost anything else: French, Italian, Chinese, Indian and so on. London is full of foreign restaurants. I love trying “new dishes.” I think you can understand a lot about another culture from its food.

57. Jo Baker:

  I like foreign food, but not all. I particularly do not like Indian food, although I quite enjoy a mild curry I make myself. I like most European dishes, but Spanish food is quite low down on my list. However, I think you have to travel a long way to beat good old English cooking. What can be nicer than the aroma of a piece of beef roasted in the oven, surrounded by crisp roast potatoes and served with piping hot Yorkshire puddings, vegetables and gravy? From my point of view, I think foreign food is all right when you are abroad. You see, that’s just part of the enjoyment of travelling to another country. Foreign food is also fine for an odd night out to restaurant, but for every day please give me good old English food.

58. Gabby Macadam:

  On the whole I enjoy foreign food, but having said that I can think of dozens of foreign dishes which I simply can’t stand. You see, they have fish in some way or other and I never eat fish in any form. I have found that many foreign dishes are served with a kind of sauce. I think it is the accompanying sauce that hides all sorts of problems. I am not so sure that I would be as fond of them as I am if they were served without the sauce.

59. Len Dangerfield:

  When we English people travel abroad, we always make a great fuss about studying the menu but always end up with steak. You see, when I’m abroad I always miss our home cooking. I mean, I’m used to English food. Sometimes I do go to restaurant to taste some exotic dishes, but most of the time I still prefer to have English food. You know, it’s always difficult to get used to food in other countries.

60. Peter Hawke:

  I like foreign food. I particularly like Indian food. Well, I’m married to an Indian girl. She is a good cook. I’m so lucky to have her cook for me every day. I think Indian food as well as other foreign foods is generally tastier and spicier than English food. Traditional English dishes, like roast beef and Yorkshire pudding and fish and chips, are quite well-known abroad. But I must say as a nation we are not particularly good at catering. As far as I’m concerned, I think we should learn to cook more interesting dishes and make our food tastier and more varied.

A. Cooking varies from country to country even though the basic gradients may be very much the same.

B. I can’t stand those foreign dishes which contain fish in some way or other, and I’m not so sure that I’m fond of many foreign dishes which are served with a kind sauce.

C. I think foreign food is all right when you are abroad, but for every day, traditional English food is always my first choice.

D. Foreign dishes can be tasted occasionally, but I find it difficult to adjust to the tastes. So I still prefer English food.

E. I love foreign food, and I think people can understand a lot about another culture from what they eat.

F. English people should learn to cook more attractive dishes and make their food more delicious and varied.

Some people argue that the pressures on international sportsmen and sportswomen kill the essence(本质) of sport-seeking for 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. A single person’s representing his country cannot afford to think about enjoying himself; he has to think only about winning. He is responsible for an entire nation’s hopes, dreams and fame.

A good example is the football World Cup. Football is the world’s most important sport. It is even more important now that the United States is seriously taking it up. Winning the World Cup is perhaps the greatest 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(失去理性的) about the World Cup. People in England felt that their country was somehow important after they won in 1996. Last year thousands of Scots sold their cars, and even their houses and spent all their money traveling to Argentina where the finals were played.

So am I arguing that international competition kills the idea of sports? Certainly not! Do the Argentineans really believe that because eleven of their men proved that most skillful at football, their nation is in every way better than all others? Not really. But it’s known that you won, and that in one way at least your country is best.

1.What is the writer’s main purpose in the passage?

2.According to the passage, Argentina is world famous because of its ____.

3.According to the passage, if a sportsman thinks about winning, he will ____.

4.What is the writer’s attitude towards international games?

5. From this passage, we can infer that ____.

A LESSON FROM A FROG TALE

A group of frogs were jumping through the woods when two of them fell into a deep hole. All of the other frogs  1  around the hole to see what could be done to help their   2  . When they saw how deep the hole was, the rest of the group   3  that it was hopeless and told the two frogs in the hole that they should prepare themselves for their fate（命运）, because they were as good as   4  .

Unwilling to accept this terrible fate, the two frogs began to jump with all of their   5  . Some of the frogs shouted into the hole that it was   6  , and that the two frogs wouldn’t be in that   7  if they has been more careful.

The other frogs continued  8  shouting that they two should save their   9 and give up, since they were already as good as dead. The two frogs  10  jumping as hard as they could, and after several hours of hopeless   11  they were quite tired.

Finally, one of the two frogs followed the calls of his fellows. Disheartened, he lay down at the   12  of the hole, and died as the others looked on in helpless sorrow. The other frog continued to jump with every bit of energy he had,  13  he was completely worn out.

His companions began a new shouting to him to accept his fate, stop the pain and   14  die. The frog jumped harder and harder and, wonder of wonders, finally jumped so   15  that he sprang from the hole.  16  , the other frogs celebrated his unbelievable freedom and then gathering around him asked, “Why did you continue jumping when we told you it was impossible?”  17  their lips, the astonished frog explained to them that he was deaf, and that when he saw their gestures and shouting, he thought they were   19  him on. What he had got as   19  inspired him to try harder and finally succeeded.

This simple story contains a powerful lesson. Your encouraging words can   20  someone up and help him or her make it through the day.

1．A．jumped                 B．hung                   C．rushed                D．gathered

2．A．relatives                B．companions         C．neighbors            D．families

4．A．alive                     B．dead                    C．awake                 D．calm

5．A．mind                     B．skill                     C．strength              D．force

6．A．harmless               B．endless                C．careless               D．hopeless

7．A．action                   B．situation              C．direction              D．competition

8．A．sorrowfully           B．painfully              C．carefully              D．helpfully

9．A．time                      B．resource              C．energy                D．supply

10．A．stopped               B．continued            C．avoided               D．started

11．A．climb                  B．wait                    C．fight                   D．effort

12．A．top                     B．edge                    C．bottom                D．side

13．A．while                  B．however              C．therefore             D．although

14．A．just                     B．still                     C．yet                      D．even

15．A．great                   B．well                    C．far                      D．high

16．A．Pleased               B．Satisfied              C．Amazed               D．Amused

17．A．Looking              B．Reading               C．Seeing                 D．Checking

18．A．cheering              B．praising               C．persuading           D．supporting

19．A．treatment             B．entertainment       C．achievement        D．encouragement

20．A．hold  B．lift     C．bring D．build

A Good Custodian

I know a woman who tries hard to be a good custodian．

I pass her every day after school as she pushes her cart down my

hallway．Of course, she is my building's cleaner,

One Tuesday morning I came into school and saw a 　36 on my

desk from my custodian,

It seemed that some unbearable first year students had damaged the bathroom in a particularly disgusting way and she had been 　37　 to clean it．This took　 38　 than she had expected． She had left the typewritten note on my desk to 　39 for not being able to clean my room as she was 　40　 to do．

At the beginning of the period, I shared her note with my first period　 41　 When I mentioned that our custodian had apologized to us, their first 　42 was to volunteer to seek out and beat up those first year students for making our custodian have to clean up their 　43　 . It turned out that just about all of my students also knew our custodian by name -all of them responded with smiles and 　44　 for a long time about this time or that time when she'd　 45 each of them in the hallway．That she felt she needed to apologize 　46　 a strong reaction from many of the kids．

As the class period was about to end, I asked them to　 47 the floor like I do every period and thanked them for picking up any garbage 　 48　 it wasn't theirs．My entire class disappeared; they each disappeared instantly　 49　 their desks to pick up those annoying tiny pieces of paper that 　50　 so easily from notebooks．One girl made a （an）　 51　 that I later used with my other classes:" Her job might be to clean the room, but she shouldn't have to clean up　 52 us．There's a difference．”

I believe that people know the difference between right and wrong．I believe that people appreciate it when others　 53　 take care of them．And I believe that people, even adolescents who are not quite yet mature, appreciate it when they see someone who takes 　54　 in her work． Sometimes we need a 　55　 of the things we take for granted ．．．things like a good custodian to take care of us．

36．A．paper　　　　　　　　 　 B．handbook　　　　 　　　 C．note　　　　　　 　　　　 D．letter

37．A．advised　　　　　　　 　 B．persuaded　　　 　　　 C．allowed　　　 　　　　 D．charged

38．A．shorter　　　　　　　 　 B．longer　　　　　　 　　　 C．mare　　　　　 　　　　 D．less

39．A．apologize　　　　　　 　 B．regret　　　　　　 　　　 C．appeal　　　　 　　　　 D．complain

40．A．recommended 　　　 B．believed　　　　　　　　 C．approved　　　　　　　 D．scheduled

41．A．class　　　　　　　　　　 B．colleagues　　　　　　　 C．staff　　　　　　　　　　　 D．members

42．A．answer　　　　　　　　　 B．reaction,　　　　　　　　 C．decision　　　　　　　　 D．behavior

43．A．room　　　　　　　　　　 B．desks　　　　　　　　　　 C．mess　　　　　　　　　　 D．chaos

44．A．talked　　　　　　　　　　 B．asked　　　　　　　　　　 C．quarreled　　　　　　　 D．discussed

45．A．visited　　　　　　　　　 B．called　　　　　　　　　　 C．praised　　　　　　　　　 D．greeted

46．A．made　　　　　　　　　　 B．showed　　　　　　　　　 C．earned　　　　　　　　　 D．accepted

47．A．sweep　　　　　　　　　 B．examine　　　　　　　　 C．check　　　　　　　　　　 D．mop

48．A．even if　　　　　　　　　 B．only if　　　　　　　　　　 C．if only　　　　　　　　　 D．if ever

49．A．above　　　　　　　　　　 B．under　　　　　　　　　　 C．beyond　　　　　　　　　 D．across

50．A．leave　　　　　　　　　　 B．fall　　　　　　　　　　　　 C．fly　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．miss

51．A．promise　　　　　　　　 B．agreement　　　　　　　 C．announcement 　　　 D．comment

52．A．after　　　　　　　　　　　 B．before　　　　　　　　　　 C．with　　　　　　　　　　　 D．for

53．A．freely　　　　　　　　　　 B．gently　　　　　　　　　　 C．hopefully　　　　　　　 D．sincerely

54．A．advantage　　　　　　　 B．pride　　　　　　　　　　　 C．action　　　　　　　　　　 D．chance

55．A．keeper　　　　　　　　 B．caretaker　　　　　　 C．reminder　　　　　　 D．observer