The 2008 Beijing Olympics began officially on Friday 8th August 2008 at 8 pm in front of a crowd of 90,000 eager spectators in the Bird's Nest stadium.

Things got off to a bang with a starting firework display which lit up Beijing's skyline, followed by a total of 2,008 energetic drummers beating a countdown（倒计时）. Then the crowd was treated to an amazing sequence（系列） pretty and carefully designed scenes which took them through 5,000 years of Chinese history and culture.

After these performances, it was time for the athletes themselves to take center stage. In keeping with tradition, Olympic founders Greece led the 204 competing nations into the stadium.

China's 639 athletes entered last behind towering flag bearer Yao Ming, to a thunderous reception from the crowd.

Finally, the main torch was lit by a jet of fire  from Chinese Olympic hero Li Ning, who had been pulled up to the roof of the stadium on wires.

China, of course, was not alone in watching the opening ceremony. British newspaper The Guardian said the show "outdid all of its former hosts in numbers, colour, noise and expense."

The Financial Times was equally impressed. "No country ever has--or surely will--match the Chinese in effort, human power, organization, creativity and , it has to be said, money they were willing to put into what once a little show."

No pressure on the next host city then! With just four years to go, the London Olympic organizers have promised to deliver an equally inspirational ceremony. Let's hope they can pull it off.

45. Which of the following is the right order of the opening ceremony of 29th Olympic Games?

a. China's athletes entered last behind Yao Ming.

b. A starting firework display lit up Beijing's skyline.

c. The main torch was lit by a jet of fire from Chinese Olympic hero Li Ning.

d. A total  of 2,008 energetic drummers beat a countdown.

e. The crowd was treated to an amazing sequence of pretty and carefully designed scenes which took them through 5,000 years of Chinese history and culture.

f. Olympic founders Greece led the 204 competing nations into the stadium.

A. b, d, e, a, f, c              B. d, c, b, a, e, f               C. d, c, a, e, b, f        D. b, d, e, f, a, c

46. What does the underlined word outdid probably mean in this passage?

A. did well              B. did worse than         C. did better than             D. did poorly

47. Which of the following can best describe the author's attitude toward the London Olympics?

A. negative              B. sad                         C. positive                       D. satisfied

48. We can find the passage in a newspaper most probably in _____________section.

A. music                B. sports                       C. literature                    D. military

Some Chinese new - rich like eating shark fin soup because they think it shows their class. However, for the Chinese NBA idol Yao Ming, doing so is unacceptable as the practice has led to the overfishing of sharks.
When Yao and his wife Ye Li got married in 2007, they publicly announced that they would not allow shark fin soup to be served at their wedding banquet.
Actually, Yao had been saying no to shark fins since 2006, when he was appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador for wild life protection.
Now, the 226 - cm big guy is resorting to his personal influence to encourage more to say no to eating the soup and to raise awareness of protecting animals. “Sharks are friends of human beings. They are not our food,” Yao said.
Other celebrity athletes like Olympic champions. Li Ning and Kong Linghui are following on the heels of Yao, throwing themselves into serving the public as Goodwill Ambassadors for wild animal rescue. Recent reports about Yao’s retirement have saddened tens of thousands of basketball fans both at home and abroad. Yet Yao's influence goes far beyond the basketball courts.
Yao has engaged himself in charity and public welfare services for quite a while. When the devastating 8.0 －magnitude earthquake hit Wenchuan in southwest China in 2008 , Yao donated 2 million yuan. “When I was a little boy, my parents and teachers told me to help others and to be a good man,” Yao recalled. “But I could nor donate then because I had not much pocket money. After I moved to Houston, I got involved in quite a number of community service activities and I felt a strong sense of achievement when I got people together,”Yao said.
Like Yao, newly crowned French Open champion Li Na has showed her willingness to donate. Li gave 480,000 yuan of her prize money from the open, plus 20,000 yuan from her own pocket, to a local nursing home in her hometown. Another Chinese sports icon, hurdler Liu Xiang, has also been actively involved in charity for years.
【小题1】The reason why some Chinese new-rich like eating shark fin soup is that they think            ．

Some Chinese new-rich like eating shark fin soup because they think it shows their class. However, for the Chinese NBA idol Yao Ming, doing so is unacceptable as the practice has led to the overfishing of sharks.
When Yao and his wife Ye Li got married in 2007, they publicly announced that they would not allow shark fin soup to be served at their wedding banquet.
Actually, Yao had been saying no to shark fins since 2006, when he was appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador for wild life protection.
Now, the 226-cm big guy is resorting to his personal influence to encourage more to say no to eating the soup and to raise awareness of animal protection. "Sharks are friends of human beings. They are not our food," Yao said.
Other celebrity athletes like Olympic champions Li Ning and Kong Linghui are following on the heels of Yao, throwing themselves into serving the public as Goodwill Ambassadors for wild animal rescue. Recent reports about Yao's retirement have saddened tens of thousands of basketball fans both at home and abroad. Yet Yao's influence goes far beyond the basketball courts.
Yao has engaged himself in charity and public welfare services for quite a while. When the devastating 8.0-magnitude earthquake hit Wenchuan in southwest China in 2008, Yao donated 2 million yuan . "When I was a little boy, my parents and teachers told me to help others and to be a good man," Yao recalled.  "But I could not donate then because I had not much pocket money. After I moved to Houston, I got involved in quite a number of community service activities and I felt a strong sense of achievement when I got people together," Yao said.
Like Yao, newly crowned French Open champion Li Na has showed her willingness to donate. Li gave 480,000 yuan of her prize money from the open, plus 20,000 yuan from her own pocket, to a local nursing home in her hometown. Another Chinese sports icon, hurdler Liu Xiang, has also been actively involved in charity for years.
【小题1】The reason why some Chinese new-rich like eating shark fin soup is that they think _______ .

Some Chinese new-rich like eating shark fin soup because they think it shows their class. However, for the Chinese NBA idol Yao Ming, doing so is unacceptable as the practice has led to the overfishing of sharks.

When Yao and his wife Ye Li got married in 2007, they publicly announced that they would not allow shark fin soup to be served at their wedding banquet.

Actually, Yao had been saying no to shark fins since 2006, when he was appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador for wild life protection.

Now, the 226-cm big guy is resorting to his personal influence to encourage more to say no to eating the soup and to raise awareness of animal protection. "Sharks are friends of human beings. They are not our food," Yao said.

Other celebrity athletes like Olympic champions Li Ning and Kong Linghui are following on the heels of Yao, throwing themselves into serving the public as Goodwill Ambassadors for wild animal rescue. Recent reports about Yao's retirement have saddened tens of thousands of basketball fans both at home and abroad. Yet Yao's influence goes far beyond the basketball courts.

Yao has engaged himself in charity and public welfare services for quite a while. When the devastating 8.0-magnitude earthquake hit Wenchuan in southwest China in 2008, Yao donated 2 million yuan . "When I was a little boy, my parents and teachers told me to help others and to be a good man," Yao recalled.  "But I could not donate then because I had not much pocket money. After I moved to Houston, I got involved in quite a number of community service activities and I felt a strong sense of achievement when I got people together," Yao said.

Like Yao, newly crowned French Open champion Li Na has showed her willingness to donate. Li gave 480,000 yuan of her prize money from the open, plus 20,000 yuan from her own pocket, to a local nursing home in her hometown. Another Chinese sports icon, hurdler Liu Xiang, has also been actively involved in charity for years.

1.The reason why some Chinese new-rich like eating shark fin soup is that they think _______ .

2.Yao Ming is against eating shark fin soup because ________ .

3. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?

4.What words can be used to describe Yao Ming according to the passage?

5.From the passage , we can learn that________.