Rick Stevenson, 16 years old, spends every minute he can on the mountain. He and his friends go snowboarding every weekend. “It’s great,” he says. “The winds are so strong, the boards go 50 miles an hour.” His friend Laura Fields agrees. “No one goes skiing any more,” she says, “that’s for the old folks.”

Rick and Laura are part of a new trend in sports. Its philosophy（purpose）is to get as close to the edge as possible. And more and more young athletes are taking part in these risky（adventurous）activities called “extreme sports” or “X-Sports”.

In the past, young athletes would play baseball. Today, they want risk and excitement—the closer to the edge, the better. They snowboard over cliffs and mountain-bike down steep mountains. They wind-surf near hurricanes and bungy-jump from towers.

Extreme sports started as an alternative（选择余地）to more expensive sports such as golf. A city kid who didn’t have the money to buy expensive sports equipment could get a skateboard and have fun. But now it has become a whole new area of sports, with specialized equipment and high levels of skill. There’s even a special Olympics for extreme sports, called the Winter X-Games, which includes snow mountain biking and ice climbing.

What makes extreme sports so popular? “People love the risk,” says Murray Nussbaum, who sells sports equipment. “City people want to be outdoors on the weekend and do something challenging. The new equipment is so much better that people can take more risks without getting hurt.” An athlete adds, “Sure there’s a risk. Once you go mountain biking or snowboarding, it’s impossible to go back to bike riding or skiing. It’s just too boring.”

Now even the older crowd is starting to join in. Every weekend groups of friends in their early thirties get together. During the week they work as computer programmers in the same office. On Sundays they rent mountain bikes that cost $2 000 each and ride down steep mountains together.

Extreme sports are certainly not for everyone. Most people still prefer to play basketball or watch sports on TV. But extreme sports are definitely gaining in popularity. “These sports are fresh and exciting. It’s the wave of the future,” says Nussbaum.

1.Which of the four pictures does not describe extreme sports?

2.Generally speaking,_____________are unfit for extreme sports by inference from the text.

A. high school students

B.the aged people

C.office workers

D.city teenagers

3.It is clear from the text that extreme sports are_____________.

A.exciting but risky

B.expensive but challenging

C.special but dangerous

D.popular but a little old

4.What would be the best title for the text?

A.Rick Stevenson’s Hobby

B.The Wave of the Future

C.X-Sports

D.People’s Love for Risk

阅读理解

Rick Stevenson, 16 years old, spends every minute he can on the mountain. He and his friends go snowboarding every weekend. “It’s great,” he says. “The winds are so strong, the boards go 50 miles an hour.” His friend Laura Fields agrees. “No one goes skiing any more,” she says, “that’s for the old folks.”

Rick and Laura are part of a new trend in sports. Its philosophy（purpose）is to get as close to the edge as possible. And more and more young athletes are taking part in these risky（adventurous）activities called “extreme sports” or “X-Sports”.

In the past, young athletes would play baseball. Today, they want risk and excitement—the closer to the edge, the better. They snowboard over cliffs and mountain-bike down steep mountains. They wind-surf near hurricanes and bungy-jump from towers.

Extreme sports started as an alternative（选择余地）to more expensive sports such as golf. A city kid who didn’t have the money to buy expensive sports equipment could get a skateboard and have fun. But now it has become a whole new area of sports, with specialized equipment and high levels of skill. There’s even a special Olympics for extreme sports, called the Winter X-Games, which includes snow mountain biking and ice climbing.

What makes extreme sports so popular? “People love the risk,” says Murray Nussbaum, who sells sports equipment. “City people want to be outdoors on the weekend and do something challenging. The new equipment is so much better that people can take more risks without getting hurt.” An athlete adds, “Sure there’s a risk. Once you go mountain biking or snowboarding, it’s impossible to go back to bike riding or skiing. It’s just too boring.”

Now even the older crowd is starting to join in. Every weekend groups of friends in their early thirties get together. During the week they work as computer programmers in the same office. On Sundays they rent mountain bikes that cost $2 000 each and ride down steep mountains together.

Extreme sports are certainly not for everyone. Most people still prefer to play basketball or watch sports on TV. But extreme sports are definitely gaining in popularity. “These sports are fresh and exciting. It’s the wave of the future,” says Nussbaum.

1.Which of the four pictures does not describe extreme sports?

2.Generally speaking,_____________are unfit for extreme sports by inference from the text.

A. high school students

B.the aged people

C.office workers

D.city teenagers

3.It is clear from the text that extreme sports are_____________.

A.exciting but risky

B.expensive but challenging

C.special but dangerous

D.popular but a little old

4.What would be the best title for the text?

A.Rick Stevenson’s Hobby

B.The Wave of the Future

C.X-Sports

D.People’s Love for Risk