The United States is a sports-loving nation. Sports in America take various forms: organized competitive struggles, athletic games, hunting and fishing. Most sports are seasonal, so that what is happening in sports depends upon the time of year.

Baseball is the most popular sport in the US. It is played throughout the spring and summer, and professional baseball teams play well into the fall.

Football is the most popular sport in the fall. The game originated as a college sport more than 75 years ago. It’s not the same as European football or soccer. In American football there are 11 players as well on each team, and they are dressed in padded uniforms and helmets because the game is rough and injuries are likely to occur. It is still played by almost every college and university in the country.

Basketball is the winner sport in American schools and colleges. Like football, basketball originated in the US, many Americans prefer it to football because it is played indoors throughout the winter and because it is a faster game. And the famous NBA games are considered the best of this game.

Other sports attracting a great many people include wrestling, boxing and horse racing. Although horse-racing fans call themselves sportsmen, the exactness of the term is questionable, as only the jockeys who ride the horses in the races can be considered athletes. The so-called sportsmen are the spectators, who do not come primarily to see the horses race, but to bet upon the outcome of each race. Gambling is the attraction of horse racing.

Baseball is so popular in America that some professional teams play it until ___________.

A. spring            B. summer                 C. fall                D. winter

When playing football, American players are dressed in a special uniforms ___________.

A. to avoid unexpected injuries

B. to play it like European football

C. to make the game rough enough

D. to look like professional players

Many Americans prefer basketball to football because______.

A. NBA games are very popular           

B. it is originated in the US

C. it is much faster than football                

D. it is played indoors throughout winter

Horse-racing fans can’t be exactly considered as sportsmen because they ________.

A. mainly stand and watch the races

B. don’t ride horse in the races

C. are only interested in the results

D. don’t care who wins in the races

The underlined word “jockeys” in the last paragraph refers to _______.

A. the person who bets upon the the race

B. the person who cares about horse-racing

C. the rider who enjoys watching the race

D. the rider who competes in horse-racing

The United States is a sports-loving nation. Sports in America take various forms: organized competitive struggles, athletic games, hunting and fishing. Most sports are seasonal, so that what is happening in sports depends upon the time of year.
Baseball is the most popular sport in the US. It is played throughout the spring and summer, and professional baseball teams play well into the fall.
Football is the most popular sport in the fall. The game originated as a college sport more than 75 years ago. It’s not the same as European football or soccer. In American football there are 11 players as well on each team, and they are dressed in padded uniforms and helmets because the game is rough and injuries are likely to occur. It is still played by almost every college and university in the country.
Basketball is the winner sport in American schools and colleges. Like football, basketball originated in the US, many Americans prefer it to football because it is played indoors throughout the winter and because it is a faster game. And the famous NBA games are considered the best of this game.
Other sports attracting a great many people include wrestling, boxing and horse racing. Although horse-racing fans call themselves sportsmen, the exactness of the term is questionable, as only the jockeys who ride the horses in the races can be considered athletes. The so-called sportsmen are the spectators, who do not come primarily to see the horses race, but to bet upon the outcome of each race. Gambling is the attraction of horse racing.
【小题1】Baseball is so popular in America that some professional teams play it until ___________.

The United States is a sports-loving nation. Sports in America take various forms: organized competitive struggles, athletic games, hunting and fishing. Most sports are seasonal, so that what is happening in sports depends upon the time of year.

Baseball is the most popular sport in the US. It is played throughout the spring and summer, and professional baseball teams play well into the fall.

Football is the most popular sport in the fall. The game originated as a college sport more than 75 years ago. It’s not the same as European football or soccer. In American football there are 11 players as well on each team, and they are dressed in padded uniforms and helmets because the game is rough and injuries are likely to occur. It is still played by almost every college and university in the country.

Basketball is the winner sport in American schools and colleges. Like football, basketball originated in the US, many Americans prefer it to football because it is played indoors throughout the winter and because it is a faster game. And the famous NBA games are considered the best of this game.

Other sports attracting a great many people include wrestling, boxing and horse racing. Although horse-racing fans call themselves sportsmen, the exactness of the term is questionable, as only the jockeys who ride the horses in the races can be considered athletes. The so-called sportsmen are the spectators, who do not come primarily to see the horses race, but to bet upon the outcome of each race. Gambling is the attraction of horse racing.

1.Baseball is so popular in America that some professional teams play it until ___________.

2.When playing football, American players are dressed in a special uniforms ___________.

3.Many Americans prefer basketball to football because______.

4.Horse-racing fans can’t be exactly considered as sportsmen because they ________.

5.The underlined word “jockeys” in the last paragraph refers to _______.

Police in Hangzhou yesterday claimed to have arrested 11 people suspected of running an illegal gambling network.

“The network acted as a bridge between Chinese gamblers and overseas casinos（赌场）,” said Wu Jun, spokesman for the public security bureau of Xiaoshan district, Hangzhou. “About 80 percent of the gamblers are local businessmen, and chances are that the money they bet came from their companies’ accounts,” Wu said. The underground gambling network was set up by a wealthy local businessman surnamed Li last year, he said. The gamblers could view real-time images of a casino in Philippines via the website and place bets through the agent’s account.

Li registered with the website after coughing up a 5-million-yuan deposit last March. Every time a gambler won, 17% of the winning amount would go to the website as a fee. Li received 10% of the winnings as commission, while the person who introduced the gambler to the website got a 7-percent commission.

Li ran the gambling network under a pyramid scheme. Gamblers were encouraged to bring in more people to join the website’s network in order to earn more commission.

“Li had provided a convenient but illegal platform for wealthy businessmen, who wanted to gamble,” Wu said. “Otherwise they had to travel all the way to Macao to do so.” Under the current law, gambling is prohibited all over China, except Macao. “Setting up the gambling network is the stupidest thing I’ve ever done,” Li said. “The whole thing started as a joke, but the joke went too far,” he added. “I was not short of money, I was just being greedy.”

According to Wu, the police uncovered the illegal network while investigating a local businessman, who fled without paying banks “hundreds of millions of yuan” worth of debt. The cops later discovered the man lost most of the bank’s money in Li’s virtual casino.

1. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. More people are addicted to illegal gambling.

B. Police uncovered an illegal gambling network.

C. Money can be got through the illegal network.

D. Mr. Li made gambling spread with the network.

2. According to the passage, Li ________.

A. set up the network with a deposit of 5,000,000 yuan

B. didn’t express regret about what he had done

C. started the network just because of lack of money

D. could get a commission of 17% of the winning amount

3. The underlined word “commission” in Paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to ________.

A. price for some goods

B. salary one can get from a job

C. money given to someone freely

D. fees for one’s service in return

4. Li ran the network under a pyramid scheme because _________.

A. this scheme made the management much easier

B. it could encourage gamblers to bring in more people

C. this kind of management is popular nowadays

D. running in this way can not be uncovered easily

5. It can be inferred from the passage that __________.

A. gambling is prohibited all over China except Macao

B. Li had provided an illegal platform for some businessman

C. being greedy is an evil sometimes leading to crimes.

D. some gamblers probably use their companies’ money for gambling

There are stock markets（股票市场）in large cities in many countries. Stock markets in Paris, London, Tokyo, Shanghai and New York are among the largest and most well-known. The stock market, also called stock exchange, is a place where people can buy or sell shares of a factory or company. And each share means certain ownership of a factory or company.

　　Different people go to stock markets. Some are rich, who want to get more money than they have. Others are not very rich, who buy stocks to try to become rich. Still others buy stocks as part of their plan to save money.

　　Of course, investing（投资）money in the stock market is not the safest way to make money. No one can tell exactly whether the shares will be doing well. The factory or company may do badly. Then the stocks will go down, and investors will lose money. The stock may go up or down for a number of untold reasons. Everyone wants the stock to go up, but sometimes even if a factory or company does a good job, the stock may still go down.

　　No wonder going to the stock market is often compared to gambling（赌博）.All are eager to make money by “ gambling” in the stock market. Factories and companies that need money are pleased that so many people are willing to “gamble”. Indeed, the stock market is an attractive part of the business world.

1. If you are an investor, you_____ in the stock market.

　　 A. can always make money

B. can tell exactly when the stock goes up or down

　　 C. may sometimes lose money 　

D. your gambling is always safe

2. The passage mainly wants to tell us _____.

　　 A. how to buy or sell shares

　　B. the stock market is like a gambling house

C. the ABC of stock markets

　　D. investing money in the stock market is not the safest way

3. Which of the following is NOT TRUE ?

A. Going to the stock market is like gambling .

B. The stock will always go up if a factory or company does a good job .

C. People buy or sell stocks in the hope of making money .

D. People who are not rich will probably become rich by buying or selling stocks .

4. Factories and companies are pleased that so many people “gamble” because _____.

　A. they can make them rich　　　　　　 B. they need more people to work for them

C. they need their money to do business D. some people win and some lose