You might not have guessed it would happen. The whole basketball world has been shocked by it. Who would have thought the US Dream Basketball team would be knocked out of the World Basketball Championship and finish sixth --- on home soil?

   “No doubt that we made history, although it wasn’t the type of history we wanted to make,” said US forward(前锋) Ben Wallace.

   There were dozens of reasons for the failure of the US team: the team hardly practiced and was unfamiliar with the international rules and style of play; the dunk(扣篮) has become so important in the US game that there is less emphasis on learning the basics of playing basketball; the gap is narrowing between US basketball and the rest of the world.

   Another obvious, and disappointing fact is that the All-American Dream Team was not quite as dreamy as previous(先前的) US teams. While all other countries brought their best, there were no American superstars that everyone was hoping to see: Shaquille O’Neal or Kobe Bryant.

   The problem seems to be how to make the US players want to represent their country.

   How can one take a group of multimillionaire basketball players and tell them that beating the Algerian Basketball National Team is a good way to spend part of their August and September?

  George Karl, the coach of the US team said, “A loss by the US team sounds like a good way to do it.”

   Yugoslavia won the competition on September 8th.

1. When Ben Wallace said “No doubt that we made history, although it was not the type of history we wanted to make”, he meant ____________.

A. the American basketball team won the World Basketball Championship for the first time in history

B. the American basketball team lost the World Basketball Championship for the first time in history

C. the All-American Dream Team lost the World Basketball Championship for the first time in history

D. the dreaming All-American Team lost the World Basketball Championship for the first time in history

2. Which team won championship this time?

   A. the US team               B. the Yugoslavian Team 

C. the Algerian team           D. not mentioned

3. All the following things account for the failure of the US team except the one that __________.

A. the US players didn’t know the basics of playing basketball

B. the US players didn’t do team work well

C. this US Dream Team wasn’t as well organized as the former ones

D. the US players didn’t care much about whether they would win or not

4. The passage doesn’t say so directly, but we can conclude from it that __________.

A. the US basketball has fallen behind that in some parts of the world

B. practice is needed for good teamwork no matter how well each player plays

C. the millionaire players of the US team were interested in beating the Algerian team

D. the US team just won the sixth place this time

Everyone knows what the NBA’s latest clipper（快马）Blake Griffin is capable of doing on the court, or at the hoop（篮筐）. After all, it’s not every day you see a basketball player jump over a car and score a slam dunk（大灌篮）. Griffin’s amazing performance won the 22-year-old the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest.

Griffin has been turning heads all season with his dunking ability. As a rookie（新秀）with the Los Angeles Clippers. Griffin is a hard worker and the team’s new hope.

There’s no doubt that Griffin is on his way to a rising NBA career. But where did it all begin?

Griffin’s has loved basketball ever since he was a kid. He grew up watching the NBA and practicing how to dunk, mastering this skill at just 13 years old.

Griffin’s passion for basketball runs in the family. His father was his coach in high school, and his older brother Taylor is also a professional player. Griffin says being a coach’s son helped him grow professionally.

“I always watched basketball with my dad and he taught me the right way to play. I kind of picked up the game through him,” he told NBA online.

Griffin started showing some serious basketball ability at his high school in Oklahoma, where he won state titles in each of his four years.  

It wasn’t long before many of Griffin’s peers were asking for his autograph. “A girl once came up to me with a rubber duck and was like, ‘Will you sign this?’ So I signed the top of it and gave it back to her,” Griffin told Sports Illustrated magazine.

After high school, Griffin went on to become a star basketball player at university. It was there that he earned the nickname “The Terminator（终结者）” for his fury（火爆）during games. Despite his fierce on-court personality, Griffin says he’s really just a normal, nice guy. “A lot of people are surprised at how laid-back（放松的）I am. I’m more soft-spoken（温和的）off the court. Out on the court, they see somebody who’s intense and all that. But I like to hang out to have fun and make jokes and laugh,” he told NBA online.

51.  From the first two paragraphs we can learn that_____.

A.       Blake Griffin has a superior ability to play basketball

B.       a basketball player jumps over a car and scores a slam dunk

C.       Blake Griffin has to work harder as a rookie

D.       it is easy for a basketball player to turn heads all season

52.  What should be the best title for the passage?

A.       Surprise of Clippers             B.      Hope of Clippers

C.       Laugh at Winners               D.     Cheers for Winners

53.  Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A.       Griffin’s performance won the 2012 Slam Dunk Contest.

B.       Griffin is on his way to a rising NBA career as a veteran(老运动员，老兵).

C.       Griffin loved practicing his dunking at the age of 22.

D.       Griffin’s passion for basketball comes from his family.

54.  What does the underlined word “peers” in the eighth paragraph mean?

A.       Lovers who are in the same school.

B.       Kids who play with each other.

C.       Persons who are the same age.

D.       Friends who help each other.

55.  What’s the author’s attitude towards Blake Griffin?

A.       Positive.                      B. Negative.

C.       Pessimistic.                   D. Critical.

After ruling the tennis world for almost five years, Roger Federer is adjusting to life at NO．2．But, like any king whose throne（王冠） has been taken away, the Swiss star is already planning secretly his return to power, beginning at this week’s US Open．

The problem is, many experts think he will never do it．They blame everything from age and tough competition to his racket（球拍） and psychology．

For years Federer, 27, had enjoyed the view from the top．Competitors saw him as undefeated, and for the most part he was．However, before the 2008 season began, Federer had an illness that stole his strength and clearly affected his play on the court．Ever since, he has struggled to return to form, winning just two of his last 14 tournaments．

“Twenty-seven is an age when your body starts talking back to you．” tennis great John McEnroe told the New York Times．

Pancho Sefura, another tennis great, noted that Federer is also facing a maturing crop of young talents． “There are too many great players now,” he said, naming Britain’s Andy Murray, 21, and Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis, 20．

US magazine Sports Illustrated tennis columnist Jon Wertheim suggested that part of Federer’s problem could be his insistence on using a small racket．He says that the smaller head demands ball control．But we see time and again that racket makers try to get players to use a certain stick — one they would like to market to consumers and it has a negative effect the professional game．

Sports psychologist Jim Loehr told the Times that Federer is probably feeling “a sense of doubt” after being considered as undefeated for so long． If Federer is to recover his state of being undefeated, Loehr said he must overcome his doubt． “Federer doesn’t need fame and money．But he has to get better． He has to go to a whole new level．That’s the only way he stays in the game,” he said．

As for beginning his first Grand Slam（大满贯） in ages as the NO．2 seed, Federer said it might be for the best． “Five years almost, I was expected to win every tournament I entered,” he said, “so maybe Rafael Nadal now feels what I had to feel for a very long time．It will be interesting to see how he handles it．”

1．What does the underlined sentence “your body starts talking back to you” in Para．4 mean?

A．Your body often argues with you．

B．You can do whatever you want．

C．Your strength is beginning to decline（衰退）．

D．You are more easily to have quite terrible diseases．

2．From the passage, we know the main reason why Federer’s throne was taken away is that _____．

A．he is becoming older and older．

B．he insisted on using a small racket．

C．he is facing a maturing crop of young talents．

D．he had an illness that stole his strength．

3．What can be inferred from the passage?

A．Now it is Nadal who has replaced Federer as the No．1tennis player．

B．the racket makers aim at the players’ better performance in games．

C．It is impossible for Federer to return to power．

D．Federer has never won a Grand Slam before．

4．What’s the best title of the passage?

A．Nadal — The No．1 Tennis Player

B．Federer — Always Undefeated

C．State of Mind Plays a Important Role

D．Federer Hopes to Recover His Magic