5.All of the people liked the game at that time.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 T　　 F

4.A hollow ball was invented before the year 1800.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 T　　 F

3.At one time it was played on the floor.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 T　　 F

2. Ping-pong was first played in England.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 T　　 F

1.The passage mainly tells us about ____.

A.　　 the invention and the development of table tennis

B.　　 the man who invented the table tennis

C.　　 why table tennis is popular in England

D.　　 who gave the sport the name table tennis

8.　 The word declared in this passage means ____.

A. set up　　　　　 　　　　　　　 B. made known clearly

　 C. fought for　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. worked for

Words per minute ______

%Comprehension _______

Passage 7　

The History of Table tennis

　　　 You often play ping-pong but perhaps you do not know who invented it. The story is that it started when two students at Cambridge University (剑桥大学) began knocking a cork (软木塞) to each other across a table, using old cigar-boxes.　

　　　 In about the year 1800 an American manufacturer (制造商) of sports goods produced a game that he called Indoor Tennis. The American were not very enthusiastic(热情的) at first but he exported it to his London agents (代理商) and it became very popular in Britain. The game was then played across dining-room tables, or on the floor with the net string between chairs. The players used a ball made of cork or rubber.

　　　 A few years later a hollow (空的) ball like the one we use today was invented. The game then quickly spread all over the world. A gentleman called Mr. Wood, of London, had the idea of covering the bats with rubber to give great control (控制) over the ball. The London agents who first sold the game in England now called it “Ping-pong”. “Ping” meant the sound of the bat hitting the ball, and “pong” was the sound of the ball hitting the table.

　　　 The game was played everywhere, but not everybody liked it. Some thought it was a silly game. The famous English Punch had these lines:

　　　 I know I must be wrong, but I cannot love ping-pong.

　　　 I cannot sing in praise of ping. I have no song for pong.

　　　 Many people, however, began to play the game seriously (严肃地). Its official name was changed to Table tennis, because the name “Ping-pong” belonged to (属于) the London agents who first sold the game.

　　　 In 1926 the International Table-tennis Federation (联合会) was set up. That same year a European Championships (冠军杯) was played in London. The winning country was Hungary (匈牙利) where today the game is played almost as much as in China.

　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Length 309

Total Reading Time ___

_____________________________________________________________________

Answer the following questions without referring to the reading:

7. The celebrations will last a whole day.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 T　　 F

6. CCTV and CRI will live televise and broadcast the celebrations.　　　　　　　　　 T　　 F

5.Peopple will see the flag-hoisting ceremony at the Tian’anmen Square.　　　　　 T　　 F

3. The celebrations will begin at about 10 p.m.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 T　　 F

Fifty National Day military parades have been held since the founding

of the PRC.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 T　　 F