D
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 Field 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 (宗旨) is to get as close to the edge as possible. And more and more young athletes are taking part in these risky (冒险的) 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 bungee--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 30s 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.
82.What would be the best title for the text?
A. Rick Stevenson. B. People's Love for Risk.
C. X--Sports. D. The Wave of the Future.
83.It is clear from the text that extreme sports are .
A. exciting but risky B. popular but old
C. special but dangerous D. inexpensive but challenging
84. Which of the four pictures does not describe extreme sports?
85. Generally speaking, are unfit for extreme sports by inference from the text.
A. city teenagers B. the aged people
C. office workers D. high school students
C
A few months ago some men robbed a bank in central London. One quiet weekend they broke into the shop next to it. Then they made a hole in the wall and got into the bank. One of their friends was watching the bank from a flat on the other side of the road. He had the duty of telling the men inside if there was any danger. The men talked to each other by radio, and someone else heard their conversation. The police were told. But they couldn't find the right bank. The robbers escaped with a lot of money.
Amateur radio people, or "hams", as they are usually called, listen to radio stations all over the world. Short wave bands are used in order to transmit over a long distance. They are also used for transmitting such things as telegrams and newspaper pictures. The criminals were using a short wave band, and a ham with the right equipment could listen to it easily. The result was that the bank robbers were nearly caught. Not much equipment is needed for receiving, and it is fairly cheap. Some hams also want to transmit, but transmitting equipment is expensive. A special license is needed too. Before that is given, a ham has to pass some examinations. Then he can transmit on a few special wave bands. Hams make friends with other hams all over the world, but the only thing they seem to talk about is their equipment!
78. The man in the flat had to .
A. look for money in houses on the other side of the street
B. tell them in the bank if there was any danger
C. break into the bank from the street
D. listen to police messages on the radio
79. The robbers escaped with a lot of money because .
A. the police did not know a bank was being robbed
B. nobody could understand the radio conversation on the radio
C. the police couldn't discover where the robbers were
D. the police found somebody else robbing a bank.
80. "Hams", of course, .
A. are very fond of radio transmissions
B. are very interested in robberies
C. like making friends everywhere
D. used to be detectives
81. Messages can be transmitted on short wave bands.
A. only to the police B. to banks
C. only to friends nearby D. over a long distance
B
Do you have bright ideas? Ideas for inventions that change society or at least, make life easier for somebody? Perhaps we all do sometimes, but we don't often make the idea a reality. Recently, in Britain, there was a competition called "British Designers for Tomorrow", which encouraged young people to carry out their bright ideas. There were two groups in the contests：Group One was for school children under 16; Group Two was for school children over 16. And there were eleven prize winners altogether.
Neil Hunt, one of the prize winners, was called "Sunshine Superman" by one newspaper carrying his design. It's important when people study the weather to be able to record sunshine accurately. We need to know how many hours of sunshine we have and how strong it is. Most sunshine recorders only record direct sunlight. Neil's is more accurate and this is very important for research into the way of using solar power. With his prize of $100, Neil plans to carry on inventing.
You can do so much with animation (动画片). Look at Simon West's idea for animated road signs. He uses pictures which appear to move as you go nearer to or farther from them. This isn't a new idea. But it is new to use these pictures on road signs. "We found that people were more likely to pay attention to moving signs," said Simon. So now, you can really see rocks falling, strains moving, horses galloping (飞奔) or a car falling over the edge of a cliff. Quite a warning!
The ideas in the competition were so inventive that we are surprised why British industry doesn't ask more school children for suggestions. Perhaps this will be the start of pupil power!
75. was carried out recently in Britain.
A.A competition among school children
B. A competition in designing industry
C.A competition for 11 prize winners
D. A competition named British Designers for tomorrow
76. The aim of the competition was .
A. to ask children for suggestions
B. B. to encourage young people to carry out their bright ideas
C. to start pupil power
D. D. to ask for British industry for ideas
77. Neil Hunt was called "Sunshine Superman" because .
A. he suggested the ways of using solar power
B. he designed a more accurate sunshine recorder
C. he was able to record direct sunshine accurately
D. he invented the way of using solar energy
A
We'd like to agree with the recent report comparing the difference between a TV and a computer：When you use one you turn your brain on, with the other you turn it off.
Your brain may not be the only thing the TV turns off.
It seems that men who watch a lot of TV are more sedentary (长时间坐着不动的), eat more food and are generally much fatter.
Similar results have been found for women.
Experts think that watching TV means that not only are you sedentary, but you have to watch food advertisements inducing (引诱) you to eat more.
The food that you are being induced to eat may not be good enough for your health.
If you are a couch potato, here are some suggestions:
●Tape a piece of paper to the back of your remote control (遥控器) or TV Guide, and every time you watch a show, note how long you sit there and what you eat.
●Review the record after a week. This can be a shock.
●Don't have a TV in your bedroom; having a TV in your bedroom greatly increases viewing time and if you tend to (倾向于做某事) eat while viewing, the results are obvious(明显的).
●Think of a healthy way instead of watching TV that you like. This can be as simply as walking the dog or walking to visit a neighbor regularly.
After a few months you are likely to be surprised about how much more time you seem to have and how much better you feel.
71. The phrase "a couch potato" best describes a person who is .
A. too fat because of eating too many potatoes
B. too short because of lying on the couch all the time
C. small and round because of sitting for a long time
D. lazy and spends too much time watching TV on a sofa
72. The author believes .
A. using a computer does good to your brain
B. watching TV can keep your brain healthy
C. only after turning off a TV, you start using your brain
D. the more you watch TV the more you use your brain
73. From the last paragraph we can learn that .
A. you will prefer a computer to a TV set
B. the writer wants to persuade you to give up your TV set
C. the writer's suggestions will surely work
D. you will probably be surprised at what the writer says
74. In the view of the author, which of the following is a healthy way?
A. Watching TV. B. Walking the dog.
C. Sitting still. D. Lying in a couch.
50. I've got to make he told a lie.
A. that clear B. it clear that C. quite clear D. this clear that
49. is going to America for further study.
A. He is said that B. People said that he
C. It was said he D. It is said that he
48. A TV reporter wanted to know people the film.
A. how ; thought B. what ; thought
C. how ; liked D. what ; liked
47. the man was a thief, the boy watched him closely.
A. To think thatB. Thinking that C. To think about that D. Thinking it that
46. Have you any idea she did it?
A. what B. why C. with who D. about that
