The modern Olympic Games, founded in 1896, began as contests between individuals, rather than among nations, with the hope of promoting world peace through sportsmanship. In the beginning, the games were open only to amateurs. An amateur is a person whose involvement in an activity---from sports to science or the arts---is purely for pleasure. Amateurs, whatever their contributions to a field, expect to receive no form of compensation ; professionals, in contrast, perform their work in order to earn a living.

From the perspective of many athletes, however, the Olympic playing field has been far from level. Restricting the Olympics to amateurs has precluded（妨碍） the participation of many who could not afford to be unpaid. Countries have always desired to send their best athletes, not their wealthiest ones, to the Olympic Games.

A slender and imprecise line separates what we call “financial support” from “earning money.” Do athletes “earn money” if they are reimbursed（补偿） for travel expenses? What if they are paid for time lost at work or if they accept free clothing from a manufacturer or if they teach sports for a living? The runner Eric Liddell was the son of poor missionaries; in 1924 the British Olympic Committee financed his trip to the Olympics, where he won a gold and a bronze medal. College scholarships and support from the United States Olympic Committee made it possible for American track stars Jesse Owens and Wilma Rudolph and speed skater Dan Jansen to train and compete. When the Soviet Union and its allies joined the games in 1952, the definition of amateur became still muddier. Their athletes did not have to balance jobs and training because as citizens in communist regimes, their government financial support was not considered payment for jobs.

In 1971 the International Olympic Committee(IOC) removed the word amateur from the rules, making it easier for athletes to find the support necessary to train and compete. In 1986 the IOC allowed professional athletes into the games.

There are those who regret the disappearance of amateurism from the Olympic Games. For them the games lost something special when they became just another way for athletes to earn money. Others say that the designation of amateurism was always questionable; they argue that all competitors receive so much financial support as to make them paid professionals. Most agree, however, that the debate over what constitutes an “amateur” will continue for a long time.

1. One might infer that _______________________.

A．developing Olympic-level skills in athletes is costly

B．professional athletes are mostly interested in financial rewards

C．amateurs does not expect to earn money at the sport that is played

D．amateurs have a better attitude than professionals do

2. The statement “the Olympic playing field has been far from level” means that__________.

A．the ground the athletes played on was in bad condition

B．the poorer players were given some advantages

C．the rules did not work the same way for everyone

D．amateurs were inferior to the professionals in many ways

3. The financial support given to athletes by the Soviet government can best be compared to ________________.

A．a gift received on a special occasion, such as a birthday

B．money received from a winning lottery ticket

C．an allowance paid to a child

D．money from charity organization

4. One can conclude that the Olympic Organizing Committee _________________.

A．has held firm to its original vision of the Olympic games

B．has struggled with the definition of amateur over the years

C．regards itself as an organization for professional athletes only

D．did nothing but stop allowing communists to participate

I thought horseback riding would be the sport for me until I fell down from the horse back .As you can imagine ,I haven’t been invited back        .

   A. later    B．since C. after   D．ever

2008年11月，乒乓球世界冠军邓亚萍求学11年终于获得剑桥大学博士学位。假如你是绍兴一中刘梅，听到这个消息，兴奋不己，立刻给她写了一封祝贺信并表示了自己的崇敬之情。内容包括：

⒈ 表示祝贺；⒉ 介绍自己及爱好；⒊ 解释崇敬的原因；⒋ 学到什么及自己决心。

 参考内容：邓亚萍退出体坛后到清华大学，英国的Cambridge University 及 Nottingham University 学习，11年后获得经济学博士学位。

参考词汇：退出体坛 retire from the sport    崇敬  admire  

注意：⒈ 词数100左右；⒉ 信的开头已给出，不计入总词数。

Yaping,

First, I’d like to offer my congratulations to you on receiving the degree from Cambridge University.                                                                        

If you like bicycling as much as you like playing ball and can’t seem to decide between the two sports, you may want to consider cycle ball—a fun sport that adopts the key attributes from both activities and transforms it into a totally new game..
Also known as red ball, the game was invented in 1893 by German laborers who wished to play polo(马球), but could not afford horses. While the sport has not caught on in North America, it is very fashionable in Europe and even Japan.
Played in an indoor court, cycle ball is similar to soccer in many ways—the aim is to score as many goals as possible, and only the goalkeeper is allowed to touch the ball.
The one big difference? Use of legs is forbidden. Instead, players have to guide the ball across the court, using the front wheels of their bicycles or with their heads. In fact, if a player even touches the floor with his feet during the 14-minute game, it is considered a foul(犯规) and the opposing team gets a free kick.
While the game was initially(最初) played with normal bikes, things are a little different now. The seats of these specialized bikes are positioned over the back tire and they sport a single fixed gear, making it easier for the rider to control the constant back and forth movement required for the game. The handlebars(车把) also point straight up so that the competitors can sit upright while playing and they are about twice the weight of normal bikes, which helps with the stability.
While cycle ball may sound a little strange, it is a fast-paced sport that requires much training, skill, and, is also really fun to watch.
【小题1】What does the passage mainly talk about?