From poor beginnings to most expensive player

      ZINEDINE Zidane，who dreams of leading France to its second World Cup title in a row next month，has always preferred to express himself with a football rather than with words．

      Last Wednesday Zidane scored the decisive goal when Real Madrid of Spain won the Champions League final against Germany's Leverkusen 2一1．

      He became one of the world’s most expensive players when he joined Real Madrid from Italy's Juventus for US $ 66 million．And he has been a national hero since he scored twice in the 3-O defeat of Brazil in the 1998 World Cup Final．

      But despite his success，Zidane has always kept his feet on the ground．He leads a quite family life，there is hardly any gossip about him and he avoids putting his wife and two children in the spotlight．

      “Just because I'm a public figure it doesn't mean I have to express myself on everything．I don't like to discuss some personal matters publicly．”he said．

      Even as a child playing football in the slum area of Marseille，France，where he was raised by his Algerian parents，Zidane was shy．

      He loved football even as a little kid．“I realized football is a wonderful mixture of a sharp mind and hard training rather than just talking，”he said．

      Even when the match awards were just chocolate and bread，Zidane found that football made his poor childhood rich．

      Before he was 10 years old，it was obvious that he could become a great footballer．He was offered his first professional contract(合同)when he was just 20．Now，at the age of 29，he has already picked up two World Player  of the year awards．

      This quiet striker has not yet spoken of his hopes for the coming World Cup．But his fans across the world will be eagerly watching him to see what he'll do this time．

What did Zidane learn from his childhood football experience? He learned that_____________.

A．he could become a great footballer

B．he could become rich if he became a footballer

C．football is a mixture of a sharp mind and hard training but not just talking

D．football is a favorite sport in the future

According to the article，what are Zidane’s main characteristics?

A．He is a shy but successful man．

B．H e loves his wife and children．

C．He doesn't like to speak in public．

D．He is a quiet，down—to earth person of few words．

When the writer says“Zidane has always kept his feet on the ground”,he means_________.

A．Zidane spends more time standing than sitting most days

B．Zidane is a down-to earth person

C．Zidane has spent most of his time training on the pitch

D．Zidane likes standing when he succeeds

The sentence“Zidane found that football made his poor childhood rich”means___________．

A．football made Zidane's poor family wealthy when he was a child

B．Zidane knew that football could bring him fame and wealth even when he was a child

C．football brought happiness to Zidane when he was a child in a poor family

D．Zidane knew that if he wanted to be  rich he must play football from childhood

From babies to body builders, we all have muscles. They grow, they bulge(鼓起), they stretch they stretch and sometimes they even painfully pull. But for all the work they do for us, we are still unable to crown one as "the strongest muscle."

       Instead, a few muscles could claim the title, depending on how strength is measured.

       If the title goes to the muscle that can exert(产生) the most force, the victor would be the soleus（小腿肚肌）, according to Gray's Anatomy（解剖学）. Without this muscle, we wouldn't be able to stand, walk, run or shake our bodies on the dance floor. If the soleus was not continuously pulling, we would always be falling over ourselves (although some of us tend to do that from time to time anyway).

       But perhaps the title should go to the muscle that exerts the most pressure. Pressure is different from force — pressure takes into account the area over which a force is exerted. The muscle that takes the prize for delivering the greatest amount of pressure is the masseter, or the jaw muscle, according to the book "Clinical Oral Science" (Reed Educational and Professional Publishing, 1998).

       In 1986, Richard Hofmann of Lake City, Fla., achieved a bite strength of 975 pounds (442 kilograms) for two seconds, setting a Guinness Record. Talk about jaw dropping! The jaw is able to clench（咬紧） and chew because of the masseter muscle.

       Others may argue the muscles used in childbirth are the most powerful.

       When it comes to versatility, perhaps the tongue is the strongest muscle. Its combination of elasticity（伸缩性） and forcefulness gives us the ability to speak, eat and kiss – all things very desirable on a first date. However dexterous（灵巧的） it may be though, its power does not match that of muscles such as the soleus.

       If slow and steady wins the race, the heart is certainly a contender for the title. When it contracts, the muscle pumps about 2 ounces (59 milliliters) of blood, and is constantly working over a lifetime. Beating about 40 million times a year, a person's heart will beat approximately 2.5 billion times by the time of their 70th birthday.

According the passage, the underlined word “contender” in the last paragraph is closet in meaning to “           ”.

       A．failure      B．partner     C．muscle      D．competitor

Which would be t he best title for the passage?

       A．What’s the strongest muscle in the human body?

       B．who is the strongest person in the world?

       C．What are the functions of different muscles?

       D．What are the standards of the strongest muscle?

According to the passage,        .

       A．Without the soleus, we could still stand, walk, run or shake our bodies on the dance floor

       B．a few muscles could be the winners, according to different measures

       C．the muscles used in childbirth are the most powerful

       D．tongue is the strongest muscle for delivering the greatest amount of pressure

What would be discussed in the following paragraph?

       A．Another possible strongest muscle. B．the conclusion of the strongest muscle.

       C．The functions of different muscles. D．the Guinness record of strongest muscle.

From Mr. Ward Hoffman.

    Sir, I was halfway through Professor Raj Persaud's article “What's the tipping point"(Financial Times Weekend, April 9-l0) when it occurred to me that what I was reading was not ironic(讽刺的). If Prof Persaud wants to know why Americans tip in restaurants, he need only ask the first American he meets in London.

    Americans tip in restaurants for one reason, and one reason only: we tip to supplement (补贴) the salary of restaurant workers. Quality of service does not enter into it, beyond the fact that one may tip a bit less for poor service, or a little more for good service.

    Not tipping at all in a non-fast-food restaurant is not a choice. In the US, one used to tip about 15 per cent for dining in a family-style restaurant or in an upmarket (高档的) restaurant. Here, in San Francisco Bay area restaurants, we are encouraged to tip 20 per cent or more, to help restaurant workers live in this very expensive area.

   After eating at an Italian restaurant in my city, I left a tip of 20 per cent on the non-tax part of our dinner bill. It was expected. There is nothing more complicated (复杂的) than that about Americans tipping in restaurants.

Ward Hoffman, 

Palo Alto, CA 94306, US

*                *                  *

From Mr. Philip McBride Johnson.

    Sir, I agree with most of Raj Persaud's opinions about the doubtful value of tipping, but with one exception(例外). Tips can be very useful when one is a repeat customer or diner.

    It is only when the tipper is a stranger and likely to remain so that the system does not work to his or her advantage. But frequent a hotel or a restaurant, always tip a bit more, and the difference in service and treatment will be easily felt.

Philip McBride Johnson,

Great Falls, VA 22066, US

68. What can we learn from Hoffman's letter?

     A. Quality of service determines tipping in the US.

     B. Americans don't tip in non-fast-food restaurants.

     C. Tipping in US upmarket restaurants is unnecessary.

     D. How to tip in the United States is not complicated. 

69. Johnson's letter shows ________.

     A. a stranger in a restaurant is likely to tip a bit more

     B. diners receive better service if they frequent a restaurant

     C. repeat diners may get good service if they tip a bit more

     D. the tipping system works to the advantage of new customers       

70. From the two letters, we can learn Professor Raj Persaud ______ .

     A. feels doubtful about the value of tipping

     B. believes tipping improves quality of service

     C. wants to ask Hoffman about tipping in the US

     D. thinks tipping a bit more one can get good service            

71. The two letters most probably appears in a ______.

     A. notice                B. handbook              C. book review         D. newspaper  

From babies to body builders, we all have muscles. They grow, they bulge(鼓起), they stretch they stretch and sometimes they even painfully pull. But for all the work they do for us, we are still unable to crown one as "the strongest muscle."
Instead, a few muscles could claim the title, depending on how strength is measured.
If the title goes to the muscle that can exert(产生) the most force, the victor would be the soleus（小腿肚肌）, according to Gray's Anatomy（解剖学）. Without this muscle, we wouldn't be able to stand, walk, run or shake our bodies on the dance floor. If the soleus was not continuously pulling, we would always be falling over ourselves (although some of us tend to do that from time to time anyway).
But perhaps the title should go to the muscle that exerts the most pressure. Pressure is different from force — pressure takes into account the area over which a force is exerted. The muscle that takes the prize for delivering the greatest amount of pressure is the masseter, or the jaw muscle, according to the book "Clinical Oral Science" (Reed Educational and Professional Publishing, 1998).
In 1986, Richard Hofmann of Lake City, Fla., achieved a bite strength of 975 pounds (442 kilograms) for two seconds, setting a Guinness Record. Talk about jaw dropping! The jaw is able to clench（咬紧） and chew because of the masseter muscle.
Others may argue the muscles used in childbirth are the most powerful.
When it comes to versatility, perhaps the tongue is the strongest muscle. Its combination of elasticity（伸缩性） and forcefulness gives us the ability to speak, eat and kiss – all things very desirable on a first date. However dexterous（灵巧的） it may be though, its power does not match that of muscles such as the soleus.
If slow and steady wins the race, the heart is certainly a contender for the title. When it contracts, the muscle pumps about 2 ounces (59 milliliters) of blood, and is constantly working over a lifetime. Beating about 40 million times a year, a person's heart will beat approximately 2.5 billion times by the time of their 70th birthday.
【小题1】According the passage, the underlined word “contender” in the last paragraph is closet in meaning to “          ”.

To tell you the truth, I’m not interested in owning a cellular (网络) phone. Except for use in an emergency (紧急情况), for ordinary cellular phone service is very expensive. How would I get help if I were in trouble or in danger? A good friend said about a product she thought would settle my problem. It’s the SOS phone—a cellular phone service designed for emergency use.

With the touch of a button, the SOS phone will connect me to a roadside emergency service, a 911 service or a trained SOS operator, 24 hours a day. If I ever need help. I know it’s just a phone call away.

By pressing the “Tow” button, I’ll bc connected with my emergency roadside service provider. Or, if I don’t have one, the SOS operator can suggest one to me and get in touch with them immediately.

The “911” button would connect me to 911 emergency service in my area------best of all, the call is completely free!

If I just want to call home to tell my husband and children something necessary, I can, by pressing the “Call” hutton, I’ll reach an operator. When I ask the operator to call home, I’ll be connected automatically (自动地). And because the Call Center has my 10 most-used phone numbers, I don’t even have to recite the numbers.

Unlike ordinary cellular phone plans, the SOS phone doesn't have any minimum usage requirements (底价) or other promises that could change the price

Why not try it yourself!

1.The writer enjoys using the SOS phone because ______.

A. she is always in trouble or in danger

B. she thinks the cost of its service is reasonable

C. she needn’t pay for any emergency service

D. the ordinary cellular phone can not he used in an emergency

2.Press______button, and you can get service without paying fee.  

A. 911      B. Tow     C. call      D. Tow and 911

3.When you have an SOS phone, ________.  

A. you will get help whenever you are in an emergency

B. you will be safe wherever you are

C. you can be connected with anyone

D. you can get service from any cellular phones

4.When you want to call home, ______.  

A. you will have to tel1 the operator your home phone number

B. the operator will suggest one phone number to you

C. the Call Center will pass on your words to your family

D. you’ll be connected with your family with the Help of an operator

5.The writer wants to ______.

A. tell us her experience

B. let us know she has an SOS phone

C. let us know something about the SOS phone

D. tell us she is very safe now