Ancient Chinese，Roman．and Egyptian writings tell about games played by kicking a ball．We also know that in the twelfth century, in some English towns，on Certain days of the year．hundreds of young men would kick a ball around the streets．Unfortunately，fighting often resulted．People were hurt and even killed．In l314．such games were not allowed because they were too dangerous．

    The game we now know as football developed in England in the early nineteenth century．Football was played in many schools and clubs as early as l823．These schools and clubs often had different rules．but in l 863．the Football Association of “FA” was created，and standard rules were agreed for everyone to follow．These are the rules that many parts of the owrld use for football today．In l871，a cup Was given for the best English club，called the FA Cup．Football soon spread acrous the world．

    In the United States and Canada, however, a different type of football game developed，where the players could pick the ball up and carry it．The ball is also in a different shape. In American football there is also more violent contact between players，who have to wear special clothing to protect themselves．

    Football is flow certainly the most popular game on earth．Why is that? One reason may be that a more relaxing game like football Can be enjoyed by．just a few people of any age，on any-piece of ground or even in the street. All they need is a ball，and a few things to mark the goals(比分)．Another reason may be that，although football is a team game，it also allows people to show their special skills．Some footballers become very rich and famous，like David Beckham，who now plays for Real Madrid．For this reason，many young people dream of becoming football stars and getting very rich．Television too has undoubtedly made football more popular．Millions of people Call watch international matches such as the World Cup，which is held every four years．

1．The first ball games in England were _____________.

    A．very dangerous

    B．played only by a few people for relaxation

    C．played for money

    D．played for a cup

2．In the early l9^th century，football was played___________，

    A．in many countries               B．by many people in England

    C．with standard rules         D．by a few people in England

3．When Was the first FA Cup Match held?

   A．1823    B．1863      C．1872        D．1871

4．Why do many young people dream of becoming football stars?

    A．To hurt other people．        B．To get the FA Cup．

    C．To become rich and famous．       D．To weal special clothes．

5．What does “Undoubtedly” mean?

    A．Sure of something．           B．Not sure of something．

    C．Happy about something．       D．Very lucky．

用方框中所给单词的适当形式填空，使短文通顺、正确、连贯（每个单词限用一次）

Hangzhouhua (杭州话)：use it or lose it

There are about 6.000 languages in the world and some experts say that as many as half of these languages will disappear(消失) in the next one hundred years. Will Hangzhouhua be one of 1.________? It’s a 2.________ that more people are asking.

In China, Putonghua is the official language. That3.________ it’s the language of government, business and the media (媒体). And it’s also the language that is 4.________ in schools.

Hangzhou is a special city. It used to be the capital of Wu and Yue States in the 10th century during the Five Dynasties period. Now it is modern, fashionable and also beautiful. And Hangzhouhua shows that 5.________ being modern, fashionable and beautiful.

Young people still speak Hangzhouhua but not as 6.________ as their parents and grandparents. They are under more and more pressure to speak Putonghua. So the language is being used 7.________ often in everyday life. Some people want to keep the language from disappearing completely by building museums and having cultural festivals to save it. But a language isn’t a painting 8.________ a book. It’s a living thing and you 9.________ use it or lose it.

If people 10.________ using it in their daily lives, a museum or a festival will not help. It will be lost forever, like the Yangtze River dolphin.

1 

   When tea and coffee were first introduced to Europe in the 18th century, people had different ideas about their use.Some said that tea and coffee were harmful to humans and they could cause （引起）people to die.

      In Sweden（瑞典）, King Gustaf Ⅲ decided to find out whether or not this was true.It happened that there were two brothers in prison at that time.They were twins and were almost alike in every way.They had both been sentenced to death (判处死刑).The King decided to let them live if one of the men agreed to drink several cups of tea each day and the other several cups of coffee.

     Both brothers lived many years without problems of any kind.At last,the brother who had drunk tea every day died at the age of 83,the other died a few years later.

    Because of the experiment(实验), tea and coffee got accepted (接受) and became popular as drink in Sweden, and it is one of the many countries of the world where much tea and coffee is drunk today.

1.Tea and coffee were first introducd to Europe in_______.

A. the eighteenth century             B. the eighteen century

C. eighteenth centuries               D. eighteen centuries

2.What does the word harmful mean in Chinese?---It means________.

A. 有趣的  B.苦涩无味的  C.有害的   D. 可口的

3. The brother who had drunk tea every day lived______.

A. until he was over 83

B. until he was 83

C. until the other had been dead for several years

D. until he had drunk tea for a few years

4.. Today the Swedish drink_________.

A. much more coffee than tea         B. much tea and coffee

C. little tea and coffee               D. much tea but little coffee

Close contacts between Japan and the rest of the world were created in the twentieth century. In the last forty years, business contacts between Japan and the West have become very important. Many foreign companies now have offices in Japan and Japanese businessmen do business around the world. Differences between Japanese and Western ways of doing business, however, often bewilder foreign businessmen and make doing business in Japan difficult for foreigners.
The American businessman, for example, wants to start talking business immediately. He does not want to wait. The Japanese businessman, on the other hand, likes to arrive at decisions after giving them serious thought. Another thing foreign businessmen have difficulty in understanding is when a Japanese means “Yes” or “No”. This is because of cultural differences between Japanese and Western society(社会), Which make it difficult for a Japanese to say “No” directly.
In the USA, it is easy to say “No” to something one does not want to do. But in Japan, it is very difficult to say “No”. To refuse an invitation or a request(请求) with “No” is felt to be impolite. It is thought to be selfish and unfriendly. So instead of saying “No” directly, the Japanese have developed many ways to avoid(避免) saying “No”. These can help them avoid hurting other people’s feelings. However, this often makes their ways of doing business rather difficult for foreigners to understand and follow.
【小题1】What often makes foreigners feel difficult to do business in Japan?