题目内容
11-year-old Courtney Thompson was so passionate about gymnastics that she would practice five hours a day until her arms were sore and her elbows swollen. She rarely complained about her tough schedule, and for good reason. Courtney was ranked the best gymnast in the state for her age , and she dreamed of going to the Olympics. But on January 12th,2005, while practicing a routine exercise, she felt an unbearable pain in the left elbow. The medical examination then revealed a severe injury, resulting in an immediate surgery and a slow, painful recovery.
What happened to Courtney Thompson is a red flag in America’s growing epidemic of youth sports injuries. Across the country, younger and younger athletes are injuring themselves in the pursuit of sports achievement. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that 2.8 million Americans aged 5 through 24 received medical treatment for a sports-related or recreation-related injury in 2003,Severe injuries that used to be limited to professionals are now showing up in high school and even junior high athletes.
There are many reasons behind the outbreak in sports injuries, but most experts agree on one: the extreme culture of organized youth sports. Gone are the days when children played a variety of games on playgrounds. Child kidnapping and street crime have ended casual neighborhood athletics in many places, leading parents to enroll their children in organized sports under the watchful, though demanding, eyes of adult volunteers and coaches. And movies like Friday Night Lights glorify the thrill of victory for young athletes with single-minded dedication to athletic achievement.
From high school gyms to county ball fields, 41 million children younger than 19 participated in organized youth sports in 2005, according to the latest research by the National Council of Youth Sports. The figure represents a 25 percent increase since 1997.
Parental involvement in youth sports has also made childhood games less about having fun and more about training and competing for the top spot , landing a college scholarship or launching a promising career. Hoping to nurture the next Michelle Kwan or Apolo Ohno, some parents guide their children into specializing in one sport. But the repetitive training required to master a sport places enormous stresses on bones and muscles that are still developing.
1.The passage is mainly about
A.children’ s participation in organized sports
B.the main causes of the youth sports injuries
C.the way to train children in organized sports
D.the common occurrence of youth sports injuries
2.The underlined part “red flag” in the second probably means “ ” .
A.warning B.problem C.symbol D.mark
3.Why is the number of sports injuries among children in America growing?
A.Because of their increasing fondness for sports.
B.Because children are not professional enough for sports.
C.Because more children are seeking for sports achievements.
D.Because of the involvement of the parents and more organized sports.
4.We can learn from the passage that .
A.about 10.25 million youngsters participated in organized sports in 1997
B.parents give limited chances for children to choose their sports
C.serious injuries often happened to young students in the past
D.Courtney Thompson will never become a famous gymnast
BADB
Scores of farms across he country are opening up to overnight guests.The best have all the appeal of a first-rate inn(小旅馆) — plus here a moo, there a moo.
Sure, you and your kids have a plan for the theme parks.In the meanwhile, why not make a little hay(干草)? Farm stays are fast becoming the great American alternative to the pre-packaged vacation.
LIBERTY HALL FARM
Rochester, Vt.; 802/767-3926; www.libertyhillfarm.com.Adults $75, teens $50, kids 12 and under $35, including breakfast and dinner; shared baths.
Beth and Bob Kennett run a farm straight out of a storybook.You’ll find Beth in the kitchen, rolling out dough(生面团) for a pie.Bob’s busy with other work.Guests sleep in seven sunny bedrooms right in the farmhouse and can participate in any of the farm jobs.Maybe you and your kids won’t be up at 6 am to meet the milk truck, but you can help with the milking twice a day, collect eggs, and pick sweet corn and wild blackberries in season.
HULL-O FARM
Durham, N.Y.; 518/239-6950; www.hull-o.com; Adults $110, kids 10-14 $60, 5-9 $50, 2-4 $35, under 2 free, including breakfast and dinner; private baths.
It started in 1993 as a way to bring in some extra money at a time of falling milk prices.But soon after Frank and Sherry Hull opened their Catskill Mountains dairy farm to overnight visitors, they discovered they loved it.As you drive up, Sherry greets you on the porch(入口处) of the 1825 farmhouse with a cow-shaped cookie jar.Before long your kids are playing around with the cows, sheep, ducks, goats and getting ready for a hayride.
MERAMEC FARM CABINS
Bourbon, Mo.; 573/732-4765; http://www.wine-mo.com Doubles with private bath $75, $10 per additional person.Trail and riding fees extra.
Climb on the back of the Ford pick up and catch up with the herd.One gentle cow named Cricket will even let the kids sit on her back.At the barn(牲口棚) Carol will introduce you to the horses — 15 Missouri Fox Trotters — and lead you on a ride over the hills and down along the spring-fed Meramec River, where everyone swims.Grab a fishing pole and head back to the river.When you have your fill of the wild, try Carol and Dave’s favorite restaurants, within 20 miles of the farm.
【小题1】The underlined sentence in the first paragraph implies that _____.
| A.you can enjoy the best cuisine at the first rate restaurant |
| B.some farms provide country experiences as well as good accommodations |
| C.farm work is hard, but you can enjoy it a lot, playing with the animals |
| D.if you want to hear a cow’s cry, please stay on a best farm |
| A.Hull-O Farm was not built for overnight visitors |
| B.Frank and Sherry Hull run a farm out of a storybook |
| C.kids can sit on a gentle cow’s back on Hull-O Farm |
| D.you can’t milk a cow if you get up late on Liberty Hill Farm |
| A.$175. | B.$220. | C.$235. | D.$250. |
| A.Kids who want to find pleasure in the theme parks. |
| B.People who expect to be employed on the farm. |
| C.Those who plan to have family vacations on working farms. |
| D.Researchers who are interested in raising cows on farms. |
Once there was an 11-year-old boy who went fishing with his father in the middle of a New Hampshire lake. On the day before bass (巴斯鱼) season opened, they were fishing early in the evening, catching other fish with worms. Then the boy tied on a small silver lure (鱼饵) and put it into the lake. Suddenly he felt that something very big pulling on the lure. His father watched with admiration as the boy skillfully brought the fish beside the bank. Finally he lifted the tired fish from the water. It was the largest one he had ever seen, but it was a bass.
The boy and his father looked at the big fish. The father lit a match and looked at his watch. It was 10 p.m.—two hours before the season opened. He looked at the fish, then at the boy. “You’ll have to put it back, son,” he said.
“Dad!” cried the boy. “There will be other fish,” said his father. “Not as big as this one,” cried the boy. He looked around the lake. No other fishermen or boats were in sight in the moonlight. He looked again at his father.
Even though no one had seen them, nor could anyone ever know what time he had caught the fish, the boy could tell from his father’s voice that the decision couldn’t be changed. He threw the huge bass into the black water. The big fish disappeared. The boy thought that he would never again see such a big fish.
That was 34 years ago. Today the boy is a successful architect in New York City. He often takes his own son and daughters to fish at the same place.
And he was right. He has never again caught such a large fish as the one he got that night long ago. But he does see that same fish ... again and again ... every time he has an ethical (道德的) decision to make. For, as his father had taught him, ethics are simple matters of right and wrong. It is only the practice of ethics that is difficult.
【小题1】What happened when the big fish turned out to be a bass?
| A.The boy and his father discussed what to do with the big fish. |
| B.The boy threw the bass back into the water willingly. |
| C.The father lit a match in order to check the time. |
| D.They worried other fishermen may discover what they had done. |
| A.didn’t love his son |
| B.always disagreed with his son |
| C.disliked the huge fish |
| D.was firm and stubborn |
| A.Excited. | B.Embarrassed. | C.Disappointed. | D.Annoyed. |
| A.they might catch a big fish there |
| B.he was taught an important lesson there |
| C.it was a most popular fishing spot |
| D.their children enjoyed fishing there |