Football--called soccer in the United States--is probably the most popular sport in the world today, It has been popular for a long time. But many years ago each country had different rules for its own football game.

      In 1863 a group of people met in England to change this. They wrote a set of rules for all countries to follow. They also planned for soccer teams from different countries to play against each other. The idea worked. These rules are the same today, more than 100 years later.  Now teams from all the world compete in the famous World Cup. The cup is a series of games which is held every four years. Team from many countries plays to see which is the best. Soccer is so popular today that it is not unusual for 600 million people to watch a World Cup match on television.

      How did the World Cup start? The soccer team from Uruguay won the Olympic championship in soccer in 1924 and 1928. That country decided to have the first World Cup games in Montevideo in 1930, These first games were not very successful. Only thirteen teams arrived to play and eight of them were from South America.

It didn't seem like a world championship. The team from Uruguay won the Cup that first year.

1.In 1863 a group of people met in England______.

    A. to play for football teams from different countries

    B. to learn the rules for football

    C. to write a set of rules for football

D. to have matches between teams from different countries

2.The rules written in 1863 are _____.

  A. the same as today's     B. different from today's

C. changed a lot          D. changed a little

3.When did the first World Cup take place?

  A. In 1930.        B. In 1924.         C. in 1928        D. In 1934

4.The first World Cup was not successful because

A. the Olympic champion didn't take place   

B. some of the teams arrived too late

C. all teams were from South America       

D. it did not seem like a world championship

It seems that the Englishman just cannot live without sports of some kind. A famous French humourist once said that this is because the English insist on behaving like children all their lives. Wherever you go in this country you will see both children and grown-ups knocking a ball about with a stick or something, as if in Britain men shall always remain boys and women girls! Still, it can never be bad to get exercise, can it?

Taking all amateur（业余）and professional sports in Britain into consideration, there can be no doubt that football is at the top of the list. It is called soccer in the United States. The game originated in Britain and was played in the Middle Ages or even earlier, though as an organized game, or “association football”, it dates only from the beginning of the 19th century.

The next is rugby, which is called “football” in the United States. It is a kind of football played by two teams of fifteen players rather than eleven. The rugby, in which an oval-shaped ball is used can be handled as well as kicked. It is a pretty rough game.

In summer, cricket is the most popular sport. In fact, it has sometimes been called the English national game. Most foreigners find the game rather slow or even boring, but it enjoys great popularity among the British.

Tennis rates high on the list, too. It was introduced into England from France in the 15th century, but it was from England that it spread to practically every country in the world.

Table-tennis or “ping-pong” surely is not played on a great scale as it is in China or in Japan. Basketball and volleyball were introduced into Britain during the late 19th century from America and are gaining popularity. Horse-back riding, swimming, rowing and golf all attract a lot of people.

The main purpose of paragraph one is to tell us that the English_______.

   A. are all sports lovers               B. behave like children

   C. like to kick a ball around           D. can remain young all their lives

According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true about football and rugby?

   A. They differ in the shape of the ball

   B. They are played by different numbers of players

C. They both can be handled

D. They both can be kicked

From the second and the third paragraph, we know that_____.

   A. Americans love football most of all

   B. British people love rugby most of all

   C. Americans and British people may call the same thing differently

   D. football originated in Britain in the 18th century

It seems that the Englishmen just cannot live without sports of some kind. A famous French humourist once said that this is because the English insist on behaving like children all their lives. Wherever you go in this country, you will see both children and grown-ups knocking a ball about with a stick or something, as if in Britain men shall always remain boys and women girls! Still, it can never be bad to get exercise, can it?
　　Taking all amateur (业余) and professional sports in Britain into consideration, there can be no doubt that football is at the top of the list. It is called soccer in the United States. The game originated (起源于) in Britain and was played in the Middle Ages or even earlier, though as an organized game, or "association football", it dates only from the beginning of the 19th century.
　　The next is rugby, which is called "football" in the United States. It is a kind of football played by two teams of fifteen players than eleven. In rugby, an oval-shaped ball is used which can be handled as well as kicked. It is a pretty rough game.
　　In summer, cricket is the most popular sport. In fact, it has sometimes been called the English national game. Most foreigners find the game rather slow or even boring, but it enjoys great popularity among the British.
　　Tennis rates high on the list, too. It was introduced into England from France in the 15th century, but it was from England that it spread to practically every country in the world　　Table tennis, or "ping-pong", surely is not played on a great scale as it is in China or Japan. Basketball and volleyball were introduced into Britain during the late 19th century from America and are gaining popularity. Horse-back riding, swimming, rowing and golf all attract a lot of people.
41．The main purpose of Paragraph 1 is to tell us that the English ___________.
　　A．are all sports lovers           B．behave like children
C．like to kick a ball around       D．can remain young all their lives
42．According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true about football and rugby?
　　A．They differ in the shape of the ball.
　　B．They are played by different numbers of players.
　　C．They both can be handled.
　　D．They both can be kicked.
43．The game that was never played in Britain until the late 19th century is _________.
　　A．basketball    B．tennis    C．rugby   D．football