Tug-of-war（拔河）is not only popular in China, but in many other countries. Their tug-of-war match is a little 16　 from ours. They have eight men for each team, 17 we may have the match between two sides with equal men or women players. Of course, they are usually tall, strong and heavy.

　 For a tug-of-war match, we need a long thick　 18 .Each team stands at one end of the rope, 19 it. Then they try to pull the 20 of the rope. The team which 　21 in pulling the center of the rope away through a certain distance is the winner.

　 Many foreign sports experts think we don't have to be tall, heavy and strong to play tug-of-war. We don't have endless energy for a match 22only a few minutes. The secret is good hands. The players must have big, strong and hard hands. 23they start the match, they put mixture of oil and petrol on their hands so that they can hold the rope 24 .

　 Many foreign experts say the best hands for tug-of-war belong to the 25 .This is because they have to work hard when they are still very young. Farming is a good practice for this sport!

16. A. different　 B. exciting　 C. enjoyable　 D. boring

17. A. because　 B. but　 　　C. so　 　　　D. until

18. A. road　　　 B. pen　　　 C. rope　　　 D. stick

19. A. holding　 B. using　 　 C. bringing　 　D. making

20. A. center　 B. bottom　 　C. end　 　　　 D. side

21. A. spends　 B. falls　 　　C. succeeds　 　D. fails

22. A. knowing　 B. beginning　 C. wasting　 　D. lasting

23. A. After　 　B. Since　 　C. If　 　　　 D. Before

24. A. worse　 　B. better　 　 C. more quietly D. faster

25. A. workers　 B. students　 C. farmers　 　 D. officers

You may have never heard of Ladislao Biro, but you have certainly heard of the pen he invented—the ballpoint pen, or biro. Before Biro invented his pen, people wrote with fountain pens. The ink sometimes went out. In the 1930s Biro was a magazine editor in Budapest in Hungary. He noticed that the inks which the magazine’s printers used dried very quickly.Biro wondered if quick-drying ink could be used in pens. He came up with the idea of a tube(管) of ink with a free-moving ball on the end. As a person wrote, the ball collected ink from the rube and rolled(滚动) it on to the paper. The pen would be cheap and could be thrown away when the ink ran out.

　 Biro began to work on his invention, but the Second World War broke out before he could patent(取得…的专利) it. Biro left war-torn Europe and went to Buenos Aires in Argentina. There, he and his brother George, who was a chemist, began to improve the pen. In the early 1940s Biro began to produce his new pen, the biro. In 1944, he sold his invention to another company, who began to mass-produce the pen for the British and American armed forces(武装部队).

　 Biro was pleased that his pen was popular, but he did not gain much from his invention. The biro was later sold to the French firm, Bic, who now sell twelve million pens a day. Biro sank into obscurity in South America. His name, however, has become a household word．

（ ）61.Biro is the name of _______.

A. a magazine　 B. a fountain pen C. a company　 D. a ballpoint pen

(　 )62. According to the passage, Biro’s new pen was first produced in ______.

A.　　 Hungary　 B.France　　　　 C. Argentina　 D.America

(　 )63. Which of the following can be filled in No.3 in the box to show how Biro invented his new pen?

　　　 A. improved his pen　　　　　　 B. sold his invention

　　　 C. worked as an editor　　　　　 D. left for South America

（　 ）64. The underlined part “sank into obscurity” is the closest in meaning to”__”.

A. was very popular　　　　　　 B. Lost a lot of money

C. lost interest in business　　　 D. was unknown to many people

(　 )65. What does the passage mainly tell us about Biro?

A.He was a popular writer.　　　 B.He was a famous magazine editor

C. He was an important inventor　 D. He was a successful businessman

Reading comprehension.

Mary：Mum, what's in the box?

Mother：There are two pens.

Mary：What color are they?

Mother：One is blue, the other is green.

Mary：Whose are they?

Mother：They're for your brothers. Today is their birthday.

Mary：Oh, yes. Happy birthday to you.

Jim and Tom：Thank you.

Mother：Jim, how old are you?

Jim：I'm seven. Oh, no. I'm not seven. I'm eight. Today is my eighth birthday.

Tom：Today is our eighth birthday. I'm eight, too.

Mother：Here are two pens. One for Tom and one for Jim.

Jim：Which is my pen?

Mother：The blue one is for you.

Tom：And the green one is for me. Thanks, Mum.

Jim：Thanks very much. We're eight. We are big boys now.

1．How many people are there in the dialogue(对话)?

[　　]

2．Jim and Tom are ________.

[　　]

3．Where are the two pens?

[　　]

A．They're in a box.

B．They're in a pencil-case.

C．They're on the table.

D．They're on the chair under the table.

4．Which pen is for Tom?

[　　]

5．Whose birthday is it today?

[　　]

Which pen do you like ______, the red one or the blue one?

[    ]

　　A. good   B. better   C. gooder   D. best