(  )45．A．write      B．wrote                  C．is written               D．are written

A

    It seems that the Englishmen just cannot live without sports of some kind．A famous French humorist 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?

    Of all amateur(业余的)and professional sports in Britain，football is at the top of the list．It is called soccer in the United States．The game was born in Britain and was played in the Middle Ages or even earlier；as an organized game，it goes back to 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 instead of eleven in a football team．In rugby，an  oval―shaped(椭圆形的)ball is used which can be handled as well as kicked．

    In summer，cricket(板球)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 and it spread to practically every country in the world．

    Table tennis，or“Ping--Pong”，surely is not played on a great scale(范围)as it is in China or Japan．Basketball and volleyball were introduced into Britain during the late l9th century from America and are gaining popularity．Horseback riding，swimming，rowing and golf all attract a lot of people．

(  )44．A．The        B．An               C．A                   D．Some

(  )43．A．with       B．by                C．without         D．in

(  )42．A．from      B．of                C．about           D．for

(  )41．A．Do         B．Did              C．Had               D．Have

(  )40．A．which    B．where           C．how             D．what

(  )39．A．to get    B．to choose        C．to have      D．to take