In the past ten years, America’s National Basketball Association (NBA) has grown increasingly dependent on the rest of the world to supply players.

    When Michael Jordan and Larry Bird won gold in Barcelona in 1992, the Americans were praised for teaching the world how to play basketball. This season, however, 20 percent of NBA rosters^① will be filled by non-Americans. NBA commissioner David Stem happily embraces the trend. On a visit to Paris in October, Stern outlined his vision for the future, which is likely to see Europe hosting NBA games by 2010.

    The NBA is now planning to take China by storm.

    “Our experience in China has been that it is going to be explosive in its growth,” said Stern. The strategy^② in China is television. “We’ve made 14 deals in China with local and national networks on cable and satellite.” The success of Chinese centre Yao Ming has paved the way for the NBA marketing blitz in China. The NBA, which is broadcasted in more than 200 countries in 42 languages, will put that to the test in October 2004 when the Houston Rockets play two pre-season games against the Sacramento Kings in Beijing and Shanghai. The NBA knows that it needs a global market to compensate for tough times on home soil.

“It doesn’t matter where the players come from, all the NBA teams now know that they have to scout^③ internationally,” said Terry Lyons, the NBA’s vice-president of international public relations. “It has increased the level of competition here.” As Frenchman Tony Parker and Argentine Emanuel Ginobili showed in winning championship rings with the San Antonio Spurs last season, many people can earn the respect of their American peers. Others, such as the Houston Rockets’ Chinese centre Yao Ming — number one draft pick in 2002 — and the Detroit Pistons’ 18-year-old Serb Darko Milicic — number two overall in this year’s draft — are icons^④in-waiting. It is the ultimate^⑤ revolution — the rest of the world teaching the US how to play basketball.

Notes:

roster  n. 花名册

strategy  n. 战略，策略

scout  vt. 寻找，觅得

icon  n. 偶像

ultimate  adj. 最后的，根本的

Choose the best answers according to the above:

According to the report,       ___.

A. Michael Jordan is still playing a very important role in NBA

B. the part played by the foreign players in NBA will be great

C. Yao Ming is to play two pre-season games in NBA

D. European countries will host the 2004 NBA games

The underlined phrase “take China by storm” has the meaning of       ___.

A. NBA intends to make China its “marketing center”

B. NBA is planning to set up some training centers in China

C. there’ll be a big storm when NBA comes to China to play against the Sacramento Kings

D. the NBA’s live basket games will be broadcasted on all the TVs in China

. What seems to be the biggest change that is happening to NBA?

A. NBA is expecting more foreign players to join the league.

B. China’s rapid development in sports affects NBA.

C. Yao Ming has taken the place of Michael Jordan.

D. The NBA will stop teaching the world how to play basketball.

When the writer talked of “home soil”, he was referring to        __.

A. farms in the States             B. native Americans 

C. the NBA training center         D. the USA

Which of the following can be used as the best title for the passage?

A. The Non-American Basketball Players    B. NBA Is Coming to China

C. The Foreign Ties That Bind the NBA      D. NBA Is Making Big Progress

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给出的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

As I held my father’s hands one night, I couldn’t help but notice their calluses(老茧）and roughness. His hands tell the story of his life as a   31  , including all his struggles.    

One summer, I remember, a drought (旱灾）hit Ontario, turning it into a    32  desert. On one of those hot mornings I was picking sweet corn with my dad to fill the last   33   from the grocery store. Fifty dozen was all we needed, which    34   took twenty minutes. That morning, however, the process didn’t   35   quickly. After forty minutes of aimlessly walking in the field, we   36    needed twenty dozen. I was completely frustrated and   37  . Dropping the basket heavily, I declared, “If the store wants its last twenty dozen, they can pick it themselves.” Dad   38  , “Just think, my little girl, only ten dozen left for each of us and then we’re   39  .” Such is Dad—whatever problem he   40  , he never gives up.

   41  , the disastrous (灾难性的) effects of the drought were felt all over our county. It was a challenging time for everyone,   42   Dad remained optimistic. He   43  to be grateful for other things like good health and food on our plates. Only then did I truly begin to   44   Dad and his faith that guided us through the hard times.

Dad is also a living example of real   45  . From dawn to dusk, he works countless hours to   46  our family. He always puts our happiness   47   his own, and never fails to cheer me on at my sports games   48  his exhaustion after long days. His loving and selfless nature has inspired me to become more sympathetic (同情心的) and   49  putting others first.

Dad, the life   50  I have learned from you will stay with me forever. You are my father, teacher, friend and, most importantly, my hero.

1.A. teacher          B. gardener        C. farmer          D. grocer

2.A. stormy            B. lively          C. disappearing  D. burning

3.A. order              B. form           C. gap                 D. position

4.A. repeatedly          B. normally        C. finally            D. really

5.A. go              B. begin           C. occur             D. change

6.A. yet             B. still      C. even               D. nearly

7.A. surprised       B. nervous C. angry            D. frightened

8.A. apologized B. cried         C. complained        D. laughed

9.A. lost            B. done            C. gone               D. touched

10.A. meets with       B. brings up       C. works out          D. thinks about

11.A. Thankfully         B. Hopefully      C. Unfortunately        D. Strangely

12.A. or            B. for      C. so          D. but

13.A. happened         B. seemed         C. continued         D. aimed

14.A. face     B. appreciate      C. examine            D. question

15.A. love     B. pride          C. friendship           D. honesty

16.A. support        B. settle          C. start                D. impress

17.A. after             B. before       C. beside      D. under

18.A. in spite of         B. in terms of    C. in control of  D. in place of

19.A. careful         B. regretful         C. considerate      D. humorous

20.A. history         B. motto         C. patterns     D. lessons

 

根据下列句子及所给单词的首字母或汉语注释，写出空缺处各单词的正确形式（共10小题，每小题0.5分，满分10分）

1.She g_____________ from the university two years ago.

2.He is a r__________ boy. So you can trust him.

3.After the terrible flood, all the villages and towns were in r___________.

4.In my o__________, the sports meeting should be put off because of the bad weather.

5.He took a friendly a____________ to me ,which made me happy.

6.Qian Xueshen ___________ (奉献) himself to science before he died.

7.Ten fishermen were saved in a sea ____________(营救)。

8.They helped the child ___________(埋葬) his father。

9.The young man went on working hard and __________ (最后) he succeed.

10.John is very __________(活跃的) in the English class.

 

Life became hard when I was 14. My mother and I moved to New York to 36 my father, who’d moved there to find  37  work when I was three years old. He had a job at a restaurant and only visited us  38  every couple of years.

Before I moved, I knew that people in the US spoke English. But honestly, I didn’t stop to analyze the  39  when I was  40  to leave. Just like I assumed I could easily become a doctor or a lawyer. I assumed that I had the skills to learn English in a few weeks. 

When I  41  in the US and started 8^th grade at Ditmas Middle School in Brooklyn, everyone was speaking a(n)  42  language I couldn’t understand. I  43  that life had subtitles, like in foreign movies. School was such a serious place here. Sometimes I felt like I was in a geek（呆子） class. The teachers were always  44  my moves so I couldn’t even throw a paper ball at a classmate’s head. And the worst thing was having to read  45

46  after almost seven months of complaining about everything, I realized that complaining didn’t change things.  47  just made my life worse. If I was going to  48  in this new concrete jungle, I had to  49  . I began to learn English by reading newspapers on my own  50 school. After about four months, I started enjoying reading the crime and sports stories. After six months of studying, my teachers  51  my improvement and moved me into a more  52  English class. I could go to the store and ask for things that I wanted to buy without  53  frustration. For the first time I felt like I was living on earth again  54  .I didn’t hear foreign talk. I  55  understand people.

1.                A．find           B．join            C．see  D．help

 

2.                A．good-looking    B．well-dressed     C．better-paying  D．highly-thought

 

3.                A．once           B．other          C．each D．only

 

4.                A．case           B．condition       C．situation  D．state

 

5.                A．packing         B．trying          C．managing D．arranging

 

6.                A．reached        B．entered        C．got  D．arrived

 

7.                A．strange         B．unusual         C．standard  D．foreign

 

8.                A．hoped         B．wished         C．expected D．demanded

 

9.                A．staring         B．looking         C．checking  D．watching

 

10.               A．texts           B．newspapers     C．English    D．poems

 

11.               A．Although       B．Even if         C．But   D．Since

 

12.               A．It             B．They           C．I D．Things

 

13.               A．live            B．study          C．survive    D．continue

 

14.               A．adapt          B．adopt          C．adore D．admire

 

15.               A．for            B．in             C．after  D．at

 

16.               A．made          B．noticed         C．concerned D．remember

 

17.               A．modern        B．advanced       C．difficult   D．convenient

 

18.               A．even          B．ever           C．some D．any

 

19.               A．if             B．though         C．ever  D．because

 

20.               A．could          B．should         C．would D．might

 

 

Domestic (驯养的) horses now pull ploughs, race in the Kentucky Derby, and carry police. But early horses weren’t tame (驯服的) enough to perform these kinds of tasks. Scientists think the first interactions humans had with horses were far different from those today.

Thousands of years ago, people killed the wild horses that lived around them for food. Over time, people began to catch the animals and raise them. This was the first step in domestication.

As people began to tame and ride horses, they chose to keep those animals that had more desirable characteristics. For example, people may have chosen to keep horses that had a gentle personality so they could be ridden more easily. People who used horses to pull heavy loads would have chosen to keep stronger animals. Characteristics like strength are partly controlled by the animals’ genes. So as the domesticated horses reproduced, they passed the characteristics on to their young. Each new generation of houses would show more of these chosen characteristics.

Modern day horse breeds come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. This variety didn’t exist in the horse population before domestication. The Shetland horse is one of the smallest breeds—typically reaching only one meter tall. With short, strong legs, the animals were bred to pull coal out of mine shafts (矿井) with low ceilings. Huge horses like the Clydesdale came on the scene around 1700. People bred these heavy, tall horses to pull large vehicles used for carrying heavy loads.

The domestication of horses has had great effects on societies. For example, horse were important tools in the advancement of modern agriculture. Using them to pull ploughs and carry heavy loads allowed people to farm more efficiently. Before they were able to ride horses, humans had to cross land on foot. Riding horses allowed people to travel far greater distance in much less time. That encouraged populations living in different areas to interact with one another. The new from of rapid transportation helped cultures spread around the world.

1. Before domestication horses were ______.

A. caught for sports

B. hunted for food

C. made to pull ploughs

D. used to carry people

2. The author uses the Shetland horse as an example to show ______.

A. it is smaller than the Clydesdale horse

B. horse used to have gentle personalities

C. some horses have better shaped than others

D. horses were of less variety before domestication

3.Horses contributed to the spread of culture by ______.

A. carrying heavy loads

B. changing farming methods

C. serving as a means of transport

D. advancing agriculture in different areas

4. The passage is mainly about _______.

A. why humans domesticated horses

B. how humans and horses needed each other

C. why horses came in different shapes and sizes

D. how human societies and horses influenced each other