初中英语专项阅读——体育天地.doc

初中英语专项阅读—体育天地

A
What’s the meaning of a “dark horse”? It’s someone who wins while no one expects it.
Han Xiaopeng became an Olympic “dark horse” by winning the gold medal in men’s freestyle aerial skiing(自由式滑雪空中技巧) in Turin, Italy.
He made two almost perfect jumps for the highest score.
Han had never won a world gold medal before, let alone(更不用说) in the Olympics!
“I never thought this would happen,” said he. “I felt like I was in a dream.” It’s China’s second gold medal at the Turin Olympics. But more important, Han’s gold was the country’s first ever in a snow sport.
In 2002, China’s Yang Yang won the gold for speed skating at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, the US.
Although Han’s win was unexpected, it doesn’t mean that he didn’t work hard.
Han grew up in Jiangsu Province, where he used to be an acrobat(杂技演员). He changed to aerials in 1995 when a coach found his talent. The coach, Yang Er’qi, said Han had the agility(灵活性) and courage to be a ski jumper.
When Yang first took the 12-year-old to northern China, the boy couldn’t swim, skate or ski. But he wasn’t afraid of the high platform(跳台) and kept on training.
Han almost left the sport after breaking his knee months before the Salt Lake Games. In that Olympics he finished 24th.
“I almost lost my heart at that time, but my family and the coach stood firmly(有力地) behind me, helping me through,” he recalls(回忆说).
Choose the best answer according to the passage.
( )1. A “dark horse” means “_____”.
A. the most valuable player in China
B. someone who wins the game unexpectedly
C. an ordinary horse
D. the gold medal in men’s freestyle aerial skiing
( )2. Han Xiaopeng is the first player who has won the gold medal for China _____.
A. in a snow sport at the Turin Olympics
B. at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in the USA
C. in men’s freestyle aerial skiing in Jiangsu
D. at the “dark horse” competition in Italy
( )3. Why did Han Xiaopeng change to aerials in 1995? Because he is a person with _____.
A. talent B. ability
C. courage D. all of the above
( )4. The underlined phrase “stood... behind...” in the last paragraph means “_____”.
A. stood... at... B. stood... for...
C. supported D. stood... by...
( )5. The best title for the passage would be “_____”.
A. Han’s gold surprise
B. An unexpected result
C. A wonder in China
D. A dark horse

B
Team Games
Football
The game is played by two teams. There are eleven players in each team.
The field is about 100m long and 73m wide. There are two goals, 7.32m wide and 2.44m high.
To score a goal, a player must kick a ball into the other team’s goal. They may use their feet, heads or other parts of the body, but they must not touch the ball with their hands. Only one player in each team, the goal-keeper, can use his hands.

Volleyball
It is played on a court 18m long and 9m wide. The net is 2.44m high for men and 2.24m high for women. There are two teams, and there are usually six players in each team.
The players try to make the ball hit the ground on the other side of the net. They can use their hands, fists or arms, but they must not catch the ball or hold it while playing.

Basketball
The court must be 26m long and 14m wide. There are ten players in a team but no more than five players in each team may play at a time. The players must not be changed until the referee allows them to leave the court.
To score a point a player must throw the ball into the other team’s basket.
Players can throw the ball, but they must not carry it. A player must not touch another player.
After 20 minutes’ play there must be a rest period for ten minutes. Then there is another period of 20 minutes before the game ends.
Choose the best answer according to the passage.
( )1. How big is a football field?
A. 7.32m wide and 2.44m high.
B. 100m long and 73m wide.
C. 107.32m long and 75.44m wide.
D. 26m long and 14m wide.
( )2. The volleyball players can only _____ while playing.
A. catch the ball B. hold the ball
C. use their hands, fists or arms
D. use their feet
( )3. Each basketball team can have _____ players at most.
A. five B. ten C. twenty D. eleven
( )4. What does the underlined word “referee” mean in Chinese?
A. 队长 B. 教练 C. 裁判 D. 观众
( )5. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. In a football match, only one person can use his hands.
B. The volleyball net is 2.44m high for men.
C. The basketball team will score when they throw the ball into the other team’s basket.
D. In a basketball match, each of the two periods lasts twenty minutes.

Key: A 1-5 BADCA B 1-5 BCBCA

C
The Olympic Games in modern times have changed a lot since they were first held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. At that time, winners got silver medals instead of gold ones. Sounds strange, doesn’t it? People thought silver was better than gold. Also, no women were in the first Olympics, and only 13 countries took part in it. But those aren’t the only differences.
A Frenchman really wanted the Games to start again. His idea for the modern Olympics came from the Greek Games(希腊竞技比赛) thousands of years ago. He hoped they would help bring world peace.
But it took time for the Olympics to become popular. Not many people thought they were good ideas in 1896, so they were put together poorly. Some tourists even ran in races! Today, more than 10,000 people from about 200 countries take part in them.

In the early years of the Olympics, there weren’t many sports. Most events were track and field ones. Players did not wear their countries’ colors in 1896. In fact, players weren’t even picked by their countries then. They traveled to the Games by themselves and had to use their own money to take part in it.
New sports have been put into the Olympics over time, like badminton, table tennis and so on. Some older games are no longer played. It would be hard to see all the events at today’s Games. There will be over 300!
Swimming was different in 1896. A boat took swimmers out into the sea and left them to swim back to land. Sometimes the wave made the race dangerous. When people or teams won events in 1896, they didn’t get the same things as now. They got olive wreaths(橄榄枝环) to put on their heads and silver medals.
Complete the table below according to the passage.

D

A hug(拥抱) from the Houston Rockets bear mascot(吉祥物) brought NBA basketball closer to Chinese kids.
Six teams made it to the first “Amway Junior NBA China”(安利少年NBA中国初中篮球联赛)finals on December 10 and 11. The 1 now has involved 90,000 students in 15 cities.Nanjing No. 9 Middle School 2 Shenyang No. 126 Middle School to win first place.
Zhang Chuyang, 15, 3 MVP(the most valuable player). He made more than 10 points in the finals. “It was our first time to play with top teams in China,” he says.
Zhang said he learned spirit 4 former NBA player Robert Reid, 50, who advised a kids’training camp.
“He told us to 5 ,” Zhang said. “A player has to go all out in a match or 6 .”
Even though the game was hard, the Houston Rockets’mascot made for (be helpful to) fun. He 7 his hands and stood on his feet!
Guard Liu Yang, 13, of Zhang’s 8 , got a pair of shoe laces(鞋带) as a gift from the bear.
“I’d just seen the bear on TV before,” he said. “He helps me 9 .”
The team will go to the NBA All-Star Weekend in the US in February, 2006.
Liu looks forward to his trip and 10 the stars.
“I’d like to join the Rockets one day,” said Liu. “As a guard, I could partner with centre Yao Ming.”
Choose the best word or phrase to complete the passage.
( )1. A. friendship B. game C. team D. member
( )2. A. fought against B. hit C. won D. beat
( )3. A. was named B. named C. called D. was made
( )4. A. to B. for C. from D. about
( )5. A. fight hardly B. fight hard
C. fought hard D. fighting hard
( )6. A. on the playground B. at home
C. study D. practice
( )7. A. moved B. gave C. held D. offered
( )8. A. home B. family C. team D. school
( )9. A. relaxed B. relax C. do D. win
( )10. A. to greet B. to welcome C. meet D. meeting

Key:
C 1. silver medals; gold medals
2. men; men and women
3. track and field; track, field, ball games and so on
4. not in their countries’ colors; in their countries’colors
5. by themselves; by their countries
D 1-5 BDACB 6-10 DACBD

4