Professional sports are very popular in the United States and they are big business. The most popular sports are basketball, football and baseball. ___1___ has its own season. And ___2___ supporters. Professional teams are named for the cities ___3___ they are located. When a team plays in a championship game, most people in the city ___4___ the game with interest and enthusiasm. Basketball is ___5___ around the world. Professional basketball games in the US ___6___ indoors during winter months. From November to April ___7___ can find a professional basketball game several nights a week in most large ___8___ cities. Basketball is an American sport. It ___9___ the national pastime.

The game is played in the evening ___10___ every night of the week and ___11___ weekends as well. The season begins in April and ___12___ in the October. Football ___13___ most popular professional sport in the US. It is played on Sundays ___14___ the fall from August to January. American football is different ___15___ international football, ___16___ Americans called soccer. Both games require ___17___ and specialized skills. Professional players are very ___18___.The most famous players ___19___ millions of dollars for their playing skill. American best players have higher ___20___ than the country’s president.

1. A. Every     B. Both   C. Each   D. All

2. A. million   B. millions     C. million of   D. millions of

3. A. when      B. where C. who    D. whose

4. A. follow    B. walk   C. run     D. jump

5. A. well-known   B. well    C. known       D. fame

6. A. played    B. is played    C. plays   D. are played

7. A. somebody      B. one     C. anyone       D. everybody

8. A. America B. England     C. American   D. English

9. A. was called      B. has been called   C. is called     D. be called

10. A. nearly   B. close   C. closely       D. near

11. A. at  B. in       C. on      D. during

12. A. finish   B. finishing    C. finished      D. finishes

13. A. became B. is become   C. is becoming       D. has become

14. A. during  B. while  C. on      D. at

15. A. of B. from   C. with    D. about

16. A. when    B. that     C. where D. which

17. A. strong   B. strength    C. strengthen  D. stronger

18. A. well pay      B. good pay  C. well paid    D. good paid

19. A. make    B. had     C. got     D. received

20. A. money  B. salaries       C. pay     D. wage

 

Could you survive on your own in the wild if everyone was fighting against you?

It must be hard, as 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen has found out in the book The Hunger Games, written by American author Suzanne Collins, the novel has stayed on the New York Times best-seller list for 51 weeks．

The novel takes place at a time when the United States no longer exists．North America has become Panem, and its biggest city is called the Capitol．The rest of Panem is divided into 12 districts．

Long ago, the districts started a war against the Capitol and lost．Giving up the fight, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 to appear in an annual TV event called “The Hunger Games”．

The teenagers have to fight each other in a desolate （荒涼的） environment．The rules and audience may change but one rule always stays the same: kill or be killed．

Katniss lives with her mother and younger sister in District 12, the poorest district of Panem．She struggles to support her family by secretly hunting beyond the border of her district．When Katniss’ sister is chosen by the lottery, Katniss steps up to take her sister’s place in the reality TV show．However, her friendship with the other District 12 contestant （選手）, a baker’s son named Peeta Mellark, makes her situation even more complicated. Katniss knows it may be her death sentence．In order to survive, she must choose which is most important: her own survival or humanity; life or love．

The twists and turns of her adventure make it hard to put the book down．You can feel Katniss’ pain, confusion, love and hatred. And this is how a novel should be: you don’t just read it; you live it．

1.The purpose of writing this passage was mainly to _______．

       A．give us an example of how to survive in the wild

       B．introduce to us a New York Times best-seller

       C．teach us how to win The Hunger Games

       D．tell us what might happen in North America in the future．

2.Which of the following is TRUE, according to the passage?

       A．“The Hunger Games” is a televised competition held every two years．

       B．Katniss takes her sister’s place to compete because she loves adventure．

       C．The new country Panem is divided into 12 parts altogether．

       D．The young competitors in the Hunger Games are forced to kill or be killed

3.The word “complicated” in Paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to _______．

       A．difficult               B．hopeless          C．a(chǎn)dvantageous       D．impossible

4.In The Hunger Games, Katniss faces more challenges because she has to think about _______．

       A．who will support her family

       B．what is most important in life

       C．how she can defeat her opponent

       D．why she has to compete in such a violent game

 

What’s the meaning of “dark horse”? It’s someone who wins when no one expects it.

Han Xiaopeng took China’s first gold on snow. He 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) at Turin in Italy. He made two almost perfect jumps for the highest score. Han had never won a world gold medal before, let alone(更不用說) in the Olympics!

“I never thought this would happen,” said the 23-year-old. “I feel like I’m 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, US.

That Han’s win was unexpected doesn’t mean that he didn’t work hard.

Han grew up in Jiangsu Province. Before he started his training on snow, he used to be an acrobat(雜技演員) at a circus. In 1995, a coach found his talent(才能). The coach, Yang Er’qi, said Han had the agility(靈活性) 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(跳臺) and kept on training.

Han almost left the sport after hurting his knee months before the Salt Lake Games. In that Olympics he only got 24th. “I was hopeless at that time, but my family and the coach stood firmly(堅強地) behind me, helping me through,” he recalled.

 Han Xiaopeng worked so hard that he won the gold medal in the Olympics at last. Because of his success, more and more people in China are becoming interested in skiing. We are proud of him and we hope he will have another big success in the next winter Olympics.

71. What does ‘dark horse’ mean? It means _____________.

A. a horse which is dark                                 B. someone who is unexpected to win

C. a horse which likes the dark               D. someone whose win is expected

72. Where did Han Xiaopeng take China’s first gold on snow?

A. In China                B. In Italy.             C. In America.             D. In Australia.

73. What made the coach, Yang Er’qi, choose Han Xiaopeng to be a ski jumper?

A. He had enough courage though he was only 12 years old.

B. He was born in the south of China and liked sports on snow.

C. He had the agility and wasn’t afraid of the high platform.

D. He had the talent and he had won a world gold medal before.

74. Which of the following sentences is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

A. He insisted on competing though hurting his knee in the game

B. He made two almost perfect jumps and got the highest score.

C. Someone had won the gold before Han Xiaopeng at the winter Olympics.

D. He never gave up even though he had faced many difficulties.

75. What is the best title for this passage?

A. A Wonderful Match                           B. A Dark Horse at the Winter Olympics

C. A Hopeful Snow Game                       D. An Exciting Skiing Race

（甘肅省蘭州一中2010屆高三12月月考）

D

When Denis Hennequin took over as the European boss of McDonald's in January 2004, the world’s biggest restaurant chain was showing signs of recovery in America and Australia, but sales in Europe were sluggish or declining．One exception was France, where Mr．Hennequip．had done a reliable job as head on the group's French subsidiary（子公式） to sell more Big Macs to his relatives, His task was to copy this success in all 41 of the European countries where anti-globalisers’ favourite enemy operates．

So far Mr．Henncquin is doing well．Last year European sales increased by 5．8% and the number of customers by 3．4%, the best annual results in nearly 15 years．Europe accounted for 36% of the group's profits and for 28 of its sales．December was an especially good month as customers took to seasonal menu offerings in France and Britain, and to a promotion in Germany based on the game of Monopoly（壟斷）．

Mr．Hennequin's recipe for revival（復興） is to be more open about his company's operations, to be "locally relevant", and to improve the experience of visiting his 6.400 restaurants． McDonaId's is blamed for making people fat, exploiting workers, treating animals cruelly, polluting the environment． and simply for being American．Mr．Hennequin says he wants to engage in a dialogue with the public to address these concerns．

He introduced "open door" visitor days in each country which became hugely popular．In Poland alone some 50,000 visitors came to McDonaId's through the visitors' program last year．The Nutrition Information Initiative（倡議）．launched last year, put detailed Sables on McDonaId's packaging with data on calories, protein, fat, carbohy drates and salt content, "the details are also printed on tray-liners．

58．Which of the following statement is RIGHT?

       A．Denis Hennequin has been boss of McDonald since 2004．

       B．The sales of McDonald is increasing in France．

       C．Denis Hennequin tries his best to increase the sales of McDonald in the world．

       D．The nutrition information is always launched on McDonald products．

59．McDonaId's is blamed in Europe for the following reasons EXCEPT          .

       A．making people fat                       B．exploiting workers

       C．treating animals cruelly                   D．earning too much

60．Which of the following is not included in the McDonaId's packaging?

       A．a(chǎn)ttentions         B．fat                  C．protein            D．salt content

61．What did Denis Hennequin do to increase the sales of McDonald in Europe?

       A．He visited all the McDonaId's branches in Europe．

       B．He introduced "open door" visitor's days in each country．

       C．He had done a reliable job as head of the group's French subsidiary．

       D．He engaged in a dialogue with the public．

My mother used to ask me what is the most important part of the body. Through the years I would   36    the correct answer. When I was younger, I thought   37  was very important to us as humans, so I said, "My ears, Mummy." She said. "No, Many people are   38  . But you keep thinking about it and I will ask you again soon."

Several years passed before she asked me again. Since making my first   39 , I had often thought over the question. So this time I told her, "Mummy, it must be our eyes." She looked at me and said, "You are   40   fast, but the answer is not correct because there are many people who are blind."   41  the years, mother asked me a couple more   42  and always her response to my answers was, "No, but you are getting   43   every year, my child." Then last year, my Grandpa   44 . Everybody was heart broken. Everybody was crying. My mum looked at me when it was our   45   to say our final good-bye to Grandpa. She asked me, "Do you know the most important body part yet, my dear?"

I was   46   when she was asking me this now. I always thought this was a   47   between her and me. She saw the   48  on my face and told me, "This question is very important. It shows that you have really   49  your life." I saw her eyes well up with tears. She said, "My dear, the most important body part is your   50  ." I asked, "Is it because they hold up your head?" she replied, "No, it is   51   on them a crying friend or loved one can rest their head. I only hope that you have enough friends and   52   that you will have a shoulder to cry   53   when you need it." Then and there I understood the most important body part is not a   54   one. It is sympathetic（同情的）to the pain of    55__.

1. A. notice           B. believe in        C. doubt           D. guess at

2. A. sound            B. health            C. love            D. sight

3. A. blind            B. deaf              C. invisible       D. thoughtful

4. A. discovery        B. decision          C. attempt         D. suggestion

5. A. changing         B. thinking          C. growing         D. learning

6. A. Over             B. Till              C. Beyond          D. Before

7. A. ways             B. things            C. questions       D. times

8. A. stronger         B. taller            C. smarter         D. nicer

9. A. left             B. got ill              C. died        D. got wounded

10. A. duty            B. turn              C. pity            D. chance

11. A. excited         B. satisfied         C. interested      D. shocked

12. A. game            B. test              C. match           D. secret

13. A. worry           B. puzzlement        C. regret          D. pain

14. A. enjoyed         B. found             C. disliked        D. lived

15. A. shoulders       B. feet              C. hands           D. hair

16. A. how             B. because           C. why             D. whether

17. A. respect         B. favour            C. love            D. fun

18. A. by              B. on                C. above           D. for

19. A. valuable        B. useful            C. selfish         D. precious

20. A. others          B. the deaf          C. Grandpa         D. the blind