Long after the 1998 World Cup was won, disappointed fans were still cursing the disputed refereeing decisions that denied victory to their team. A researcher was appointed to study the performance of some top referees.
The researcher organized an experimental tournament involving four youth teams. Each match lasted an hour, divided into three periods of 20 minutes during which different referees were in charge.
Observers noted down the referees’ errors, of which there were 61 over the tournament. Converted to a standard match of 90 minutes, each referee made almost 23 mistakes, a remarkably high number.
The researcher then studied the videotapes to analyse the matches in detail. Surprisingly, he found that errors were more likely when the referees were close to the incident. When the officials got it right, they were, on average, 17 meters away from the action. The average distance in the case of errors was 12 meters. The research shows the optimum (最佳的) distance is about 20 meters.
There also seemed to be an optimum speed. Correct decisions came when the referees were moving at a speed of about 2 meters per second. The average speed for errors was 4 meters per second.
If FIFA, football’s international ruling body, wants to improve the standard of refereeing at the next World Cup, it should encourage referees to keep their eyes on the action from a distance, rather than rushing to keep up with the ball, the researcher argues.
He also says that FIFA’s insistence that referees should retire at age 45 may be misguided. If keeping up with the action is not so important, their physical condition is less critical.The experiment conducted by the researcher was meant to ________.
| A．review the decisions of referees at the 1998 World Cup |
| B．analyse the causes of errors made by football referees |
| C．set a standard for football refereeing |
| D．reexamine the rules for football refereeing |
The number of refereeing errors in the experimental matches was ________.
| A．slightly above average | B．higher than in the 1998 World Cup |
| C．quite unexpected | D．as high as in a standard match |
The findings of the experiment show that ________.
| A．errors are more likely when a referee keeps close to the ball |
| B．the farther the referee is from the incident, the fewer the errors |
| C．the more slowly the referee runs, the more likely errors will occur |
| D．errors are less likely when a referee stays in one spot |
The word “officials” (Para. 4) most probably refers to ________.
| A．the researchers involved in the experiment |
| B．the inspectors of the football tournament |
| C．the referees of the football tournament |
| D．the observers at the site of the experiment |
What is one of the possible conclusions of the experiment?
| A．The ideal retirement age for an experienced football referee is 45. |
| B．Age should not be the chief consideration in choosing a football referee. |
| C．A football referee should be as young and energetic as possible. |
| D．An experienced football referee can do well even when in poor physical condition. |
Kerry and Alice were both artists in Britain. They taught drawing and painting at Cambridge University. Although they were friends, each thought oneself to be the better painter.
One day, Kerry promised marriage to Alice. Surprised and pleased by the 
offer, the girl was not sure whether she would spend her future as a wife or a painter. After a moment she replied as follows, "Each of us must paint a picture. If yours is superior to mine, you can make me your wife. If not, please drop the question." Then it was decided to give it the following day.
The next morning. Alice hung her picture on the gate. It showed a bunch of flowers and
won high praise from everyone who passed by. In fact, a crowd collected in front of her masterpiece and fixed eyes on it.
Several hours passed. Then Kerry was seen coming along to the gate with what appeared to be a beautiful leather suitcase in his hand. When he finally stopped before Alice, the girl artist brushed like a rose and agreed to marry him without any hesitation. Why?What did Alice think Kerry's offer?
| A．She liked Kerry, but she didn't expect him to promise marriage to her. |
| B．She didn't want to marry anybody. |
| C．She didn't like it at all. |
| D．She thought the offer wasn't polite. |
In the sentence "If yours is superior to mine, you can make me your wife"。 "superior to" here means ____.
| A．not so better than | B．better than |
| C．so good as | D．as good as |
Which of the following is true?
| A．Kerry didn't accept Alice's suggestion. |
| B．Kerry wasn't sure of his painting so he dropped his offer. |
| C．Kerry did go the next day, but he failed to take a picture |
| D．Kerry agreed to Alice's suggestion. |
Alice's picture won high praise because ____.
| A．it was true to nature | B．the flowers were red |
| C．it showed so large a bunch of flowers | D．people felt it strange to hang it on the gate |
The "leather suitcase" was in fact ____.
| A．a real one | B．a painting drawn by Kerry |
| C．a box with a picture in it | D．made up of leather |
When he took office, George W. Bush, son of former president George Herbert Wal
ker Bush, became the first son to follow his father into the White House since John Quiney Adams followed John Adams in the early 19th century.
Bush was born on July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut, the first child of George Herbert Walker Bush and Barbara Pierce Bush. Although George Herbert Walker Bush began his career in the oil industry, he finally served as a congressman(国会议员), and vice(副) president and president of the United States.
At the age of two,Bush moved with his parents from Connecticut to Odessa, Texas, where his father took up the oi
l business. After a year in Texas, the family moved to California for business reasons. A year later, the family returned to Texas and settled in Midland, where Bush lived from 1950 to 1959.
In 1959, again for business reasons, the family moved to Houston, Texas. In 1961 Bush left Texas and went to Andover, Massachusetts, to attend Phillips Academy, aboarding school(寄宿学校) that his father had also attended.
At Phillips, Bush played basketball, baseball, and football. He was best known for being head cheerleader. In 1964 he enrolled at Yale University in Connecticut.His father and grandfather had also attended Yale. At Yale, Bush was considered an average student, but he was
popular with his classmates.
Bush graduated from Yale with a bachelor’s degree in history in 1968. Then he joined the Air National Guard and re
mained in the Guard until 1973. After earning his MBA from Harvard in 1975, Bush returned to Midland. Like his father, he first entered the oil industry as a “landsman(新手)”. However, Bush’s oil companies never enjoyed grea
t success. He took more interest in politics. He helped his father to become president and in 1994 he himself
was elected governor of Texas.
In the s
ummer of 1999, Bush began to run for the president of the USA and on January 20, 2001, George W. Bush, hand raised, took the oath(宣誓) of office to become the 43rd president of the US.What does the writer intend to tell us in the first paragraph?
| A．George W. Bush is the first son in American history to follow his father into the White House. |
B．George W. Bush is the first son of former presi dent George Herbert Walker Bush. |
| C．John Quincy Adams and his father were both former American presidents. |
| D．George W. Bush is the second one in American history to follow his father into the White House. |
We may learn from the text that young Bush ______.
| A．got on very well at the universities |
| B．was very good at basketball, baseball and football |
| C．did everything as his father had done |
| D．was a very successful politician like his father |
Which of the following is NOT true about George W. Bush?
| A．Young Bush lived with his family in Texas from 1948 to 1961. |
| B．He once studied at a university that his father and grandfather had also attended. |
| C．He once ruled over an American state before he entered the White House. |
| D．He once served at the Air National Guard for about five years. |
Geena David knew she wanted to be a movie star when she was very young. She was not sure what gave her the idea, but she wanted to look like a movie star. “I have a lot of pictures from my childhood of me wearing sunglasses,” she says. “I used to wear them to watch TV.”
Early movie actors started wearing sunglasses not because they looked good, but because their eyes hurt. The l
ights used on movie sets were extremely bright and could cause a painful
problem known as “Klieg eyes”. It was named after the Klieg brothers who invented the lights. Actors wore sunglasses to give their eyes a rest. But when movie stars began wearing their sunglasses in public, they quickly became a must.
Eventually actors started wearing sunglasses in their movies as well as on the street. Audrey Hephburn wore ultra-cool Ray-Ban sunglasses in the 1961 movie, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. As a result, Ray-Ban sunglasses started to appear more and more in the movies. In 1979, Ray-Ban “Wayfarers” were worn by Jake and Elwood in The Blue Brothers. Tom Cruise wore Ray-Ban “Aviator” sunglasses in the 1986 hit, Top Gun. Then in 1997, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones made Ray-Ban “Predator” sunglasses famous in Men in Black.
Of course sunglasses aren’t just a fashion statement. The main reason to wear sunglasses is to protect our eyes against UV radiation. UV radiation can damage our eyes, so people now choose their sunglasses carefully. But you don’t have to give up style for safety. The choice of frames and lenses available these days is huge. So you can protect your eyes and still be the coolest person on the beach.What is mainly discussed in this passage?
| A．The use of sunglasses. | B．The history of sunglasses. |
| C．The sunglasses wearing. | D．Why movie stars like to wear sunglasses. |
Why did Geena David like to wear sunglasses?
| A．She was a movie star. |
| B．She wanted to follow a movie star. |
| C．Wearing sunglasses was good to her eyes. |
D．It was good to wear sunglasses when wa tching TV . |
Early actors’ eyes hurt because ______.
| A．they wore sunglasses |
| B．they went out in the sun too much |
| C．the lights on movie sets were too bright |
| D．their scripts were written in very small writing |
Now people wear sunglasses ______.
| A．just to protect their eyes | B．for fashion and to protect their eyes |
| C．because of bright lights | D．because movie stars wear them |
London is the capital of the United Kingdom. It has about seven million people. The river Thames runs through London.
People from all over the world visit London to see Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London. There are many museums, theatres and parks in London, as well as offices and factories. London began as a Roman settlement called Londinium. The plague(瘟疫) came to London in the 1600s, followed by the Great Fire of 1666. The city was badly bombed in World War II.
London is very slowly sinking into its foundations and the level of the river Thames is slowly rising. As a result, extra-high tides could flood a large part of London. To prevent this happening, a great barrier（屏障）has been built across the Thames at Woolwich. If very high tides happen, the barrier can be raised and London will be safe.London is the capital of _________, which began as a __________ settlement.
| A．England; Norman | B．UK; Frenchman |
| C．Scotland; English | D．UK; Roman |
According to the passage, from 1600 to now, ________ great disasters have happened in London.
| A．one | B．two | C．three | D．four |
The reason why a great barrierhas been built across the Thames at Woolwich is that_________.
| A．London is very slowly sinking into its foundations |
| B．the level of the river Thames is slowly rising |
| C．extra-high tides could flood a large part of London |
| D．all of the above. |
Even if you are naturally shy, these three tricks will help you to quickly build a new social circle in any new city．
1．Take pictures
One of the great things about taking pictures at an event or party is that it gives you an excuse to get in touch with a person．Everybody loves seeing pictures of themselves，and it’s very easy after taking a picture to say “If you’d like I can email it to you”．This can be the seed that leads to new connections．The next time you hear about a fun event email your new contacts to let them know about it．
2．Eat alone in public
You might feel self-conscious eating by yourself but it has an important benefit：you are much easier to approach when you are alone．People may be afraid of interrupting you or being rude if you are in a conversation with someone else．Bring a book or newspaper to read (this will make you feel less self-conscious)．Plus，having an interesting book with you will give others an excuse to start a conversation if they’ve read it．
3．Join a
class，sports team，or club
Yoga，salsa dancing，volleyball，Toastmasters (a public speaking club)，a class for work，etc. Take up a new hobby or continue an old one!
These are all great places to meet new people，primarily because you will be forced to see the same people over and over again in the
class．You will automatically make friends with them if you have a common interest and are forced to see each other again．
Tips：
* In the beginning．never turn down an invitation from someone，even if it’s something you wouldn’t normally do．
* Email your new friends with fun things to do instead of always asking what their plans are, If t
hey have a better plan you can drop (放弃) yours and join them．This will help establish（建立） you as someone who is contributing value instead of just taking it (people want this in a friend) ．
*Don’t let little things in life upset you or be a negative person．People don’t want to be around someone like that！can give you an excuse to start new connections．
| A．Taking pictures of others | B．Eating by yourself in public |
C．Reading i nteresting books |
D．Joining group activities |
According to the text，which of the following is NOT mentioned as an advantage of joining a class?
| A．It helps you find out your interest and take up a new hobby． |
| B．It helps you find out people who share a common interest with you． |
| C．It offers an opportunity to meet the same people repeatedly． |
| D．It is a good way to meet new people and make friends in a new city． |
Which of the following pieces of advice is a tip from the text?
| A．Try to be outgoing and talkative instead of being shy． |
| B．Never turn down an invitation from your friends． |
| C．Offer suggestions on how to spend time together． |
| D．Don’t give a negative response to any request． |