TheAdventuresofTomThumbandThum-优题课

The United States is a sports-loving nation. Sports in America take various forms: organized competitive struggles, athletic games, hunting and fishing. Most sports are seasonal, so that what is happening in sports depends upon the time of year.
Baseball is the most popular sport in the US. It is played throughout the spring and summer, and professional baseball teams play well into the fall.
Football is the most popular sport in the fall. The game originated as a college sport more than 75 years ago. It’s not the same as European football or soccer. In American football there are 11 players as well on each team, and they are dressed in padded uniforms and helmets because the game is rough and injuries are likely to occur. It is still played by almost every college and university in the country.
Basketball is the winner sport in American schools and colleges. Like football, basketball originated in the US, many Americans prefer it to football because it is played indoors throughout the winter and because it is a faster game. And the famous NBA games are considered the best of this game.
Other sports attracting a great many people include wrestling, boxing and horse racing. Although horse-racing fans call themselves sportsmen, the exactness of the term is questionable, as only the jockeys who ride the horses in the races can be considered athletes. The so-called sportsmen are the spectators, who do not come primarily to see the horses race, but to bet upon the outcome of each race. Gambling is the attraction of horse racing.
Baseball is so popular in America that some professional teams play it until ___________.

A．spring

B．summer

C．fall

D．winter

When playing football, American players are dressed in a special uniforms ___________.

A．to avoid unexpected injuries

B．to play it like European football

C．to make the game rough enough

D．to look like professional players

Many Americans prefer basketball to football because______.

A．NBA games are very popular

B．it is originated in the US

C．it is much faster than football

D．it is played indoors throughout winter

Horse-racing fans can’t be exactly considered as sportsmen because they ________.

A．mainly stand and watch the races

B．don’t ride horse in the races

C．are only interested in the results

D．don’t care who wins in the races

The underlined word “jockeys” in the last paragraph refers to _______.

A．the person who bets upon the the race

B．the person who cares about horse-racing

C．the rider who enjoys watching the race

D．the rider who competes in horse-racing

Another man-made wonder of the US was built long before the nation was established. About 900 years ago, the Ancestral Puebloan people built villages high in the walls of canyons（大峡谷）in Colorado, where 600 cliff dwellings are now part of the Mesa Verde National Park.
Visitors can stand at the top and look into the dwellings almost hidden in openings of the rock walls.The Puebloan people cut small steps into the rock, which connected buildings containing hundreds of rooms.
The rock walls have protected the buildings from severe weather in the area; therefore, they remain mostly unchanged in the hundreds of years since they were built.
Our final man-made wonder is in the northwestern city of Seattle, Washington. The Space Needle was built as the central structure for the 1962 World’s Fair.
The 184-meter-tall structure was designed by Edward Carlson, which has a wide base on the ground, with its middle narrow and a large ring-like structure on top.The structure was meant to look like a “flying saucer,” a vehicle that was popular in science fiction space travel stories. The saucer includes an observation area and eating place.The restaurant slowly turns to provide visitors with a 360 degree view of Seattle.
The Space Needle was not very costly, and was designed and completed in about a year and opened on the first day of the World’s Fair.
Today, the Space Needle is the most popular place for visitors to Seattle. And it remains the internationally known symbol of the city.
What can be talked about before the text?
A. American geography.
B. Touring in the USA.
C. Other US artificial wonders.
D. World natural wonders.
The underlined word “dwelling” is closest in meaning to “________”.

A．houses

B．people

C．canyons

D．steps

The buildings in the rock stay almost unchanged because________.

A．the weather there is severe

B．they were well built

C．people look after them well

D．the rock walls protect them

Which is true of the Space Needle?

A．It remains a symbol of the US.

B．Edward Carlson built the structure.

C．It has a ring-like structure on top.

D．It is a man-made wonder in Colorado.

What is the best title of the text?

A．Cultural Relics	B．Artificial Wonders in the US
C．Symbols of Cities	D．Natural Places in the US

?Health, Wellness and the Politics of Food
9:00—9:45 a.m. Blue Tent
Panelists (成员)：Jami Bernard, David Kamp, Marion Nestle and Peter Singer.
Hosted by Denise Grady, science writer for The New York Times.
How does what we eat not only affect our bodies, but also the world？The food and nutrition experts debate the role that the diet plays in both personal and global health, and present a look at food politics.
?Sports Writing：For the Love of the Game
9:50—10:35 a.m. Blue Tent
Panelists：Christine Brennan, Ira Rosen, Joe Wallace and Joe Drape.
Hosted by William C.Rhoden, sports writer for The New York Times.
Whether catching that key moment of victory or defeat, or covering breaking news, sports writers are anything but audience. Listen as some professionals discuss the special experience in reporting of sports news.
?The Art of the Review
11:15—12:00 a.m. Green Tent
Panelists: John Freeman, Barry Gewen, David Orr, Celia McGee and Jennifer Schuessler.
Hosted by Sam Tanenhaus, editor for The New York Times Book Review.
How much of an effect does the book review have on book sales？Join this group of critics(评论家) as they discuss the reality of book review and bestseller lists, and how they choose books for review.
?New York Writers, New York Stories
3:00—3:45 p.m.Green Tent
Panelists: Cindy Adams, Richard Cohen, Ric Klass and Lauren Redniss.
Hosted by Clyde Haberman, columnist (专栏作家) for the City Section of The New York Times.
Join this inspiring group of New York－centric writers as they talk about why New York is a gold mine of ideas for their work.
If you are free in the afternoon, you can attend_______.

A．The Art of the Review

B．New York Writers, New York Stories

C．Health, Wellness and the Politics of Food

D．Sports Writing: For the Love of the Game

If you like sports writing, you will most probably _______.

A．go to Blue Tent at 11:15 a.m	B．enjoy Jami Bernard’s talk
C．listen to Christine Brennan	D．attend the Art of the Review

Sam Tanenhaus is in charge of ________.

A．The Art of the Review

B．Health, Wellness and the Politics of Food

C．New York Writers, New York Stories

D．Sports Writing：For the Love of the Game

All the four activities above _______.

A．are about writing	B．will last 45 minutes each
C．can be attended freely	D．will attract many readers

We can learn from the text that________.

A．sports writers are a type of audience

B．the New York Times is popular

C．Denise Grady will discuss politics

D．book reviews may affect book sales

Imagine one day, the water taps in your house stop running. You have to buy water from shops. And still there isn’t enough for everyone. Your mother has to save the family’s shower water to do other things. Would you be able to stand that kind of life?
Probably not. But that’s what kids in Yemen are experiencing. Experts said Yemen is going to be the first country in the world to run out of water. According to a report, the capital, Sanaa, will run out of drinking water as early as 2025.
Because of the shortage, the government often cuts the water supply. Hannan, an 18-year-old from Lahej, told the Times: “In a good week we’ll have a water supply all week. But then the following week there will be water only for a day or two.”
Hannan said only rich people have enough water to use. They can buy water from the shops or from the water truck. Private companies own the trucks. They travel around the city every day to sell water – at very high prices.
“A lot of people can’t afford it,” she said.
The average person in Yemen uses 100 to 200 cubic meters of water per year. That is far below the international water poverty line of 1,000 cubic meters.
The government is thinking of making use of seawater. But it will cost a lot and it may not happen soon enough to help the people of Yemen.
The purpose of the text is to _______.

A．tell us what life is like in Yemen

B．draw our attention to water shortage

C．remind us how important water is

D．show us ways of solving problems

The underlined word “that” in Paragraph 2 refers to _____.

A．buying water from shops

B．drinking dirty water

C．suffering from water shortage

D．washing clothes with used water

Hannan described _____.

A．what her life is like

B．how beautiful Lahej is

C．how people use water fully

D．how heavy the traffic in Lahej is

The Yemen Government _____.

A．has found a practical solution

B．only cares about rich people

C．may try to make use of seawater

D．can do nothing about the water supply

We can infer from the text that _____.

A．Sanaa will run out of water in 10 years

B．Hannan is a teenager from a rich family

C．the capital of Yemen is developing fast

D．private companies make a lot of money

The US government has started a website, Admongo, to help children think critically about the advertising aimed at them. It claims to provide visitors with an “aducation” through games and other entertainment.

A cartoon man dressed in old time pilot clothing greets visitors to Admongo. "Call me Haiz", he says upon arrival in a rocket ship that opens up with a crazy world inside it. Spacey dance music plays in the background as Haiz tells visitors that they need to learn about advertising.
Its inventors say eight to twelve years old is the age kids develop their critical thinking abilities. Kids that age are also a big market for advertisers.
The idea behind Admongo is to teach children three things: To identify the advertiser. To know what the advertiser is really saying. And to know what the advertisement is trying to get the child to do.
Children learn these things through a video game. They create their own game character. They can choose different skin colors, hair styles, eye and mouth shapes. Then they begin a trip through ad-land, where there are ads on buses and billboards. The players have to find all the marketing in the neighborhood before they can move on to the next level.
The Admongo game takes players inside a home, to the advertising studio and everywhere else ads can be found. It is a complete exploration of the world of marketing.
One such area is food marketing. The Federal Trade Commission(FTC) says it is a big business. The FTC estimates that food, drink and fast-food restaurants spent more than one and a half billion dollars on advertising to young people in 2009.
The FTC says children are important for three reasons. They buy products. They influence parents and caregivers to buy. And they are the future adult buyers of the products.
A recent study says most advertising aimed at children is for foods of the lowest nutritional value. First Lady Michelle Obama has said she would like to see advertisers marketing healthy foods for children.
What is the best title of the text?

A．The guide of Admongo

B．An education website for children

C．A popular online video game

D．A website aimed at children

Why did the government start the website?

A．To attract the biggest market of buyers.

B．To sell the products of its company.

C．To help children know about advertising.

D．To advertise the video game for children.

What can players do in the website game?

A．Choose hair styles for their character.

B．Travel to a supermarket.

C．Eat in a fast-food restaurant.

D．Play video games during the trip.

Children are important for advertising because they are .

A．important for the society

B．the most potential buyers

C．easily influenced by ads

D．easily affected by poor products

According to Michelle Obama, lots of food advertised for children are ________.

A．healthy	B．of high nutrition
C．yummy	D．of low quality

A．On the website.	B．In a newspaper.
C．In a magazine.	D．On a poster.

A．Poppy Montgomery	B．Emily Holmes
C．Brittany Murphy	D．Geoffrey Rush