出自:教育原理11
There are people in Italy who can.t stand soccer. Not all Canadians love hockey. A similar situation exists in
America, where there are those individuals, you may be one of them who yawn or even frown when somebody
mentions baseball. Baseball to them means boring hours watching grown men in funny tight outfits standing
around in a field staring away while very little of anything happens. They tell you it.s a game better suited to
the 19th century, slow, quiet, gentlemanly. These are the same people you may be one of them who love
football because there.s the sport that glorifies “the hit”. By contrast, baseball seems abstract, cool,
silent, still. On TV the game is fractured into a dozen perspectives, replays, close ups. The geometry of
the game, however, is essential to understanding it. You will contemplate the game from one point as a
painter does his subject; you may, of course, project yourself into the game. It is in this projection that the
game affords so much space and time for involvement. The TV won.t do it for you. Take, for example,
the third baseman. You sit behind the third base dugout and you watch him watching home plate. His legs are
apart, knees flexed. His arms hang loose. He does a lot of this. The skeptic still cannot think of any other sports
so still, so passive. But watch what happens every time the pitcher throws: the third baseman goes up on his
toes, flexes his arms or bring the glove to a point in front of him, takes a step right or left, backward or
forward, perhaps he glances across the field to check his first baseman.s position. Suppose the pitch is a ball.
“Nothing happened,” you say. “I could have had my eyes closed.” The skeptic and the innocent must
play the game. And this involvement in the stands is no more intellectual than listening to music is. Watch the
third baseman. Smooth the dirt in front of you with one foot; smooth the pocket in your glove; watch the eyes
of the batter, the speed of the bat, the sound of horsehide on wood. If football is a symphony of movement
and theatre, baseball is chamber music, a spacious interlocking of notes, chores and responses.
题目 1:
The passage is mainly concerned with ______.
A: the attraction of baseball
B: the different characteristics of sports
C: the attraction of football
答案 (A): the attraction of baseball
题目 1:
Those who don.t like baseball may complain that ______.
A: it is only to the taste of the old
B: it involves fewer players than football
C: it is not exciting enough
答案 (C): it is not exciting enough
题目 1:
The author admits that ______.
A: baseball is too peaceful for the young
B: baseball may seem boring when watched on TV
C: football is more attracting than baseball
答案 (B): baseball may seem boring when watched on TV
题目 1:
By stating “I could have had my eyes closed.” the author means (4th paragraph last sentence):
A: The third baseman would rather sleep than play the game.
B: Even if the third baseman closed his eyes a moment ago, it could make no difference to the result.
C: The third baseman is so good at baseball that he could finish the game with eyes closed all the time and do
his work well.
答案 (B): Even if the third baseman closed his eyes a moment ago, it could make no difference to the result.
题目 1:
We can safely conclude that the author ______.
A: likes baseball
B: hates football
C: hates baseball
答案 (A): likes baseball
Lily is 70 years old and she takes care of her 91-year-old mother. She told us about caring for her
mother. I wake up early every day, it.s usually about 6：30 am, and wait until I hear Tilly, my mum,
moving about. Then I make her a cup of tea. At about half past seven she gets up and we have breakfast
together. We normally just have toast, but on Sundays we always have bacon and eggs. After breakfast she
reads the newspaper, then she sits by the window and waves to the neighbours as they walk by. She
hardly ever goes out but she is very proud of her personal appearance, so she goes to the hairdresser once a
month. She doesn.t like being left on her own for very long, so I always arrange for a neighbour to
come and sit with her when I go out. Now and again, my friend and neighbour, Joan, comes to spend the day
with her, and I can go and have lunch with another friend, May, who lives in town. I have a brother,
Syd. He comes to stay two or three times a year. He is very good and keeps in touch, but he lives 300 miles
away. Once a year, he collects mum and takes her to stay with him in London for a week. She doesn.t really like
going because it.s a long journey, but I need the rest. Sally, the nurse, comes to see mum regularly.
My next-door neighbour, Jack, often calls in. In the evening we usually watch TV and we sometimes play cards.
Mum is fantastic for her age. But I can never decide to go anywhere spontaneously. I always have to plan it, so
I feel a bit trapped. But what is the alternative? An old people’ home? I couldn.t do that to my mother?
题目 1:
Lily wakes before her mother.
A: √
B: ×
答案 (A): √
题目 1:
Joan sometimes spends the day with Lily.s mother.
A: √
B: ×
答案 (A): √
题目 1:
Lilly goes to see her hairdresser every month.
A: √
B: ×
答案 (A): √
题目 1:
Lily.s brother comes to visit every three weeks.
A: √
B: ×
答案 (B): ×
题目 1:
Lily and her mother play cards more than they watch TV.
A: √
B: ×
答案 (B): ×