閱讀理解題

　　第一篇

What Makes a Soccer Player Great?

　　Soccer is played by millions of people all over the world, but there have only been few players who were truly great. How did these players get that way——was it through training and practice, or are great players "born, not made"? First, these players came from places that have had famous stars in the past players that a young boy can look up to and try to imitate （效仿）. In the history of soccer, only six countries have ever won the World Cup－three from South America and three from Western Europe. There has never been a great national team——or a really great player from North America or from Asia. Second, these players have all had years of practice in the game. Alfredo Di Stefano was the son of a soccer player, as was Pele. Most players begin playing the game at the age of three or four.

　　Finally, many great players come from the same kind of neighbourhood （聚居區(qū)）-a poor, crowded area where a boy's dream is not to be a doctor, lawyer, or businessman, but to become a rich, famous athlete or entertainer. For example, Liverpool, which produced the Beatles （甲殼蟲樂隊）, had one of the best English soccer teams in recent years. Pele practiced in the street with a "ball" made of rags （破布）. And George Best learned the tricks that made him famous by bouncing the ball off a wall in the slums （貧民窟） of Belfast.

　　All great players have a lot in common, but that doesn't explain why they are great. Hundreds of boys played in those Brazilian streets, but only one became Pele. The greatest players are born with some unique quality that sets them apart from all the others.

　　1 According to the author, which of the following statements is true?

　　A Great soccer players are born, not made.

　　B Truly great players are rare.

　　C Only six countries have ever had famous soccer stars.

　　D Soccer is the least popular sport in North America and Asia

　　2 The word "tricks" at the end of Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to

　　A "experience"

　　B "cheating"

　　C "skills"

　　D "training"

　　3 Pele is cited as an example in the second paragraph to illustrate that

　　A famous soccer players live in slum areas

　　B people in poor areas are born with some unique quality

　　C children in poor areas start playing football at the age of 3 or 4

　　D many great soccer players come from poor areas

　　4 In the last paragraph the statement "only one became Pele" indicates that

　　A Pele is the greatest soccer player

　　B the greatest players are born with some unique quality

　　C Pele's birthplace sets him apart from all the other players

　　D the greatest players practice with "balls" made of rags

　　5 The author attributes a soccer player's success to all the following factors EXCEPT

　　A his family background

　　B his neighbourhood.

　　C his practice.

　　D his height

　　第二篇

New foods and the New World

　　In the last 500 years, nothing about people——not their clothes, ideas, or languages-has changed as much as what they eat. The original chocolate drink was made from the seeds of the cocoa tree（可可樹）by South American Indians. The Spanish introduced it to the rest of the world during the 1500's. And although it was very expensive, it quickly became fashionable. In London, shops where chocolate drinks were served became important meeting places. Some still exist today.

　　The potato is also from the New World. Around 1600, the Spanish brought it from Peru to Europe, where it soon was widely grown. Ireland became so dependent on it that thousands of Irish people starved when the crop failed during the "Potato Famine（饑荒） " of 1845-1846, and thousands more were forced to leave their homeland and move to America.

　　There are many other foods that have traveled from South America to the Old World. But some others went in the opposite direction. Brazil is now the world's largest grower of coffee, and coffee is an important crop in Colombia and other South American countries. But it is native to Ethiopia, a country in Africa. It was first made into a drink by Arabs during the 1400's.

　　According to an Arabic legend, coffee was discovered when a person named Kaldi noticed that his goats were attracted to the red berries on a coffee bush. He tried one and experienced the "wide-awake" feeling that one-third of the world's population now starts the day with.

　　6 According to the passage, which of the following has changed the most in the last 500 years?

　　A Food

　　B Clothing

　　C Ideology

　　D Language

　　7 "some" in the last sentence of the first paragraph refers to

　　A some cocoa trees

　　B some chocolate drinks.

　　C some shops

　　D some South American Indians

　　8 Thousands of Irish people starved during the "Potato Famine" because

　　A they were so dependent on potatoes that they refused to eat anything else

　　B they were forced to leave their homeland and move to America

　　C the weather conditions in Ireland were not suitable for growing potatoes

　　D the potato harvest was bad

　　9 Which country is the largest coffee producer?

　　A Brazil

　　B Colombia

　　C Ethiopia

　　E Egypt

　　10 Which of the following statements is NOT true, according to the passage?

　　A One third of the world's population drinks coffee.

　　B Coffee is native to Colombia

　　C Coffee can keep one awake.

　　D Coffee drinks were first made by Arabs.

　　第三篇

Up In Smoke

　　I began to smoke when I was in high school. In fact, I remember the evening I was at a girlfriend's house, and we were watching a movie-a terribly romantic movie. He （the hero of the movie） was in love, she （his lady） was beautiful, and they were both smoking. My friend had only two cigarettes from a pack in her mother's purse, and she gave one to me. It was my first time.

　　My parents didn't care much. They both smoked, and my older brother did too. My mother told me that smokers don't grow tall, but I was already5'6"（taller than most of the boys in my class）, so I was happy to hear that "fact". In school, the teachers talked against smoking, but the cigarette advertisements were so exciting. The men in the ads were so good-looking and so successful, and the women were-well, they were beautiful and sophisticated（老于世故的）.

　　I read a book called how to stop smoking. The writer said that smoking wastes time, and that cigarettes cost a lot of money. "So what?" I thought, the book didn't say that smoking can take away years of your life. But ten years later, everyone began to hear about the negative effects of cigarette smoke: lung disease, cancer, and heart problems. After that, there was a health warning on every pack of cigarettes. I didn't pay much attention to the reports and warnings. I felt healthy, and I thought I was taking good care of myself.

　　Then two events changed my mind. First, I started to cough. I thought it was just a cold, but it didn't get better. Second, my brother got lung cancer.

　　He got sicker and sicker. My brother and I used to smoke cigarettes together over twenty years age, and we smoked our last cigarettes together the day before he died. I sat with him in his hospital room, and I decided to quit. "NO more cigarettes, ever," I said to myself.

　　However, it was very hard to stop, Nicotine（尼古丁）is a drug; as a result, cigarettes cause a powerful addiction. I tried several times to quit on my own-without success. I made excuses. I told myself: Smoking helps me keep my figure-i.e. I don't gain weight when I smoke. Smoking not only relaxes me but it also helps me think clearly. I'm a free, liberated woman. I can smoke when I want to.

　　Finally, I ran out of excuses-I might say my excuses went up in smoke. I joined the "Stop Smoking" program at the local hospital, which also ended up in failure.

　　11 How the writer started smoking shows the powerful influence of

　　A educational institutions

　　B one's social status

　　C the mass media

　　D public opinions

　　12 The "fact" in Paragraph 2 refers to

　　A her admiration for the men in the ads

　　B her mother's warning that smokers don't grow tall

　　C her height of 5'6"

　　D the teachers' negative attitude towards smoking

　　13 The book called How to Stop Smoking

　　A cost the writer a lot of time to read

　　B was not taken seriously by the writer

　　C warned the reader of the risk of lung cancer.

　　D left the writer in confusion

　　14 The writer decided to quit smoking partly because

　　A she could not afford any more cigarettes.

　　B her doctor had advised her to do so

　　C her brother had given up smoking.

　　D she had started to cough

　　15 The writer found it hard to quit smoking because

　　A she had been addicted to nicotine.

　　B she had been putting on weight.

　　C she could not think clearly.

　　D she was an independent woman.

　　【參考答案】

　　1. B 2. C 3. D 4. B 5. D

　　6. A 7. C 8. D 9. A 10. B

　　11. C 12. B 13. B 14. D 15. A