Passage 1     

It was a cold, rainy and wholly miserable afternoon in Washington, and a hot muggy night in Miami. It was Sunday, and three games were played in the two cities. The people playing them and the people watching them tell us much about the ever-changing ethnic structure of the United States.

Professional football in the United States is almost wholly played by native-born American citizens, mostly very large and very strong, many of them black. It is a game of physical strength. Linemen routinely weigh more than 300 pounds. Players are valued for their weigh and muscles, for how fast they can run, and how hard they can hit each other. Football draws the biggest crowds, but the teams play only once a week, because they get so battered.

The 67,204 fans were in Miami for the final game of the baseball World Series. Baseball was once America's favorite game, but has lost that claim to basketball.

Baseball is a game that requires strength, but not hugeness. Agility, quickness, perfect vision and quick reaction are more important than pure strength. Baseball was once a purely American game, but has spread around much of the New World. In that Sunday's final, the final hit of the extra inning game was delivered by a native of Columbia. The Most Valuable Player in the game was a native of Columbia. The rosters of both teams were awash with Hispanic names, as is Miami, which now claims the World Championship is a game that may be losing popularity in America, but has gained it in much of the rest of the world. Baseball in America has taken on a strong Hispanic flavor, with a dash of Japanese added for seasoning.

Soccer, which many countries just call football, is the most widely enjoyed sport in the world. In soccer, which many countries just call football, the ethnic tide has been the reverse of baseball. Until recently, professional soccer in the United States has largely been an import, played by South Americans and Europeans. Now, American citizens in large numbers are finally taking up the most popular game in the world.

Basketball, an American invention increasingly played around the world, these days draws large crowds back home. Likewise, hockey, a game largely imported to the United States from neighboring Canada. Lacrosse, a version of which was played by Native Americans before the Europeans arrived, is also gaining a keen national following.

Sports of all kinds are winning support from American armchair enthusiasts from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.

1.Which of the following can reflect the ever-changing ethnic structure of America?

[A] Sportsman.　 [B] Audience.　 [C] Both of them. 　[D] None of them.

2.Who play professional football in the United States?.

[A] Native-born American citizens.　　　　[B] Europeans.

[C] South Americans. 　　　　　　　　　　　[D] Both B and C.

3.What is America's favorite game?

[A] Baseball. [B] Basketball. [C] Professional football. [D] Soccer.

4.Which of the following statements about soccer is true?

[A] In soccer and basketball, the ethnic tide is different.

[B] Until recently, soccer becomes an important game, so many native Americans play it.

[C] It is the most popular game in the world, so many American citizens take up it.

[D] Although soccer is the most popular game in the world, American citizens in large numbers do not like first.

5.The author of the passage wants to tell us that ____　.

[A] Americans like sports and sports reveal much about the changing ethnic structure of the United States.

[B] In Washington, several games are played in one day.

[C] Americans like all kinds of games.

[D] The American games are watched by native-Americans and played by people from different countries.

Keys to Passage 1

C A D B A

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