第三篇

The World Cup

　　This summer's World Cup competition will see teams competing to play the world's best football.But the football they play will not all be of the same kind.The fans expect different styles of play from Brazil,Germany,or Italy.

　　What makes Brazilian football Brazilian?Our style of playing football contrasts with the Europeans because of a combination of qualities of surprise,accuracy and good judgment.This style has won Brazil five world cups.Yet many Brazilian fans only count four of these victories.In 1994,the team abandoned this style for modern,scientific training and tactics.The team won the cup,but in a boring way.

　　The ltalians think differently."To many ltalians,the score 0-0 has a glorious quality,suggesting perfection,"says the British football writer Simon Kuper.In the ltalian culture,the idea of face is very important.This is why ltalian teams are traditionally built around strong defences.The Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff once said that ltalian teams never exactly beat you.It's just that you often lose to them.

　　In Holland,there is a tradition of decision making through argument and discussion.It is a society where everybody is expected to have a point of view."Every Dutch player wants to control the game,"says Arnold Muhren."You play football with your brains and not your feet."

　　"A Dutch player argues,"says Simon Kuper."An English player obeys his superior.He is a soldier."The qualities valued in English football are military-strength,aggression and courage.This can make for exciting football.But it also means that the English find it difficult to use skillful players.David Beckham is usually criticized for his failure to defend-despite the fact that he is an attacker.

　　If the English like to fight,the Germans like to win.In recent years,Germany has tried to change its image as a country of ruthless efficiency and a desire for victory at all costs.But Germans are quite happy for these qualities to remain in their national football team."Football is a simple game,"Gary Lineker once said."You kick a ball about for ninety minutes and in the end the Germans win."

　　It's difficult to predict who will win this year's World Cup.There is no strong favorite.But a look at the track record of previous winners shows that it is the nations with the strongest national characteristics in the football that perform best.It seems that you need to know where you come from if you want to get to the top.

　　41.Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of the Brazilian style of playing football?
　　A.Accuracy.
　　B.Surprise.
　　C.Good judgment.
　　D.Ruthless  efficiency.

　　42.Why do many lialians think that the score 0-0 has a glorious quality?
　　A.Because it makes no one lose face.
　　B.Because the ltalian team is not very strong.
　　C.Because ltalians are nice people.
　　D.Because that score is what their team could obtain.

　　43.What is one expected to do in Holland?
　　A.To play football.
　　B.To express his or her opinion freely.
　　C.To make a fuss about nothing.
　　D.To beat his or her opponents ruthlessly.

　　44.Which of the following is NOT true of the British football players?
　　A.They are aggressive.
　　B.They are courageous.
　　C.They play football for friendship.
　　D.They obey their superiors.

　　45.Who will win this year's World Cup?
　　A.The Brazilian team.
　　B.The ltalian team.
　　C.The German Team.
　　D.It is unpredictable.

　　第5部分：补全短文（第46~50题，每题2分，共10分）
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American Dreams

　　There is a common response to America among foreign writers:the US is a land of extremes where the best of things qre just as easily found as the worst.This is a cliche（陈词滥调）.

　　In the land of black and white,people should not be too surprised to find some of the biggest gaps between the rich and the poor in the world.But the American Dream offers a way out to everyone.（46） No class system or govemment stands in the way.

　　Sadly,this old argument is no longer true.Over the past few decades there has been a fundamental shift in the structure of the American economy.

　　The gap between the rich and the poor has widened and widened.（47）

　　Over the past 25 years the median US family income has gone up 18 per cent.For the top 1 per cent,however,it has gone up 200 per cent.Twenty-five years ago the top fifth of Americans had an average income 6.7 times that of the bottom fifth.（48）

　　Inequalities have grown worse in different regions.In California,incomes for lower class families have fallen by 4 per cent since 1969.（49） This has led to an economy hugely in favor of a small group of very rich Americans.The wealthiest 1 per cent of households now control a third of the national wealth.There are now 37 million Americans living in poverty.At 12.7 per cent of the population,it is the highest percentage in the developed world.

　　Yet the tax burden on America's rich is falling,not growing.（50） There was an economic theory holding that the rich spending more would benefit everyone as a whole.But clearly that theory has not worked in reality.

　　A　Nobody is poor in the US.
　　B　The top 0.01 per cent of households has seen its tax bite fall by a full 25 percentage points since 1980.
　　C　For upper class families they have risen 41 per cent.
　　D　Now it is 9.8 times.
　　E　As it does so,the possibility to cross that gap gets smaller and smaller.
　　F　All one has to do is to work hard and climb the ladder towards  the top.

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