小初高K12学习教材

阅读练习十七

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A

Plans kick off soon

For years, Chinese soccer fans have rarely had the chance to cheer for a triumph (胜利) from the national team. However, hope for Chinese soccer has been ignited (点燃) recently, as the government released an overall reform plan to boost (促进) the development of soccer in China on March 16.

By 2025, 50,000 elementary and middle schools will include soccer in the curriculum (课程), according to the plan. Students will be given textbooks that teach the positions of players and soccer tactics (战术). They will also be encouraged to form soccer teams and participate in competitions regularly. The elite young players will be enrolled into local leagues and training camps, helping to build up a large soccer talent pool.①

Chinese soccer, with the national team currently ranked at No 83 in the world, has been lagging behind many other countries for a long time. Critics say the biggest reason is a lack of a well-built youth training system, which is key to creating a strong soccer culture, according to the BBC.

Take Spain, a team that has dominated the world of soccer for a long time, as an example. It has the world’s best soccer school, La Masia. The FC Barcelona youth academy is widely known for producing skillful and creative soccer talents. Teams in the academy are divided into 12 levels, from U8 (for players under 8 years old) to U19 (for those under 19). Its talent scouts (星探) are stationed around the world, always looking for boys who show outstanding potential for soccer. Studying there is free of charge. A talented 10-year-old boy can walk into La Masia and come out eight years later as a superstar.

The rising soccer giant Germany also knows the importance of youth training. Germany scored only one goal at the 2000 European Championships, which started a national discussion over why the country could no longer produce good, young players. So in 2001, the German Football League required that all Bundesliga (甲级联赛) clubs set up academies with youth teams from U12 to U23. The clubs now spend over 100 million (800 million yuan) on youth development each year. And they have successfully raised the standards of young German players.

In 26-year-old midfielder Thomas Mueller, 25 year-old midfielder Toni Kroos and 33-year-old full back Philipp Lahm, for instance, the world has witnessed Bayern’s youth work paying off handsomely.

“Youth is key to China’s soccer, as late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping said. But it takes time to gain results,” said President Xi Jinping in 2014. “China’s soccer dream looks far away, but we cannot stop.”

1. When Chinese soccer development is reformed, ______.

A. middle schools will be required to form soccer teams and organize competitions B. the outstanding young soccer players will have access to better training

C. students will learn more about the history of soccer and famous soccer players D. all elementary schools across the country will include soccer in their curriculum 2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the article?

A. Tuition fees at La Masia are so high that many kids cannot afford to study there. B. Those admitted into La Masia are required to receive a 10-year training plan. C. The teams in Germany’s Bundesliga academies are divided into 11 levels.

D. Germany’s failure at the 2000 European Championships pushed it to improve its soccer education.

3. What is the author’s purpose in writing this article?

A. To call on the reader to get more involved in soccer.

B. To introduce China’s new reform plan for soccer education.

小初高K12学习教材

小初高K12学习教材

C. To point out that China must learn from Spain and Germany about soccer education. D. To analyze why Spain and Germany dominate the world of soccer.

高考词汇 reform n. 改革 e.g. Some reforms to the system will be necessary. elite adj. 出类拔萃的，精英的 e.g. He grew up in an expensive, elite boarding school. dominate vt. 统治，支配 e.g. The company has dominated the market for years. academy n. 学院，专科学校 e.g. She met her best friend at a tennis academy. 长难句分析 ①句中动词-ing短语helping …作伴随状语。Talent pool的意思是“人才库”。句意为：出类拔萃的年轻运动员会被招入当地的联赛球队和训练营，从而有利于组建一个大的足球人才库。 B Mammoths may return

Many of us remember being in awe (敬畏) when we saw cloned dinosaurs (恐龙) running wild in the film Jurassic Park. And the idea of using technology to revive (恢复) extinct species has long fascinated not only writers and directors, but scientists as well.

According to The Telegraph, woolly mammoths (长毛猛犸象), which featured in the popular Ice Age animated movie series, “may walk the earth once more” now that scientists have taken another step toward realizing a long-held dream – recreating their DNA.

Mammoths became extinct around 10,000 years ago. However, since the discovery of near-perfect preserved remains in Arctic permafrost (北极冻土带) in May 2013, a variety of research studies have been carried out since.

Geneticists from Harvard University analyzed DNA from the remains, looking for genes which separated mammoths from elephants, such as hairiness and ear size. They then used the results to reproduce exact copies of 14 mammoth genes. “It is the first time that mammoth genes have been alive – although so far it has only been done in the lab,” George Church, lead researcher of the project, told the Sunday Times.

Church then used a new technique which allows scientists to edit DNA carefully, replacing sections of elephant DNA with the mammoth genes. So “we now have functioning (正常运行的) elephant cells with mammoth DNA in them,” he said.

However, Church ruled out the possibility of bringing the mammoths back to life via cloning from frozen remains. He said he “preferred to focus on rebuilding the full mammoth genome by analyzing DNA from preserved remains and putting it into the cells of its closest living relative – the Asian elephant,” reported The Telegraph.

Church argued that the return of the woolly mammoth – or rather, the return of something very similar – could help bring back fragile (脆弱的) ecosystems. However, some scientists believe that bringing back the mammoth would be unethical.

Professor Alex Greenwood, an expert on ancient DNA, said: “We may face the extinction of African and Asian elephants. Why bring back another elephant from extinction when we cannot even keep the ones that are not extinct around?” he told the Sunday Times. “What is the message? We can be as irresponsible with the environment as we want. Then we’ll just clone things back?”

“Money would be better spent focusing on conserving (保护) what we do have than spending it on an animal that has been extinct for thousands of years,” he said. 4. We can infer from the article that ______.

A. scientific studies on mammoths didn’t begin until May 2013 B. the technology to revive mammoth genes is already mature

C. George Church and his colleagues tried to reproduce mammoth DNA

D. Church and his team managed to list all the genes that separate mammoths from elephants 5. According to Church, what is the significance of his study?

小初高K12学习教材

小初高K12学习教材

A. It could help prevent the extinction of the Asian elephant.

B. It could help people better tell elephant DNA from mammoth genes.

C. It could help bring back some extinct species and save fragile ecosystems. D. It could help bring mammoths back to life via cloning from frozen remains. 6. The underlined word “unethical” in Paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to ______.

A. wrong B. unworthy C. impractical D. interesting

7. According to the article, Professor Alex Greenwood believes that _______.

A. there is no need to worry about the extinction of African and Asian elephants at present B. it’s necessary to bring back species that are beneficial to human beings from extinction C. the return of the woolly mammoth would help to balance ecosystems

D. it’s more important to protect present species than to bring back extinct ones 高考词汇 fascinate vt. 使着迷，强烈吸引e.g. The idea of traveling through time fascinates me. feature vi./vt. 扮演主要角色e.g. The film features many famous actors. rule out 划去，排除e.g. He applied for the job, but his lack of experience quickly ruled him out. irresponsible adj. 不负责任的e.g. His behavior was very irresponsible; he might have hurt somebody. 长难句分析 ①句意：《每日电讯报》称，《冰河时代》系列动画电影中的主角猛犸象也许会重返地球，因为科学家们长久以来一直梦想重造它们的DNA，现在他们离梦想更近一步了。 ②句意：他说，他更愿意侧重于通过分析现存猛犸象遗骸的DNA、然后再将其放入与其亲缘关系最近的现存物种即亚洲象的细胞中的方法，来重建猛犸象的完整基因组。 C

Dealing with pain

One morning, I stepped out of bed and put my feet on the floor. Suddenly, a mean little man jumped out from under the bed and stabbed an ice pick (碎冰锥) through my left foot.

Figuratively (比喻地) speaking, yes.

I took another step and he stabbed it again. This went on all day. Step, stab, scream. Over the next few days, I started limping (跛行). My whole body hurt. Even my hair.①

I kept thinking that the little man would get tired of stabbing me and go pick on somebody else. We often take things for granted until we lose them or they start to hurt.②

My brother deals with pain every day. He’s also blind and suffers from cerebral palsy (脑瘫), needs a walker to walk, doesn’t take much for granted. I had to wonder: What would he think about my foot?

Finally, after a week of pain, I went to see a very nice foot doctor. The doctor studied my foot, took X-rays, shook his head, and said the little man’s name: Arthur Itis, or Arthritis (关节炎).

I knew it well. I’d often heard it hissed angrily by my grandparents and parents, all attacked by Arthur’s ice pick when they got older.

“Wait,” I said. “Doesn’t Arthur usually just pick on old people?” The doctor smiled, looking at my chart. “How old are you?” I gave him a look. “Never mind,” I said. “Can you fix it?” “Well,” he said, “we can try.”

He listed several options and I chose the injection (打针). It didn’t hurt much. Not half as much as the ice pick.

That was yesterday. This morning, I awoke, took a few careful steps and … hallelujah!

It hurt just a bit, but no ice pick. I looked under the bed. No sign of Arthur. Maybe he was hiding in the closet, waiting for another day.

小初高K12学习教材