Zinedine Zidane, who dreams of leading France to its second World Cup title in a row next month, has always preferred to express himself with a football rather than with words.

    Last Wednesday Zidane scored the decisive goal when Real Madrid of Spain won the Champions League final against Germany’s Leverkusen 2－1.

He became one of the world’s most expensive players when he joined Real Madrid from Italy’s Juventus for US $ 66 million. And he has been a national hero since he scored twice in the 3－0 defeat of Brazil in the 1998 World Cup Final.

    But despite his success, Zidane has always kept his feet on the ground. He leads a quiet family life, there is hardly any gossip^① about him and he avoids putting his wife and two children in the spotlight^②.

“Just because I’m a public figure it doesn’t mean I have to express myself on everything. I don’t like to discuss some personal matters publicly.” he said.

    Even as a child playing football in the slum area of Marseille, France, where he was raised by his Algerian parents, Zidane was shy.

    He loved football even as a little kid. “I realized football is a wonderful mixture of a sharp mind and hard training rather than just talking,”he said.

    Even when the match awards were just chocolate and bread, Zidane found that football made his poor childhood rich.

    Before he was 10 years old, it was obvious that he could become a great footballer. He was offered his first professional contract^③ when he was just 20. Now, at the age of 29, he has already picked up two World Player of the year awards.

This quiet striker has not yet spoken of his hopes for the coming World Cup. But his fans across the world will be eagerly watching him to see what he’ll do this time.

Notes:

gossip  n. 流言蜚语

spotlight  n. 聚光灯

contract  n. 合同

What did Zidane learn from his childhood football experience? He learned that _______.

A. he could become a great footballer

B. he could become rich if he became a footballer

C. football is a mixture of a sharp mind and hard training but not just talking

D. football is a favorite sport in the future

According to the article, what are Zidane’s main characteristics?

A. He is a shy but successful man.

B. He loves his wife and children.

C. He doesn’t like to speak in public.

D. He is a quiet, down-to-earth person of few words.

When the writer says “Zidane has always kept his feet on the ground”, he means that _______.

A. Zidane spends more time standing than sitting most days

B. Zidane is a down-to-earth person

C. Zidane has spent most of his time training on the pitch

D. Zidane likes standing when he succeeds

The sentence “Zidane found that football made his poor childhood rich” means ________.

A. football made Zidane’s poor family wealthy when he was a child

B. Zidane knew that football could bring him fame and wealth even when he was a child

C. football brought happiness to Zidane when he was a child in a poor family

D. Zidane knew that if he wanted 10 be rich he must play football from childhood

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

  1.  

Home is a place where one feels safe and secure but unfortunately, it is also a place where you may have serious accidents. The biggest single cause of accidents is human error! So you must take care of yourself!

Causes of home accidents.

  2.   Balconies, fireplaces, staircases, ponds, glass doors or kitchens can all increase the risk of accidents. Hot water, household chemicals, fireplaces, matches, alcohol and sharp objects are also potential dangers. Loosing balance, clumsiness and being tired or careless can be the reasons for these accidents. What’s more, if you are under stress or when a routine is changed, you may also be under the risk of home accidents.

Most common types of accidents.

You can see many dangerous home accidents happening around you. The most common ones are slips, falls and collisions. They are not fatal but often result in broken bones. The second most common types of accidents are burns, swallowed objects or breathed in chemicals.

  3.   Some other possible dangers at home are poisioning, choking, drowning, electric shocks, and animal bites. Some of these accidents may even result in death.

The importance of education.

Sometimes the simplest precaution protects you from the greatest harm.    4.   The Ministry of Health can train professionals to educate nursing staff, ordinary people, voluntary workers, teachers, nursery staff and parents in home accident prevention and control. When people know first aid, they can reduce the risk of serious injuries.

  5.   

You must take measures to make your home a safer place. For instance, keep knives and other sharp objects in a safe drawer. Wipe up any liquids on the floor immediately in order not to slip or fall. Keep hot objects away from the reach of children. You also mustn’t leave children unattended near a bath that has water in it. If you keep furniture away from windows, you may prevent possible harm. Store all medicines, household chemicals, and so on, preferably in a locked box and do not forget to keep all dangerous substances in their orginal containers. In brief, if you want to protect yourself, be careful not to be sorry!

A．Is home really safe?

B．Nursing home injuries.

C．Ways of preventing accidents.

D．The design of houses can cause accidents.

E. Accidents can be avoided at home.

F. They especially affect children and need hospital attendance.

G. Therefore, it is important that we should educate people.

 

People are talking about the “new economy.” It’s very different from the “old economy”.

In the old economy, people travel to work. They buy things in stores. They use the post office, the fax and the telephone to send information. They see people face-to-face at their jobs or in stores. People get information from newspapers, radio, television, books and libraries.

In the new economy, people do business through the “net,” which is a connection of millions of computers everywhere in the world. In the new economy, workers often work at home. They can get information online. They can communicate with employers and co-workers by e-mail. Businesses have “virtual (虚拟)stores”. They are websites on which customers can see the products. Businesses can sell to customers anywhere in the world.

In the new economy, people live a fast paced, convenient and colorful life. The whole world develops more quickly than before. But the new economy is a double-edge sword. Its disadvantage is also obvious. For example, the Internet has led to a huge increase in credit card cheating. Some illegal websites offer some cheap or banned goods or services. Online shoppers who enter their credit card information may never receive the goods they want to buy and their card information could even be for sale in an illegal website. So people in the new economy should be smarter and knowledgeable.

1.The cause of the differences between the new economy and the old economy is ____.

A．the change of people’s idea

B．the business people do

C．the use of the Internet

D．the change of people’s life

2.“But the new economy is a double-edge sword ” in the last passage means_____.

A．The new economy is as sharp as a sword

B．The new economy has advantages and disadvantages

C．The new economy is better than the old economy

D．Both the new economy and the old economy have disadvantages

3.Which of the following is NOT true?

A．People can get all kinds of information on the Internet.

B．Telephone, radio, television, newspapers and so on will disappear in the new economy.

C．People in the new economy should have high quality.

D．Life in the new economy is more comfortable than the one in the old economy.