______himself to his research on the IT technology, he soon made a breakthrough.

A. Devoted              B. Devoting               C. Devote                          D. To devote

 

In the past ten years, America’s National Basketball Association (NBA) has grown increasingly dependent on the rest of the world to supply players.

    When Michael Jordan and Larry Bird won gold in Barcelona in 1992, the Americans were praised for teaching the world how to play basketball. This season, however, 20 percent of NBA rosters^① will be filled by non-Americans. NBA commissioner David Stem happily embraces the trend. On a visit to Paris in October, Stern outlined his vision for the future, which is likely to see Europe hosting NBA games by 2010.

    The NBA is now planning to take China by storm.

    “Our experience in China has been that it is going to be explosive in its growth,” said Stern. The strategy^② in China is television. “We’ve made 14 deals in China with local and national networks on cable and satellite.” The success of Chinese centre Yao Ming has paved the way for the NBA marketing blitz in China. The NBA, which is broadcasted in more than 200 countries in 42 languages, will put that to the test in October 2004 when the Houston Rockets play two pre-season games against the Sacramento Kings in Beijing and Shanghai. The NBA knows that it needs a global market to compensate for tough times on home soil.

“It doesn’t matter where the players come from, all the NBA teams now know that they have to scout^③ internationally,” said Terry Lyons, the NBA’s vice-president of international public relations. “It has increased the level of competition here.” As Frenchman Tony Parker and Argentine Emanuel Ginobili showed in winning championship rings with the San Antonio Spurs last season, many people can earn the respect of their American peers. Others, such as the Houston Rockets’ Chinese centre Yao Ming — number one draft pick in 2002 — and the Detroit Pistons’ 18-year-old Serb Darko Milicic — number two overall in this year’s draft — are icons^④in-waiting. It is the ultimate^⑤ revolution — the rest of the world teaching the US how to play basketball.

Notes:

roster  n. 花名册

strategy  n. 战略，策略

scout  vt. 寻找，觅得

icon  n. 偶像

ultimate  adj. 最后的，根本的

Choose the best answers according to the above:

According to the report,       ___.

A. Michael Jordan is still playing a very important role in NBA

B. the part played by the foreign players in NBA will be great

C. Yao Ming is to play two pre-season games in NBA

D. European countries will host the 2004 NBA games

The underlined phrase “take China by storm” has the meaning of       ___.

A. NBA intends to make China its “marketing center”

B. NBA is planning to set up some training centers in China

C. there’ll be a big storm when NBA comes to China to play against the Sacramento Kings

D. the NBA’s live basket games will be broadcasted on all the TVs in China

. What seems to be the biggest change that is happening to NBA?

A. NBA is expecting more foreign players to join the league.

B. China’s rapid development in sports affects NBA.

C. Yao Ming has taken the place of Michael Jordan.

D. The NBA will stop teaching the world how to play basketball.

When the writer talked of “home soil”, he was referring to        __.

A. farms in the States             B. native Americans 

C. the NBA training center         D. the USA

Which of the following can be used as the best title for the passage?

A. The Non-American Basketball Players    B. NBA Is Coming to China

C. The Foreign Ties That Bind the NBA      D. NBA Is Making Big Progress

I'm feeling sad．My 19-year-old∞nleft home about a week ago to  36  the Air Force, and my 23-year-old daughter left two days ago to marry in another state．I'm so  37  of my son as he had to really work hard to get into the Air Force, and my daughter moved to be with her fiance（未婚夫）．I'm just simply upset．It  38  feels like someone has ripped my heart from my chest．I’ve tried to talk to their father, friends, and family but it just feels like no one around me   39  what I'm going through．

My children were  40  to me．I put all my energy into   41  both of them and doing all types of activities with them, even sometimes at the  42 of my own best interests．I understand they grow up and need their _43 ,but for some reason I just can't seem to let go．I am go _ 44  that they're establishing their own lives,   45 I get so depressed whenever I have even a simple _46 of them．I've been crying for over a week now．I really don't know what to do to make this  47 go away．I can't even walk by either one's room without bursting into tears．I don't understand why I'm unable to _48 this sense of great loss．I'm  49  that I need to move on with my own life and find  _50 things to devote my attention to, but I _51 being a mom and spending time on my children．I've    52  adopting a child but it's _53  atthe moment for me considering my poor health．

I'm just thankful to have found this website and found there are others who are  54 similar problems．It helps to   55 I'm not crazy or overreacting．Thank you for sharing your problems and showing others like myself this isn’t so abnormal．

1.	A．join B．visit C．contact D．lead

 

2.	A．afraid B．proud C．ashamed D．guilty

 

3.	A．hardly B．even C．almost D．truly

 

4.	A．reminds B．regrets C．understands D．questions

 

5.	A．everything B．everyone C．nothing D．anyone

 

6.	A．persuading B．raising C．paying D．charging

 

7.	A．mercy B．distance C．sight D．cost

 

8.	A．freedom B．country C．career D．house

 

9.	A．anxious B．embarrassed C．amazed D．happy

 

10.	A．if B．and C．but D．unless

 

11.	A．thought B．look C．impression D．idea

 

12.	A．moment B．decision C．feeling D．event

 

13.	A．recognize B．realize C．achieve D．overcome

 

14.	A．afraid B．aware C．doubtful D．confident

 

15.	A．expensive B．great C．new D．simple

 

16.	A．forgot B．tried C．stopped D．enjoyed

 

17.	A．admitted B．considered C．suspected D．remembered

 

18.	A．impossible B．disappointing C．worthy D．surprising

 

19.	A．researching B．experiencing C．imitating D．recording

 

20.	A．hear B．imagine C．know D．say

 

—Do you regret not having accepted their invitation?

—Why should I? I        as much, but I’m glad to devote myself to what interests me most.

A．didn’t earn       B．don’t earn        C．hadn’t earned     D．haven’t earned

 

目前，越来越多的中学生利用暑假上各种各样的培训班或请家教。对于这一现象，存在两种不同观点。请你根据下表提示，以Is a Training Class or Family Teacher Necessary?为题，写一篇短文，反映表中内容，并简要阐述自己的观点。

有必要	没有必要	你的观点
1. 跟老师学比自己学好； 2. 可以巩固课堂所学内容； 3. 可以学到更多的东西。	1．容易养成依赖习惯； 2．学生需要时间休息； 3．许多培训班和家教以赢利为目的。	….（至少两点）

注意：（1）层次清晰，连贯流畅；表达灵活，但不要逐字逐句翻译；

（2）词数：150 词左右（文章开头已给出，不计入总词数）；

（3）参考词汇：巩固—strengthen (vt.) 独立—dependence (n.)

Is a Training Class or Family Teacher Necessary?

More and more middle school students are going to all kinds of training classes or having family teachers during the summer vacation. There are two different opinions about it.

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