11．Which of the following units does NOT belong to “Metric system”?

　　　 A．Acre　　　　　　　　　 B．Hectare　　　　　　 C．Kilometer.　　　　　 D．Gram.

10．In 　　　　, a committee of scientists worked out “Metric system.”

　　　 A．America 　　　　　 B．Japan　　　　　　　　 C．France　　　　　　　 D．Germany

9．Metric system should be used in the world, because　　　 　.

　　　 A．man measured the distance which is based on the distance from a man’s elbow to the tip of his middle finger

　　　 B．the English-speaking countries used their own measurement

　　　 C．scientific work needs a unit of measurement

　　　 D．based on the weight of a grain of wheat, an informal measure of weight is used today

8．The title of the passage should be 　　　　　.

　　　 A．Getting Rid of “Silly” Superstitions　　　

B．Dealing with Those “Silly” Superstitions

　　　 C．Supporting Young Athlete’s Superstitions　

D．Talking about Superstitions

C

In deciding upon a unit of measurement, it is possible to pick anything. For example, the average height of a man could possibly have been a unit of measurement. In fact, some of the units used today in English-speaking countries are based on such things as the distance from a man’s elbow(肘) to the tip of his middle finger, or the weight of a grain(粒) of　 wheat.

Because there have been so many differences in weights and measures used in different countries, an international system has been urged. If one system were to be used by all countries of the world, it would probably be the metric system.

This is a system worked out by a committee(委员会) of scientists appointed(委任) in France in 1789. The English-speaking countries are almost the only ones that do not use the metric system in their measures. However, it is used in scientific work even in those countries.

The metric system is based on a measure of length called the “meter”. This is approximately(近似)one ten-millionth of the distance on the Earth’s surface from pole to equator(赤道).It is about 39.37 inches.

The metric system is based on 10 as is our number system, so that each unit of length is 10 times as large as the next smaller unit. There are square and cubic units for measuring area and volume(体积) which correspond to the units of length.

The unit of weight is the gram, which is the weight of a cubic centimeter of pure water. The liter is a measure used as the quart is used, but it is a little larger. The hectare(公顷), which is 10,000 square meters, is used as the acre in Britain, but is 2.471 acres. The metric system is more convenient to use than the English system because its plan is the same as that of our number system.

Here are some equivalents for the metric and English systems: One foot equals 0.305 meter; one inch equals 2.540 centimeters; one mile equals 1.609 kilometers; one quart liquid equals 0.946 liter.

7．What shouldn’t you do according to the passage?

　　　 A．Tell your young athlete: The harder they work at their sports, the luckier they’ll become.

　　　 B．Tell your kid more about the top athletes’ superstitions and encourage him to do so.

　　　 C．Some kids don’t want to talk about their superstitions, and so respect their rights and their privacy.

　　　 D．Keep a sense of humor about your kid’s superstitions, and let them do the same.

6．Which of the following statements is NOT true?

　　　 A．Most of the odd pregame behavior(as mentioned in the 5th paragraph) is harmless.

　　　 B．Following a pregame ritual gives the athletes a sense of comfort.

　　　 C．Even though the behavior is harmless to the child, a teammate or an opponent, we still can’t say the superstitious behavior is fine.

　　　 D．If a child begins displaying some odd behavior before a game as sports superstitions, a parent needn’t worry too much.

5．Athletes’ superstitions always 　　　　　.

　　　 A．ensure them good luck　　　　　　　　　　 B．enable them to perform well

　　　 C．does harm to them　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．make them feel comfortable

4．What would be the best title for the text?

　　　 A．An Impressive Visit to the Great Wall　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

B．Shopping in the Silk Market

　　　 C．Bicycle Rides Around Beijing　　　　　　

D．An Unforgettable Trip to China

B

　　 A few weeks ago I was about to take my son to his ice hockey game when I noticed something unusual. He was fully dressed and ready to leave, except that one side of his shirt was tucked(塞) into his trousers while the other side remained hanging out.

“John, you look great, but you forgot to tuck in your shirt,” I chided(责备).

“Dad, you don’t understand,” he replied. “I keep one side of my shirt out on purpose. It’s for good luck.”

And then I understood. Superstitions(迷信) and sports go hand in hand. In fact, I would bet that superstitious behavior has been a part of sports since the beginning of organized games.

Perhaps you’ve noticed your own young athlete developing some unusual pregame rituals (仪式)：putting on the same dirty undershirt game after game, wearing one sock up and one sock down, eating a particular pregame meal, listening to the same song on the tape while riding to the game.

In fact, from my experience of observing even top professional athletes, superstitions are nothing more than patterns that many athletes go through, not so much to ensure(保证) good luck, but rather to help them relax and be comfortable.

It is unusual for six-or seven-year-old children to have already developed some sports superstitions, but by the time they’re 10 or 11, your kids might begin displaying some odd behavior before a game. As a parent, don’t be overly concerned.

Of course, you’ll want to respect your child’s requests about wearing that special “lucky shirt” or making certain you feed him that “lucky breakfast” or whatever. Don’t put down the ritual. However, you should point out to your child that while it’s fine to develop a pregame ritual to help him or her prepare for a contest, you’ll also want to emphasize that one’s success in sports is much more a function of hard work, practice and determination. After all, those are the real values you want to put into your child’s mind.

Most superstitions last only as long as the athlete continues to experience “good luck”. Once that streak of good fortune runs out, he’ll be glad to drop that undershirt into the washing machine.

3．From the passage it can be inferred that the writer 　　　　　.

　　　 A．liked the Chinese culture　　　　 　　B．would come to China again

　　　 C．bought something cheap in Beijing　 　　D．wanted to make his experiences in China known

2．What attracted a lot of people’s attention was that 　　　　　.

　　　 A．the Americans were not skilled in riding bicycles

　　　 B．the Americans were going around Beijing after dark

　　　 C．the Americans borrowed bicycles from the hotel

　　　 D．the Americans did not have enough bikes