China's former volleyball star Lang Ping has been invited to coach the US women's national team for the Beijing 2008 Olympics. But China's sports media said the offer would be difficult to accept.

　 Lang, who is presently coaching a club team in Italy's professional volleyball league, told sina.com that she was considering the offer by the US Volleyball Association.

　 "Right now I'm still considering their offer but I will answer them soon,”Lang said. "If I don't take the job, I have to give them enough time to find someone else."

　 Lang, 45，won Olympic gold in 1984. She later coached the Chinese women to silver at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and the 1998 World Championships.

　 She has also coached at New Mexico University in the United States where her daughter was born and lives.

　 The reaction in the Chinese media to Lang's job offer was swift(快捷的) and strong. Many say that if she takes the job it would be a direct challenge to China's goal of winning the women's volleyball medal at the Beijing Games.

　 "As an unusual player and a spiritual leader of Chinese volleyball, Lang Ping's influence over China far exceeds（超越）that of an ordinary player,”says the China Olympic Committee website.

　 "If Lang stands with the opponents（对手）during women's volleyball matches, you can rest assured that this will be difficult to accept for the new Chinese players, difficult for coach Chen Zhonghe, who was once her assistant, and difficult for all Chinese watching on television,”the site continued.（AGENCIES Feb 9，2005)

56. According to this passage, Lang Ping is ______ at present.

A. a volleyball player　　B. a club coach　　C. an unusual player　　D. an assistant

57. Form the text, we can learn ______.

A. Lang Ping has accepted the offer

B. Chen Zhonghe has got into trouble

C. all of the Chinese media support Lang Ping

D. Lang Ping is thinking the US offer over

58. According to the text, if Lang Ping stands with the opponents during women's volleyball matches, who will most probably have trouble?

A. The Chinese audience.　　　　　　 B. Our women's volleyball team.

C. Beijing 2008 Olympics.　　　　　　 D. Chinese former players.

59. When reporting the news, the author seemed to be a little ______.

A. angry　　　　 B. surprised　　　 C. shocked　　　　 D. worried

It seems that the Englishmen just cannot live without sports of some kind. A famous French humourist once said that this is because the English insist on behaving like children all their lives. Wherever you go in this country, you will see both children and grown-ups knocking a ball about with a stick or something, as if in Britain men shall always remain boys and women girls! Still, it can never be bad to get exercise, can it?
　　Taking all amateur (业余) and professional sports in Britain into consideration, there can be no doubt that football is at the top of the list. It is called soccer in the United States. The game originated (起源于) in Britain and was played in the Middle Ages or even earlier, though as an organized game, or "association football", it dates only from the beginning of the 19th century.
　　The next is rugby, which is called "football" in the United States. It is a kind of football played by two teams of fifteen players than eleven. In rugby, an oval-shaped ball is used which can be handled as well as kicked. It is a pretty rough game.
　　In summer, cricket is the most popular sport. In fact, it has sometimes been called the English national game. Most foreigners find the game rather slow or even boring, but it enjoys great popularity among the British.
　　Tennis rates high on the list, too. It was introduced into England from France in the 15th century, but it was from England that it spread to practically every country in the world　　Table tennis, or "ping-pong", surely is not played on a great scale as it is in China or Japan. Basketball and volleyball were introduced into Britain during the late 19th century from America and are gaining popularity. Horse-back riding, swimming, rowing and golf all attract a lot of people.
41．The main purpose of Paragraph 1 is to tell us that the English ___________.
　　A．are all sports lovers           B．behave like children
C．like to kick a ball around       D．can remain young all their lives
42．According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true about football and rugby?
　　A．They differ in the shape of the ball.
　　B．They are played by different numbers of players.
　　C．They both can be handled.
　　D．They both can be kicked.
43．The game that was never played in Britain until the late 19th century is _________.
　　A．basketball    B．tennis    C．rugby   D．football

China won Olympic gold in the women's short track 3,000 metres relay on Wednesday, with Canada ____ the silver．

       A．picking up      B．taking up        C．looking up          D．bringing up

A listener has written from China for advice about how to lose weight. Michael in Shanghai says he is 26 and has battled obesity for most of his life.

Obesity , a severe weight problem, is a complex condition. A doctor may advise taking medicine along with changing one’s the way that he or she behaves. Experts say that the most successful weight—loss plans include a well-balanced diet and exercise.

People who want to avoid weight gain have to balance the number of calories they eat with the number of calories they use. To lose weight, you can reduce the number of calories you absorb, increase the number you use, or both.

A recent study looked at four of the most popular dieting plans in the US. Researchers at Stanford University in California studied over 300 overweight women, mostly in their thirties and forties. Each woman went on one of the four plans: Atkins, The Zone, Ornish or LEARN. The women attended diet classes and received written information about the food plans.

At the end of the year, the women on the Atkins diet had lost the most, more than four and one-half kilograms on average. They also did better on tests for cholesterol levels and blood pressure.

Christopher Gardner, who led the study, says the Atkins diet may be more successful because of its simple message to eat less sugar. He also says that the advice to increase protein in the diet leads to more satisfying meals. He says that there was not enough money to study men, but that men would probably have similar results.

Last week, another report based on thirty-one studies suggested that only a small minority of people have long-term success with dieting. Most dieters regained their lost weight within five years and often they become more overweight. But those who kept the weight off generally were the ones who exercised.

Title:  71　.Proper ___________to lose weight

 China won Olympic gold in the women's short track 3,000 metres relay on Wednesday, with Canada ____ the silver．

         A．picking up             B．taking up           C．looking up              D．bringing up