During his life Dr James Naismith worked as a doctor, taught P.E and wrote several books. While he never thought it very important, Dr Naismith is today best known for one thing. He was the inventor of basketball.

Dr James Naismith was born in Canada in 1861 and his first job was at a special sports school in the USA. One day the school principal told James he was having a problem with the students. Because of heavy snow, the students could not go outside. He told James that they needed a sport the boys could play indoors and gave the teacher two weeks to think of something.

It was on the very last day that James came up with his idea. The “birth of basketball” is said to be on December 21, 1891, when two teams from the school played the first game. It was quite different from the basketball games of today. It had 9 players on each team and footballs were used instead of basketballs. Soon after, the game changed to 5 players on each side, using special “basketballs” through nets.

Although Dr Naismith did not live to see basketball become the worldwide game it is today, in 1936, just three years before his death, basketball became an Olympic sport at the Games in Berlin.

1.Which of the following things did Dr James Naismith NOT do?

   A. Teach P.E in school.                   B. Write some books.

   C. Work at a hospital.               D. Take part in the Olympic Games.

2. In which season did Dr Naismith invent basketball?

   A. Summer.      B. Winter.       C. Spring.            D. Autumn.

3.Why is December 21 thought to be the birthday of basketball?

A. It was on this day that Dr Naismith came up with his idea for basketball.

B. It was the day on which Dr Naismith was born.

C. It was the day on which Dr Naismith was asked by his boss to invent a new game.

D. It was on this day that the first game of basketball was played.

4.At the time of Dr Naismith’s death, which of the following was true?

   A. Basketball was already a worldwide game.

   B. Basketball was played with 9 players on each side.

   C. Basketball was an Olympic sport.

   D. Basketball was still played using footballs.

 

       During his life Dr James Naismith worked as a doctor, taught P．E and wrote several books．While he never thought it very important, Dr Naismith is today best known for one thing．He was the inventor of basketball．

       Dr James Naismith was born in Canada in 1861 and his first job was at a special sports school in the USA．One day the school principal told James he was having a problem with the students．Because of heavy snow, the students could not go outside．He told James that they needed a sport the boys could play indoors and gave the teacher two weeks to think of something．

       It was on the very last day that James came up with his idea．The “birth of basketball” is said to be on December 21, 1891, when two teams from the school played the first game．It was quite different from the basketball games of today．It had 9 players on each team and footballs were used instead of basketballs．Soon after, the game changed to 5 players on each side, using special “basketballs” through nets．

       Although Dr Naismith did not live to see basketball become the worldwide game it is today, in 1936, just three years before his death, basketball became an Olympic sport at the games in Berlin．

Which of the following things did Dr James Naismith NOT do?

       A．Teach P．E in school．        B．Write some books．

       C．Work at hospital．             D．Take part in the Olympic Games．

In which season did Dr Naismith invent basketball?

       A．Summer．      B．Winter．         C．Spring．         D．Autumn．

Why is December 21 thought to be the birthday of basketball?

       A．It was on this day that Dr Naismith came up with his idea for basketball．

       B．It was the day on which Dr Naismith was born．

       C．It was the day on which Dr Naismith was asked by his boss to invent a new game．

       D．It was on this day that the first game of basketball was played．

At the time of Dr Naismith’s death, which of the following was true?

       A．Basketball was already a worldwide game．

       B．Basketball was played with 9 players on each side．

       C．Basketball was an Olympic sport．

       D．Basketball was still played using footballs．

What would be the best title for this story?

       A．History of Basketball            B．How Basketball Has Changed

       C．Father of Basketball              D．Happy Birthday, Basketball

 Maggie was very glad that James was not a frequent visitor to the house. So far as the children were concerned, they had a mystery about him that stirred their imagination. He stirred Maggie’s anger, however, so that she often said to her husband, “It’s mercy that brother of yours doesn’t come oftener.”

In fact James came once a year, unexpectedly, around eight o’clock in the evening, and he stayed for six hours of close discussion with his brother. His arrival was a signal to the children that their bedtime would be delayed. Not that he ever spoke to them or played with them. He took no notice of them, as if he was unable to see children, at least until the time came for him to go. Instead, after his first greeting and a careless kiss, James took no notice of Maggie either, except to add, “You’ll be getting on with the supper, Maggie.” Such was his regard for her.

Maggie paid him back in her own way. She kept the children up, the four of them, to keep her company, she said, but of course they sang and made a noise and broke the endless sound of James’s voice. Very late, they dropped off to sleep in their chairs. Then, when James was about to go, Maggie woke them up and so more or less forced him to part with four shillings before he left. That gave her some satisfaction, for James, though rich, was mean. He always went home by the last train, just after two o’clock.

Maggie’s children secretly stared at their uncle. They could not forget that he had, in their mother’s words, “lost two wives and taken a third, ” They wondered about those two unfortunate lost ladies. They asked each other what their fate had been, and if neither could ever be found again. James never brought his third wife with him nor ever mentioned her. The children decided that he must be so frightened of losing her that he never allowed her outside the door.

 The underlined word “mercy” in the text most probably means _______.

A. loss      B. wonder

C. lucky thing D. terrible thing

Maggie never prepared anything special for James because _______.

A. he was a man difficult to please

B. she never knew when he was coming

C. she was too busy looking after her children

D. he never stayed long enough for a meal

What do we know about James’ behavior?

A. He was a kind man, with love for the family.

B. He was generous, especially towards his brother.

C. He was anxious to please the family, especially the kids.

D. He was rude to his sister-in-law.

Maggie felt pleased when _______.

A. she paid James the money that she owed him

B. James gave some money to the children

C. she had to wake James up to catch his train

D. James thanked her for the nice supper

The children did not realize that two of James’ wives _______.

A. had been dead    B. suffered from loss of memory

C. had run away from him    D. might appear again one day

During his life Dr James Naismith worked as a doctor, taught P.E and wrote several books. While he never thought it very important, Dr Naismith is today best known for one thing. He was the inventor of basketball.
Dr James Naismith was born in Canada in 1861 and his first job was at a special sports school in the USA. One day the school principal told James he was having a problem with the students. Because of heavy snow, the students could not go outside. He told James that they needed a sport the boys could play indoors and gave the teacher two weeks to think of something.
It was on the very last day that James came up with his idea. The “birth of basketball” is said to be on December 21, 1891, when two teams from the school played the first game. It was quite different from the basketball games of today. It had 9 players on each team and footballs were used instead of basketballs. Soon after, the game changed to 5 players on each side, using special “basketballs” through nets.
Although Dr Naismith did not live to see basketball become the worldwide game it is today, in 1936, just three years before his death, basketball became an Olympic sport at the Games in Berlin.
【小题1】
Which of the following things did Dr James Naismith NOT do?

A．Teach P.E in school.	B．Write some books.
C．Work at a hospital.	D．Take part in the Olympic Games.

【小题2】
In which season did Dr Naismith invent basketball?

A．Summer.

B．Winter.

C．Spring.

D．Autumn.

【小题3】
Why is December 21 thought to be the birthday of basketball?

A．It was on this day that Dr Naismith came up with his idea for basketball.

B．It was the day on which Dr Naismith was born.

C．It was the day on which Dr Naismith was asked by his boss to invent a new game.

D．It was on this day that the first game of basketball was played.

【小题4】
At the time of Dr Naismith’s death, which of the following was true?

A．Basketball was already a worldwide game.

B．Basketball was played with 9 players on each side.

C．Basketball was an Olympic sport.

D．Basketball was still played using footballs.

Maggie was very glad that James was not a frequent visitor to the house. So far as the children were concerned, they had a mystery about him that stirred their imagination. He stirred Maggie’s anger, however, so that she often said to her husband, “It’s mercy that brother of yours doesn’t come oftener.”

In fact James came once a year, unexpectedly, around eight o’clock in the evening, and he stayed for six hours of close discussion with his brother. His arrival was a signal to the children that their bedtime would be delayed. Not that he ever spoke to them or played with them. He took no notice of them, as if he was unable to see children, at least until the time came for him to go. Instead, after his first greeting and a careless kiss, James took no notice of Maggie either, except to add, “You’ll be getting on with the supper, Maggie.” Such was his regard for her.

Maggie paid him back in her own way. She kept the children up, the four of them, to keep her company, she said, but of course they sang and made a noise and broke the endless sound of James’s voice. Very late, they dropped off to sleep in their chairs. Then, when James was about to go, Maggie woke them up and so more or less forced him to part with four shillings before he left. That gave her some satisfaction, for James, though rich, was mean. He always went home by the last train, just after two o’clock.

Maggie’s children secretly stared at their uncle. They could not forget that he had, in their mother’s words, “lost two wives and taken a third, ” They wondered about those two unfortunate lost ladies. They asked each other what their fate had been, and if neither could ever be found again. James never brought his third wife with him nor ever mentioned her. The children decided that he must be so frightened of losing her that he never allowed her outside the door.

1.The underlined word “mercy” in the text most probably means _______.

A. loss           B. wonder    C. lucky thing          D. terrible thing

2. Maggie never prepared anything special for James because _______.

A. he was a man difficult to please

B. she never knew when he was coming

C. she was too busy looking after her children

D. he never stayed long enough for a meal

3.What do we know about James’ behavior?

A. He was a kind man, with love for the family.

B. He was generous, especially towards his brother.

C. He was anxious to please the family, especially the kids.

D. He was rude to his sister-in-law.

4.Maggie felt pleased when _______.

A. she paid James the money that she owed him

B. James gave some money to the children

C. she had to wake James up to catch his train

D. James thanked her for the nice supper