英语四级阅读200篇: Unit 46 passage 1

　　In the fall, Monday nights and Saturday and Sunday afternoons see American stadiums filled with football fans, with millions of other fans sitting before television sets at home to watch the game and yell their advice and applause. Then when the game is over, everyone discusses the various runs and penalties, the performance of the various players, and the decisions of the referees. On following days, the sports pages of the newspapers further analyze and criticize and give details of the lives of the outstanding players, for the game now rivals baseball as a popular American spectator sport, and football players are highly paid national celebrities. Famous college and professional coaches and outstanding quarterbacks get the fame that used to be reserved for Hollywood actors.

　　Football originated as a college sport more than seventy-five years ago. It is still played by almost every college and university in the country, and the football stadiums of some of the large universities seat as many as 80,000 people.

　　The game is not the same as European or South American football or soccer. In American football there are 11 players on each team who dress in padded uniforms and helmets because the game is rough and injuries are common. The object of the game is to carry or pass the football forward across the opponents goal or scoring line. The team with the ball has four chances, called downs, to gain a minimum of 10 yards. If the team is unsuccessful, the ball is turned over to the opposing team, which then has four chances to advance the ball the minimum 10-yard distance.

　　Anyone who has not attended a large college football game has missed one of the most colorful aspects of American college life. Between the two halves of the game, the playing field is taken over by the musical bands of the rival institutions, which take turns executing intricate marching formations as they play their instruments. Trained and uniformed student dressed to represent the college mascot performs antics during the game to entertain the crowd.

　　Outstanding high school football players are usually lured to a particular college or university by offers of scholarships and free room and board. Football is so popular and the urge to win is so keen that many colleges heavily subsidize outstanding players. Attendance at games is so large that a college or university may finance its entire athletic program from ticket sales, and professional teams get recruits from college teams.

　　The fall season also sees the World Series in baseball to determine the champion professional team of the nation. Baseball professionals are organized into major and minor leagues. The best players from the minor leagues are recruited into a ball club that is a member of either the National League or } the American League. The team that wins the most games in its league then, in October, plays the champion of the other league in the World Series, a series of games to determine the best team in the nation. Heroes in baseball are talked about and remembered as in perhaps no other sport. School children look up to the pitcher or batter who is currently making a high score for his team.

　　Although no other game is exactly like baseball, perhaps the one most nearly like it is the English game of cricket. In baseball there are nine players on each side. The two teams alternate at bat and in the field . Each pair of turns at bat is called an inning . There are nine innings in each game.

　　Not only is baseball played by professional teams but by children in their neighbourhoods and by high school and college teams in the spring. It is also played by adults as amateurs. On a fine summer evening there are probably more than 20, 000 games of baseball being played throughout the country. For amateurs it is perhaps Americas most popular game; professionally it is rivalled only by football.

　　Basketball is the winter group sport in American schools and colleges. Like football, basketball originated in the United States and is not yet widely popular in other countries. Many Americans prefer it to football because it is a faster game and is played indoors throughout the winter. It is a very popular game in high schools, and in more than twenty states, state-wide high school, tournaments are held yearly. Professional basketball tournaments exist, but they do not attract as many fans as baseball and football games do. One basketball team that has won admiration for many years is the Harlem Golbetrotters, a black team with unusual athletic ability and a gift for making the game humorous.

　　Other spectator sports include wrestling, boxing, and horse racing. Although horse-racing fans call themselves sportsmen, the accuracy of the term is questionable, as only the jockeys who ride the horses in the races can be considered athletes. The so-called sportsmen are the spectators, who do not assemble primarily to see the horses race, but to bet on the outcome of each race. Gambling is the attraction in horse racing.

　　Even though many Americans are fond of watching professional games, they do not always just sit and watch. There are many participant sports in America. Golf is probably one of the most popular. Although the game originated in Scotland, it is possibly more popular in the United States than anywhere else. It is played whenever weather permits. Frozen ground and snow are the only obstacles that stop enthusiastic golfers from playing. Swimming, water skiing, and skin diving are very popular summer sports. In the winter, ice skating, skiing, and hockey are the fashion.

　　In recent years there has been a great increase in the popularity of indoor bowling. Most bowling alleys are operated as private businesses, and bowling is carried on throughout the fall, winter, and spring. Bowling is a popular sport with young and old. It is easily played and is enjoyed by persons who have grown too old to indulge in more strenuous athletic activities.

　　A person cannot truly understand the role of sports in American life, however, if he or she does not understand how very much many Americans like to hunt and fish. Skill in these activities was once vital to frontier existence. Even though it is no longer necessary to kill wild game or catch fish in order to live, the devotion to these activities has remained. In order to keep a plentiful supply of wild game, the state governments forbid the hunting of certain animals and birds except during stated weeks in the year, called seasons. Thus there is a duck season, a deer season, and so forth, each of which lasts for several weeks. Hunters have to purchase licenses to hunt, and the laws limit the number of animals or birds a hunter may secure in one day or season.

　　1. Professionally, both football and baseball are the most popular games in U. S. .

　　2. Americans love for hunting and fishing is an indication of Americans attitude towards sports.

　　3. Colleges and universities usually give appealing offers to attract excellent high school football players.

　　4. Padded uniforms and helmets are used to protect the football players from injuries.

　　5. It can be inferred in the passage that you will be able to watch football games whichever university you are in.

　　6. In the World Series, the champions of both leagues compete in a game for the final winner.

　　7. It has been a long history since basketball originated in the United States.

　　8. The main concern of the spectators in a horse racing is to______of the race.

　　9. Americans are interested in both watching professional games and______.

　　10. People cant go to play golf when it______.

　　答案：I. Y 2. Y 3. Y 4. Y 5. N 6. N 7. NG

　　8. bet on the outcome 9. participating in some sports 10. snows