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Basketball, Past and Present
In 1891, a teacher invented a new exercise in Springfield, Massachusetts. A particularly cold winter meant that Dr. James Naismith’s students couldn’t exercise outdoors, and he needed to find a way that would both entertain them and make sure they got enough exercise. He nailed a peach basket up at one end of the gym and began to develop the rules of what is now one of the most popular sports in the world: basketball.
As colleges began to adopt the game at the turn of the 20th century, basketball undertook a number of rapid changes. Five-person teams became the norm around 1898. Metal hoops replaced peach baskets in 1906. Though it was short lived, the first basketball league was formed in 1898. Under the direction of President Roosevelt, in the 1930s college sports were reorganized to change the rules, largely to prevent injury to players. This organization became the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCCA. The first professional league, later to become the National Basketball Association, or NBA, was put together in 1948.
The game as we know it is still standardized very carefully. In the NBA and the NCAA, games are played for four quarters of 12 minutes each. A regulation court is 94 feet by 50 feet, though international basketball leagues sometimes use a somewhat smaller court. It has been suggested that because the athleticism of professional players has increased so much since 1891 the sport might be best served by increasing court size, though this change seems unlikely given the large amount of money that would be required to improve courts.
Outside of the professional and collegiate leagues, there seems to be no end to the introduction of new varieties of basketball from very corner of the world: water basketball, wheelchair basketball, even a new form called slamball(极限篮球). One might even say that Dr. James Naismith’s creative achievement to sport exists in each one. And the basketball is significant for another reason: women have been playing almost since its inception: the first game of women’s basketball was played in 1891, the same year the sport was invented.
64. What purpose does the first paragraph serve?
A. To provide the origin of basketball.
B. To stress the importance of basketball.
C. To offer basic knowledge of basketball.
D. To catch the reader’s attention by telling a story.
65. Which of the following statements reflects the basketball inventor’s spirit?
A. Basketball is now making a large profit.
B. Many new, creative varieties of basketball exits.
C. Americans are still very successful at basketball.
D. Basketball has become an international sport now.
66. The underlined word “inception” probably means _______.
A. golden age B. beginning C. booming D. fading period
D
The past ages of man have all been carefully labeled by anthropologists(人类学家). Descriptions like “Paleolithic(旧石器时代)Man”, ”Neolithic(新石器时代)Man”, etc, neatly sum up whole periods. When the time comes for anthropologists to turn their attention to the twenty-first century, they will surely choose the label “Legless Man”. Histories of the time will go something like this:”In the twenty-first century, people forgot how to use their legs. Men and women moved about in cars, buses and trains from a very early age. There were lifts in all large buildings to prevent people from walking. And the surprising thing is that they didn’t use their legs even when they went on holiday. They built cable railways, ski-lifts and roads to the top of very huge mountain. All the beauty spots on earth were ruined by the presence of large car parks.”
The future history books might also record that we lost the right of using our eyes. In our hurry to get from one place to another, we failed to see anything on the way. Air travel gives you a bird’s-eye view of the world or even less if the wing of the aircraft happens to get in your way. When you travel by car or train, the unclear picture of the countryside constantly slides over the window. When you mention the most impressive place-names in the world, the typical 21st century traveler always says “I’ve been there.”—meaning”I drove through it at 100 miles an hour on the way to somewhere else.”
When you travel at high speeds, the present means nothing: you live mainly in the future because you spend most of your time looking forward to arriving at some other place. But actual arrival, when it is achieved, is meaningless. You want to move on again. By traveling like this, you skip all experience. The traveler on foot, on the other hand, lives in the present. For him traveling and arriving are one and the same thing: he arrives somewhere with every step he makes. He experiences the present moment with his eyes, his cars and the whole of his body. At the end of his journey he feels a delicious physical tiredness. Satisfying sleep will be his: the just reward of all true travelers.
67. Anthropologists name man nowadays “Legless Man” because _______.
A. people prefer cars, buses and trains B. people travel without using legs
C. lifts prevent people from walking D. people use their legs less and less
68. According to the passage, what might make people lose the right of using their eyes?
A. The modem means of transportation. B. A bird’s-eye view of the world.
C. The unclear sight from the vehicles. D. The fast-paced life style.
69. From the passage, we know traveling at high speeds means _______.
A. appreciating beautiful scenery B. experiencing life skills
C. focusing on the next destination D. feeling physical tiredness
70. What does the author intend to tell us?
A. Modem transportation devices have replaced legs.
B. Traveling makes the world a small place.
C. Human’s history develops very fast.
D. The best way to travel is on foot.
