泽熙美文Reading Comprehension
Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Clubs have both taken the opportunity to travel to Spain this month to train in less testing weather conditions than those which have, quite literally, already blown around the UK in January of 2007.
Each group of athletes has been focused on training to the maximum, working on technique and molding themselves into two potential fighting units per Club for the 2007 Boat Race, sponsored by Xchanging. One set will be in the Blue Boat for each club and one set will race as reserves in Isis, for Oxford, and Goldie, for Cambridge.
In these modern times, the Head Coach for each club has a huge input on selection even though the crew is still named by the President. Just twenty years ago the balance was not quite the same.
The year 1987 will always be remembered in the history of this great Race as the year of the “mutiny” at Oxford. It is a tale which has since been retold and reworked in both a book and a movie.
This was the season for which mature Scottish student, Donald Macdonald, was elected President, having all ready won a Blue in 1986. Macdonald re-appointed Daniel Topolski (now a renowned rowing journalist and broadcaster) as Chief Coach.
Part of the 1986/87 squad at Oxford included American Chris Clark, now a coach at an American University, and four fellow US internationals.
Allegedly, a split appeared in the squad between the American quintet; all experienced and leading oarsmen, and those rowers closest to Macdonald. The Scot’s group were happy to follow Topolski’s regime whilst the others were not so sure.
Following a contentious seat racing trial in January of 1987, Topolski decided to move Clark to the bow-side of the beat. Clark disagreed. Topolski held firm. As a result Clark and his” group” within the squad decided not to row and sought a takeover.
The squabble was played out extensively in the UK national media and caught the public imagination. Macdonald sought support from the college captains and eventually won a vote of confidence by 28 votes to 11.
Without the Americans, the Oxford crew was immediately considered a lost cause. Cambridge were overwhelming favorites to win.
As it turned out, though, this was a Race which would prove why sport, and particularly The Boat Race, can be so fascinating.
1. The phase “blown around” underlined in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.
A.discuss
B.walk around
C.doubt
D.visit
正确答案：A
[解析] 根据文中第一段的内容“which have, quite literally, already blown around the UK in January of 2007”可知，在2007年一月讨论英国的情况。选项中的A项为“探讨，讨论”符合文意。B项“绕……走”，C项“质疑”，D项“参观”，这三项均不符合题意。
2. It can be inferred that “Isis” and “Goldie” are the names of two ______.
A.places
B.teams
C.races
D.clubs
正确答案：B
[解析] 根据文中第一段的“Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Clubs.”和第二段的“One set will be in the Blue Boat for each club and one set will race as reserves in Isis, for Oxford, and Goldie, for Cambridge.”可以推断出，Isis和Goldie是划船俱乐部两个队的名称，所以应该选择B。A项“地名”，C项“赛事名称”，A、C从两个单词出现的位置可以看出和地名、比赛名称没有关系；D项“俱乐部名称”，俱乐部名称是牛津大学和剑桥大学俱乐部，所以D不正确，所以这三项都不符合题意。
3. According to the passage, in crew-naming, the President ______.
A.has no influence in the Head Coach’s opinion
B.gives little care to the idea of the Head Coach
C.used to be the only one to make decisions
D.had greater say 20 years ago than today
正确答案：D
[解析] 根据第三段的内容“In these modern times, the Head Coach for each club has a huge input on selection even though the crew is still named by the President. Just twenty years ago the balance was not quite the same.”可知，D项“主席20年前比现在说话更有分量”符合文意。A项“主席对总教练的观点没有影响”，B项“很少在意主教练的主意”，C项“主席过去是唯一作决定的人”，这三项和文意不符合。
4. The word “it” underlined in Paragraph 4 refers to ______.
A.the year 1987
B.Race
C.Oxford
D.a book and a movie
正确答案：A
[解析] 根据文中第四段的内容可知，It在此处指代的是前面提到的the year 1987。所以正确答案是A选项。
5. The boldfaced word” quintet” in Paragraph 7 refers to ______.
A.three people
B.four people
C.five people
D.six people
正确答案：C
[解析] quintet的原意是“五重奏，五重唱；男子篮球队；五位字节”，再根据文中第六段的内容“Part of the 1986/87 squad at Oxford included American Chris Clark, now a coach at an American University, and four fellow US internationals.”可知，quintet应该是5个人，所以应该选择C。A项“三个人”，B项“四个人”，D项“六个人”，这三项明显不正确。
6. The split seemed to be caused by the disagreement between ______.
A.Topolski and Clark
B.Macdonald and Clark
C.Macdonald and Topolski
D.the Scottish students and the American oarsmen
正确答案：A
[解析] 根据文中第八段的内容“Topolski decided to move Clark to the bow-side of the beat. Clark disagreed. Topolski held firm. As a result Clark and his”group“within the squad decided not to row and sought a takeover.”
7. The word “squabble” underlined in Paragraph 9 is closest in meaning to ______.
A.argument
B.controversy
C.dispute
D.debate
正确答案：A
[解析] 根据文中第九段的内容“The squabble was played out extensively in the UK national media”可知，在英国媒体展开了争论。选项中的A项为“争辩，争论”符合文意。B项“论战”，C项“纠纷”，D项“辩论”，这三项均不符合题意。
8. Macdonald had to seek support from the college captains because ______.
A.the public imagined he was not competent to command his crew
B.the Chief Coach Topolski lost the experienced American oarsmen
C.the Oxford crew was unlikely to win the Race without the Americans
D.the Americans would leave the squad unless they were to lead it
正确答案：D
[解析] 根据文中第八段的内容“As a result Clark and his ‘group’ within the squad decided not to row and sought a takeover.”可知，克拉克和他的“集团”内的球队决定不参加活动而是接管船队，所以应该选择D。A项“公众猜测他不能指挥他的队员”，B项“主教练失去了经验丰富的美国队员”，C项“没有美国人，牛津对不大可能赢得比赛”，这三项都不是Macdonald寻求支持的原因。
9. The word “fascinating” underlined in Paragraph 11 is closest in meaning to ______.
A.attracting
B.shocking
C.surprising
D.horrifying
正确答案：A
[解析] 根据文中第十一段的内容“particularly The Boat Race, can be so fascinating”可知，特别是赛船比赛如此吸引人。选项中的A项为“引人入胜的”符合文意。B项“震惊的”，C项“吃惊的”，D项“令人恐惧的”，这三项均不符合题意。
10. From the last paragraph we can draw the conclusion that ______.
