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  3. It was a cold, rainy and wholly miserable afternoon in Washington, and a hot muggy night in Miami. It was Sunday, and three game

It was a cold, rainy and wholly miserable afternoon in Washington, and a hot muggy night in Miami. It was Sunday, and three game

admin2009-06-24  56
问题     It was a cold, rainy and wholly miserable afternoon in Washington, and a hot muggy night in Miami. It was Sunday, and three games were played in the two cities. The people playing them and the people watching them tell us much about the ever-changing ethnic structure of the United States.
    American males are more addicted to sports than females are, but not by a huge margin. Females are more addicted to the theatre and concert halls than males are, but not by a huge margin. In our electronic age, addicts and experts alike can be couch potatoes, enjoying their entertainments from the comfort of home. Tree fans get off their butts and go. The three games in the two cities on that miserable Sunday afternoon had respective attendances of 75,061, 67,204 and 57,318. The biggest crowd watched professional football, in which the Washington Redskins were beaten by the Baltimore Ravens. The crowds sat in the cold and rain, and most of them endured the weather to the bitter end because the outcome of the game was in doubt.
    Professional football in the United States is almost wholly played by native-born American citizens, mostly very large and very strong, many of them black. It is a game of physical strength. Linemen routinely weigh more than 300 pounds. Players are valued for their weight and muscles, for how fast they can run, and how hard they can hit each other. Football draws the biggest crowds, but the teams play only once a week, because they get so battered.
    The 67,204 fans were in Miami for the final game of the baseball World Series. Baseball was once America’s favourite game, but has lost that claim to basketball. The 1997 World Series was much reviled in the news media of the largest cities, mostly because they had been shut out of it. NBC, which broadcast the Series, wished loudly that it hadn’t. Despite all the bad press, every game was sold out and double the tickets could have been sold had the stadiums accommodated more people.
    Baseball is a game that requires strength, but not hugeness. Agility, quickness, perfect vision and quick reaction are more important than pure strength. Baseball was once a purely American game, but has spread around much of the New World. In that Sunday’s finale, the final hit of the extra inning game was delivered by a native of Columbia. The Most Valuable Player in the game was a native of Cuba. The rosters of both teams were awash with Hispanic names, as is Miami, which now claims the World Championship is a game that may be losing popularity in America, but has gained it in much of the rest of the world. Baseball in America has taken on a strong Hispanic flavor, with a dash of Japanese added for seasoning.
    In soccer, the ethnic tide has been the reverse of baseball’s. Until recently, professional soccer in the United States had largely been an import, played by south Americans and Europeans. Now, American citizens in large numbers are finally taking up the most popular game in the world. Basketball, an American invention increasingly played around the world, these days draws large crowds back home. Likewise, hockey, a game largely imported to the United States from neighbouring Canada. Lacrosse, a version of which was played by Native Americans before the Europeans arrived, is also gaining a keen national following.
    Sports of all kinds are winning support from American armchair enthusiasts from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.
选项 A、Washington
B、Miami
C、Baltimore
D、Colorado
答案A
解析
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