2014年GCT英语日常练习（8.14）

Around the world more and more people are taking part in dangerous sports and activities. Of course, there have always been people who have looked for adventure-those who have climbed the highest mountains, explored unknown parts of the world or sailed in small boats across the greatest oceans. Now, however, there are people who seek an immediate excitement from a risky activity which may only last a few minutes or even seconds.

I would consider bungee jumping to be a good example of such an activity. You jump from a high place (perhaps a bridge or a hot-air balloon) 200 meters above the ground with an elastic rope tied to your ankles. You fall at up to 150 kilometers an hour until the rope stops you from hitting the ground. It is estimated that two million people around the world have now tried bungee jumping. Other activities which most people would say are as risky as bungee jumping involve jumping from tall buildings and diving into the sea from the top of high cliffs.

Why do people take part in such activities as these? Some psychologists suggest that it is because life in modern societies has become safe and boring. Not very long ago, people’s lives were constantly under threat. They had to go out and hunt for food, diseases could not easily be cured, and life was a continuous battle for survival.

Nowadays, according to many people, life offers little excitement. They live and work in comparatively safe environment; they buy food in shops; and there are doctors and hospitals to look after them if they become ill. The answer for some of these people is to seek danger in activities such as bungee jumping.

1. A suitable title for the passage is .

A. Dangerous Sports: What and Why?

B. The Boredom of Modern Life

C. Bungee Jumping: Is It Really Dangerous?

D. The Need for Excitement

2. More and more people today .

A. are trying activities such as bungee jumping

B. are climbing the highest mountains

C. are close to death in sports

D. are looking for adventures such as exploring unknown places

3. People probably take part in dangerous sports nowadays because .

A. they have a lot of free time

B. they can go to hospital if they are injured

C. their lives lack excitement

D. hey no longer need to hunt for food

4. The writer of the passage has a(n) attitude towards dangerous sports.

A. positive

B. negative

C. objective

D. subjective

（本期答案见下页）