单选题 Massive changes in all of the world"s deeply cherished sporting habits are underway. Whether it"s one of London"s parks full of people playing softball, and Russians taking up rugby, or the Superbowl rivaling the British Football Cup Final as a televised spectator event in Britain, the patterns of players and spectators are changing beyond recognition. We are witnessing a globalization of our sporting culture.
That annual bicycle race, the Tour de France, much loved by the French is a good case in point. Just a few years back it was a strictly continental affair with France, Belgium and Holland, Spain and Italy taking part. But in recent years it has been dominated by Colombian mountain climbers, and American and Irish riders. The people who really matter welcome the shift toward globalization. Peugeot, Michelin and Panasonic are multi-national corporations that want worldwide returns for the millions they invest in teams. So it does them literally a world of good to see this unofficial world championship become just that.
This is undoubtedly an economic-based revolution we are witnessing here, one made possible by communications technology, but made to happen because of marketing considerations. Sell the game and you can sell Coca Cola or Budweiser as well.
The skilful way in which American football has been sold to Europe is a good example of how all sports will develop. The aim of course is not really to spread the sport for its own sake, but to increase the number of people interested in the major money-making events. The economics of the Superbowl are already astronomical. With seats at US $125, gate receipts alone were a staggering $10,000,000. The most important statistic of the day, however, was the $100,000,000 in TV advertising fees. Imagine how much that becomes when the eyes of the world are watching.
So it came as a terrible shock, but not really as a surprise, to learn that some people are now suggesting that soccer change from being a game of two 45-minute halves, to one of four 25-minute quarters. The idea is unashamedly to capture more advertising revenue, without giving any thought for the integrity of a sport which relies for its essence on the flowing nature of the action.
Moreover, as sports expand into world markets, and as our choice of sports as consumers also grows, so we will demand to see them played at a higher and higher level. In boxing we have already seen numerous, dubious world title categories because people will not pay to see anything less than a "World Title" fight, and this means that the. title fights have to be held in different countries around the world!

单选题 Globalization of sporting culture means that ______

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 第一段提到，世界上深受人们喜爱的所有体育运动习惯正在发生巨大的变化。不管是伦敦人在某个公园打垒球，还是俄罗斯人打橄榄球，或者是能与英国足球杯决赛相媲美的(美国)橄榄球超级杯比赛在英国进行电视转播，运动模式和观赏模式都变得难以辨认。我们正在目睹一场体育文化的全球化过程。作者以环法自行车比赛为例，说明了一些运动项目如何从地区性发展到全球化的过程。

单选题 Which of the following is NOT related to the massive changes?

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] A：第二段提到，那些重要人物(people who really matter)对全球化趋势持欢迎态度。Peugeot(汽车制造商)、Michelin(轮胎制造商)和Panasonic(电器制造商)都是跨国公司，它们都在球队身上投资数百万，想在世界范围内增加自己的收益。他们知道，这种非官方的世界锦标赛成为这样(指全球化)实际上对他们好处无穷(a world of good)。
C：第三段提到，我们所看到的无疑是一场以经济为基础的革命，是通信技术的发展使这场革命成为可能，但是这场革命的发生却有其促销方面的考虑。推广某种体育比赛就等于促销可口可乐或百威啤酒。

单选题 As is used in the passage, "globalization" comes closest in meaning to ______

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 本文提到的体育文化的全球化实质上是一个商业化过程。作者在第三段称这个全球化过程为一场以经济为基础的革命，这场革命的发生有其销售方面的考虑。所谓economic based revolution实际上指通过体育比赛的全球化达到经济或赚钱的目的。在第四段作者举例说明了这个过程：将美国橄榄球推广到欧洲，目的不是为了发展这项运动，而是为了增加观众的人数，如果有很多的人对这项运动感兴趣，商人们挣到的钱也就越多，如门票收入、广告收入等。