The mountaineering（登山运动）

Most young people enjoy some form of physical activity. It may be walking, cycling, or swimming, or in winter, skating or skiing. It may be a game of some form—football, basketball, hockey, golf or tennis. It may be mountaineering,

Those who have a passion for climbing high and difficult mountains are often looked upon with astonishment. Why are men and women willing to suffer cold and hardship, and to take risks in high mountains? This astonishment it caused, probably, by the difference between mountaineering and other forms of activity to which men give their leisure.

Mountaineering is a sport and not a game. There are no man-made rules, as others, as there are for such games as golf. and football. There are, of course, rules of different kind which it would be dangerous to ignore, but it is this freedom from man-made rules that makes mountaineering attractive to many people. Those who climb mountains are free to use their own methods.

If we compare mountaineering and other more familiar sports, we might think that one big difference is that mountaineering is not a "team game". We should be mistaken in this. There are, it is true, no "matches" between "teams" of climbers, but when climbers are on a rock face linked by a rope on which their lives may depend, there is obviously teamwork.

The mountain climber knows that he may have to fight forces that are stronger and more powerful than man. He has to fight the forces of nature. His sport requires high mental and physical qualities.

A mountain climber continues to improve in skill year after year. A skier is probably past his best by the age of thirty. But it is not unusual for men of fifty or sixty to climb the highest mountains in the Alps. They may take more time than younger men, but they perhaps climb with more skill and less waste of effort, and they certainly experience equal enjoyment.

1. What movements are popular among people in winter in the passage?

A. Soccer and golf.  B. Skiing and skating. C. Cycling and hockey.   D. Mountaineering.

2. The underlined word "passion" (Para. 2) could best be replaced by        .

A. strong emotion     B. enthusiasm    C. feeling            D. affection

3. Mountaineering is a sport, not a game because       .

A. it has man-made rules    
B. it is too dangerous for climbers

C. it can't bring people joy and leisure

D. it is free for climbers to use their own methods

4. We know from the passage that        .

A. mountaineering has no appeal to people

B. physical quality is more important than mental one for climbers

C. a mountain climber would pass his best by the age of thirty

D. it is possible for an old man of fifty or sixty to climb the Alps

1.B 根据第一段第二句“It may be walking，cycling…or in winter，skating or skiing．”及常识可知，滑雪和滑冰在冬季颇受欢迎，故B为正确的答案。

2．A 文章第二段指出：人们对于那些去攀登险山峻岭的人感到震惊和疑惑，想知道为什么他们愿意经历寒冷和艰辛。正是因为这些人对登山有一种激情。

3．D 第三段" There are no man-made rules it is this freedom from man-made rules ... Those who climb mountains are free to use their own methods. "指出了登山运动没有规律，并且根据常识可知，凡是体育比赛都有人为制定的规则，故D为正确的答案。