The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the major professional basketball league in the world, with teams from the United States and Canada. With the addition of the Toronto Raptors and the ancouver Grizzlies prior to the 1995～ 1996 season, the NBA expanded to 29 teams competing in two conferences, the Eastern and Western, in four separate divisions. Each team conducts a training camp in October to determine its 12- player roster. Training camp allows each team to evaluate players, especially rookies (first-year players), to assess the team's strengths and weaknesses, and to prepare players for the upcoming season through a series of on-court drills and practice of offensive and defensive strategy. After a series of exhibition games, the NBA begins its 82-game regular season in the first week of November.
In the second week of February, the NBA interrupts its season to celebrate the annual NBA All-Star game, featuring the game's best players as selected by the general balloting of fans throughout the United States and Canada. After the NBA season concludes in the third week in April, a total of 16 teams qualify for the playoffs(常規賽季后的奪標決賽)(8 teams from each conference).
Every June the league conducts its amateur draft, in which each team obtains the rights to the professional services of the best collegiate and international players. Any player who has graduated from high school and is at least 17 years old qualifies for the NBA draft if that player renounces intercollegiate eligibility. To determine the draft order the NBA uses a draft lottery, introduced in 1985. Those teams that failed to qualify for the playoffs the previous season are eligible for the lottery. The lottery determines the first three teams to select in the draft. The remaining teams draft according to their win-loss record of the previous season, so that teams with poorer records draft higher than those with better records. The NBA draft consists of only two rounds, with a total of 58 players chosen. Those players not selected in the draft can be invited to try out for a team and are sometimes signed to playing contracts.
Questions 1 to 5 are based on the passage above.
1.According to the first paragraph,there are 29 teams in the NBA competing is divisions in two conferences?
A. eight B.six C.four D.two
2.The games before the NBA's 82-game regular season are_____.
A.exhibition games B.irregular games
C.intercollegiate games D.the annual NBA All-Star game
3.When does the NBA begin to celebrate the annual NBA All-Star game?
A.The third week in April B.After a series of exhibition games
C.The second week of February D.The first week of November
4.The word "renounce" in the third paragraph most probably means_____.
A.give up B.pause C.go down the drain D.make a name for oneself
5.Which of the following teams draft according to the their win-loss record of the previous season?
A.The top three in the previous season.
B.All the teams except the first three determined by the lottery.
C.The teams that failed to qualify for the playoffs the previous season.
D.The teams from Canada and other countries.
文章精要
說明文。作者在這篇文章中主要介紹了美國國家籃球協會(NBA)的組成、比賽程序和各隊的選秀程序。
斟詞酌句
1.ballot v. (使)投票表決
n.投票表決(或選舉);選票;投票總數
*The club members held a secret ballot to choose the chairperson. 俱樂部成員用無記名投票選舉負責人。
2.draft vt. 征召……入隊，征募;起草，草擬
n. 征兵，服役;草稿，草案，草圖;匯票;通風，氣流
*I’ve made a first draft of my speech for Friday. 我打好了星期五講演的初稿。
3.renounce vt. 聲明放棄，拋棄;宣布中止
*He renounced his claim to the property. 他宣布正式放棄財產所有權。
4.lottery n. 抽彩給獎法;碰運氣的事，難于算計的事
*The state uses a lottery to assign spaces in the campground. 政府用抓鬮的辦法來指明集中營的地點。
5.eligible adj. 有條件被選中的，有恰當資格的;(尤指婚姻等)合適的，合意的
*I know an eligible young lady who would be an excellent cooperator for you.
eligibility n. 資格，合格，適任
試題精析
1.選A。本題為主要細節正誤題。從第一段“the NBA expanded to 29 teams competing in two conferences, the Eastern and Western, in four separate divisions”可以推斷，分兩個區，每區四個組，一共八個組。
2.選A。本題為主要細節正誤題。從第一段“After a series of exhibition games, the NBA begins its 82-game regular season in the first week of November”可知A選項為正確答案。
3.選C。本題為主要斜街正誤題。根據第二段第一句“In the second week of February, the NBA interrupts its season to celebrate the annual NBA All-Star game”可知C選項正確。
4.選A。本題為詞義推斷題。“give up”的意思為“放棄，遺棄”;pause的意思為中止，暫停;go down the drain的意思為“越來越糟”;make a name for oneself的意思為出名，成名。由上下文可知，renounce應是宣布放棄的意思。
5.選B。本題為主要細節正誤題。最后一段說“The lottery determines the first three teams to select in the draft. The remaining teams draft according to their win-loss record of the previous season”，其中，“剩余的球隊”指的就是“由抽簽決定的先選秀的三個球隊以外的所有球隊”。
全文翻譯
國家籃球協會(NBA)是世界上主要的職業籃球聯盟，由美國和加拿大的球隊組成。由于在1995～1996年賽季之前多倫多猛龍隊和溫哥華灰熊隊的加入，NBA擴大到29支球隊，比賽分東、西兩個區各4個組舉行。每支球隊在10月份舉辦一個訓練營以確定它的12名運動員名單。訓練營允許每隊評估運動員，特別是新手(第一年參賽運動員);評價球隊的優缺點;并通過一系列的場上訓練以及攻防策略的實踐，使運動員為即將到來的賽季作好準備。在一系列的表演賽之后，NBA于11月的第一周開始它82場比賽的常規賽季。
在2月的第2周，NBA中斷賽季比賽，以便舉行每年一度的NBA全明星比賽。該比賽的特點在于參賽運動員皆是由整個美國和加拿大球迷投票選出的最佳運動員。NBA常規賽季于4月的第3周結束。之后共有16支球隊(每區各選出8支球隊)有資格參加決賽。
每年6月聯盟進行其業余選秀。每支球隊有權吸收大學和國際上最好的運動員為專業運動員。任何高中畢業年滿17周歲的選手如果宣布放棄校際比賽資格即可參加NBA選秀。NBA采用1985年引入的抽簽形式決定其選秀順序。上個賽季未進入決賽的那些球隊首先抽簽選秀。由抽簽決定哪3支球隊首先選秀。其他球隊按照前一賽季的比賽成績決定先后，這樣成績較差的球隊比成績較好的球隊先進行選秀。NBA選秀只有兩輪，共有58名運動員供選。沒有入選的選手可以接受邀請到某一球隊試訓，有時會與球隊簽約參賽。
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