Đề thi học sinh giỏi Tiếng Anh lớp 12 tỉnh Nam Định năm 2014 - 2015

MONEY IN SPORT
Today, the distinction between the professional and the (1)…………….is purely a matter of sporting success. Most athletes start their career by winning competitions for non - professionals before deciding to (2)………….themselves to their chosen sport. However, for a long time, it used to be believed that getting paid for a sporting (3)…………..destroyed the ancient Olympic (4)………….of people simply trying to do their best for the love of the sport. In fact, even participants in ancient Olympic (5)………….were able to make large amounts of money from winning. At the games themselves, only a laurel wreath was (6)………….to the winner, but back in his (7)…………..town, he could become very rich. During most of the 20th century, professionals were disallowed from entering the Olympics. This gave the wealthy an advantage since they could afford to train and compete without needing to earn money. In 1988, the IOC (which (8) …………..for International Olympic Committee) decided to allow professionals to take (9)………..in the Olympics. Only boxing and football still restrict the (10)………….of professionals allowed to compete. Boxing does not allow professionals at all, while Olympic football teams are allowed up to three professionals on the side.

American Online is one of the big names on the Internet, and unlike many other digital companies, it actually makes a profit. But the company which its rivals call the “Cyber –cockroach” was launched only in 1992. Before that, it was a small firm called control Video Corporation, and it made video games. Then Steve Case, a former Pizza Hut marketing executive arrived and took the company online, innovative, fast moving, and user - friendly, American online appeals to people who want to search the Internet, but who do not have a lot of experience. For the same reason “teachies”, people who think they are more expert with computers, look down on American Online and its users. Recently, American Online (or AOL, as it calls itself) joined with Time Warn – a multi - million dollar movie and magazine company - to create a multi media giant.

Now, AOL has begun to expand abroad. In many European countries, including the United Kingdom, it is hard to buy a computer magazine that does not have a free AOL introductory offer. The company also puts advertisements onto the television, and employs people to hand out its free introductory disks at places like train stations. As the Internet gets faster, AOL is changing. With many homes getting high - speed connection through fiber optic cables, or the new ADSL technology, the “Cyber - cockroach” will have to show that like real cockroaches, it can survive in almost any environment.

No one can calculate the quantity of solid waste that has been dumped in the world’s oceans, but the total certainly exceeds many millions of tons. For example, from 1880 to 1895, 75 percent of the solid waste from New York City was dumped untreated into the Atlantic Ocean. Although it is now prohibited by law, the dumping of solid waste, including wastewater sludge, industrial waste, and high - level radioactive waste were common in the United States until 1970. Cruise ships and huge floating fishing factories still regularly dispose of their solid waste products directly into the ocean.

The earth naturally recycles water and refreshes the land in what is called the hydrological cycle. The hydrological cycle not only renews the supply of water, but cleans it as well. The process begins as heat from the sun causes sea water, 97 percent of the earth’s total water reserve, to evaporate and form clouds. Because water evaporates at lower temperatures than most pollutants, the water vapor that rises from the seas is relatively pure and free of the contaminants, which are left behind. Next, water returns to us as rain, which drains into streams and rivers and rushes toward the sea.

Chemicals, petroleum products, and other dangerous substances such as radioactive materials remain in the ocean, polluting it permanently. The polluted ocean water kills fish or makes them dangerous to eat, posing health problems for those who consume them. It kills the tiny sea creatures that are the source of food for larger fish, sharks, and whales. It also spoils a source of great beauty and pleasure when some solid waste is thrown onto beaches during storms. Discharged petroleum products are frequently found on beaches and they not only ruin the beach, the petroleum residue kills hundreds of shore birds. Nonpoint pollutants are dumped into lakes, rivers, and streams that may be far away from any ocean. However, these pollutants flow, eventually, into the oceans. They can come from a variety of sources, from road salt to agricultural pesticides. One source of nonpoint pollution is runoff from farming, including fertilizers, manure, and pesticides. Another source is industrial runoff, including heavy metals, phosphorous, and many other chemicals. Urban runoff (oils, salts, various chemicals) and atmospheric fallout of airborne pollution are other sources of nonpoint pollutants that reach the oceans. This includes water and waste from sinks, toilets, washing machines and bathtubs. The problem with this type of waste is that it provides massive amounts of nutrients for water plants such as algae, so that they grow rapidly. This sudden growth causes concentration or algae blooms, which use up the oxygen in the water. As the oxygen level of the water declines, many organisms suffer and die, and the ocean ecosystem is radically altered. This can be prevented by the installation of waste treatment plants that prevent waste from entering the sea, but such facilities do not exist in many poorer countries.