One afternoon last week, I saw three tearful children from my son's school being comforted by teachers. That morning, my 11­year­old had stomach pains, retching(干嘔)into a bowl. Talking to other mothers later, I heard about other children with stomachache or difficult sleeping the night before.

What caused so much pain? Sports day. Sports day might be necessary at a highly­competitive independent school, but not at a village primary school. For the children who can fly like the wind, sports day causes no problem. For those who are overweight or just not good at sport, it is nightmare(噩夢). Even for those who enjoy running but fall halfway down the track in front of the entire school and their parents, it can prove a disaster.

Why do we put our children through this annual suffering? Some may say competition is character building; or it's taking part, not winning, that's important; or that it is a tradition of school life. I just felt great pity for those children in tears or in pain.

Team games at the end of sports day produced some close races, wild enthusiasm, lots of shouting—and were fun to watch. More importantly, the children who were not so fast or quick at passing the ball were hidden a little from everyone's eyes. Some of them also had the thrill of being on the winning side.

I wish that sports day could be abandoned and replaced with some other less­competitive event. Perhaps an afternoon of team games, with a few races for those who want them, would be less stressful for the children and a lot more fun to watch.

57. What can we learn about the author's son from Paragraph 1?

A. He talked with some mothers.

B. He comforted his classmates.

C. He had difficulty in sleeping.

D. He suffered from stomachache.

58. Sports day is still an annul event in this school probably because ________.

A. this is an independent school

B. it is a tradition of the school

C. it helps children lose weight

D. children enjoy watching sports

59. What does the author think about team games?

A. They should include more stressful races.

B. They are acceptable to different children.

C. They should be abandoned at primary schools.

D. They are less fun for those who love running.

60. What is the author's attitude towards sports day?

A. Critical. B. Neutral.

C. Positive. D. Ambiguous.

【要點綜述】 本文作者通過描述自己11歲的兒子和幾位同學(xué)在學(xué)校參加完體育比賽后身體不適的經(jīng)歷，提出了自己對于學(xué)校體育比賽改革的觀點——將激烈的體育對抗比賽改為對抗性較小的賽事。

57. D　細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)本段的第二句可知作者的兒子在參加完體育比賽后肚子疼、干嘔，故選D。

58. B　細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第三段中的“…or that it is a tradition of school life.”一句可知本題答案為B。

59. B　推理判斷題。根據(jù)第四段的內(nèi)容可以推斷出作者認為團體比賽為不同的學(xué)生所接受，故選B。

60. A　作者態(tài)度題。根據(jù)最后一段的大意可以推斷出作者對于學(xué)校體育比賽持批評態(tài)度，故選A。