Last weekend, sportsmen and women of an unusually hardy disposition descended on Sherborne, a pretty Dorset town. There, they swam twice around Sherborne Castle’s lake, cycled 180kin and then ran a marathon. The winners of this gruelling race--Britain’s inaugural Ironman triathlon—were rewarded with a spot in a prestigious race in Hawaii, where yet more pain awaits.
For a sport barely known in Britain five years ago, triathlon has grown at a sprinter’s pace. This year the British Triathlon Association, the governing body, will sanction some 450 triathlons, duathlons (running and biking) and aquathlons (running and swimming). These vary from tough races aimed at endurance junkies to shorter events designed to lure newcomers. By far the most successful is the London triathlon, which, three weeks ago, brought 8 000--half of them first-timers--to the Royal Victoria Dock in east London. That made it the world’s biggest.
There are echoes of the jogging craze of the early 1980s. Both sports are American exports; both have grown partly thanks to television coverage. Inclusion in the Olympic and Commonwealth games has conferred credibility and state funding on triathlon. Even better, Britain’s professional triathletes are doing rather well on the international circuit.
There are practical reasons for the growth of the sport, too. Nick Rusling, event director of the London triathlon, points out that established events such as the London marathon and Great North Run are hugely over-subscribed (this year the marathon received 98 500 applications for 36 000 places). Triathlon offers a more reliable route to exhaustion, and a fresh challenge to athletes who are likely to cross-train anyway.
The sport will not soon supplant "the great suburban Everest", as Chris Brasher, founder of the London marathon, described his event. The sport’s tripartite nature means that putting on events is fiendishly complex, a fact reflected in high entry fees: competitors at last weekend’s Ironman race forked out ￡220. Shorter events are cheaper, but participants must still provide their own bicycles and wetsuits and pay for training. Compared with the inhabitants of Newham, the London borough where this year’s London triathlon was held, competitors appeared overwhelmingly white and middle class.
Another drag on growth is a shortage of suitable venues in a small island--a problem exacerbated by safety fears. But that ought to be less of a hindrance in future. Two court decisions, in 2003 and earlier this year, have firmly established that the owners of large bodies of water may not be held responsible when adults injure themselves as a result of extravagant sporting actions.
The third arid fourth paragraphs concentrate on ______.

A:the practical reasons for the growth of swimming B:the echoes of jogging craze of the early 1980s C:the reasons for the wide television coverage D:the driving forces behind the development of triathlon

Last weekend, sportsmen and women of an unusually hardy disposition descended on Sherborne, a pretty Dorset town. There, they swam twice around Sherborne Castle’s lake, cycled 180kin and then ran a marathon. The winners of this gruelling race--Britain’s inaugural Ironman triathlon—were rewarded with a spot in a prestigious race in Hawaii, where yet more pain awaits.
For a sport barely known in Britain five years ago, triathlon has grown at a sprinter’s pace. This year the British Triathlon Association, the governing body, will sanction some 450 triathlons, duathlons (running and biking) and aquathlons (running and swimming). These vary from tough races aimed at endurance junkies to shorter events designed to lure newcomers. By far the most successful is the London triathlon, which, three weeks ago, brought 8 000--half of them first-timers--to the Royal Victoria Dock in east London. That made it the world’s biggest.
There are echoes of the jogging craze of the early 1980s. Both sports are American exports; both have grown partly thanks to television coverage. Inclusion in the Olympic and Commonwealth games has conferred credibility and state funding on triathlon. Even better, Britain’s professional triathletes are doing rather well on the international circuit.
There are practical reasons for the growth of the sport, too. Nick Rusling, event director of the London triathlon, points out that established events such as the London marathon and Great North Run are hugely over-subscribed (this year the marathon received 98 500 applications for 36 000 places). Triathlon offers a more reliable route to exhaustion, and a fresh challenge to athletes who are likely to cross-train anyway.
The sport will not soon supplant "the great suburban Everest", as Chris Brasher, founder of the London marathon, described his event. The sport’s tripartite nature means that putting on events is fiendishly complex, a fact reflected in high entry fees: competitors at last weekend’s Ironman race forked out ￡220. Shorter events are cheaper, but participants must still provide their own bicycles and wetsuits and pay for training. Compared with the inhabitants of Newham, the London borough where this year’s London triathlon was held, competitors appeared overwhelmingly white and middle class.
Another drag on growth is a shortage of suitable venues in a small island--a problem exacerbated by safety fears. But that ought to be less of a hindrance in future. Two court decisions, in 2003 and earlier this year, have firmly established that the owners of large bodies of water may not be held responsible when adults injure themselves as a result of extravagant sporting actions.

The third arid fourth paragraphs concentrate on （）

A:the practical reasons for the growth of swimming B:the echoes of jogging craze of the early 1980s C:the reasons for the wide television coverage D:the driving forces behind the development of triathlon

Last weekend, sportsmen and women of an unusually hardy disposition descended on Sherborne, a pretty Dorset town. There, they swam twice around Sherborne Castle’s lake, cycled 180km and then ran a marathon. The winners of this gruelling race—Britain’s inaugural Ironman triathlon—were rewarded with a spot in a prestigious race in Hawaii, where yet more pain awaits.
For a sport barely known in Britain five years ago, triathlon has grown at a sprinter’s pace. This year the British Triathlon Association, the governing body, will sanction some 450 triathlons, duathlons (running and biking ) and aquathlons (running and swimming). These vary from tough races aimed at endurance junkies to shorter events designed to lure newcomers. By far the most successful is the London triathlon, which, three weeks ago, brought 8,000—half of them first-timers—to the Royal Victoria Dock in east London. That made it the world’s biggest.
There are echoes of the jogging craze of the early 1980s. Both sports are American exports; both have grown partly thanks to television coverage. Inclusion in the Olympic and Commonwealth games has conferred credibility and state funding on triathlon. Even better, Britain’s professional triathletes are doing rather well on the international circuit.
There are practical reasons for the growth of the sport, too. Nick Rusling, event director of the London triathlon, points out that established events such as the London marathon and Great North Run are hugely over-subscribed (this year the marathon received 98500 applications for 36000 places). Triathlon offers amore reliable route to exhaustion, and a fresh challenge to athletes who are likely to cross-train anyway.
The sport will not soon supplant "the great suburban Everest", as Chris Brasher, founder of the London marathon, described his event. The sport’s tripartite nature means that putting on events is fiendishly complex, a fact reflected in high entry fees: competitors at last weekend’s Ironman race forked out ￡ 220. Shorter events are cheaper, but participants must still provide their own bicycles and wetsuits and pay for training. Compared with the inhabitants of Newham, the London borough where this year’s London triathlon was held,competitors appeared overwhelmingly white and middle class.
Another drag on growth is a shortage of suitable venues in a small island—a problem exacerbated by safety fears. But that ought to be less of a hindrance in future. Two court decisions, in 2003 and earlier this year, have firmly established that the owners of large bodies of water may not be held responsible when adults injure themselves as a result of extravagant sporting actions.

The third and fourth paragraphs concentrate on（）

A:the practical reasons for the growth of swimming B:the echoes of jogging craze of the early 1980s C:the reasons for the wide television coverage D:the driving forces behind the development of triathlon

Last weekend, sportsmen and women of an unusually hardy disposition descended on Sherborne, a pretty Dorset town. There, they swam twice around Sherborne Castle’s lake, cycled 180km and then ran a marathon. The winners of this gruelling race—Britain’s inaugural Ironman triathlon—were rewarded with a spot in a prestigious race in Hawaii, where yet more pain awaits.
For a sport barely known in Britain five years ago, triathlon has grown at a sprinter’s pace. This year the British Triathlon Association, the governing body, will sanction some 450 triathlons, duathlons (running and biking ) and aquathlons (running and swimming). These vary from tough races aimed at endurance junkies to shorter events designed to lure newcomers. By far the most successful is the London triathlon, which, three weeks ago, brought 8,000—half of them first-timers—to the Royal Victoria Dock in east London. That made it the world’s biggest.
There are echoes of the jogging craze of the early 1980s. Both sports are American exports; both have grown partly thanks to television coverage. Inclusion in the Olympic and Commonwealth games has conferred credibility and state funding on triathlon. Even better, Britain’s professional triathletes are doing rather well on the international circuit.
There are practical reasons for the growth of the sport, too. Nick Rusling, event director of the London triathlon, points out that established events such as the London marathon and Great North Run are hugely over-subscribed (this year the marathon received 98500 applications for 36000 places). Triathlon offers amore reliable route to exhaustion, and a fresh challenge to athletes who are likely to cross-train anyway.
The sport will not soon supplant "the great suburban Everest", as Chris Brasher, founder of the London marathon, described his event. The sport’s tripartite nature means that putting on events is fiendishly complex, a fact reflected in high entry fees: competitors at last weekend’s Ironman race forked out ￡ 220. Shorter events are cheaper, but participants must still provide their own bicycles and wetsuits and pay for training. Compared with the inhabitants of Newham, the London borough where this year’s London triathlon was held,competitors appeared overwhelmingly white and middle class.
Another drag on growth is a shortage of suitable venues in a small island—a problem exacerbated by safety fears. But that ought to be less of a hindrance in future. Two court decisions, in 2003 and earlier this year, have firmly established that the owners of large bodies of water may not be held responsible when adults injure themselves as a result of extravagant sporting actions.
The third and fourth paragraphs concentrate on______.

A:the practical reasons for the growth of swimming B:the echoes of jogging craze of the early 1980s C:the reasons for the wide television coverage D:the driving forces behind the development of triathlon

Kleptomania is an illness of the mind that gives a person the desire to steal. Such a person is not really a thief. They are sick and cannot help themselves. All small children act naturally and as they grow up they normally learn to control their actions. People with kleptomania for certain medical reasons have failed to develop control over their desire to take things that do not belong to them. With medical help they may become normal citizens again. The things that a kleptomaniac steals are seldom of great value. They often give away what they have stolen or collect objects without using them.
What is the topic of the text

A:Young Thieves B:An Unusual Illness C:Reasons for Stealing D:A Normal Child’s Actions

Kleptomania is an illness of the mind that gives a person the desire to steal. Such a person is not really a thief. They are sick and cannot help themselves. All small children act naturally and as they grow up they normally learn to control their actions. People with kleptomania for certain medical reasons have failed to develop control over their desire to take things that do not belong to them. With medical help they may become normal citizens again. The things that a kleptomaniac steals are seldom of great value. They often give away what they have stolen or collect objects without using them.
What is the topic of the text

A:Young Thieves B:An Unusual Illness C:Reasons for Stealing D:A Normal Child’s Actions

? ?In the Middle Ages the vast majority of European cities had walls around them. This was partly for defensive reasons but another ?(51) ? was the need to keep out anyone ?(52) ? as undesirable, like people with contagious ?(53) ? The Old City of London gates were all demolished by the end of the 18th century. The last of London’s gates was ?(54) ? a century ago, but by a ?(55) ? of luck, it was never destroyed. This gate is, in actual ?(56) ?, not called a gate at all; its name is Temple Bar, and it marked the boundary ?(57) ? the Old City of London and Westminster. In 1878 the Council of London took the Bar down, numbered the stones and put the gate in ?(58) ? because its design was ?(57) ? it was expensive to maintain and it was blocking the ?(60) ?. The Temple Bar Trust was ?(61) ? in the 1970’s with the intention of returning the gate home. The ?(62) ? of the Trust is the preservation of the nation’s ?(63) ? heritage. Transporting the gate will mean ?(64) ? pulling it down, stone by stone, removing and rebuilding it near St Paul’s Cathedral. Most of the facade of the gate will probably be re- placed, though there is a good ?(65) ? that the basic structure will be sound. The hardest job of all, however, will be to recreate the statues of the monarchs that once stood on top of the gate.

A:reasons B:grounds C:cause D:factor