These early teams were not professional. They played only for fun， not money. But baseball was very popular from the start. Businessmen saw that they could make money with professional baseball teams.
The first professional team was started in 1869. This team was the Red Stockings of Cincinati. Within a few years there were professional teams in other cities. In 1876， these teams came together in a league， or group， called the National League. The teams in the National League played one another.
In 1901， a new league， called the American League， was formed. To create some excitement， in 1903， the two leagues decided to have their first-place teams play each other. This event was called the World Series.
Each year since then the National League winner and the American League winner play in the World Series. And， each year， millions of people look forward to this exciting sports event.
( )55. A group of people that play together is _________.
A. a team B. a league C. a game D. a player
( )56. A wooden stick used to hit a ball in baseball is called ________.
A. a ball B. a sport C. a bat D. a stick
( )57. When a player runs around all four bases he makes ________.
A. a four B. a winner C. a run D. a game
( )58. When teams play sports for money they are ________.
A. businessmen B. fun
C. professional D. amateur
C
Legend tells us that the city of Rome was established in 152 BC. It‘s a fact， however， that by 100 AD， Rome was the center of a vast empire. It ranged from Syria in the east to Spain in the west. It stretched from Britain in the north to Africa in the south. All or part of 27 of today’s countries were included in the Roman Empire. All of their people were ruled by one government， that of Rome. All educated citizens spoke the same language， Latin. And one of the empire‘s many outposts was called Londinium. This unimportant town would later become London， England， and the center of another empire.
The Roman Empire collapsed about 1，5000 years ago. Yet in some ways， it is still with us. Take the letters you are reading fox example. English， like many other languages， uses the Roman alphabet while also borrowing many word. The laws of many European countries are based on ancient Roman laws. Roman ruins are scattered throughout Europe，
North Africa， and the Middle East. In some places， Roman roads and water courses are still in use. To this day， and European in North Africa is likely to be called “Roumi”—Roman. Even modern place names are often inherited from ancient Rome. Both Greece and Germany bear the names given them by the Romans rather than the names that their own people first called them.
( )59. The most northern part of the Roman Empire was _______.
A. Spain B. Africa C. Syria D. Britain
成人高考课程试听
