Sporting activities are essentially forms of hunting behavior. Viewed biologically， the modern foot-baller is in reality a member of a hunting group. His killing weapon has turned into a harmless football and his prey into a goal-mouth. If his aim is accurate and he scores a goal， he enjoys the hunter‘s triumph of killing his prey.
To understand how this transformation has taken place we must briefly look back at our forefathers. They spent over a million years evolving as cooperative hunters. Their very survival depended on success in the hunting-field. Under this pressure their whole way of life， even their bodies， became greatly changed.
They became chasers， runners， jumpers， aimers， throwers and prey-killers. They cooperated as skillful male-group attackers.
Then about ten thousand years ago， after this immensely long period of hunting their food， they became farmers. Their improved intelligence， so vital to their old hunting life， was put to a new use - that of controlling and domesticating their prey. The hunt became suddenly out of date. The food was there on the farms， awaiting their needs. The risks and uncertainties of the hunt were no longer essential for survival.
The skills and thirst for hunting remained， however， and demanded new outlets. Hunting for sport replaced hunting for necessity. This new activity involved all the original hunting sequences but the aim of the operation was no longer to avoid starvation. Instead the sportsmen set off to test their skill against preys that were no longer essential to they survival. To be sure， the kill may have been eaten but there were other simpler ways of obtaining a meaty meal.
1. The author uses the example of the football game to tell us ____.
A） sporting activities are forms of biological developments
B） the difference between sports and hunting
C） the reason why man used to go in for hunting
D） sporting activities have actually evolved from hunting
2. In hunting what is equivalent to a goal-mouth in football match is ____.
A） a killing weapon
B） a hunting field
C） a prey
D） a member of a hunting group
3. According to the author， our ancestors survived as hunters for over a million years basically through their ____.
A） common sense
B） cooperation
C） farming knowledge
D） adventures
4. The world "activity"（Line 2， Para.5） refers to ____.
A） sporting activities
B） domesticating wild animals
C） growing crops
D）hunting
5. Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of this passage？
A） Sporting activities satisfy the desire of modern men to practice hunting skills which the forefathers developed for survival.
B） It is farming that brings human into close contact with nature.
C） Sporting activities are vital to human existence because they excuse humans from risks and uncertainties.
D） It is farming that makes hunting completely out of date and unnecessary.
「答案」
1. D）sporting activities have actually evolved from hunting对应原文第一句Sporting activities are essentially forms of hunting behavior.
2. C）a prey对应原文学His killing weapon has turned into a harmless football and his prey into a goal-mouth.
3. B）cooperation对应原文They spent over a million years evolving as cooperative hunters.
4. A）sporting activities. 出现地点：This new activity involved all the original hunting sequences but the aim of the operation was no longer to avoid starvation. 注意前一句Hunting for sport replaced hunting for necessity.
5. A）Sporting activities satisfy the desire of modern men to practice hunting skills which the forefathers developed for survival为本文主旨。
「参考译文」
追根溯源，体育运动是由狩猎活动演变而来的。从生物学的角度来讲，现代足球运动员实际上就相当于猎队中的成员，只是捕杀猎物的武器变成了没有杀伤力的足球，猎物变成了球门。如果球员射门准确，进球得分，便能享受到猎人成功捕杀猎物那一刻胜利的喜悦。
要理解狩猎活动是如何转变为体育运动的，我们必须简略地回顾一下祖先的生活方式。100多万年以来，我们的祖先以集体狩猎为生，慢慢繁衍。他们的生死正是取决于猎场上的成败。在如此大的生存压力之下，祖先们的整个生活方式，甚至生理结构都发生了极大的改变。
他们开始追逐、奔跑、跳跃、射击、投掷和屠宰。男人们组成猎队，运用猎术，合作狩猎。
为了食物而狩猎的漫长岁月过去之后，大约在1万年以前，祖先们开始从事牧业。对旧时狩猎生活至关重要的智力也得以提高，并派上了新的用场-驯养猎物。一时间，狩猎变得过时了。食物就在农场上，随需随取。风险不定的狩猎对生存不再是至关重要了。
但是，狩猎的技能和对狩猎的渴望仍然保留了下来，只是需要一些新的方式来满足这种渴望。于是现代运动代替了狩猎活动。这种新的活动涉及到古代狩猎的所有步骤，只不过活动的目的不再是为了充饥果腹，而是为了校验运动员们捕杀猎物的技能-这些猎物对他们的生存也不再必不可少。诚然，猎手会吃掉猎物，但他们有其它更为简便的方法获取美餐。