高中年级英语经典阅读材料

　　就读高中以后，英语课文看得少了，而英语阅读材料却是看得多了，也许也是因为这个原因，所以之后才会有成绩飞升的蜕变吧。这里与大家分享，有时间我们不妨学习一下高中年级英语经典阅读，看看自己能够做到何种程度。

　　高中年级英语经典阅读(一)

　　Performance for the ages

　　TIGER Woods was badly injured. Every step looked painful. Most of us would have quit and surrendered (屈服于) to the pain. But Tiger is not most of us. He kept playing and, with thousands of people watching, he made a shot and won the US Open golf tournament on June 16 in California.

　　There are moments in sports when athletes redefine (重新定义) greatness. Through the power of their minds they lift themselves to a level that most humans can never imagine. All professional sports players are amazing athletes. But there are times when the body betrays (背叛) you. Sometimes it is to injury, other times to pressure. But the greatest of them all can still win. They do not allow themselves to lose. They play with their hearts.

　　Michael Jordan did this in 1998 when he scored 38 points in the NBA finals while sick with the flu. Kirk Gibson did this in 1988 when he hit the game winning home run (本垒打) in the baseball World Series with a broken leg. And now the world’s greatest golfer has added another chapter to his legendary (传奇的) story.

　　Barely able to walk he fought against his compatriot (同胞) Rocco Mediate. Mediate did not care that Tiger was the greatest. He wanted to win. And he played the best golf of his life.

　　After the regular tournament was over the two men were tied (平局). They played an extra 18-hole of golf. After that they were still tied. So they played one more hole. It was here that Mediate''s best was not good enough to defeat Woods.

　　"This guy is impossible," Mediate said of Woods.

　　Impossible to beat.

　　It is the 14th Major (the biggest golf tournaments) Tiger has won, which ranks (排名) him second all-time behind American Jack Nicklaus. Woods is only 32 and will surely pass Nicklaus. But for now this US Open, which has been called "the greatest golf tournament ever played," is Tiger''s finest hour.

　　"I think this is probably the best ever," Woods said.

　　The best for Tiger but also for us fans who got a chance to see a man with the heart of a tiger.

　　高中年级英语经典阅读(二)

　　Oranje is now in style

　　THE Netherlands Oranje (橙色军团) shocked the football world on June 9 when they defeated 2006 World Cup champions Italy 3-0 in Switzerland. It was the first game in the 2008 Euro Cup for both teams and it was one that Italy was supposed to win.

　　It is not surprising that the Netherlands were successful on the world stage, however, they achieved their success quite differently from in the past.

　　In the 1970s, the Netherlands were poetry in motion (动作). They ran a type of offense (进攻) that was free moving, fast and exciting. Every player played every position. They were applauded for their mastery (掌控) of total football. They were nicknamed “Clockwork Orange” because their passing was so accurate and they wore bright orange jerseys (运动衣).

　　And they were fairly successful. They made the World Cup finals in both 1974 and 1978 but lost both times. They won the Euro Cup in 1988. But other teams like Italy and Germany had much greater success playing a more conventional (传统的) offense.

　　The Netherlands have now adopted this style of play, which focuses on a more defensively tighter system. The new style under coach Marco van Basten has been criticized by the Dutch media as a less exciting brand of football because there is less movement and the defenders stay back guarding the goal instead of also trying to score.

　　"It is good that we made the change. With the new playing style the Netherlands have become more difficult to beat," said Ruud Van Nistelrooy, the team’s biggest star, who plays for Real Madrid.

　　The Netherlands may have found another star in their win against Italy. Wesley Sneijder, a midfielder, scored an impressive goal. It was Sneijder's 24th birthday and he seems to be getting better with age.

　　So while their style is different than those "Clockwork Orange" teams if they keep up this level of play maybe they'll have a new nickname: Euro 2008 winners.