Luis國際資訊事務所

Skiing has come a long way since the Stone Age, when early humans jumped on boards before going out to hunt. Back then, sliding down snow-covered hills was merely a means of pursuing prey. _(1)_ a successful skiing trip in the Stone Age would have required bringing home a wooly mammoth, today it merely involves a trip to any of the three hundred plus alpine skiing resorts scattered around the globe.

　　It took quite some time for skiing to _(2)_ the gap between utility and recreation. The first evidence of skiing simply _(3)_ the sake of skiing can be found in Icelandic poetry written roughly 1,000 years ago. One poem boasts of the high speed achieved by a skiing Viking king. King Hadrade skied for no other reason _(4)_ to feel the air against his face, the pull of gravity on his body, and the sensation of controlled falling that skiing provides.

　　Of course, skiing equipment also took some time to advance beyond the 4,500-year-old wooden skis archeologists found in Scandinavia. Early skis were _(5)_ tree branches stripped of their leaves. Neither the material nor the shape of those early skis _(6)_ much resemblance to modern ones. Today's skis are complicated mixtures of fiberglass and metal, _(7)_ more like hourglasses than tree branches. These developments have made skiing easier and thus more enjoyable.

──by LuAnn Crowther Oliver

1. (A) When(B) As (C) Because(D) While

2. (A) gate(B) bridge(C) deepen(D) broaden

3. (A) at(B) to(C) for(D) by

4. (A) than (B) only(C) but(D) except

5. (A) more(B) very(C) most(D) mostly

6. (A) wear(B) gear(C) bear(D) tear

7. (A) to shape(B) shaped(C) shape(D) shaping

滑雪從石器時代起到現在已有長足的進展；早期的人踏上木板是為了出外打獵，當時從白雪覆蓋的山丘滑行下來純粹是追捕獵物的方法而已。雖說在石器時代，一趟成功的滑雪之行是得帶一頭長毛象回家，但在今天卻意味著到任一個遍佈全球的三百多個高山滑雪勝地一遊。

　　滑雪歷經一段時間才消弭了其實用性與娛樂性間的鴻溝。最早關於為滑雪而滑雪的證據，可在撰寫於一千年前左右的冰島詩集中找到。其中有首詩的內容在於吹噓一名維京國王滑雪的速度有多快。咱們這位海瑞特大王滑雪沒別的理由，只為了感受拍打臉龐的空氣、拉扯身體的引力、還有控制落下的感覺，這些只有滑雪才能提供。

　　當然，滑雪的裝備也是花了一段時間，才超越考古學家在斯堪地那維亞半島所發現，四千五百年前使用的木製滑雪板。古時候的滑雪板主要是剝除了葉子的樹枝，無論在材質或形狀上都和現代滑雪板大不相同。今日的滑雪板是由玻璃纖維和金屬製成的複雜混合物，形狀不像樹枝，反倒像個沙漏。這些發展使得滑雪更容易，也因此更有樂趣。

標準答案:
1. (D) 2. (B) 3. (C) 4. (A) 5. (D) 6. (C) 7. (B)

1. pursue vt. 追捕/趕

2. mammoth n. 長毛象

3. alpine a. 高山的

4. resort n. 渡假/遊覽勝地

5. utility n. 實用性

6. recreation n. 消遣, 娛樂

7. roughly adv. 大致地, 大約
= approximately

8. gravity n. 重力, 地心引力

9. sensation n. 感/知覺

10. archeologist n. 考古學家

11. mixture n. 混合/合成物

12. hourglass n. 沙漏

1.come a long way　　有長足進展
例: Leon has come a long way in his study of kung fu.
（里昂在功夫的學習上大有斬獲。）

2.means n. 手段, 方法; 財富
by means of...　　藉由……
例: We are determined to get the job done by means of working through the night.
（我們決定徹夜奮戰來完成工作。）

3.scatter vt. 四散, 散佈
例: The woman scattered the bread crumbs around her for the birds to eat.
（那名婦人在她四周灑麵包屑給小鳥吃。）

4.boast of/about...　　誇耀/自誇……
例: That stand boasts of the best dumplings in all of Taipei.
（那攤子自誇有全台北市最棒的餃子。）

5.strip vt. 剝去, 脫光
strip sb/sth of sth　　剝奪某人/物的某事物
例: The army stripped Jack of his ranking after he went absent without leave.
（軍方在傑克擅離職守後撤除他的軍階。）

from 常春藤解析英語雜誌