Ice Hockey

宋如

Hockey is a very popular sport. It is played by two teams. Each team has a net at one end of an ice floor called a rink①. Each player needs a pair of ice skates， a long curved stick， and a helmet and padding to protect him from injuries. There are thousands of hockey teams all over the world. A team usually has about 20 players， but only five skate on the ice at one time. A sixth player， called a goalie②， guards the net. The object of the game is to score a goal. To do this， a player uses his stick to hit a small， thick rubber disc called a puck③. He scores a goal when he hits the puck into the other team’s net. At the end of the game， the team with the most goals wins.

The rules of hockey allow some violence， and referees are responsible for keeping the game safe. They skate along the sides of the rink watching for players who hit other players too hard. Hard hits some-times injure players. A serious injury can cause a player to have to stop playing for a time or even to have to quit forever.

There are many professional hockey leagues. A league is a group of teams that play against each other for a championship. One of the best known hockey leagues is the National Hockey League （NHL）. The NHL plays in North America， but some of the most talented players in the world are members of its teams. As a result， the standard of play is very high.

For many years hockey was played only by men， and women were expected to cheer for their brothers， fathers， boyfriends and husbands. Now that has changed. Women play hockey， and the Olympics even have a women’s hockey championship. Many women hockey players are very talented. Some are even better than men.

At the 2002 Winter Olympics， the Canadian women’s hockey team won a gold medal. Canadian men’s hockey coach Pat Qyinn then asked his team to “Get out there and play like the women！” The men must have been inspired. They beat the United States 5-2 and also won the gold medal. It was the first time they had won the championship in 50 years.

I. True or False.

1. One of a referees’ responsibilities is to keep the game safe.

2. Women are still not allowed to join the game now.

3. Some women hockey players are more talented than men.

II. Choose the best answer.

1. What does the underlined word “object” mean？

A. Leader.         B. Thing.

C. Aim.             D. Rule.

2. How many players altogether are on the ice at one time each game？

A. Five.            B. Six.

C. Twelve.     D. Twenty.

3. What was probably the reason why the Canadian men’s hockey team won the championship in 2002？

A. The players were all talented.

B. The Canadian men’s team was very famous.

C. The players were inspired by the women’s hockey team.

D. The coach was an American.

（Key ? p. 37）

注： ① rink 溜冰场 ② goalie 守门员 ③ puck 冰球