A series of outdoor basketball games composed of amateurs only in southwest China’s Guizhou Province attracted more than 50 million online viewers in only four days. The Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture final of this year’s tournament took place in Taipan Town, Taijiang County. Organized by and played completely by locals, the tournament attracted 16 teams to compete first in groups and then a knockout stage from July 30-Aug 2. For the winning team, the prize was a cow weighing 650 kilograms, and for the runners-up, two goats.

With the area happily free of any pandemic risk, countless rows of audience crowded around the open-air court－either on their feet or sitting on small camp chairs－to cheer on family members, relatives and neighbors from the morning sessions until midnight. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian joined in the fun, sharing a video of the games on Twitter accompanied by the message: “The rural basketball match in Guizhou is on! What a great atmosphere!”

“The number of audiences has been skyrocketing every year,” said Cen Jianglong, a basketball fan from Taipan village and a co-organizer of the tournament, “The key to its popularity is that this tournament truly belongs to local people and connects neighborhoods like no other event does.”

This year’s tournament is part of the “Gorgeous Countryside” campaign. Launched across the province in 2021, the “Gorgeous Countryside” campaign that promotes development in rural China in culture, tourism and sports, has grown rapidly facilitated by the expansion of local sports venues and exercise facilities. Across the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture, there are nine sports stadiums, eight venues at the county-level, and 43 multifunctional(多功能的) sports facilities. Across Guizhou, almost every town has a basketball court.

“The development of sports facilities has laid a solid foundation for such highly popular events to go to the next level and encourage more people from the countryside to exercise more,” said Zhang Bin, an official from the sports bureau in Taijiang county.

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1.What can be learnt about the basketball tournament?

A The teams consisted only of local players.

B It attracted many professional players.

C The champion team could win a goat.

D It lasted only four days every year.

解析：选A。A 细节理解题。根据第一段第三句的“Organized by and played completely by locals”可知，只有当地人参与这个比赛。故选A。

2.What does Paragraph 2 mainly talk about?

A Who won the cow weighing 650 kg.

B Why people built the open-air court.

C How popular the tournament was.

D How safe Taipan Town was.

解析：选C。C 段落大意题。通读第二段可知，即便这项赛事经常从白天打到黑夜，却从来不缺少选手和观众，甚至外交部发言人赵立坚也在推特上为比赛发文点赞，其受欢迎程度可见一斑。故选C。

3.The underlined word “skyrocketing” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to________.

A falling

B insisting

C switching

D rising

解析：选D。D 词义猜测题。根据划线单词后面的“The key to its popularity is...”可知，这项赛事很受欢迎，因此观众的数量在逐年增加。故选D。

4.What made the popular sport events possible according to Zhang Bin?

A The growing number of rural tourists.

B The expansion of local sports facilities.

C The “Gorgeous Countryside” campaign.

D The development of culture in rural China.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据第四段的“...has grown rapidly facilitated by the expansion of local sports venues and exercise facilities”以及最后一段中的“The development of sports facilities has laid a solid foundation for such highly popular events...”可知，是运动设施的发展让这类受欢迎的体育赛事变成可能。故选B。