England will play Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica in a tough Group D at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Roy Hodgson's men open their campaign against Italy in the Amazonian city of Manaus on 15 June in the only World Cup game which kicks off at 02:00 BST. England take on Uruguay on 19 June and play Costa Rica five days later.
Hosts Brazil are in Group A with Cameroon, Mexico and Croatia while the World Cup holders Spain open with a repeat of the 2010 final against Netherlands.
England will have to travel 1,777 miles from their chosen base in Rio for their first match in the tropical heat of Manaus.
Earlier this week Hodgson described Manaus as "the place to avoid" because of the climate—temperatures reach 30C and humidity is about 80%—although after the draw the England boss took comfort from the fact his team face a fellow European side.
"The conditions in the north will be tough, so we will both be in same boat," he said. "If we'd had three games up in the north, it would have been difficult."
Following Hodgson's initial comments, the mayor of Manaus, Arthur Virgilio, said England would not be welcome in the city.
England takes on two-time champions Uruguay in Sao Paulo and they play Costa Rica in Belo Horizonte—both cities are within 225 miles of their base.
England have never previously beaten Italy or Uruguay at a major tournament(锦标赛), while they have never faced Costa Rica.
Uruguay, who reached the semi-finals in 2010, and Italy, who knocked Hodgson's men out of Euro 2012, are ranked sixth and seventh respectively in the Fifa rankings while Costa Rica are 31st in the world - 18 places below England.
1.When and where will England play its third group stage match?
A. On 24 June; in Manaus
B. On 24 June; in Belo Horizonte
C. On 19 June; in Manaus
D. On 19 June; in Sao Paulo
2.Which of the following can England take comfort from?
A. The place where its first match in the group stage is held.
B. The distance from its base to where its first match is held.
C. The fact that two of its group stage games are not in the north.
D. The fact that it is 7 places below Uruguay in the Fifa rankings.
3.Which of the following is true according to the news report?
A. Roy Hodgson is the coach of Brazil national football team.
B. Netherlands took the second place in the last World Cup.
C. The mayor of Manaus is a fan of the British soccer team.
D. England has never played against Uruguay in the history.
Starting a new book is a risk, just like falling in love. You have to ____ to it. You open the pages knowing a little bit about it, maybe from the back or from a blurb(宣传信息)on the front. But who ____, right? Those bits and pieces aren’t always right.
Sometimes people ____ themselves as one thing and then when you get deep into it you realize that they’re something completely different. Either there was some good marketing ____ to a terrible book, or the story was only explained in a(n) ____ way and once you reach the middle of the book, you realize there’s so much more to this book than anyone could ever have told you.
You start off slow. The story is beginning to ____. You’re unsure. It’s a big commitment reading this tome(巨著). Maybe this book won’t be that great but you’ll feel ____ about putting it down. Maybe it’ll be so awful you’ll set it down immediately and never pick it up again. Or maybe you’ll come back to it some night, drunk or lonely—needing something to ____ the time, but it won’t be any better than it was when you first started reading it.
Maybe you’re ____. You’ve read tons of books before. Maybe you’ve taken some time off from reading because the last few books you read just weren’t ____ it. Do they even write new, great works of literature anymore? Maybe it’s a once in a lifetime feeling and you’re never going to find it again.
Or something ____ could happen. Maybe this will become your new favorite book. There’s always a possibility, right? That’s the ____ of risk. You ____ your time and your brain power in the words and what you get back is a new understanding and pure wonder.
How could someone possibly know you like this? Some stranger, some author, some character. It’s like they’re seeing inside your ____. This book existed inside some book store, on a shelf, maybe handled by other people and really it was just ____ for you to pick it up. It was waiting to speak to you. To say, “You are not ____.”
You just want more of the story. You want to keep reading, maybe everything this author has ever ____. You wish it would never end. The closer it gets to the smaller side of the pages, the ____ you read, wanting to savor(品味) it all. This book is now one of your favorites forever. You will always wish you could go back to ____ having read it and pick it up fresh again, but also you know you’re better for having this close, inside you, ____ your heart and mind.
Reading a book is just like falling in love. Once you get in deep enough, you know you could never put this book down.
1.A. contribute B. commitC. subscribe D. react
2.A. tellsB. caresC. writesD. knows
3.A. advertiseB. believeC. behaveD. mistake
4.A. attached B. comparedC. usedD. related
5.A. artificialB. superficialC. theoreticalD. confidential
6.A. repeatB. changeC. conflictD. unfold
7.A. worried B. contentC. guiltyD. serious
8.A. fill B. spareC. saveD. take
9.A. worn outB. run outC. given outD. made out
10.A. likeB. worthC. beyondD. beneath
11.A. excitingB. familiarC. rareD. tough
12.A. price B. beautyC. dangerD. style
13.A. balanceB. wasteC. harvestD. invest
14.A. soulB. bookC. bodyD. eyes
15.A. askingB. lookingC. standingD. waiting
16.A. aloneB. yourselfC. busy D. crazy
17.A. devotedB. agreedC. writtenD. enjoyed
18.A. slowerB. fasterC. moreD. less
19.A. alwaysB. everC. onceD. never
20.A. coveringB. breakingC. separatingD. blocking
— 2013 is a successful year for us China.
— ___________, and ________.
A. So it is; so 2014 willB. So is it; so 2014 will
C. So is it; so will 2014D. So it is; so will 2014
We all breathed a sigh of relief when the news came _____ no one was injured in the accident.
A. whyB. thatC. whetherD. which
“I am astonished, my dear,” said Mrs. Bennet, “that you _____ be so ready to think your own children silly.”
A. mightB. couldC. wouldD. should
— Don’t be too ______ with what you wear as a middle school student.
— Come on, Mom, stop being _____ on me all the time.
A. controversial, strictB. particular, hardC. considerate; keen D. flexible; offensive