阅读短文，将方框里的五个句子还原到短文当中。
A．He also wrote the sport’s official rules.
B．Soccer is the world’s favorite sport.
C．Soccer performances are pleasing to the eyes.
D．It’s hard to say where soccer’s birthplace is.
E．But one reason is how simple the sport is.
23．_______________  It has around 3 billion fans — nearly half the world’s population! And about 300 million people play this game. That’s 4 percent of the world’s population!
24．_______________  Many people in old days played early forms of this modern game. Cuju(蹴鞠)，a ball-kicking game in China, was reported as early as 2,500 B.C．Around the same time in Greece, people were also playing a similar ball game with any part of the body except hands.
But modern soccer didn’t become official(官方的) until 1863. An Englishman called Cobb Morley introduced the idea of a soccer association(联盟). 25．_______________  From then on, other associations in the countries were set up. They came together to build up the FIFA, which organizes the World Cup.
It’s not easy to tell what makes soccer so popular. 26．_______________ Soccer needs only two feet and a ball. This makes it a sport that developing countries can easily play. Some of the sport’s best players come from these poor nations.
27．_______________ The sport’s no-hands rule makes beautiful dance — like movements on the field. What’s more, this sport excites the heart. Teams might score only a few times each match, so matches can turn around suddenly.
No one knows who will win at the next World Cup. But one thing is certain: The world will be watching.
【答案与解析】
【文章大意】本篇文章难度适中，主要讲述足球是世界上最受欢迎的体育运动之一，并且讲述足球的历史，以中国和希腊为例，说明足球具体起源在哪里是很难说的，并且讲述了FIFA的历史。
23．B  根据It has around 3 billion fans — nearly half the world’s population! And about 300 million people play this game可知，足球有30亿粉丝，接近世界一般的人口，并且大约有3亿人踢足球，说明足球是世界上最受欢迎的运动，故选B。
24．D  根据Many people in old days played early forms of this modern game可知，在古代，许多人以不同的形式玩这个游戏，下文举了中国和希腊两个例子，说明足球的起源地在哪里很难说，故选D。
25．A  根据But modern soccer didn’t become official(官方的) until 1863. An Englishman called Cobb Morley introduced the idea of a soccer association(联盟)以及From then on, other associations in the countries were set up可知，足球直到1863年才成为官方的体育运动，且根据A项中的also可知，表示他介绍了足球联盟这一想法，并且也写了官方规则从那时起，国际足球协会才成立，故选A。
26．E  根据It’s not easy to tell what makes soccer so popular可知，什么让足球变得流行不容易说，根据E项中的but可知，表示转折，即“但是一个理由就是这个运动很简单，所以受欢迎”，故选E
27．C  根据The sport’s no-hands rule makes beautiful dance — like movements on the field可知，足球比赛不需要手，所以就像一场美丽的舞蹈，说明足球表演吸引眼球，故选C。