Long after the 1998 World Cup was won, disappointed fans were still cursing the disputed refereeing (裁判) decisions that denied victory to their team. A researcher was appointed to study the performance of some top referees and finally find out the real cause of the trouble.

The researcher organized an experimental tournament (锦标赛) involving four youth teams. Each match lasted an hour, divided into three periods of 20 minutes during which different referees were in charge.

Observers noted down the referees’ errors, of which there were 61 over the tournament. Converted to a standard match of 90 minutes, each referee made almost 23 mistakes, which is in a real sense a remarkably high number.

The researcher then studied the videotapes to analyze the matches in detail. Surprisingly, he found that errors were more likely when the referees were close to the incident. When the officials got it right, they were, on average, 17 meters away from the action. The average distance in the case of errors was 12 meters. The research shows the optimum (最佳的) distance is about 20 meters.

There also seemed to be an optimum speed. Correct decisions came when the referees were moving at a speed of about 2 meters per second. The average speed for errors was 4 meters per second.

If FIFA, football’s international ruling body, wants to improve the standard of refereeing at the next World Cup, it should encourage referees to keep their eyes on the action from a distance, rather than rushing to keep up with the ball, the researcher argues.

He also says that FIFA’s insistence that referees should retire at age 45 may be misguided. If keeping up with the action is not so important, their physical condition is less critical.

1. The experiment conducted by the researcher was meant to        .

A. review the decisions of referees at the 1998 World Cup

B. analyze the causes of errors made by football referees

C. set a standard for football refereeing

D. reexamine the rules for football refereeing

2. The number of refereeing errors in the experimental matches was       .

   A. slightly above average                   C. quite unexpected

   B. higher than in the 1998 World Cup         D. as high as in a standard match

3. The findings of the experiment show that        .

A. errors are more likely when a referee keeps close to the ball

B. the farther the referee is from the incident, the fewer the errors

C. the more slowly the referee runs, the more likely will errors occur

D. errors are less likely when a referee stays in one spot

4. The word "officials" (Para. 4) most probably refers to         .

A. the researchers involved in the experiment

B. the inspectors of the football tournament

C. the referees of the football tournament

D. the observers at the site of the experiment

5. What is one of the possible conclusions of the experiment?

A. The ideal retirement age for an experienced football referee is 45.

B. Age should not be the chief consideration in choosing a football referee.

C. A football referee should be as young and energetic as possible.

D. An experienced football referee can do well even when in poor physical condition

参考答案：B C A C B

译文：

在1998年世界杯结束之后很久，失望的球迷依然在咒骂那些有争议的裁定，因为这些裁定拒绝给予他们支持的球队获胜的机会。一名研究员被指定研究一些高级裁判员的裁决以弄清楚什么原因引起了误判。
该研究员组织了一次有四个青年队参赛的试验锦标赛。每次比赛一小时，分成三节，每节20分钟，由不同的裁判执法。
观察员记下了裁判的误判，在整个赛程中有61次误判。然后再变换为标准的90分钟比赛，每个裁判几乎做出23次误判，这是一个异常高的数字。
然后研究人员研究了录像带，对比赛进行了详细分析。令人吃惊的是，他发现当裁判靠近犯规的地点时误判的可能性更大。离犯规地点平均有17米的距离时裁判的判决正确。 错判时的平均距离为12米。研究表明是最佳距离约20米。
似乎还有一种最佳速度。当裁判员以每秒两米的速度跑动时才会正确裁判。错判速度平均为和每秒四米。
这位研究人员说，如果国际足联（FIFA）--国际足球管理机构要在下届世界杯提高裁判水平，它应当鼓励裁判员拉开一定距离注视比赛，而不是匆匆忙忙地追着球跑。
他还说，国际足联坚持裁判应当在45岁时退休可能错了。如果跟着比赛跑不那么重要，他们的体力条件就不那么关键。