A. 第1组 1. Centuries ago people didn't have much free time, because everyone was working too hard. In Britain in the 19th century, people had more time off, but the Victorians thought relaxing and doing nothing was a sin. So to avoid temptation, they invented football, rugby and cricket. People took up more gentle leisure activities like bird-watching, gardening and trainspotting, and it was even possible simply to watch a sport and give the impression that you were actually doing something useful. 2. One instance of this is cricket, which is a peculiar game with weird rules, where nothing happens for five days, at the end of which the players often decide to call it a draw. And everyone, players and spectators, feel perfectly fulfilled by this non-event. It's a good example of what we can now call a leisure inactivity. 3. Gradually over the years, leisure inactivities have involved even less interaction. In the 1990s a new leisure creature evolved, one who thinks that lying on the sofa watching sport or DVDs on the television is the most exciting inactivity they can manage. This is the couch potato. 4. So who wants to be a couch potato? Well, as a matter of fact, many people do, and for understandable reasons. Maybe it's your one day off in the week. Maybe you just got back from work or school. Maybe you're tired and just want to chill. For the couch potato, every activity is too much trouble, and laziness is an art form. 5. How do you become a couch potato? It's easy. Sit down in a comfortable place, such as a reclining chair, a beanbag or ... you knew it was coming ... a couch. Don't sit on a potato. Make sure you have everything you need, snacks (especially potato chips – no serious couch potato would eat anything else), drinks, magazines and a telly. 6. The most important piece of equipment is of course, the remote control. Without the freedom to change channel without moving from the couch, no couch potato would be worthy of the name. In fact, watching TV without a remote control becomes dangerously like physical exercise, and probably should be avoided. 7. Now just start watching the telly. Change channels every ten seconds, and then move on. Don't be too keen, try not to get too interested in anything, because that risks your status as a couch potato. (Remember that you have the attention span of a Maris Piper.) Finally, ask other people to do things for you, like get more food, or rent a movie. But be nice to them! If you aren't nice, you'll probably have to do it yourself

B. 第2组 A. It is absolutely necessary for a qualified couch potato to change channel at will without leaving the couch. B. a person who is a couch potato does not and should not concentrate on anything for long. C. People feel satisfied with watching the game of cricket for five days and seeing the game end in a draw. D. People invented some ball games to resist temptation in Victorian era. E. Laziness is an art form for the couch potato. F. It's easy to be a couch potato. G. the most exciting inactivity that a couch potato would like to do is lying on the sofa watching Tv program