Weaving down a steep slope, snowboarder Zhang Xu skied gracefully to a stop in a shower of white powder—one of a new generation of Chinese people learning winter sports in new indoor facilities. “I fell in love with the sport,” said 25-year-old Zhang, who started coming to the Sunac Snow Centre in Chengdu in July, the same month it opened. “Skiing used to be a relatively small sport in China but now it’s more popular, and the credit for that is down to the Winter Olympics.”

The 2022 Beijing Winter Games have caused a rapid increase in construction of snow resorts(胜地); their numbers have rocketed nearly fourfold, fueled by demand from China’s middle class. Nearly 21 million people visited one last year, as the ability to spend more on leisure activities grows—average national income has increased four times over the last two decades.

In provinces such as southwestern Sichuan, known for its hot and humid summers, there are plenty of mountains but little snow, so the best way for locals to learn to ski is inside. “We are the first indoor ski resort in southwest China,” said Liu Jia, manager of the Sunac Snow Centre. At 80, 800 square meters, the snow park is the largest of its kind in the world—though one in Shanghai, scheduled to open in the next 18 months, could make that seem unimportant by comparison.

China has grand plans for this growing interest—it has previously said it wants to put 10 percent of the world’s most large number of people on skis ahead of the 2022 Games. That’s a figure so large that it would double the current global record of skiers.

【小题1】Why was Zhang Xu mentioned at the first paragraph?

A．To encourage skiing.	B．To introduce the topic.
C．To provide an example.	D．To make a comparison.

【小题2】What made it possible for the development of snow resorts?

A．The increasing population.	B．The competition to host Olympics.
C．The improvement of construction.	D．The ability to spend more on leisure activities.

【小题3】What does the underlined word “that” in paragraph 3 refer to?

A．The manager.	B．Sichuan province.
C．Sunac Snow Centre.	D．Ski resort in Shanghai.

【小题4】What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．The largest indoor ski resort in the world.	B．How to develop people’s interest in skiing.
C．The preparations for 2022 Beijing Winter Games.	D．Winter Olympics inspires skiing construction in China.