What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think about winter sports？ Skiing（滑雪）， of course． There is no doubt that down﹣hill skiing is the world's most popular winter sport although it's one of the most expensive as well． Few people， however， know that cross﹣country skiing is much easier and less expensive than down﹣hill skiing， and certainly also enjoyable．

Cross﹣country skiing has been around for much longer than down﹣hill skiing and it is probably the oldest winter sport． A long time before the snowmobile was invented， it was also the first means of transportation that people used to move across the snow． In fact， the oldest ski ever found， which was in Sweden， is more than 4，500 years old．

Cross﹣country skiing is not difficult at all． Even people who aren't professional can have fun from the beginning without having to spend a long time or lots of money taking lessons． That's why it's very common to see people of all ages enjoying cross﹣country skiing together． In fact， at the first Winter Olympics held in Chamonix in 1924， it was the only kind of skiing in the competition． Now for cross﹣country skiers， the most exciting event every year is the Engadine Marathon， where more than 10，000 men， women and children ski across the frozen（冰冻的） lake of St. Moritz in Switzerland． This makes more people from all over the world take part in the sport．

For cross﹣country skiers， what they value is the excitement of the sport． Popular holiday centers and luxurioushotels are not important． They stay in cheap houses and go skiing whenever they feel like it．

（1）Why do people prefer down﹣hill skiing to cross﹣country skiing？ 　　

A．	It is much cheaper than cross﹣country skiing．
B．	They're too familiar with cross﹣county skiing．
C．	It's the most popular winter sport in the world．
D．	They can learn how to down﹣hill ski more easily．

（2）How did Swedish people move across the snow over 4，500 years ago？ 　　

A．	By down﹣hill skiing．
B．	By cross﹣country skiing．
C．	By riding snowmobiles．
D．	By going on foot．

（3）What can we know about cross﹣country skiing from the third paragraph？ 　　

A．	It's as important as down﹣hill skiing．
B．	It's becoming more and more popular．
C．	It's more famous than down﹣hill skiing．
D．	It's getting Switzerland more interesting．

（4）What does the underlined word "luxurious" mean in the last paragraph？ 　　

A．	Old．
B．	Modern．
C．	Expensive．
D．	Clean．