Ice-skating athlete Alysa Liu is no stranger to breaking records. In 2016, the then 10-year-old became the youngest figure skating（花滑）champion in U.S. history. In 2018, at the age of 12, Liu became the youngest to compete in, and win, the U.S. junior championships. That same year, she was also the youngest to land a triple axel （三圈半跳）in an international competition.
On January 25, 2019, the skater made history once again as the youngest-ever national figure skating champion at the Geico U.S. Women’s Figure Skating Championships held in Detroit, Michigan. The record before was held by Tara Lipinski in 1997 when she was 15.
At the championships, things were going well for defending U.S. champion Bradie Tennell, who was in the lead following the short program on January 24. But things changed the following day when Tennell had a series of setbacks（挫折），first stepping out of a triple loop and then falling during a triple lutz attempt. Meanwhile, Liu, who was in second place and had already impressed the judges with a perfect triple axel in the short program, gave a perfect free skate performance.
When asked about her amazing performance, Liu said, "I was just happy that I beat my personal record, and I did a clean long program." Another thing the young champion was happy about? A trip to Disneyland for Liu and her family. "It’s so much fun," said the 13-year-old.
Liu fell in love with ice skating during her first lesson at the Oakland Ice Center. The then five-year-old showed such a natural gift that Laura Lipetsky, a former national competitor who has taught Liu ever since, asked her father, Arthur Liu, to send her to private lessons.
Unfortunately, Liu won’t take part in the 2019 World Figure Skating Championships in Japan because of the age requirement of 15. However, that doesn’t appear to affect her. She says, "I’m not too worried about that part because I get more time to work on my jumps, skating skills and just trying to learn more."
1. What is described at the beginning of the text?| A．The history of ice-skating. | B．Liu’s achievements in ice-skating. |
| C．The ice-skating champions in history. | D．A national figure skating championship. |
| A．The judges were shocked by Lipinski. | B．Lipinski met Liu for the first time. |
| C．Tennell made some mistakes. | D．Liu took the lead at first. |
| A．She likes traveling with her father. | B．She was taught to skate by her father. |
| C．She got a lot of support from Lipetsky. | D．She fell in love with skating because of Lipetsky |
| A．Positive. | B．Determined. |
| C．Patient. | D．Intelligent. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Once upon a time, a daughter complained to her father that her life was unhappy and that she was tired of struggling all the time.
Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes, eggs and coffee beans in them. After 20 minutes, he took them out, putting the potatoes and eggs in a bowl and the coffee in a cup. Turning to his daughter, he said, “Look closer, and touch the potatoes.” So she did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to taste the coffee. Its good smell brought a smile to her face.
“Father, what does this mean?” she asked. He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and the coffee beans were in the same adversity (逆境) — the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently.
The strong and hard potato became soft and weak in boiling water. The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard. However, the coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new. “Which one do you want to be like,” he asked. “When adversity knocks on your door, how will you respond?”
In life, challenges happen to us all, but the only thing that truly matters is what happens within us.
1. Why did the girl complain to her father?| A．Because of her father's busy work. | B．Because of her hard life. |
| C．Because of her tiring job. | D．Because of the food her father cooked. |
| A．Different people have different reactions towards adversity. |
| B．The father was quite good at cooking. |
| C．Adversity will knock on everyone's door. |
| D．The girl liked the coffee best. |
| A．thick | B．hard | C．strong | D．easily-broken |
【推荐2】Twenty years ago, I became involved in pet therapy(疗法) work with our Angel. As she matured and went through professional training, we realized that she would be good at this new job.
Angel is ten now and works every week. She visits two hospitals, providing day care for the elderly, and our library’s PAWS for Reading program. At the library, six to ten dogs lie on the floor, and the kids pick a book to read to a dog. After they finish, they get a card with the dog’s picture and history. Angel also helps out at a special-needs camp. She is so popular that everywhere we go people recognize her, especially the kids she has worked with.
We have seen some very special things through our pet therapy work. I brought Angel to our local hospital to visit a woman who was completely unable to move the right side of her body from a stroke(中风). One day, my husband, Jack, got Angel up into a chair next to the woman’s bed, asking her if she wanted to give Angel a treat. She nodded. Angel gently took the treat. Then the woman raised her right hand and started petting Angel. Her friend couldn’t believe her eyes.
After that, every time we saw the woman, she lifted her left hand. We’d tell her she had to use her right hand, and she would. Next, you’ll fall in love with this woman’s story of rearing her own Angel later in her family and why she calls it the best decision she ever made.
1. Who is Angel?| A．A pet trainer. | B．A hospital |
| C．A therapy dog. | D．The author’s kid. |
| A．Save seriously ill people. |
| B．Pay visits to kids in hospital. |
| C．Protect the elderly in their homes. |
| D．Help children at a special camp. |
| A．The woman moved her right hand. |
| B．The woman treated Angel. |
| C．Angel helped the woman recover. |
| D．Angel got along with the woman. |
| A．Accompanying. | B．Raising. |
| C．Assisting. | D．Training. |
The Family Effect
Lin’s enjoyment of basketball actually began in Taiwan，where his father started watching it.Lin’s father moved to U．S.，and his interest in the sport only grew.He passed on this love of basketball to his son，introducing him to the game at the age of five.The young Lin spent much of his youth playing basketball for fun.After each game，his parents would discuss not only his score but also his conduct toward other players.This taught Lin that character was more important than playing well，a lesson he still remembers.
Rise of a Star
In high school，Lin dreamed of playing in the NBA but did not really expect to do so.When he applied for college，he was not offered a single sports scholarship.However，after his admission to Harvard，he was offered a place on its college basketball team.During Lin’s time at Harvard，his basketball career began to take off.He scored 1,482 points，making him one of the highest scorers in Ivy League history.Eventually，the recognition he received led him to suspect that his NBA dream could come true.
When he first graduated，no professional teams offered Lin a contract(合约)，but he was invited to play in the NBA Summer League.He played well and ended up eagerly signing a contract with the Golden State Warriors.
Life in the NBA
His journey in NBA did not go very well at first.He spent most of his time on the bench during the past two seasons.He constantly compared himself to other players and gave himself no time to rest up.For the first time in his life，he no longer enjoyed playing basketball.After a few very difficult months，he realized that much of his anxiety and stress came from selfcentered desires like wanting to be famous.So he transformed his attitude.He never stopped practicing and never gave up any slim chance.
Now he has become the NBA’s latest phenomenon after leading the New York Knicks to seven straight wins.Hestays_humbleand thinks that the credit for the winning goes to everyone in his team.Knicks fans developed nicknames for him，such as “Linsanity”，“Lincredible”，and “Linderella”．The Associated Press called Lin “the most surprising story in the NBA”．
1. Which of the following is TRUE of Jeremy Lin?
| A．He was born in U．S. |
| B．He was sure of his NBA dream in high school. |
| C．He loves playing basketball all the time. |
| D．He was coldly received when he first came to NBA. |
| A．tries his best | B．is modest |
| C．keeps working hard | D．faces the difficulties |
| A．Hard work brings success. |
| B．We must have a father like Jeremy’s. |
| C．A good university can help us realize our dreams. |
| D．Team honour is more important than our own success. |
| A．What Is Next for Jeremy Lin? |
| B．Jeremy Lin’s Tips for Success |
| C．Following Dreams and Finding Joy |
| D．Six NBA Teams Eyeing Jeremy Lin |
【推荐1】With an MLB caster dad, Patrick Mahomes II has been training to become a professional athlete almost his whole life. “Ever since I could remember, I was playing something. I didn’t think I would be a football player, but I thought I would be a professional athlete for sure…a baseball or basketball player,” the Kansas City Chiefs star tells CNBC Make It.
Mahomes has had the same trainer since he was 10, and though he didn’t focus on football until his second year at Texas Tech, he’s known for an unimaginable ability to do with what’s happening around him on the field. He also practices every single kind of wild throw he might make in a game. With that knack for top performance, during four seasons in the NFL Mahomes had led the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl in 50 years, for which he was named the game's MVP. At 25, Mahomes has also signed the largest sports contract in history: In July, he signed a deal with the Chiefs worth nearly $500 million over 10 years.
But for all his wins, Mahomes says a defeat like the Chiefs’ 9-31 Super Bowl loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can be more useful. “People see me on the field playing and winning a lot of football games, and they see the contract and the different businesses that I work with, and they think that everything doing is kind of just working out,” Mahomes tells CNBC Make It. But “I think defeat helps you more than success,” he says. “I just do whatever I can to be better and learn from the mistakes.”
Here, Mahomes talks to CNBC Make It about his mental state on the field, his routine, the advice he will give his younger self and more.
1. What can we learn about Mahomes from the text?| A．He is deeply influenced by his father. |
| B．He likes playing baseball and basketball. |
| C．He has much confidence in playing football. |
| D．He began to be devoted to playing football at 10. |
| A．Game. | B．Season. | C．Skill. | D．Deal. |
| A．Technology is power. | B．Failure is the mother of success. |
| C．Where there is will, there is a way. | D．He who makes no mistakes will do nothing. |
| A．Lessons learned from defeat. | B．His game-day state of mind. |
| C．Advice for younger players. | D．His plans for football playing. |
【推荐2】“Tennis — I’m saying goodbye.” With these words, Russian tennis superstar Maria Sharapova, 34, has announced her retirement.
“How do you leave behind the only life you’ve ever known?” she asked herself. Several reasons played a role in Sharapova leaving the tennis court for good. Over the last couple of years, she’s dealt with an injury in her right shoulder and inflammation (炎症) in her forearms that may have prevented her from returning to top form. In more recent news, the death of her longtime friend, US basketball legend Kobe Bryant, also played a factor in her decision to retire.
“As I think you’ve seen throughout my career, my perseverance has been my greatest tool, my greatest strength,” Sharapova said in an interview. “But I’ve started feeling like it was becoming a weakness, because the stubbornness that was keeping me going was keeping me going for wrong reasons.”
Sharapova rose to fame at age 17 when she won Wimbledon in 2004. She won a total of four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2006 US Open, the 2008 Australian Open, and the 2012 and 2014 French Open. She also earned the Fed Cup title in Russia in 2008 and an Olympic silver medal in singles in 2012, among many other accomplishments. For 16 straight years from 2004, Sharapova was the world’s highest-earning female athlete, according to Forbes. Off the court, she made millions of dollars from companies such as Evian and Nike, as well as starting her own candy company.
“Tennis showed me the world — and it showed me what I was made of,” Sharapova wrote on Facebook on Feb 26, alongside a photo of herself as a young girl with a tennis racquet(网球拍). “It’s how I tested myself and how I measured my growth. And so in whatever I might choose for my next chapter, my next mountain, I’ll still be pushing. I’ll still be climbing. I’ll still be growing.”
1. What contributed to Sharapova’s retirement?| A．Her strength. |
| B．Her friend’s suggestions. |
| C．Her injuries. |
| D．Her growing age. |
| A．Tool. | B．Strength. | C．Perseverance. | D．Reason. |
| A．Sharapova is a woman of many achievements. |
| B．Sharapova is the highest-earning female. |
| C．Sharapova donated a lot to Evian and Nike. |
| D．Sharapova’s companies run successfully. |
| A．Sharapova will continue pushing herself as a tennis player. |
| B．Climbing mountains is Sharapova’s new interest. |
| C．A picture posted online showed Sharapova’s growth. |
| D．Playing tennis taught Sharapova how to advance in life. |
【推荐3】It was the last time Susan Butcher ran the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1992. An hour into the race, Susan and her sled dog team sped down a hill and crashed into a fallen tree. Although hurt, Susan continued the difficult race.
The Iditarod Race started in 1925 when a doctor in Nome, Alaska was desperately in need of medicine to stop the spread of a deadly disease. Only a hospital had what he needed, but it was 700 mile-away! In January, it was too dangerous to send a boat and too stormy for his tiny airplane. The only hope was to use several sled dog teams following a trail, called the Iditarod Trail. They passed the medicine from one sled team to another. Wind and snow did not stop the men and their dogs. The medicine was delivered in record time. The race follows the route of the famous medicine run. Over 1, 000 miles long, it is considered the toughest race in the world.
Susan Butcher was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In her teens Susan was given a Siberian husky dog and became very interested in huskies as sled dogs. After reading about the Iditarod Race, Susan moved to Alaska. She got several jobs to earn money to buy herself a sled and a team of huskies. After years of hard work and training, Susan achieved her dream of racing on the Iditarod Trail.
In 1978, at the age of 24, Susan entered the race for the first time and became the first woman to finish in the top 20. In 1982 she came in second. In 1984 she was leading her team across a frozen waterway when they fell into the water. Her lead dog managed to pull Susan and the other dogs out of danger. Remarkably, she came in second.
In her fourth race, in 1985, a staring moose (驼鹿) attacked her dogs, killing two and injuring eleven. Susan had to leave the race. In 1986 Susan joined the race again. This time, she won. She won again in 1987. In 1988 she became the first person ever to win three Iditarod races in a row. Unbelievably, Susan won for the fourth time in 1990.
1. According to text, Susan Butcher entered the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race at least __________times.| A．six | B．seven | C．eight | D．nine |
| A．how the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race began |
| B．how the spread of a deadly disease was stopped |
| C．how tough the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race was |
| D．how Susan Butcher began to show interest in the race |
| A．continuously | B．eventually |
| C．finally | D．particularly |
| A．Snowstorm. | B．Lack of food. |
| C．Accidents. | D．Lack of experience. |
