1 . Skiing has always been a big part of Mikaela Shiffrin’s life. Her dad ski raced all through college and her mom raced and coached skiing. The Shiffrins taught Mikaela and her brother, Taylor, to ski at a very young age. At two and a half years old, Mikaela made her first ski run down her driveway on plastic skis.
Mikaela loved skiing. From ages 8 to 11, she did hundreds of training runs on small hills to learn the skills of slalom skiing (障碍滑雪). When Mikaela was 11, she began to learn at the Burke Mountain Academy, a Vermont boarding school for skiers. She took classes, studied, and practiced her skiing. According to Burke Mountain Academy headmaster Kirk Dwyer, “What separated Mikaela from others was the degree of her commitment (投入) to be the best. Mikaela practiced more than anyone and believed in herself then and now.” At age 14, Mikaela began her international career when she raced in the world championships for 13- and 14-year-olds. And she won!
By the time she was 17, she had already won her first World Cup race. “Living away from home four and five months at a time can be difficult,” Mikaela says. “But it can also be exciting. I’m getting to see the world.” When Mikaela began ski racing in Europe, her mother, Eileen, stayed with her. She worked as her high-school teacher while they were on the road. “She has always been a super-hard worker,” says Eileen.
For Mikaela, working hard is a full-time job. Even her off-season is work time. “If you want something, just try your best,” she says. At the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, 18-year-old Mikaela Shiffrin became the youngest slalom skier ever to win an Olympic gold medal.
1. According to the text, Mikaela _______.| A．learned to ski by herself | B．was born into a skiing family |
| C．first skied when she was 3 years old | D．got to know slalom skiing at the age of 14 |
| A．Mikaela was cleverer than the other kids |
| B．Mikaela was too young to learn skiing |
| C．Mikaela was a hard-working girl |
| D．Mikaela was a slow learner |
| A．Her mother. | B．Her father. |
| C．Kirk Dwyer. | D．Taylor Shiffrin. |
| A．The 2014 Winter Olympic Games |
| B．The Burke Mountain Academy |
| C．An introduction to slalom skiing |
| D．A young skier’s fight for success |
2 . Do you enjoy the Olympics? I certainly do. Every four years we get to see the best of the best competing for the
In 1988, Eddie Edwards became the first athlete since 1928 to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping. He had no money, no equipment, no
“When you
How did Eddie do? Eddie’s British record of 71 meters
So what
| A．bonus | B．praise | C．medals | D．profits |
| A．makes up | B．calls for | C．tracks down | D．comes from |
| A．fans | B．coaches | C．friends | D．competitors |
| A．look down | B．walk around | C．climb up | D．step forward |
| A．stupid | B．expert | C．crazy | D．curious |
| A．whispering | B．shouting | C．singing | D．laughing |
| A．exciting | B．relaxing | C．frightening | D．annoying |
| A．followed | B．impressed | C．titled | D．landed |
| A．work | B．change | C．matter | D．remain |
| A．However | B．Therefore | C．Besides | D．Moreover |
| A．blame | B．recognize | C．contact | D．admire |
| A．sweating | B．losing | C．training | D．falling |
| A．fondly | B．hardly | C．equally | D．simply |
| A．suitable | B．positive | C．competitive | D．adventurous |
| A．joke | B．legend | C．loser | D．winner |
| A．She is only well known in China. |
| B．She is famous all over the world. |
| C．She is the best women volleyball player. |
4 . Benjamin Alexander, a 38-year-old man from Northampton shire, became the first athlete to represent Jamaica in an alpine skiing event (高山滑雪) at the Winter Olympics.
But his story started in 2015. When he saw friends did the sport so skillfully, he was in awe and decided to take a ski lesson.” That first time, I fell 27 times on the way down the hill. I think a lot of people would have given up at that point.” “But I kind of just took that as the baseline. If I can aim for falling less than 27 times on the next hill, then I am progressing.”
However, it wasn’t until two years later that Benjamin considered seriously competing in the sport. “In 2018, I went to the Winter Olympics as a spectator,” he said. “I noticed that there were only three athletes representing Jamaica. I found that very strange since my mother country is a powerhouse full of athletes in the summer game. So coming into 2019, I just had a plan to say, ‘Let’s see if this crazy idea of going to the Olympics is even possible. Let’s just go and ski for a little while and see what happens.’” he said.
Alexander has no full-time coach. He built a support network that included Stokes and the US skier Gordon Gray, who called Alexander’s technique “terrible” but thought his lack of fear would give him an advantage in competition. A strategic approach and fearless technique have led the engineering graduate and former DJ not only to make sporting history but find success as a black athlete in a historically white sport. Alexander bills himself as a “reinvention expert” and has used skills learned in his other careers to develop his pursuit of skiing success. “I’ve been to 67 countries. I’ve spent a lot of my life on the road.” he said. “I’ve always loved to travel and a big part of my previous role as a DJ was getting myself out there, marketing myself in the right way, figuring out ways to get into venues, clubs and festivals that I wanted to perform at.”
1. What made Benjamin decide to compete in Olympics?| A．His love for his motherland. | B．His friends’ encouragement. |
| C．His desire to change his life. | D．His enthusiasm for alpine skiing. |
| A．The challenges Benjamin met. | B．The advantages Benjamin has. |
| C．The way of Benjamin’s training. | D．The reason behind Benjamin’s success. |
| A．Better late than never. | B．Failure is the mother of success. |
| C．Never judge a book by its cover. | D．Nothing is impossible to a willing heart. |
| A．Entertainment. | B．Health. | C．Sports. | D．Culture. |
Lionel Messi,
6 . Called the “Iron Hammer” in her playing days, Lang Ping is considered as one of the biggest heroes of Chinese sports.
At the 1981 World Cup in Japan, the Chinese women’s team showed the world their speed and power for the first time. Playing outside hitter, Lang helped the team take home its first major title. Thanks to teamwork and their strong spirit, they achieved a record of five world titles in a row, which include two World Cups, two World Championships and a gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Despite a lot of victories, after eight years of hard training and fighting, Lang retired as a player in 1986. But she never said goodbye to her favorite sport. In 1995, Lang became the head coach of the Chinese national team and led China to silver medals at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic and the 1998 World Championships in Japan.
Though she left the job in 1999 to coach an Italian club, in 2013 she returned to coach the young national team. In 2016, her team took home the gold medal at the Rio Olympics, making her the first person to win an Olympic gold for volleyball both as a player and a coach. The team was listed fourth after the preliminary competition. But Lang said in a public interview, “Sometimes you know you may not win, but you still have to pull out all the stops.”
Lang plays an important role in the creation and passing on of an honorable tradition of fighting and teamwork. “The spirit of Chinese women’s volleyball team is never to give up. My duty as the coach is to guide this young team to carry on this spirit,” said Lang. The spirit is about more than sport; it is an important source of spiritual strength for the country to draw on in its effort to press ahead.
1. When did Lang win her first world champion?| A．In 1981. | B．In 1984. | C．In 1986. | D．In 1995. |
| A．They won the first prize. |
| B．They had a good start. |
| C．They won all the games. |
| D．They didn’t enter the final. |
| A．Put you on the spot. | B．End up with the game. |
| C．Go all out. | D．Catch your eye. |
| A．We have to do sports every day. |
| B．We should keep fighting to the end. |
| C．We should try our best to be a coach. |
| D．We must spend time learning volleyball. |
| A．Lang Ping, a very strict coach |
| B．Lang Ping, a hero of Chinese sports |
| C．The Chinese people’s love for volleyball |
| D．The spirit of Chinese women’s volleyball team |
7 . Diana Golden was twelve years old when she had cancer. She was walking home one day after playing in the snow when her right leg simply gave out. Doctors diagnosed the problem as bone cancer. They recommended removing her leg above the knee.
When Diana heard the news, she asked the only first question: “Will I be still able to ski?”
“When the doctors said yes,” she later recalled, “I figured it wouldn’t be too bad.”
Losing a leg would cause most children to lose confidence and hope, but Diana refused to dwell on the negative. “It is nothing. A body part.” she’d say.
Most of all, Diana was not discouraged. She loved skiing and she had been on skis since the age of five. After the operation, Diana worked hard to get back to the mountain near her home. “I always skied and I intended to keep on skiing. I never doubt that.” she declared. Diana met her goal. She was back out on the slopes.
With just one leg, Diana made the best of it. In high school, Diana became a member of her school’s ski racing team. And in 1979, when she was just seventeen, she joined the US Disabled Ski Team.
After high school, Diana went on to Dartmouth College. Determined not to be left behind, Diana continued her training with the Dartmouth team. “I had one leg, which meant I had to do it differently.” she later explained.
In 1982, Diana entered her first international ski race. She won the world Handicapped Championship in Norway. In 1986, Diana won the Beck Award given to the best American racer in international skiing. And in 1988, she was named Ski Racing Magazine’s U.S. Female Skier of the Year.
With her courage and determination, Diana has changed how people look at disabled athletes. “Everyone has some kind of disability,” Diana says. “It’s what we do with our abilities that matters.”
In 1990, Diana retired from racing for good.
1. What does the underlined phrase “dwell on” probably mean in paragraph 4?| A．Put away. | B．Think about. |
| C．Leave behind. | D．Hang over. |
a. Diana entered her first international ski race.
b. Diana was diagnosed with bone cancer.
c. She practiced skiing at the age of five.
d. Diana began training with the Dartmouth team.
e. She became a member of the US Disabled Ski Team.
| A．bcade. | B．cbdae. | C．cbeda. | D．bceda. |
| A．inform the readers about disabled skiers |
| B．describe the events in international ski competitions |
| C．tell about the disadvantages of being a disabled skier |
| D．inspire the readers with Diana’s courage and resolution |
| A．Go for the gold | B．Lose a leg |
| C．Ski to the last minute | D．Compete for the disabled |
8 . Dressed as a roaring tiger, Frenchwoman Lucile Lefevre stole the show at snowboarding Big Air’s qualifying round on Monday as she celebrated the Year of the Tiger in her career finale at Beijing 2022. Lefevre attracted the crowd’s attention in her second run when dressed in an orange-and-black tiger suit, despite choosing a straightforward jump with no tricks due to a knee injury which she suffered during the slopestyle competition on Feb 5.
Having decided to retire from the sport after Beijing 2022, the 26-year-old crowd pleaser made her final run on the Olympic stage one to remember-not just for herself but anyone watching the Games, which are taking place in the lunar calendar’s Year of the Tiger.
“It is my very last competition. I hurt my knee in the slopestyle, so I was not able to do tricks today. I decided to do the competition, but just do it straighter. It’s more fun like this. It’s for tiger new year, so everyone wants a picture with me. It was super fun,” Lefevre said after her three qualification runs.
“I feel good about it, because the world should be fun. There are a lot of problems in the world. If everyone was peace and easy, the world would be nicer for sure. That’s the message I want to share.”
Lefevre was diagnosed with osteochondrosis, a rare illness that stunts bone growth, at 3 years old. She had three operations, and doctors told her sports were off the table.
“But then I went snowboarding and made progress. And I’m here (at the Winter Olympics) for the second time,” she said.
1. Why was Lucile Lefevre dressed as a tiger?| A．She was crazy about tiger suits. |
| B．She was eager to show off her tricks. |
| C．She wanted to celebrate the Year of the Tiger. |
| D．Her knee injury influenced her performance. |
| A．She hurt her knees when taking pictures. |
| B．She reminded us to keep positive in life. |
| C．She suffered from a rare disease as a child. |
| D．She was not able to perform tricks anymore. |
| A．Optimistic and determined. | B．Caring and warm-hearted. |
| C．Talented and ambitious. | D．Considerate and generous. |
| A．Wearing tiger suits is becoming popular among athletes in 2022. |
| B．Excellent skills and positive attitude led a French athlete to success. |
| C．An injured French athlete competed in the Big Air’s qualifying round. |
| D．A French athlete stole the show at the Winter Games with her tiger suit. |
9 . Jessica Long, from Baltimore, Maryland, USA is a champion by all definitions of the word. She is one of the world’s most decorated swimmers. Jessica was the youngest athlete to win a Paralympics (残奥会) medal. But her path to becoming a champion has been anything but easy.
Jessica was born in Irkutsk, Russia with a severe and rare disease — fibular hemimelia (腓侧半肢畸形). This means that part of her leg bones was missing or abnormal. Because of that, her young mother placed her in a Russian orphanage (孤儿院), fearing she could not care for Jessica.
Fortunately, she was adopted by an American family when she was 13 months old. She required 25 different surgeries to help her leg condition. But unfortunately, both of her legs had to be removed when she was just 18 months old. Jessica learned to walk with artificial legs. As a child, she took to sports including gymnastics, cheerleading, ice skating, biking and rock climbing.
She began swimming at her grandparents’ house when she was 6. She started competitive swimming about 4 years later. She did really well in swimming. Shortly after she started competing, Jessica was selected as Maryland’s Female Swimmer of the Year with a Disability. Even though Jessica was annoyed with her physical limitations, she was encouraged to enter her first Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece. She won three gold medals in swimming at 12! But she did not rest on her success.
Jessica has gone on to win 23 medals for Team USA at the Paralympics! While she began her career out of anger and annoyance, she now has a positive force on a mission to inspire the next generation of Paralympians! Her attitude and growth have been keys to her success. Jessica always believed she could do anything. As she says, “The only disability in life is a negative attitude.”
1. What happened to Jessica when she was a baby?| A．She was abandoned in the wild. | B．She had 25 operations on her leg. |
| C．She had her legs cut because of a disease. | D．She was adopted by a Russian family. |
| A．At the age of 4. | B．At the age of 6. |
| C．At the age of 10. | D．At the age of 12. |
| A．She was the youngest athlete in US history. |
| B．She has set a good example to Paralympians. |
| C．She has won 23 gold medals in Paralympics. |
| D．She took part in several sports in Paralympics. |
| A．Difficult the first time, easy the second. |
| B．Never hit a man when he is down. |
| C．A common danger causes common action. |
| D．Nothing is impossible to a determined heart. |
The home crowd erupted when China's Eileen Gu won the Women's Freeski Big Air gold in Beijing. Gu jumped into the top position with her third run,
The 18-year-old,
Then, she decided to switch from representing the US
“This was an
