1 . I’m Gu Ailing Eilleen, a professional freeskier, and twin-tipped skis, 22-foot halfpipes (U型滑道) and double-cork rotations are my main sources of adrenaline (肾上腺素), the truly addictive core of extreme sports.
Though it’s easy to label extreme sport athletes as fearless, the countless hours I’ve spent visualizing tricks and practicing them in foam pits and on airbags suggest otherwise. Instead of ignoring fear, we build unique relationships with it.
The work begins with visualization. I take a deep breath and close my eyes. As I go up the huge takeoff slope, I imagine extending my legs to maximize lift. Then I picture twisting my upper body in the opposite direction I intend to spin, generating force before I allow it to move back the other way.
1440 degrees. I smile. Then I open my eyes.
It doesn’t take much, unfortunately, for uncertainty to override confidence. Imperfect preparation moistens my palms and makes each breath shallower than the last. The feeling isn’t panic, but something like dread. Danger! cries every evolutionary instinct. Every freeskier’s goal is to recognize the minute differences between excitement and uncertainty in order to maximize performance while minimizing the risk of injury.
Finally, there’s pressure, an energy source that can be employed in many ways. I’m proud of the work I’ve done to cope with pressure by improving my self-esteem and minimizing my need for external validation. No matter how much time passes, I’ll always be a hopeless romantic when it comes to fear.
1. According to Gu, what mainly makes athletes fall in love with extreme sports?| A．The honor she will obtain if they win a match. |
| B．The athletes social status will be improved after winning. |
| C．The money they will be rewarded in the case of winning. |
| D．The athletes experience the feeling of excitement during the sport. |
| A．They are born fearless. | B．They overcome fear by practice. |
| C．They are forced to be fearless. | D．They just ignore fear. |
| A．break | B．improve | C．unfold | D．wet |
| A．Gu Ailing is on the way to success. | B．I admit it, I am in love with fear. |
| C．How Gu Ailing overcomes her fear. | D．All success comes from hard work. |
2 . Eileen Gu got into extreme sports because of an overprotective mother. The older Gu hated seeing her daughter rush down California’s Tahoe ski slopes (斜坡), so she enrolled the 8-year-old in a free-skiing school, not knowing exactly what it involved. However, she was confident that anything would be safer than racing. Little did she know that she would one day watch her child perform death-defying flips, spins and jumps instead. And she never thought her daughter could be one of the sport’s top stars, with golds at X Games.
“I’ve probably been an adrenaline (肾上腺素) addict from day one,” Eileen Gu said. In February, that adrenaline took her all the way to the Winter Olympics in Beijing. It’s where her mom was born and a place she visited regularly during childhood. These are Gu’s first Games. She is just 18 years old.
In China, she is nicknamed “Snow Princess”. She is also academically gifted, graduating from high school a year early despite her punishing training schedule, and scoring 1,580 on her SAT and getting accepted into Stanford for 2022.
It’s a rapid rise that she hopes will inspire others. A speech, which she made to her seventh-grade class, urged her peers to “show the boys that girls are just as powerful as they are”. Naturally, you don’t soar to such heights without getting hurt. After cracking a finger and tearing a ligament (韧带) in her thumb, she was expected to miss last year’s world championships in Aspen. Gu certainly walks the talk: She instead chose to compete without ski poles and took home two gold medals and a bronze.
“Honestly, I’m a little nervous about getting the poles back, because I’ve gotten used to skiing without them.” she said after the event.
1. What caused Eileen Gu to be interested in extreme sports at first?| A．Her special talent. | B．Her strong interest. |
| C．Her experienced coach. | D．Her overprotective mother. |
| A．Take her daughter to skiing classes. | B．Watch sports program with her daughter. |
| C．Give her daughter some skiing equipment. | D．Travel around the world with her daughter. |
| A．She has grown up in Beijing. | B．She has graduated from Stanford. |
| C．She has been to Beijing many times. | D．She has won gold medals in other Olympics. |
| A．Fashion. | B．Technology. | C．Environment. | D．Figure. |
3 . 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics presented the world fantastic events and bunches of brilliant athletes, among whom certain young athletes stood out and went viral among audience.
Yuzuru Hanyu
Aged just 19, Hanyu became the first Asian man to win an Olympic gold medal in Sochi, becoming the youngest men’s champion since 1948. Hanyu’s technique is outstanding, but he combines his ability with an astonishing creativity and artistry. Though the “ice prince” tumbled (摔倒) in his performance and thus failed the gold medal in Beijing 2022, he still makes a deserving figure skating icon.
Alexandra Trusova
Alexandra Trusova is a Russian figure skater who is the Beijing 2022 Olympic silver medalist (representing ROC). The 17-year-old is best known for her quadruple-jumping abilities. She was the first female to land each of the quad Lutz, flip and toe jumps in competition, and was also the first to land two- and then three-quads in a free skate.
Eileen Gu
Nicknamed “Snow Princess”, Gu initially represented the United States of America in competition, but she chose to compete for China, the birth land of her mother who is from Beijing. As a Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games gold medalist in big air, the 18-year-old girl is the first female Chinese freestyle skier to top the podium (领奖台).
Yiming Su
Born in 2004 in Jilin, Su is the first Chinese snowboarder to ever land on World Cup podium in either big air or slopestyle. He is also the first rider ever to land 1800s two ways in a FIS competition. This year he won China’s sixth gold medal in the Olympics.
Click here for more information about the above athletes.
1. Who is the youngest among the four athletes?| A．Yuzuru Hanyu. | B．Alexandra Trusova. | C．Eileen Gu. | D．Yiming Su. |
| A．They are skilled at big air events. | B．They have a big impact on skating. |
| C．They are pioneers in their own fields. | D．They won gold medals in the 2022 Olympics. |
| A．A sports website. | B．A game brochure. |
| C．A fashion magazine. | D．A sports star magazine. |
4 . This year, several young athletes have shone brightly at the Beijing Winter Olympics, giving us a glimpse of their generation’s nature.
Obviously, the young generation is filled with “brave warriors” who want to challenge impossibilities and push boundaries. Freestyle skier Gu Ailing is a good example. After she finished strong in the first two jumps in the women’s free-ski Big Air event, it was certain that she could get a medal. But instead of taking heed of it, the 18-year-old skier pushed herself to the limit. On the last jump, Gu decided to attempt a difficult trick: a left double cork 1620—four and a half rotations in the air—before landing. “I have never done the ‘left 16’ before. I hadn’t prepared much for it apart from two days on the air bag,” Gu told China Daily, “but I felt it was a chance.”
But for these young athletes, the sport is never just about scores, but also about having as much fun as possible.
Born in the US, Gu faced criticism and doubts for representing China in the Beijing Winter Olympics. When questioned by The Guardian, the girl said bluntly she wasn’t trying to make everyone happy. “I’m an 18-year-old girl out here living my best life. I’m having a great time.” Gu said. “It doesn’t really matter if other people are happy or not, because I feel I’ m doing my best and I’m enjoying the entire process.”
Gu’s good friend, Chinese snowboarder Su Yiming also shares a similar attitude. He takes sports as a way to have fun. After he was judged to have lost the gold to Canadian athlete Max Parrot in the men’s slopestyle final, the 17-year-old didn’t feel upset. Instead, he was happy to have the chance to compete with his idol.
“When I was on the podium hugging Max Parrot, it felt unreal,” Su told China Daily. “All I did today was enjoy the runs and concentrate on my tricks. As long as I am on my snowboard I am happy.”
1. The phrase “taking heed of it” underlined in paragraph 2 can be replaced by ______.| A．playing it safe | B．taking a risk |
| C．avoiding mistakes | D．taking part in it |
| A．She didn’t perform well. | B．She is a post-00. |
| C．She was an American. | D．She isn’t easy-going |
| A．Not mentioned. | B．Gu Ailing. | C．Su Yiming. | D．Max Parrot. |
| A．The young generation shares a similar attitude. |
| B．Young athletes show the nature of the young generation. |
| C．Young Chinese dare to push the limits but also enjoy their career. |
| D．Young athletes have shone brightly at the Beijing Winter Olympics. |
5 . Not every kid can be a professional athlete, but they can learn the great life lessons from the following storybooks about sports.
Soccer Star
Age:4-8
Young Paulo Marcelo Feliciano dreams of becoming a super soccer player, but his little sister, to whom he teaches soccer moves every day, shines after a key player’s injury. Soccer Star teaches acceptance and celebrates Brazil’s diverse culture and the hope of the poor for a better future.
Tillie the Terrible Swede
Age:5-8
Tillie Anderson tore up her fancy lady’s dress and sewed herself a cycling outfit that had both good form and function. The tight-fitting get up allowed her to become a world champion racer when most women were admired for their graceful dancing, and proved long before Lance Armstrong that you didn’t need to be male to rule the cycling world.
Jim Thorpe’s Bright Path
Age:6-9
Jim Thorpe was a native American who overcame discrimination to become one of America’s best athletes winning gold medals at the 1912 Olympics. He was also all-American and professional football player, and played professional baseball and basketball. So, he deserves to be your kid’s first sport hero.
America’s Champion Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle
Age:4-7
Not only did Trudy Ederle win 3 Olympic medals at age 17, she was also the first woman to swim across the 20-mile English Channel. And she did it in world-record time, challenging 1920s conventions that expected women to stay at home. The next time your kid says that some classmates of theirs shouldn’t be allowed on their team, tell them to talk to Trudy.
1. Which book is related to Brazilian culture?| A．Soccer Star. |
| B．Tillie the Terrible Swede. |
| C．Jim Thorpe’s Bright Path. |
| D．America’s Champion Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle. |
| A．The sister of a super player. |
| B．The life of an American dancer. |
| C．The swimmer’s challenging experiences， |
| D．The story of a woman cyclist’s struggle. |
| A．They are aimed to help the poor. |
| B．They are about Olympic champions. |
| C．They are about world-record players. |
| D．They are intended for children under ten. |
6 . After watching the 2002 Winter Olympic Games on TV at 3 years old, Little Nathan Chen became interested in winter sports. Nathan wanted to play ice hockey (冰上曲棍球)，but his mom advised him to try figure skating(花样滑冰)first which she said was safer. After practicing a few times, Nathan fell in love with it.
Today, Nathan is influenced by all the athletes he meets. From the difficulties the athletes have faced and how they dealt with them, Nathan learns to work on dealing with his own difficulties as well. He describes all the athletes he trains with as role models for himself.
Nathan won gold at the 2017 ISU Grand Prix Final and 2017 Four Continents Championships, and silver at the 2016 ISU Grand Prix Final. Nathan has also broken a record, becoming the youngest man to win a medal at the 2017 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
However, this journey has not come without hard times. Nathan suffered a bad injury during the 2016 season and it took him quite a long time to be able to compete again. At the beginning of the 2018 Olympics, Nathan was expected to win gold but got 5th place in the end. Nathan later described the race as “just me being on the ice and enjoying myself”, free from all the pressures. What matters the most isn’t the results, but the great memories you get from the experience and the joy of being able to do something you love.
This fall, Nathan will be attending Yale University and work on managing his time as a student and athlete. Aside from figure skating, Nathan would like to learn how to box. Besides, he plans to learn biology and later become a doctor.
1. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Ice hockey. | B．Safe practice. |
| C．Figure skating. | D．The 2002 Winter Olympics. |
| A．He was seriously injured. |
| B．He was accepted by Yale University. |
| C．He won gold at the ISU Grand Prix Final. |
| D．He won silver at the Four Cintinents Championship. |
| A．He felt very sad about the failure. |
| B．He felt the need to become better. |
| C．He couldn’t believe what had happened. |
| D．He didn’t care too much about the results. |
| A．Do boxing. | B．Play ice hockey. |
| C．Be a doctor. | D．Continue figure skating. |
