1 . Born in Russia and living in an orphanage (孤儿院) for the first 13 months of her life, Jessica Long had no idea what her future would hold. The little girl born with Fibular Hemimelia would not only go on to be a 13-time gold medal-winning Paralympic champion, but she would inspire others to chase their dreams.
Long was born in Russia, where she lived in an orphanage until her parents adopted her in 1993. Soon after being adopted, she had to have her legs amputated (截肢) at only a year and a half. “It gave me a lot of freedom and movement,” Long said. “But growing up was definitely really hard. From a very early age, I just decided that I was going to be unstoppable and I wasn’t going to let my legs hold me back.” From that point forward, she didn’t let anyone tell her what she was or wasn’t capable of doing. She started doing gymnastics as a kid. Then, in 2002, Long found her sport for life: swimming!
“I was the only girl with no legs on the swim team, ” she said. “There were moments I struggled, but my teammates treated me like a friend. When I look back on my life and I think about anyone on that team, no one made fun of me for having no legs and they were so kind.” Long defied (顶住) all odds and surprised everyone when she qualified at age only 12 for the Paralympics in 2004 in Athens. After four Paralympics, Long has won 13 gold, six silver, and four bronze medals. She has dozens of World Championship medals and has broken numerous world records throughout her career so far. But she didn’t concentrate on winning awards or being famous. “I really just love swimming. It’s important for any athlete to remember just why you started,” she said.
As one of the most decorated athletes in history, Long’s goal is to just keep competing as long as her body allows. “Dream big,” she said. “There are so many possibilities out there, so find your passion, be consistent and work hard. You define your own success.”
1. How old was Long when she found her life sport?| A．11 | B．10. | C．12. | D．13. |
| A．Her experience of winning 13 gold medals. |
| B．Her parents’ support and teachers’ help. |
| C．Her teammates’ understanding and kindness. |
| D．Her focus on winning awards and fame. |
| A．A poor orphanage and her close friends. |
| B．A happy girl and her confusing childhood. |
| C．An amazing illness and its terrible influence. |
| D．An inspiring story about an unlucky person. |
| A．If you can dream it, you can make it. |
| B．If you want to succeed, learn to swim. |
| C．A man never reaches success until disabled. |
| D．A sportsman’s goal is winning gold medals. |
2 . 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. |
3 . Simone Biles was born in 1997. Soon, her parents found that she couldn’t sit still. When she was 6 years old, her day-care group went on a field trip to a gym. Simone loved watching the gymnasts train and performances. She couldn’t just watch them, though—she had to try their moves. She was so good that one of the coaches sent a letter home with her, inviting Simone to take gymnastics classes.
Simone loved the classes, and she was excellent at climbing, swinging, jumping, and tumbling (翻筋斗). Though she had a lot to learn, the coaches could hardly keep up with Simone. When one girl performed a standing back tuck (翻折), Simone was sure she could do one too. Her coach didn’t believe her, so Simone tried the trick and made it on the spot.
At 9, Simone learned why she couldn’t sit still: She had ADHD( 多动症). Her brain moved fast and her body did too — which made it hard for her to concentrate in school but which also made her an amazing gymnast. “The challenges we face help define who we are,” Simone wrote. “My challenge is also my superpower.” Simone’s superpower would help make her one of the most dynamic gymnasts ever seen.
Simone is one of the greatest athletes in history. At age 16, she won two gold medals at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships(AGWC), including the all-around (the total score from competing in all events). She has now won 25 world medals, 19 of them gold. That’s the most in world gymnastics history.
Simone competed in her first Olympics in 2016. She was the first female U.S. gymnast to win four gold medals in an Olympic Games. Since then, Simone has debuted (首次呈现) some moves never successfully done in world competitions, including a double-double dismount (下马) from the balance beam.The move became known as the Biles. Several signature moves have been named after Simone.
1. Who found Simone Biles’ gymnastics talent?| A．Her parents. | B．A tour guide. |
| C．A gymnastics coach. | D．Her kindergarten teacher. |
| A．A disease. | B．An accident. |
| C．A superpower. | D．A family tradition. |
| A．She has now won 25 world gold medals. |
| B．Some competitions are named after Simone. |
| C．She won two gold medals at AGWC in 2013. |
| D．She competed in her first Olympics at 21. |
| A．She made those moves well-known worldwide. |
| B．She has won the most World Championship medals. |
| C．She created and owned the gymnastics skills by herself. |
| D．She used the actions for the first time internationally. |
4 . 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. |
5 . On February 13, 2023, Wu Yibing made history, beating John Isner in a thrilling three-set final at the Dallas Open to become the first man from China to win an ATP title（ATP巡回赛冠军）.
Brought to a tennis court for the first time at just five, initially encouraged by his parents as an exercise to lose weight, Wu soon had his talent discovered by his provincial junior team, kicking off a journey that would change the fate of men's tennis in China. In 2017,Wu Yibing shot to prominence after winning the US Open boys’ tournament at 18 to become the first Chinese to win a major junior title, raising high hopes for the “Wonder Boy” to change the fortune of Chinese men in a sport long dominated by women's success on the professional stage.
In 2018, Wu won his first ATP Challenger title in Shanghai. However, the highly competitive nature of men’s professional tennis hit the rising Wu with a tough reminder after multiple injuries-to his elbow, lower back, shoulder and wrist-forced him to be away from the ATP Tour for close to three years.
He made his return last year and won three ATP Challenger titles before qualifying for the US Open. “Looking back, I feel like I wouldn't have been here if not for the ups and downs over the past few years. I take all the setbacks and struggles as a lesson that helps me mature mentally now,” said Wu. “Of course there were a lot of doubts because I had surgery and the recovery wasn’t going well. The championship today was a payoff for all the hard work and everyone who’s supported me along the way.”
1. What do the underlined words “shot to prominence” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Lost weight. |
| B．Came back to the top. |
| C．Became famous instantly. |
| D．Dropped out of the competition. |
| A．He wanted to change his career. |
| B．He suffered from serious physical injuries. |
| C．He didn’t stand out in training for the match. |
| D．He couldn't handle the pressure of the ATP Tour. |
| A．No sweat, no sweet. |
| B．Time waits for no man. |
| C．Well begun is half done. |
| D．Strike while the iron is hot. |
| A．The significance of ATP title. |
| B．The development of Chinese tennis. |
| C．The power of difficulty for athletes. |
| D．The first Chinese male champion of ATP. |
6 . Figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu, who won men’s singles Olympic gold medals in 2014 and 2018, said Tuesday he was retiring from competition.
He won the men’s singles gold at the Sochi Games in 2014 and again at the Pyeongchang Games in South Korea in 2018, becoming the first men’s skater to achieve consecutive (连续不断的) golds in the category since Dick Button in 1948 and 1952. At this year’s Winter Games in Beijing, he attempted to become the first man to complete a quadruple axel-4 rotations (旋转) in the air at the Olympics, a jump that he had previously come close to achieving in Japan. In Beijing, he came just short of completing the required rotations for the quadruple axel and fell on his rear, but he expressed satisfaction with his effort afterward and hinted he was ready to retire.
“In terms of how it feels for me, I don’t imagine it being all that different.” he said. “Of course, I feel strongly that I’d like to achieve success with the quadruple axel.”
Beyond his jumping ability, Hanyu’s gift for the dramatics and his gentle appearance made him popular among admirers. Some said he looked as if he had danced off the pages of a Japanese cartoon. They would throw Winnie the Pooh stuffed bears—reportedly his favorite cartoon character—on the ice after his performances. In China, crowds gathered outside the Beijing venue to express devotion to their favorite, and one Chinese follower on social media called Hanyu “the most beautiful icy fairy in my heart”.
In recent years, Hanyu has been suffering from injuries. He said he had constantly thought about retiring from competition since the 2018 Winter Games. “If we’re talking about when I considered turning professional. I was thinking about that at every single competition,” Hanyu said. He said he made the final decision after the Beijing Games as he was recovering from his ankle injury.
1. What can we know from Hanyu’s many experiences?| A．He won the first Olympic gold medal of skiing in 2014. |
| B．He is the first men’s skater to win two golds continuously. |
| C．He is the first to perform the quadruple axel successfully. |
| D．He first indicated his retirement in Beijing. |
| A．Because of his favourite stuffed bear. |
| B．Because of the Japanese cartoon pages. |
| C．Because of his popularity on social media. |
| D．Because of his looking and performance. |
| A．Unexpected. |
| B．Long-awaited. |
| C．Encouraging. |
| D．Thrilling. |
| A．Ice Prince Yuzuru Hanyu Retires from Competition |
| B．Figure Skater Yuzuru Hanyu, Satisfied with Victory |
| C．Being Injured, the Ice Prince Sticks to His Dream |
| D．The Consecutive Golds Winner Has Made His Glory |
7 . Lauren Price has come a long way from a taxi driver to an Olympic champion. She pursued her Olympic dream all the way to winning the middleweight gold medal at the Tokyo Games.
“When I look back now, I have to pinch (掐) myself at times, because I still think it’s mad that I won the Olympics,” Price told the media.
Raised by her grandparents, she was always encouraged to play sports. “They’ve always backed me. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have achieved anything,” Price said. Her grandma used to say to her, “Reach for the moon and if you fall short, you’ll land on the stars.”
She began with football. But Price was also a high standard kickboxer and was then talent-scouted by a taekwondo coach before she switched to boxing.
“For me the big turning point was as a child being inspired by Kelly Holmes. I remember watching her on TV and I was like, “Oh My God, I want to go to the Olympics,” Price recalled. “I had that dream over the years. I just worked hard. I believe if you put the effort in, you’ll get to where you want to be.”
When Price was breaking into the Welsh boxing team, funding was extremely limited. So she worked as a driver fora taxi company when she was still a teenager. “I was training Monday to Thursday and then I was taxi driving Friday and Saturday nights. I’d start work at five pm and I’d finish at four in the morning, picking up all the drunken passengers,” she remembered. That was a different kind of education. “It’s quite funny now when I look back,” Price smiled.
Ultimately, she excelled as a boxer. Price won every major gold medal going, despite the difficulties of competing against bigger opponents outside of her weight class.
1. Which event did Price compete in at the Tokyo Olympics?| A．Football. | B．Kickboxing. | C．Taekwondo. | D．Boxing. |
| A．Her grandmother. | B．An athlete. | C．A coach. | D．A passenger. |
| A．Determination. | B．Luck. | C．Education. | D．Talent. |
| A．Entertainment. | B．Opinion. | C．Sports. | D．Destinations. |
8 . Eric Moussambani is the first swimmer from Equatorial Guinea to compete in the Olympics. He found his passion for swimming shortly after high school. At the time, he didn’t know how to swim, but he knew it was a sport he wanted to pursue.
Unfortunately, there were no standard swimming pools in his country. Eventually, he found a hotel pool where he could only swim three hours a week. When he couldn’t use the pool, he trained in rivers and the sea, with the local fishermen guiding him on how to use his legs and arms.
After about eight months of swimming, Eric gained entry into the 2000 Summer Olympics through a program designed to encourage sports development in developing countries.
In Sydney, Eric saw an Olympic-size swimming pool for the first time. It was so big that Eric said he was so frightened to compete in it. In preparing for his event, Eric trained at the same time as the US team and took the opportunity to study their techniques closely. A South African coach gave him a pair of competition trunks (泳裤) and some goggles (护目镜), which were what he needed badly.
On September 19, 2000, Eric stepped out for the men’s 100m freestyle competition. With his two fellow competitors stopped from taking part for making false starts, Eric suddenly found himself racing on his own. “I swam the first 50m really well,” said Eric after the competition. “I focused all my energy on telling myself to keep going.” After turning for the second length, however, Eric began to pay for spending so much energy on the first. As his legs stiffened (变僵硬), he felt he was going nowhere. “It was then that I heard the crowd shouting, encouraging me to ‘Go, go, go’. It gave me the strength to make it to the end.”
Eric finished the race with a time of 1:52.72, the slowest recorded time in Olympic history. But the audience did not care. They cheered him as if he had broken the world record. To this day, Eric is still an Olympic hero.
1. What is true about Eric before he participated in the Sydney Olympics?| A．He had nobody to teach him how to swim. |
| B．He had never trained in a standard swimming pool. |
| C．He developed his love for swimming from his childhood. |
| D．He entered the Olympics by beating all the other competitors. |
| A．Eric had made full preparations for his event. |
| B．The US team offered to teach Eric some techniques. |
| C．Eric was eager to compete in the Olympic swimming pool. |
| D．Eric didn’t even have proper equipment for the competition. |
| A．Inspiring. | B．Competitive. | C．Successful. | D．Meaningless. |
| A．His outstanding talent for swimming. |
| B．His strong willpower to reach his goal. |
| C．His record-breaking performance at the Olympics. |
| D．His great achievements in the world’s sports development. |
9 . George Headley would have been a dentist in the USA rather than one of the greatest cricketers (板球运动员) if he had got his papers from Panama on time. The Indian legend was born in Colón, Panama and a period of unemployment in Jamaica caused him to begin the process of seeking a career elsewhere.
The delay, however, gave Headley time to make his first-class debut (首次亮相) for Jamaica against the visiting Lord Tennyson’s XI from England. These were his scores in the three first-class games in the series: 16, 40, and 71. The rest, as they say, is history. Yet, consider what might have occurred if his documents had arrived on time and he had migrated to America. There would have been a missing chapter in cricket.
Headley’s ta le brings to the fore the role that happenstance (偶然情况) plays in life. In the song A Different Comer, George Michael lamented (哀叹) that a romantic union went wrong and suggested that it might have been better if circumstances had worked to prevent their first meeting: “Take me back in time; maybe I can forget. Turn a different corner and we never would have met.”
Our lives are the result of much planning and deliberate action. But they are the result of chance as well. “The harder I practice, the luckier I get” is a quote normally used by sportsmen to discount the occurrence or consequence of luck. Athletes like to think that whatever success they’ve had is only down to them. To admit otherwise is to devalue the skills and efforts.
The changes in luck are a large part of why we watch sports. It fosters uncertainty, which, in turn. enhances interest in the process and the result. On any given day, the underdog can be at the champion. Whenever that occurs, luck is likely to have played some significant part, and sport is better for it.
1. What decision did George Headley make before getting his papers?| A．To complete his official documents in Panama. | B．To sharpen his cricket skills in Jamaica. |
| C．To get a degree in medicine in the USA. | D．To work as a dentist in the USA. |
| A．It affected his debut performance. | B．It became a turning point in his life. |
| C．It benefited the England cricket team. | D．It led to a missing chapter in cricket. |
| A．To stress the importance of chance. |
| B．To explain the necessity of planning ahead. |
| C．To show the significance of the first impressions. |
| D．To illustrate a love-hate relationship with friends. |
| A．Practice makes perfect. | B．Little people can make a big difference. |
| C．Efforts and chances are equally important. | D．Nothing is impossible to a willing heart. |
10 . Team China’s teenage freeski superstar Gu Ailing had halfpipe gold wrapped up by her second run at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou. “I’ve never taken a victory lap before in my entire life, but this time I felt like I finally deserve it,” Gu told reporters after becoming the first athlete to win Olympic medals in all three freeski events. Her big victory at the 2021 X Games in Aspen, Colorado, where she won Big Air, halfpipe and slopestyle golds, increased the expectation level for her Olympic performance in Beijing.
Born in California to a Chinese mother, Gu began competing for China when she was 15 in 2019, stating her aim to inspire millions of young people during the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and promote the sport she loves. Since then, the outstanding part-time model and grade-A student has been busy gaining records, titles and firsts. All the while her superstar status has snowballed, as evidenced by her millions of followers on social media.
The 18-year-old also clearly feels she has achieved much away from the sporting arena at Beijing 2022 and she has become the inspiration for many. “After reading hundreds of messages that I get every day from young girls saying that they go sking because of me and they want to keep going or they, you know, broke their boundaries in some other way and felt inspired by something that I said, I feel all those little things are immensely rewarding.”
When asked about her future plan, she had no idea whether she would continue to compete in freestyle skiing. “I’m going to do whatever feels right, and hopefully I’ll be able to create some kind of positive change out of any position that I'm in,” said Gu.
1. Gu was the first athlete to________.| A．take a victory lap in the Olympics | B．gain three golds at the 2021 X Games |
| C．win three golds in the Olympic events | D．get Olympic medals in three freeski events |
| A．She was born in China. | B．She did well in different fields. |
| C．Her superstar status badly affected her life. | D．Her aim was to promote the Winter Olympics. |
| A．Gu has broken her boundaries. | B．Gu has achieved a lot in sking. |
| C．Gu has inspired many young girls. | D．Gu has become famous worldwide. |
| A．Do Whatever You Feel Right | B．Skiing Changes People’s Lives |
| C．Gu, an Inspiring Olympic History Maker | D．Skiing, the Highlight of the Winter Olympics |
