1 . Michael stands in a circle with the other boys. At the center of it is Coach Dave, a former college wrestler, now wrestling coach. “I honestly believe each kid can win every match,” Coach Dave says. “And I tell them that.”

The mental strength gained from a coach is as important as physical strength. And Michael soaked it up. As a freshman, Michael lost half of his matches, but the next year the practice began to pay off, “It finally just clicks,” Michael says. “You walk onto the mat, and you know you’re going to win. When Coach Dave tells you how you are going to beat an opponent, you just go out and do it.”

At a tournament in Reno, Michael was ranked nationally and faced a wrestler from the Midwest ranked a few spots above him. In the final seconds of the match, ahead by one point, Michael clung to the lead while his opponent clung to his ankle, trying to get a takedown. Michael was hopping his way out of the circle to gain a restart. It’s the easy way out, like a boxer ducking out of the ring to get a breather and preserve a lead.With his back to his opponent, he took one more step. The opponent grabbed the other ankle, and Michael went down, Two points. Match over.

After the match, Dave asked one question, “Are you going to run away from challenges in life or turn and face them?” Michael knew exactly what he’d done wrong-and that it could become a lifelong flaw if he didn’t correct it. All he had to do was turn into his opponent and counterattack. “You’ll beat him next time,” Coach Dave said.

Eventually Michael won the tournament and won a lot of matches that year, but the encouragement from Dave is where he learned the most. “When someone believes in you like that, you know you can do it,” Michael says, “I often hear Coach Dave when I’m in tough situations. ‘No excuses, just do it.’ That encouragement has been my guide.”

1. What does the underlined part “soaked it up” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Got a chance.	B．Fully understood it.
C．Ate it up.	D．Built it up.

2. What happened to Michael in the tournament in Reno?

A．He escaped from the match.	B．He lost the match.
C．He beat his opponent.	D．He gave up the match.

3. What did Michael learn from his coach?

A．Believing in yourself.	B．Correcting your mistakes.
C．Accepting your weaknesses.	D．Taking risks and fall.

4. Which of the following best describes Dave as a coach?

A．Caring.

B．Humorous.

C．Inspiring.

D．Generous.