1 . Fiona Kolbinger, a 24-year-old cancer researcher From Germany with little experience in competitive cycling, took the world by surprise when she became the first female to win the Transcontinental Race this year. She surpassed 225 men and 39 women to finish about 2,485 miles’ race from Bulgaria to France in 10 days, two hours, and 48 minutes.
“When I was coming into the race, I never thought I could win the whole race,” Kolbinger said. While the cyclist’s unexpected victory shocked people worldwide, she’s unimpressed. Despite resting an average(平均) of just four hours a night throughout the ten-day period, Kolbinger says, “I think I could have gone harder. I could have slept less.”
Now in its seventh year, the Transcontinental Race was founded by the late British ultra-cyclist Mike Hall. The race requires not only racers’ biking skills and endurance(耐力), but also their route planning and time management skills. “Riders plan, research and lead their own course and choose when, where and if to rest,” the Transcontinental Race’s website explains. “They’ll take only what they can carry and eat only what they can find.”
Unlike other cycling competitions where the routes are carefully laid out, the Transcontinental Race requires riders to make a map of their own course. The only requirement is to check in at four stops, located at different points along the way. To make sure all competitors experience some of the same challenges, each checkpoint is followed by strict terrain(地形).
The event’s difficulty has meant previous winners have all been experienced ultra-cyclists. Given that this was Kolbinger’s first try at endurance racing, her victory shocked many. However, it didn’t surprise Björn Lenhard, who trained with her for the race in Dresden, Germany. The ultra-cyclist said, “Fiona is so strong. What’s more, she’s a complete rider. Yes, you need to be strong, but in this race, you have to be able to think, to plan, to fix your bike if you have to.”
1. What does the underlined word “surpass” in the first paragraph mean?| A．Treated. | B．Encouraged. |
| C．Helped. | D．Beat. |
| A．They have to be experienced. |
| B．They have to be smart enough. |
| C．They have to be self-supporting. |
| D．They have to ride along the given roads. |
| A．It requires cyclists to go through at least four terrains. |
| B．It requires cyclists to plan courses alone. |
| C．It is much fairer than other races. |
| D．It needs to be carefully laid out. |
| A．It is expected. | B．It is encouraging. |
| C．It is shocking. | D．It is rewarding |
“No 7, Jobie Nymble, takes the lead,” cried the announcer. “Just one more hurdle (跨栏) and ...” Cheers broke out. “Jobie Nymble from Riverside Middle School takes first place in the girls’ 100-meter hurdles!” The crowd went wild.
“County championships (锦标赛), here we come,” screamed Jobie, patting her green track spikes (钉鞋). They were her lucky shoes and she loved them. “Next Saturday, we’re taking home the gold,” Jobie whispered to her spikes, excitedly retying them.
“Don’t forget, guys,” said Marisol, one of her teammates. “My birthday party is next Friday at Hidden Park.”
Next weekend couldn’t come soon enough. Jobie smiled with excitement all week long. At track practice, she leaped over those hurdles faster than she’d ever leaped before. And it wasn’t long before everything in her path was a hurdle: flowerpots in her front yard, sidewalk cracks on the way to the bus stop and even her little sister, Teka!
The day of Marisol’s party, Jobie put on her favorite outfit: her blue shorts, an old track T-shirt from her dad, and her lucky spikes. “Perfect.” She smiled at herself in the mirror.
The party was under way when Jobie arrived at Hidden Park. She stopped by the track first, planning to do some practice.
“Jobie!” Two of Jobie’s teammates rushed toward her, breathless and barefoot. “Come on,” they yelled. “You have to try the slide.”
Jobie looked toward the party area. Suddenly, she saw it. The biggest slide she had ever seen was on the far side of the park. Smiling kids zoomed down the slide at unspeakable speeds. Without thinking twice, Jobie took off her spikes and dashed (猛冲) toward the slide. Its ladder stretched to the sky, but she reached the top in no time, closed her eyes and let go.
Jobie couldn’t get enough. She tried again and again. When it was finally time to go home, she unwillingly made her way back to the track where she’d left her shoes.
续写部分：
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语以为你写好；
Paragraph 1：
As she eyed the area from a distance, panic set in.
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Paragraph 2：
The next day, Jobie turned up in a new pair of spikes for the championships.
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