The Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon, an endurance race of 875 km, was considered the toughest in the world. It used to be a five-day race, with only the world-class athletes daring to attempt it. Most athletes who took part in this ultramarathon were under 30 years of age.
Cliff was a farmer from Australia with a dream of running a race. When he attended the race, he was 61 years old. He had no specialized sportswear. Instead, he wore galoshes overalls. When he appeared at the venue, the onlookers thought he was probably a spectator. To their surprise, Cliff picked up a race number.
Having grown up on a farm, Cliff had to go out to round up the sheep every time there was a storm, because his family could not afford horses or tractors. Two thousand sheep scattered across two thousand acres of land—it took him as long as three days of chasing the animals, but he always succeeded.
The race began, and the strong and young racers started leaving Cliff behind. The racers had a strategy. They would be running hours each for the five days of the race, and sleep for the remaining 6 hours. Nonetheless, Cliff had no such strategy! Being an amateur athlete, he was not familiar with any such game plan. So, he just ran on and on, and the next morning, when the other athletes woke up, they found that the old man had caught up with the others by jogging all night. By the final night of the race, he had surpassed the other competitors and became the champion.
The next time Cliff’ caught attention again when he was 76. He took up the challenge of running along Australia’s border, across a distance of 16,000 km with the aim of raising money for homeless children. Unfortunately, his crew member fell ill, and Cliff had to withdraw from the race, after running for 6520 km.
Cliff, a simple farmer, created a one-of-a-kind history. Instead of withering away, he started his new life, and showed the world that it’s never too late to start following the heart and pursuing dreams.
4. What’s the function of ‘under 30 years of age’?
| A．To classify the group of the race. |
| B．To introduce the level of the race. |
| C．To emphasize the toughness of the race. |
| D．To demonstrate the popular age of the race. |
5. What can we know about Cliff?
| A．He had life experience. |
| B．He used an advanced sportswear. |
| C．He trained hard at times. |
| D．He adopted a well-designed strategy. |
6. Which of the following best describes Cliff?
| A．Intelligent and generous. | B．Ambitious and optimistic. |
| C．Persevering and sympathetic. | D．Determined and insightful. |
7. Which of the following can be the best title of the text?
| A．Cliff, the winner of many running races. |
| B．Cliff, a simple Melbourne ultramarathon runner. |
| C．Cliff, a kind charitarian keen on raising money. |
| D．Cliff, a senior farmer running after his dream. |
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