Dentler was born in Mumbai, India in l978 and suffered from polio (小儿麻痹症) at six months. At age three and a half, she was adopted by a couple in the US. She says, “I spent the first few years in America just going through a number of operations to basically straighten me out so I could then be fitted for leg braces (支架) and walking stick.”
“In the early years, it was just me trying to be like my siblings (兄弟姐妹),” she says. “I didn’t want to take the disabled bus to school. I wanted to be able to take the bus with my sister. And so I had to learn how to go up the stairs.”
Later, when she was in her late 20s in New York City, a friend introduced her to a running club for athletes with disabilities where she learned how to use a handcycle: Push a three-wheeled low-to-the-ground bike using only her upper body (上肢).
Within seven months, she learned to swim and to compete using a racing wheelchair. When Dentler finished the triathlon (铁人三项赛), she was motivated to go farther. She soon took up half-Ironman distance triathlons, a distance of nearly 70 miles. And she kept meeting people, mostly able-bodied, with extraordinary athletic ambitions, which led her to attempt her first Ironman in Hawaii. Thar’s a distance of 140.6 miles.
“At the time, no female wheelchair athlete had ever made the time by the deadline to finish that race,” Dentler says. She missed the finish line on her first try. But a year later, she made it and finished the race in 14 hours, 39 minutes the first female wheelchair athlete to complete the Ironman World Championship. She covered all those miles in water and on land, pushed entirely by her arms and upper body. She says, “I think it’s important to stay physically active.
Now, she’s a mom. Dentler volunteered at the school to help kids learn to read, “The kids were very curious. They asked me a ton of questions and it was actually pretty fun to answer them. And the kids’ eyes would get really big when they heard that I could do all of these things.”
4. What effect did Dentler’s disease have on her?
A.She needed extra support to walk |
B.She was abandoned by her own parents |
C.She received many operations to walk easily. |
D.She was accompanied to school by his siblings. |
5. How does the author show it was hard for Dentler to finish the race?
A.By listing several numbers. |
B.By interviewing other players. |
C.By introducing her early hard life. |
D.By providing her family background |
6. Which of the following can best describe Dentler?
A.Reliable but serious. | B.Adventurous but proud. |
C.Confident and humorous. | D.Determined and energetic. |
7. What can we learn from Dentler’s story?
A.Curiosity pays off | B.Education matters much. |
C.Impossible is nothing | D.Ambition makes the champion. |