Question

While watching the Olympics the other night, I came across an unbelievable sight. It was not a gold medal, or a world record broken, but a show of courage.

The event was swimming and started with only three men on the blocks. For one reason or another, two of them false started, so they were disqualified. That left only one to complete. It would have been difficult enough, not having anyone to race against, even though the time on the clock is important.

I watched the man dive off the block and knew right away that something was wrong. I'm not an expert swimmer, but I can tell a good dive from a poor one, and this was not exactly medal quality. When he resurfaced, it was evident that the man was not out for gold — his arms were waving in an attempt at freestyle. The crowd started to laugh. Clearly this man was not a medal competitor.

I listened to the crowd begin to laugh at this poor man who was clearly having a hard time. Finally he made his turn to start back. It was pitiful. He made a few desperate strokes and you could tell he was worn out.

But in those few awful strokes, the crowd had changed.

No longer were they laughing, but beginning to cheer. Some even began to stand and shout "Come on, you can do it! " and he did.

A clear minute past the average swimmer, this young man finally finished his race. The crowd went wild. You would have thought that he had won the gold, and he should have. Even though he recorded one of the slowest times in Olympic history, this man gave more heart than any of the other competitors.

Just a short year ago, he had never even swum, let alone race. His country had been invited to Sydney.

In a competition where athletes remove their silver medals feeling they have somehow been cheated out of gold, or when they act so proudly in front of their competitors, it is nice to watch an underdog.

1.From the passage we can learn that the young man         .

A．made his turn to start back pitifully

B．was skillful in freestyle in the game

C．swam faster than the average swimmer

D．was not capable enough to win the medal

2.The crowd changed their attitudes because ________.

A．they felt sorry for the young man

B．they were moved by the young man

C．they wanted to show their sympathy

D．they meant to please the young man

3.According to the passage, "it is nice to watch an underdog" probably means _______.

A．it’s amusing to watch a man with awful swimming skills

B．it’s amazing to watch an ordinary man challenging himself

C．it’s cheerful for athletes to act proudly before their competitors

D．it’s brave enough for some athletes to remove the silver medals

4.What’s the best title for the passage?

A．Compete for Gold!                      B．Try again!

C．Break a Record!                        D．Go for it!

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.B

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：本文叙述了作者在观看奥运会的一天晚上，作者遇到了一个令人难以置信的一幕。这不是金牌，或破一项世界纪录，而是勇气表演。这项活动是游泳比赛，由于一些队员作弊故意在开始时犯错误，被取消比赛资格。观众对此意见很大，后来看见一个游泳特别慢的参赛队员，在努力地向前冲，观众被这个年轻人感动了，因此改变了他们的嘲笑态度，转而为他喝彩。

1.推理判断题。依据第四段可知the young man并非往回游很痛苦，而是整个过程都很痛苦；B项叙述错误，依据When he resurfaced, it was evident that the man was not out for gold — his arms were waving in an attempt at freestyle．可知，他的游姿不对，并非擅长自由泳；C项：由第七段可知，他比别人慢得多。依第三段this was not exactly medal quality可知D项正确。这个人实力不够拿金牌，他的速度比平均水平还慢一分多钟。故选D。

2.细节理解题。由文章的叙述可知，观众被这个年轻人感动了，因此改变了他们的嘲笑态度，转而为他喝彩。故选B。

3.细节理解题。某些运动员认为被骗取了金牌，因而在对手面前很自豪地摘掉银牌（以示不满），与这种现象相比，这个年轻人挑战自己的勇气是多么令人惊叹啊！underdog的本意是 “输家” 这里指一个没有实力的人挑战自我，故选B。

4.标题归纳题。本文讲述的例子旨在证明人应该努力挑战自己，全力以赴，并非是努力获得金牌，也非再试一次，更不是破纪录。“Go for it!”表全力以赴之意，符合本文的思想。故选D。

考点：故事类短文阅读。