Question

    When young, I loved going on trail（小路） runs. It was my favorite way to escape stress. So, when I was back in my hometown after a tough first year of my Ph. D. program, I thought a trail run was just what I needed. But instead of helping me relax, the run did just the opposite.

After I moved to the city for college, where my runs were on flat concrete paths instead of winding dirt trails, I used a GPS watch. When I went on trail runs again in the country, it constantly reminded me of the fact that I wasn’t keeping up with my usual pace. I turned my watch off, thinking that would allow me to enjoy my surroundings and find the peace I expected, but I worried I was underperforming. “Why can’ t I let go and just enjoy myself?” I wondered. But after some introspection（反省）, I realized why I was struggling—both on trail runs and in graduate school.

Going into my Ph. D. , I had thought that my solid undergraduate track record would set me up for instant success. To my surprise, I was wrong. I lacked confidence in my research abilities which I thought stopped me performing well and I constantly felt my progress was too slow. Other students’ self-confidence and their excellent results made me feel insecure. Finally, one day I broke down in tears in my adviser’ s office.

Then came my visit home: I was having trouble because I hadn’ t properly adjusted my expectations to the differences between an urban run and a trail run.

A Ph. D. is like a trail run: Sometimes you can run fast. Sometimes you might find yourself climbing up a steep, winding trail at a snail’ s pace. And that’ s OK. Barriers are unavoidable, and success looks and feels different on a challenging trail than it does on a smooth, flat path. Sometimes it’ s best to take a deep breath and do your best to meet the challenge.

1.How did the author feel when he was on trail runs again?

A.Relaxed. B.Tired.

C.Anxious. D.Happy.

2.What resulted in the author’ s poor performance in Ph. D

A.His lack of confidence. B.His lack of hard work.

C.His poor research abilities. D.His poor track record.

3.What does the author want to show in the last paragraph?

A.His desire for success. B.His confidence of trail runs.

C.His expectations in his study. D.His realization after the trail run.

4.What does the author want to tell us?

A.Failure is the mother of success.

B.Working out regularly is beneficial.

C.It’ s important to make necessary adjustments.

D.It’ s vital to turn to others for help.

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.D

4.C

【解析】

本文是一篇记叙文。主要讲述了作者在城市水泥路上和在乡村小路上跑步时的不同感受，反省了自己在博士课程方面不如意的原因，告诉读者要学会根据情况来调整自己的预期，去收获成功与满足。

1.推理判断题。根据第二段的“but I worried I was underperforming”可知，跑步没能让作者放松，相反却感到焦虑，故选C。

2.细节理解题。根据第三段中的“I lacked confidence in my research abilities which I thought stopped me performing well and I constantly felt my progress was too slow.”可知，作者在学业方面差是由于自己对自己的研究能力缺乏自信，故选A。

3.推理判断题。上文中作者对比了在城市水泥路上跑步和在乡村小路上跑步的不同，因此在文章末段作者表达了自己在经历这件事后的领悟，故选D。

4.推理判断题。作者在文章中主要通过自己跑步时不同感受的对比，反省了自己在博士课程方面不如意的原因， 告诉读者要学会根据不同的情况来调整自己的预期，故选C。