第十八讲 长难句理解
(1)(8 min.)
(原创)Jennifer Bricker's life had a difficult start. Born without legs, her parents gave her up for adoption because they couldn't afford her medical care. But Jennifer's adoptive family made sure her disability was never a factor in her life. “Can't is a fourletter word we don't use in this house, ” her mother always told her. At six years old, Jennifer became fond of gymnastics, and her adoptive family encouraged her at every turn.
Watching the Olympics on TV, Jennifer immediately was drawn to one of the American gymnasts, Dominique Moceanu. The reporter mentioned she had a Romanian background. “Like me，” Jennifer said.
Moceanu, Jennifer's mother knew that last name. It was the last name of Jennifer's birth parents. What_a_strange_coincidence! The reporter showed Dominique's parents react to their daughter's performance. When the reporter said their names, Jennifer's mother shouted. They were Jennifer's birth parents. Dominique won a gold medal as part of the team competition, and Jennifer was inspired. But her parents decided to wait until she was older to tell her about her famous sister.
Jennifer trained hard and won state titles in high school competitions. Dominique remained her inspiration. On Jennifer's 16th birthday, she finally asked her parents about her birth family. That's when they told her: Her idol was also her biological sister.
Jennifer first tried to get in touch with her biological parents. But her biological father ignored her calls. It took nearly four years for Jennifer to reach out to Dominique in a letter. Although Dominique's parents had never told her about the child they gave up for adoption, Dominique didn't doubt Jennifer's story. Now the sisters are busy making up for lost time. It was so much fun every time the two of them get together.
Jennifer is now a professional athlete. Dominique, meanwhile, recently published her new book, Off Balance, in which she tells the story of meeting Jennifer, as well as the relationship she's had with her family and the sport of gymnastics.
1. By saying the words in Paragraph 1, Jennifer's adoptive mother intended to ______.
A. remind her that she was only an adoptive girl
B. inspire her to run after her dreams unselfishly
C. tell her that they had no more money to treat her
D. avoid telling her the truth because she was too young
2. From the passage we can infer that ______.
A. Jennifer Bricker now lives in America
B. Jennifer Bricker was born without legs
C. Dominique won a gold medal by herself
D. Dominique refused to reach out to Jennifer
3. The writer mentions “What a strange coincidence” (Para. 3), he probably means ______.
A. Moceanu should be the last name of Jennifer's birth parents
B. Jennifer's adoptive mother should shout at her birth mother
C. Dominique's parents should appear on their daughter's performance
D. Jennifer should win gold medal as a member of the team competition
4. Which best describes Dominique's attitude towards her sister?
A. Doubtful.
B. Grateful.
C. Unbearable.
D. Fond.
5. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. How to bring up an adopted child
B. How to deal with the birth parents
C. How the Olympics reunited separated sisters
D. How the disabled became a successful athlete
(2)(8 min.)
(2012·师大附中月考七)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. only 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 amazing to watch an ordinary man challenging himself
B. it's amusing to watch a man with awful swimming skills
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. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. The event started with three men, two of whom were disqualified later.
B. The crowd started to laugh at the athlete's arms waving in an attempt at freestyle.
C. The athlete, as well as the author, is an expert swimmer.
D. The swimming event is a show of courage rather than a fierce competition.
5. What's the best title for the passage?
A. Compete for Gold!
B. Try again!
C. Break a Record!
D. Go for it!