Question

This time last year I entered two long-distance mass-participation swimming events, including the Jubilee River 10 km swim. At the last minute, just before both swims, I decided to pull out. The reality is, I live in fear of coming last.

Last year, before the two events, I realized that I couldn’t deal with coming last. I had looked at the swim times of those who had completed the previous year and calculated that, at my current swim pace, I would probably have come last. I just couldn’t face it. But when next year came around, I decided to enter those same events again.

For a few months, I trained hard, but I didn’t get any faster. Then it was June 5, the day of the Jubilee River 10 km. The event started at 9:30 am, and the swimmers were anxious and eager to start. As I swam along, the river was quiet and clean and everything was peaceful. The sun shone, Meadows (草地）rolled by and every now and then someone would wave at the scene unfolding in the water.

As the day wore on, somehow I didn’t mind that, predictably, almost everyone was ahead. There were at least some swimmers still near me, and although we shared the same river we quietly occupied our own spaces. As I concentrated on doing my own thing, watching the sky, the bank, the other swimming caps passing or not passing, I realized I was enjoying myself.

In the end, four hours and 29 minutes after I’d started, I staggered (搖搖晃晃地走)out of the water and was greeted with a smile and a “well done” from the race organizer. I glanced back over my shoulder toward the water and noticed that there were a small handful of swimmers who were still to finish, behind me, out of a field of around 300 swimmers. But it didn’t matter. I was just relieved, proud and happy to finish.

As I drove away, my thoughts turned to my next long race of the season and how much I was looking forward to it, my fears of coming last gently receding(漸漸遠(yuǎn)去).

1.The author intended to quit swimming mainly because _______.

A. she feared that she couldn’t finish the two races

B. she was afraid that she would let family members down

C. she was unwilling to accept the possibility of finishing last

D. she didn’t fully prepared for the two races

2.The author hopes to convey the message that ______.

A. never give up when facing challenges

B. it is process that matters most

C. failure is the mother of success

D. winners always take it all

3.What did the underlined sentence mean in the fifth paragraph?

A. She took pride in leaving all the other swimmers behind

B. She was proud that she was not the last one in the race

C. She was glad to finish the race and had a sense of relief

D. She was proud to be praised by the organizer

4.It can be inferred from the end that the author is likely to _______.

A. participate in another race without any hesitation

B. analyze the reason why she failed in the race

C. lose confidence completely

D. decide whether she is suitable for the race

Answer 1