Nathan’s second-hand bike was good enough to get him anywhere he wanted to go. Of course, it couldn’t match Tim’s in a normal speed race, but all the fancy gears (齿轮) in the world wouldn’t get you up Black Mountain. It was so steep in places that you had to get off your bike and push.

On this particular afternoon, the odds were all on Nathan’s side. First, he was stronger. Tim had always been thin, but recently he’d started to grow so fast that his arms and legs were like pieces of spaghetti. As well as being considerably fitter than his friend, Nathan knew the shortcuts up Black Mountain.

So when Nathan accepted the challenge, he was sure he’d win. He nearly always did, in competitions with Tim. That was what was strange. Tim was so competitive, and yet he wasn’t any good at physical things.

By the time the two boys were three quarters of the way to the top, Nathan was clearly ahead. While the road zigzagged back and forth up the mountainside, in certain places, there were also vertical tracks, where water rushing down the slope in winter had bitten erosion courses into the soil. These had in turn been so overgrown by bushes and long grass in the spring that they looked like tunnels through the bush. The trick was to know where you could cut off a whole bend in the road by leaving the road and pushing your bike up one of these half-hidden pathways. If you chose the wrong one you’d struggle up for ten minutes and then suddenly reach a dead end. Then there was no choice but to go back.

60. What did Tim challenge Nathan to do?

     A. test who had the fastest bike                 

     B. decide who was the most competitive

     C. find the secret tracks on the mountain           

     D. race to the top of Black Mountain

61. It was sometimes quicker to use the tracks rather than the road because the ___________.

     A. tracks were partly hidden.                           

     B. tracks were easier to ride bikes on.

     C. road had many bends in it.                           

     D. road was overgrown after the winter.

62. Which of the following advantages did Nathan have over Tim?

   A. Nathan had a better bike and knew the shortcuts up the mountain.

   B. Nathan was fitter and knew the quickest ways up the mountain.

   C. Nathan was stronger and more competitive than Tim.

   D. Nathan was stronger and had a better bike.

63. The quotation “ the odds were all on Nathan’s side” means that __________.

   A. Tim would not try very hard in the race

   B. Tim had not yet grown as big as Nathan

   C. Nathan had a greater chance of winning the challenge

   D. Nathan had more friends who thought he would win

　　阅读理解：阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项．

　　Nathan's second-hand bike was good enough to get him anywhere he wanted to go. Of course, it couldn't match Tim's in a normal speed race, but all the fancy gears in the world wouldn't get you up Black Mountain. The gradient was so steep in places that you had to get off your bike and push.

　　On this particular afternoon, the odds were all on Nathan's side. For a start, he was stronger. Tim had always been thin, but recently he'd started to grow so fast that his arms and legs were like pieces of spaghetti. As well as being considerably fitter than his friend, Nathan knew the shortcuts up Black Mountain.

　　So when Nathan accepted the challenge, he was sure he'd win. He nearly always did, in competitions with Tim. That was what was strange. Tim was so competitive, and yet he wasn't any good at physical things.

　　By the time the two boys were three quarters of the way to the top, Nathan was clearly ahead. While the road zig-zagged back and forth diagonally up the mountainside, in certain places there were also vertical tracks, where water rushing down the slope in winter had bitten erosion courses into the soil. These had in turn been so overgrown by bushes and long grass in the spring that they resembled tunnels through the bush. The trick was to know where you could cut off a whole bend in the road by leaving the road and pushing your bike up one of these semi-concealed pathways. If you chose the wrong one you'd struggle up for ten minutes and then suddenly reach a dead end. Then there was no alternative but to go back.

1．The hidden tracks on the mountain had been made by________.

[　　]

2．It was sometimes quicker to use the tracks rather than the road because the________.

[　　]

A．tracks were partly hidden

B．tracks were easier to ride bikes on

C．road had many bends in it

D．road was overgrown after the winter

3．Which of the following advantages did Nathan have over Tim?

[　　]

A．Nathan had a better bike and knew the shortcuts up the mountain.

B．Nathan was fitter and knew the quickest ways up the mountain.

C．Nathan was stronger and more competitive than Tim.

D．Nathan was stronger and had a better bike.

4．The underlined part “the odds were all on Nathan's side” means that ________.

[　　]

A．Tim would not try very hard in the race

B．Tim had not yet grown as big as Nathan

C．Nathan had a greater chance of winning the challenge

D．Nathan had more friends who thought he would win

Nathan’s second-hand bike was good enough to get him anywhere he wanted to go．Of course, it couldn’t match Tim’s in a normal speed race, but all the fancy gears (齿轮) in the world wouldn’t get you up Black Mountain．It was so steep in places that you had to get off your bike and push．

On this particular afternoon, the odds were all on Nathan’s side．First, he was stronger．Tim had always been thin, but recently he’d started to grow so fast that his arms and legs were like pieces of spaghetti．As well as being considerably fitter than his friend, Nathan knew the shortcuts up Black Mountain．

So when Nathan accepted the challenge, he was sure he’d win．He nearly always did, in competitions with Tim．That was what was strange．Tim was so competitive, and yet he wasn’t any good at physical things．

By the time the two boys were three quarters of the way to the top, Nathan was clearly ahead．While the road zigzagged back and forth up the mountainside, in certain places, there were also vertical tracks, where water rushing down the slope in winter had bitten erosion courses into the soil．These had in turn been so overgrown by bushes and long grass in the spring that they looked like tunnels through the bush．The trick was to know where you could cut off a whole bend in the road by leaving the road and pushing your bike up one of these half-hidden pathways．If you chose the wrong one you’d struggle up for ten minutes and then suddenly reach a dead end．Then there was no choice but to go back．

1．What did Tim challenge Nathan to do?

　 A．test who had the fastest bike 　　　　

B．decide who was the most competitive

　 C．find the secret tracks on the mountain　　

D．race to the top of Black Mountain

2．It was sometimes quicker to use the tracks rather than the road because the ___________．

　 A．tracks were partly hidden．　　　　　

B．tracks were easier to ride bikes on．

　 C．road had many bends in it．　　　　　

D．road was overgrown after the winter．

3．Which of the following advantages did Nathan have over Tim?

　 A．Nathan had a better bike and knew the shortcuts up the mountain．

　 B．Nathan was fitter and knew the quickest ways up the mountain．

　 C．Nathan was stronger and more competitive than Tim．

　 D．Nathan was stronger and had a better bike．

4．The quotation “ the odds were all on Nathan’s side” means that __________．

　 A．Tim would not try very hard in the race

　 B．Tim had not yet grown as big as Nathan

　 C．Nathan had a greater chance of winning the challenge

　 D．Nathan had more friends who thought he would win

Tim's in good shape physically_______ he doesn't get much exercise．

A．even though             B．as long as                C．now that               D．in order that

Tim's in good shape physically       he doesn't get much exercise．

A．even though  B．as long as    C．now that   D．in order that