Paula Radcliffe, chasing a third London marathon title, says she has became a stronger person after her terrible experience at the 2004 Athens Games.
Radcliffe, who failed to complete the Olympic marathon and the 10,000m last August, said: "Athens made me a stronger person and it made me care less about criticism"
"In the past I wanted to please everyone, but now I am going to listen even more to the people around me."
She didn't care about criticism made at the weekend by Liz McColgan, who felt Radcliffe should have rested and let her body recover after her failure in Athens.
"Liz is someone I look up to but she hasn't spoken to me since last year and if she really cared for me, I'm sure she would have contacted me."
Instead Radcliffe won the New York City marathon just 11 weeks after Athens.
"In New York I wasn't in my best state but I did know I was good enough to win the race."
Radcliffe insisted her only goal in Sunday's race would be winning a third title and not chasing world records.
However, Radcliffe has not ruled out in the future chasing her "final" world record time and questioned sayings that marathon runners have the ability in their career to produce only four or five world-class times.
"I don't think that ——although I can't put a number on it," said. Radcliffe. "That changes from person to person."
Radcliffe is sure she can better her winning London 2003 performance at some point in the future. Following a successful three-month training period in the United States, the 31-year-old will chase a third title on Sunday after her first victory in 2002 and again 12 months later.
Radcliffe clocked a time of 2:18:56 in her first 42.2-kilometre race three years ago.
Afterwards she set a "mixed course" mark of 2:17:18 five months later in Chicago before lowering that to a time of 2:15:25 in the 2003 London event.
【小题1】Radcliffe’s failure in Athens made her___________.

A．develop respect for Liz	B．love people around her more
C．rest for five months	D．face criticism calmly

【小题2】Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．Radcliffe broke the world record in the New York City marathon.

B．Radcliffe didn’t fully recover before the New York City marathon.

C．Radcliffe won her first marathon title in the New York City marathon.

D．Radcliffe had a 3-month training before the New York City marathon.

【小题3】 By saying “I can’t put a number on it,” Radcliffe means she’s not sure ___________.

A．if she has the ability to set a new world record

B．if she can win another race though she has won many times

C．how many times a marathon runner can set the world record

D．if she has the ability to produce four or five world-class times

【小题4】 According to the text, Radcliffe has won ___________ London marathon title(s).

A．one

B．two

C．three

D．four

【小题5】What can we learn from Radcliffe’s story?

A．Practice makes perfect.	B．Well begun is half done.
C．Where there is a will, there is a way.	D．A friend in need is a fried indeed.

Chilean rescued miner Edison Pena ran the New York City Marathon on November 7th , less than a month after he was rescued from a collapsed (坍塌的) mine that trapped him and the other 32 miners for 69 days. Pena ran 10 km daily through the mine’s tunnels (巷道) to beat the anxiety, wearing cut-down boots until rescuers sent him a pair of sports shoes through a narrow hole that served as the miners’ “lifeline” to the surface.
“When I ran in the darkness, I was running for life,” Pena told a news conference in New York. “I was running to show that I wasn’t just waiting around. I also wanted God to see that I really wanted to live.” The miners were discovered alive on August 22---17 days after the mine collapsed, but it took many more days for rescuers to dig a hole big enough to bring them out.
The New York Road Runners, which organizes the marathon, had invited Edison Pena to the event after hearing his story. They thought he could ride in the lead vehicle or hold the finish line tape, but Pena said last week he did not want to watch, he wanted to run. “I was very eager to take on this big challenge,” he said. “I wanted to show the world I could run.” He hoped to run the 26.2-mile race in about six hours. “I have a knee injury, but I am eager to cross the finish line,” he said.    
An Elvis Presley fan who asked rescuers to send the singer’s music down into the mine, Pena broke into song at the news conference with the Presley hit Return to Sender.
On the morning of November 7^th, Pena, known as “the runner” by fellow miners trapped with him, set out to cover the course along with thousands of other runners and completed the race in five hours and 40 minutes.
【小题1】When trapped underground, Pena ran a long way every day to _______.

A．find a way to get out	B．dig a lifeline to the ground
C．keep himself from coldness	D．get rid of his uneasy feelings

【小题2】 According to the passage, Pena _______.

A．was not expected to run the marathon at first

B．failed to achieve the goal he had set for the marathon

C．wore sports shoes while working underground

D．was asked to sing a Presley’s song at a news conference

【小题3】 During the rescue of the Chilean trapped miners, the digging of the escape hole lasted about _________.

A．17 days

B．22 days

C．52 days

D．69 days

【小题4】Pena can be best described as _________.[来源:学&科&网Z&X&X&K]

A．smart-minded

B．strong-willed

C．hard-working

D．warm-hearted

Jean Driscoll can go faster in her wheelchair than the world’s best marathoners can run!
In April, Jean finished the Boston Marathon in 1 hour 34 minutes 22 seconds. That’s about 33 minutes faster than the winning male runner! She competed on the track, too. She was second in the 800 meter wheelchair race at the 1992 Olympics.
Jean doesn’t like to be told she’s brave. “I’m in sports because I’m a competitive person!” Jean was born with spina befida(脊柱裂), a birth illness that damages the spine（脊椎）. She began to use a wheelchair to get around in high school. Then she tried wheelchair race and was amazed.” Players crashed into each other and fell out of their chairs,” she says, “It was fun.”
Jean tried other wheelchair sports. At the University of Illinois, her wheelchair basketball team won two national titles.
Now Jean coaches and teaches. She tries to get people to set goals. “When I sign my autograph（亲笔签名）, says Jean, “I write, dream big and work hard.”
【小题1】What made Jean take part in sports?

A．She was brave.	B．She was competitive.
C．She was strong.	D．She was disabled.

【小题2】What does the underlined word “coach” mean?

A．to train or give instruction and advice	B．to experiment
C．to get hold of and stop	D．to repeat

【小题3】What is Jean’s advice on how to succeed?

A．Work hard.	B．Hope for the best.
C．Dream a lot.	D．Have great wishes and work hard.

Fat and shy, Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team " Football, tennis, cricket - anything with a round ball．I was useless," he says now with a laugh．But back then he was the one always made fun of in school gym classes in Devonshire, England．
It was a mountain bike he received for his 15th birthday that changed him．At first he went biking alone in a nearby forest．Then he began to ride the bike along with a runner friend． Gradually, Saunders set his mind on building up his body, increasing his speed and strength．At the age of 18, he ran his first marathon．
The following year, he met John Ridgway and was hired as an instructor at Ridgway's School of Adventure in Scotland, where he learnt about Ridgway's cold - water exploits．Greatly interested, Saunders read all he could about North Pole explorers and adventures, then decided that this would be his future．
In 2001, after becoming a skillful skier, Saunders started his first long - distance expedition towards the North Pole．It took unbelievable energy．He suffered frostbite （冻疮） ,ran into a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit, pulling his supply -loaded sled （雪橇） up and over rocky ice． Next October, Saunders, 27, heads south from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back, a 2900 - kilometer journey that has never been completed on skis．
【小题1】What change happened to Saunders after he was 15 yeas old?

A．He became good at most sports．

B．He began to build up his body．

C．He joined a sports team．

D．He made friends with a runner．

【小题2】The underlined word "exploits" （Paragraph 3） is closest in meaning to______．

A．journeys	B．researches
C．adventures	D．operations

【小题3】Which of the following is the correct order of the events that happened to Saunders?
a．He ran his first marathon．         b．He skied alone in the North Pole．
c．He rode his bike in a forest,        d．He planned an adventure to the South Pole．

A．acdb

B．cdab

C．acbd

D．cabd

【小题4】What does the story mainly tell us about Saunders?

A．He is a success in sports．

B．He is the best British skier．

C．He is Ridgway's favorite student．

D．He is good instructor at school．