When us teenager Jake Olson isn’t playing football or golf for his high school, he’s often offering inspiration through his new book about his own life.
These activities might be too much for the average 16-year-old to deal with, but Jake is blind. When people ask him how he can possibly play golf without being able to see the ball, he says he is thankful for his father’s guidance.
It seems apparent that his early experience playing sports as a person with sight and muscle memory— repeating behaviors over and over until they become second nature — have also enabled Jake to hit the ball quite well.
Jake was born with a rare kind of eye cancer that took away the vision from his left eye when he was an infant and eventually his right eye, in 2009, when he was 12 years old. Rather than letting the disease hold him back, Jake used his loss of sight and his faith as sources of motivation .
“If I was going to sit on the couch all day feeling sorry for myself, I wasn’t going to do anything. I decided right then and there that I wasn’t going to let it stop me and that I was going to go out and persevere (坚持不懈),” he said.
It was with that mind-set that the student from Orange Lutheran High School in California was able to write his first book, Open Your Eyes: 10 Uncommon Lessons to Discover a Happier Life. “It’s about opening the readers’ eyes to their true potential in life and making sure that they use all the abilities that they have,” Jake said.
Jake’s father, Brian Olson, said the family is impressed with what he has done with his life, including showing people that they can get through hardships. “Your darkest hour can soon become your brightest, and with every setback, there’s a setup,” Jake said. “In every one of us, there’s more potential than we can ever imagine, and it really is a choice.”
小题1:We can learn from the article that Jake Olson ______.
A．was born a blind child
B．could have been a golf master
C．has great muscle memory
D．is trying to find the cure for his disease小题2:According to the article, Jake’s family members ______.
A．pity him deeply
B．once gave up hope on him
C．encouraged him to write the book
D．admire his efforts and determination小题3:The purpose of the book Open Your Eyes: 10 Uncommon Lessons to Discover a Happier Life is to ______.
A．promote good approaches to getting along with disabled people
B．inspire people to discover and use their hidden abilities
C．help people come up with better life goals
D．explain different definitions of “a happier life”小题4:The underlined word “setback” is closest in meaning to ______.
A．fight
B．failure
C．opportunity
D．success
