阅读理解。
Last year, my boyfriend suggested that I should run the London marathon, and I laughed. He laughed
too, but he laughed too long and too loud. That made me think. I realized that he didn't believe that I
could do it. That made me angry, and determined; now he knows that I can!
Training wasn't easy, but I kept going. I didn't need special training but I did need to buy very good
shoes. Each day, I went a little further. By the end of three months, I was running five days a week.
Some-times in the evenings I ran 10 km; on Sunday mornings, I sometimes ran about 30 kin. I used to
come home, have a shower and eat my breakfast. I felt wonderful!
On the day of the race in London, I lined up with about 30,000 other runners. The faster runners
were at the front, while slower runners like me were placed further back. In that way, the professional
runners and club runners were not slowed down by the amateurs.
At first, there were so many runners close together that we were almost falling over each other. We
could only run very slowly but that was a good thing because it meant that we didn't rush off too quickly.
Gradually the runners spread out and there was more space. There were thousands of people watching
us along the route and they cheered and clapped everyone, even the slowest runner. It was wonderful!
For the first 10 km I felt very happy and my legs felt very comfortable. However, at 15 km I got a
pain in my side and running became difficult, but I kept going and the pain disappeared. At the 30 km
mark, I felt extremely tired, and wanted to stop, but I kept on going. I covered another 3 km and then
I began to feel better again.
By the time I reached the 35 km mark, I knew I was going to get to the end of the course. Somehow
that confidence made me feel lighter and faster and it seemed as if my legs flew over the last few
kilometers. I passed hundreds of slower runners, some of whom had passed me earlier, and I felt
wonderful! AS I came round the last bend and saw the finishing line, I could see three runners ahead of
me. I raced past all of them to finish the race in just under four hours. The winner had completed the race
in 2 hours and 10 minutes, but I didn't care! I had run 42 km and completed my first marathon!
1. The writer's boyfriend laughed at her because_____ .
A. he thought she could run the marathon
B. he .didn't think she could run the marathon
C. he wanted her to run the marathon
D. she wanted to run the marathon
2. When the race began _____.
A. all the faster runners were asked to stand before those slower ones
B. many runners fell over each other
C. all the runners were asked to run slowly
D. the professional runners and club runners ran very fast
3. The hardest time for the writer was when she _____.
A. had run for 15 kilometers
B. got a pain in her side
C. reached the 30 kilometer mark
D. was about to reach the finish line
4. The passage suggests that it is better to start a long race slowly _____.
A. than to run at the same speed all the time
B. than to run too fast at the beginning
C. than to run slowly at the end
D. than to run very fast all the time
