Passage 18
（2005 湖南 C）

Paula Radcliffe, chasing （角逐）a third London marathon title （冠軍）, 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 careless about criticism （批評）.”

“In the past I wanted to please everyone, but now I'm not going to listen even more to the people around me.”

She didn't care about criticism made at the weekend by Liz Mc culgan, 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 （聯系）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 （排除）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 Radc Liffe, “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.

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

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.

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

4.According to the text, Radcliffe has won ______ London marathon title（s）.

A. four

B. three

C. two

D. one

5.What can we learn from Radcliffe's story?

A. Practice makes perfect.

B. Well begun is half done.

C. a friend in need is a friend indeed.

D. Where there is a will there is a way.

【重點詞匯】

marathon n.馬拉松比賽

care about 關心，擔心

please v.取悅，使……喜歡

look up to 尊敬

care for 關懷，照顧，喜歡

best state 最佳狀態

world record 世界紀錄

question v.質疑，懷疑

career n.事業，生涯

world-class adj.世界級的

change from person to person 因人而異

afterwards adv.后來，然后

lower v.降低，下降

【疑難長句】

1.However, Radcliffe has not ruled out （排除）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.

（參考譯文）然而，拉德克里夫沒有排除未來角逐她“最后的”世界最好成績的可能性，并對馬拉松選手在運動生涯中只能創造四至五個世界級成績的說法表示懷疑。

2.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.

（參考譯文）在美國成功進行了3個月的訓練后，31歲的她將于周日角逐第3個冠軍頭銜——她在2002年首次贏得冠軍并于12個月后再次奪冠。