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 15^th 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 up 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 started to work as an instructor at Ridgway’s school of adventure（冒险） in Scotland, where he learnt about Ridgway’s cold-water exploits. Greatly interested, Saunders read all he could about North Pole explorers and adventures, he decided that this would be his future.

In 2001, after becoming a skillful skier, Saunders started his first long-distance expedition （探险）towards the North Pole. It took unbelievable energy. He suffered frostbite（冻伤）, ran into a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit, pulling his sled up and over the rocky mountains.

Saunders has since become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole, and he’s skied more of the North Pole by himself than any other British man. His old playmates would not believe the change.

1. What changed Saunders according to Paragraph 2?

       A. A friend’s words.               B. A mountain bike.

       C. His 18^th birthday gift.          D. His first marathon.

2.What did Saunders do in 2001?

A. He decided to build up his body.

B. He met John Ridgway in Scotland.

C. He worked as an instructor at school.

D. He took an adventure to the North Pole. 

3.What does the story mainly tell us about Saunders?

A. He is a success in sports.           B. He is the youngest British skier.

C. He is Ridgway’s best student.         D. He is a good instructor at school.

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 15^th 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 up 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 started to work as a teacher at Ridgway’s school of adventure（冒险）in Scotland, where he learnt about Ridgway’s cold—waterexploits. Greatly interested, Saunders read all he could about North Pole explorers and adventures; he decided that this would be his future.
In 2001, after becoming a skillful skier, Saunders started his first long—distance expedition (探险) towards the North Pole. It took unbelievable energy. He suffered frostbite, ran into a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit, pulling his sled up and over the rocky mountains.
Saunders has become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole, and he’s skied more of the North Pole by himself than any other British man. His old playmates would not believe the change.
【小题1】 According to Paragraph 2, what changed Saunders?

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 up 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 started to work as an instructor at Ridgway’s school of adventure（冒险） in Scotland, where he learnt about Ridgway’s cold-water exploits. Greatly interested, Saunders read all he could about North Pole explorers and adventures, he decided that this would be his future.
In 2001, after becoming a skillful skier, Saunders started his first long-distance expedition （探险）towards the North Pole. It took unbelievable energy. He suffered frostbite（冻伤）, ran into a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit, pulling his sled up and over the rocky mountains.
Saunders has since become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole, and he’s skied more of the North Pole by himself than any other British man. His old playmates would not believe the change.
【小题1】 What changed Saunders according to Paragraph 2?

Short 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 object of jokes in school gym classes in England’s rural Devonshire.
It was a mountain bike he received for his 15^th birthday that changed him. At first the teen went biking alone in a nearby forest. Then he began to cycle along with a runner friend. Gradually, Saunders set his mind building up his body, increasing his speed, strength and endurance. At age 18, he ran his first marathon.
The following year, he met John Ridgway, who became famous in the 1960s for rowing an open boat across the Atlantic Ocean. Saunders was hired as an instructor at Ridgway’s school of Adventure in Scotland, where he learned about the older man’s cold-water exploits (成就). Intrigued, Saunders read all he could about Arctic explorers and North Pole expeditions, then decided that this would be his future. Journeys to the Pole aren’t the usual holidays for British country boys, and many people dismissed his dream as fantasy. "John Ridgway was one of the few who didn’t say, ’You are completely crazy,’" Saunders says.
In 2001, after becoming a skilled skier, Saunders started his first long-distance expedition toward the North Pole. He suffered frostbite, had a closer encounter (遭遇) with a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit.
Saunders has since become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole, and he’s skied more of the Arctic by himself than any other Briton. His old playmates would not believe the transformation.
This October, Saunders, 27, heads south to explore from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back, an 1800-mile journey that has never been completed on skis.
【小题1】The turning point in Saunders’ life came when ________.