After the Summer Olympics are over, when all the athletics have gone home and the television audience has switched off, another group of athletics and fans will arrive at the host city, and another competition will begin. These are the Paralympics, the games for athletes with a disability. But in Beijing in 2008, for the first time, one of the greatest Paralympics will not be taking part.
She is a British athlete by the name of Tanni Grey-Thormpson. Born with spine hifida (脊椎裂) which left her paralysed from the waist down. Tanni used a wheelchair from the age of 7. at first, she was not keen on sport, apart from horse-riding, which gave her a sense of freedom. But in her teens, she started taking sports more seriously. She tried swimming, basketball and tennis. Eventually she found athletics, and never looked back.
Indeed, Tanni’s athletic career took off. In 1984, when she was 15, she pulled off a surprise victory in the 100metres at the Junior National Wheelchair Games.
In 1988, Tanni went to her first Paralympic Games in Seoul. She won bronze in the 400 metres. Even greater success followed at the 1992 Barcelona. Paralympics. Tanni won gold in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 metres relay, setting two world records in the process. In the same year she achieved she first of her six London Wheelchair Marathon victories.
Tanni’s enduring success had been part motivation(动机), part preparation, “The training I do that enables me to be a good sprinter(短跑运动员) enables me to be good at a marathon too. I train 50 weeks of the year and that keeps me prepared for whatever distance I want to race…. I am still competing at a very high lever, but as I get older things get harder and I want to retire before I fall apart.”
Indeed Tanni retired finally after the Visa Paralympic World Cup in 2007. Her wish is to coach young athletes for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
In spite of ups and downs, she never take her fate lying down. In her splendid life, she has won an amazing eleven gold medals, four silvers and one bronze in series of Paralympics- a top lever athletic career covering two decades. She has won the London Wheelchair Marathon six times, more than any other competitor, and she has set over thirty world records.
What advice does she have for young athletes? “Work hard at your studies, and then train, train and train again.”
【小题1】Which of the following sports did Tanni like before thirteen?

After the Summer Olympics are over, when all the athletes have gone home and the television audience has switched off, another group of athletes and fans will arrive at the host city, and another competition will begin. These are the Paralympics, the games for athletes with a disability. But in Beijing in 2008, for the first time, one of the greatest Paralympics athletes did not take part.
She is a British athlete by the name of Tanni Grey-Thormpson. Born with spine hifida (脊椎裂) which left her paralysed from the waist. Tanni used a wheelchair from the age of 7. at first, she did not like sports, apart from horse-riding, which gave her a sense of freedom. But in her teens, she started taking sports more seriously. She tried swimming, basketball and tennis. Eventually she found she began to love athletics, and never looked back.
Indeed, Tanni’s athletic career took off . In 1984, when she was 15, she pulled off a surprise victory in the 100metres at the Junior National Wheelchair Games.
In 1988, Tanni went to her first Paralympic Games in Seoul. She won bronze in the 400 metres. Even greater success followed at the 1992 Barcelonn. Paralympics. Tanni won gold in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 metres relay, setting two world records in the process. In the same year she achieved the first of her six London Wheelchair Marathon victories.
Tanni’s success had been part motivation(动机), part preparation, “The training I do that enables me to be a good sprinter(短跑运动员) enables me to be good at a marathon too. I train 50 weeks of the year and that keeps me prepared for whatever distance I want to see…. I am still competing at a very high level, but as I get older, things get harder and I want to retire before I fall apart.”
Indeed Tanni retired finally after the Visa Paralympic World Cup in 2007. Her wish is to coach young athletes for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
In spite of ups and downs, she never takes her fate lying down. In her splendid life, she has won an amazing eleven gold medals, four silvers and one bronze in series of Paralympics- a top level athletic career covering two decades. She has won the London Wheelchair Marathon six times, more than any other competitor, and she has set over thirty world records.
What advice does she have for young athletes? “Work hard at your studies, and then train, train and train again.”
【小题1】Which of the following sports did Tanni like before thirteen?

Five Olympic mascots were announced exactly 1000 days before the Beijing Olympic opening ceremony. The long--anticipated mascots represent four of China's most popular animals — the fish, the panda, the Tibetan antelope and the swallow .The fifth mascot is the brightly burning Olympic flame.

Each of the mascots has a repeated two-syllable name. This type of name is a traditional way of showing affection for children in China. BeiBei is the fish, JingJing is the panda, HuanHuan is the Olympic flame, YingYing is the Tibetan antelope and NiNi is the swallow. The first characters of their two-syllable names read “Beijing Huanying Ni,” or, in English, “Welcome to Beijing.” 

The five elements of nature, including the sea, forest, fire, earth and sky are found in the mascot's origins and headpieces. These special headpieces also display the folk and culture of China. Each mascot also symbolizes a different blessing ---prosperity, happiness, passion, health and good luck.

It is the first time more than three mascots will share the important duty of representing their host country. Han Meilin, chief of the mascot design team explained that, “China has such a rich culture that no single mascot could possibly represent it! That is why we chose to produce five mascots instead of one.”

Called the “Five Friendlies,” the figures embody（体现） the Chinese people’s hope for peace and friendship in the world and the spirit of the Olympics, representing not only multi-ethnic(多民族的) cultures of China, but also the traditional Chinese philosophy of harmony between humans and nature.

In order to help Beijing 2008 spread its theme of One World, One Dream to every continent, the Five Friendlies reflect the deep desire of the Chinese people to reach out to the world in friendship through the Games — and to invite every man, woman and child to take part in the great celebration of human union in 2008. 

1. What’s the theme of Beijing 2008 Olympics?

A.Welcome to Beijing.

B.Prosperity, Happiness, Passion, Health and Good luck.

C.New Beijing, New Olympics.

D.One World, One Dream.

2. What did Han Meilin, chief of the mascot design team, think of the five mascots?

A.He thought highly of the five mascots.

B.No single mascot could represent China.

C.The five mascots represented the culture of China.

D.They would reflect the desire of Chinese people.

3. Which of the following statements is not true?

A.It’s for the first time that five mascots are chosen to represent their host country in the Olympic history.

B.One of the five mascots YingYing stands for the Olympic flame.

C.Beijing announced its five 2008 Olympic mascots just 1000 days before the big event.

D.The five mascots express affection for Chinese children by two-syllable names.

4. Which of the following best reflects the main idea of the passage?

A.The 29th Olympic Games will be held in Beijing in 2008.

B.The theme of 2008 Beijing Olympics — One World, One Dream.

C.The significance of five 2008 Olympic mascots — the Five Friendlies.

D.How the Five Fantastic Mascots came into being.

5. What do the five mascots — the Five Friendlies represent?

A.“Beijing Huanying Ni,” or, in English, “Welcome to Beijing.” 

B.Chinese multi-ethnic cultures, philosophy of harmony between humans and nature and five elements of nature.

C.Chinese people’s hope for peace and friendship in the world and the spirit of the Olympics.

D.The deep desire of the Chinese people to reach out to the world in friendship through the Olympics.

After the Summer Olympics are over, when all the athletics have gone home and the television audience has switched off, another group of athletics and fans will arrive at the host city, and another competition will begin. These are the Paralympics, the games for athletes with a disability. But in Beijing in 2008, for the first time, one of the greatest Paralympics will not be taking part.

  She is a British athlete by the name of Tanni Grey-Thormpson. Born with spine hifida (脊椎裂) which left her paralysed from the waist down. Tanni used a wheelchair from the age of 7. at first, she was not keen on sport, apart from horse-riding, which gave her a sense of freedom. But in her teens, she started taking sports more seriously. She tried swimming, basketball and tennis. Eventually she found athletics, and never looked back.

  Indeed, Tanni’s athletic career took off. In 1984, when she was 15, she pulled off a surprise victory in the 100metres at the Junior National Wheelchair Games.

  In 1988, Tanni went to her first Paralympic Games in Seoul. She won bronze in the 400 metres. Even greater success followed at the 1992 Barcelona. Paralympics. Tanni won gold in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 metres relay, setting two world records in the process. In the same year she achieved she first of her six London Wheelchair Marathon victories.

 Tanni’s enduring success had been part motivation(动机), part preparation, “The training I do that enables me to be a good sprinter(短跑运动员) enables me to be good at a marathon too. I train 50 weeks of the year and that keeps me prepared for whatever distance I want to race…. I am still competing at a very high lever, but as I get older things get harder and I want to retire before I fall apart.”

  Indeed Tanni retired finally after the Visa Paralympic World Cup in 2007. Her wish is to coach young athletes for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

 In spite of ups and downs, she never take her fate lying down. In her splendid life, she has won an amazing eleven gold medals, four silvers and one bronze in series of Paralympics- a top lever athletic career covering two decades. She has won the London Wheelchair Marathon six times, more than any other competitor, and she has set over thirty world records.

 What advice does she have for young athletes? “Work hard at your studies, and then train, train and train again.”

Which of the following sports did Tanni like before thirteen?

   A. Basketball         B. Swimming.          C. Tennis.        D. Horse-riding.

When did Tanni win her first Olympic gold medal?

   A. In 1984.           B. In 1988.             C. In 1992.       D. In 2007.

The underlined word “that” in the 5th paragraph refers to _______.

   A. fifty weeks’ training             B. being a good sprinter

   C. training almost every day         D. part motivation and part preparation

What’s the right order of the events related to Tanni?

   a. She works as a coach.      b. She took up athletics.

   c. She won four gold medals in Barcelona.   d. She competed in her first Paralympic Games.

   e. She achieved a victory in her first London Wheelchair Marathon.

   A. b, d, c, e a    B. a, d, b, c ,e     C. A,d,c,e,b       D. b.d.a.e.c

What can we learn from Tanni’s success?

   A. Union is strength.              B. Never too late to learn.

   C. Well begun is half done.         D. No pains, no gains.

After the Summer Olympics are over, when all the athletics have gone home and the television audience has switched off, another group of athletics and fans will arrive at the host city, and another competition will begin. These are the Paralympics, the games for athletes with a disability. But in Beijing in 2008, for the first time, one of the greatest Paralympics will not be taking part.

    She is a British athlete by the name of Tanni Grey-Thormpson. Born with spine hifida (脊椎裂) which left her paralysed from the waist, Bown Tanni used a wheelchair from the age of 7. At first, she was not keen on sport, apart from horse-riding, which gave her a sense of freedom. But in her teens, she started taking sports more seriously. She tried swimming, basketball and tennis. Eventually she found athletics, and never looked back.

    Indeed, Tanni’s athletic career took off. In 1984, when she was 15, she pulled off a surprise victory in the 100metres at the Junior National Wheelchair Games.

    In 1988, Tanni went to her first Paralympic Games in Seoul. She won bronze in the 400 metres. Even greater success followed at the 1992 Barcelonn. Paralympics. Tanni won gold in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 metres relay, setting two world records in the process. In the same year she achieved she first of her six London Wheelchair Marathon victories.

    Tanni’s enduring success had been part motivation(动机), part preparation, “The training I do that enables me to be a good sprinter(短跑运动员) enables me to be good at a marathon too. I train 50 weeks of the year and that keeps me prepared for whatever distance I want to see…. I am still competing at a very high level, but as I get older things get harder and I want to retire before I fall apart.”

    Indeed Tanni retired finally after the Visa Paralympic World Cup in 2007. Her wish is to coach young athletes for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

    In spite of ups and downs, she never take her fate lying down. In her splendid life, she has won an amazing eleven gold medals, four silvers and one bronze in series of Paralympics- a top level athletic career covering two decades. She has won the London Wheelchair Marathon six times, more than any other competitor, and she has set over thirty world records.

    What advice does she have for young athletes? “Work hard at your studies, and then train, train and train again.”

1. Which of the following sports did Tanni like before thirteen?

   A. Basketball                       B. Swimming.         

    C. Tennis.                          D. Horse-riding.

2. When did Tanni win her first Olympic gold medal?

   A. In 1984.                         B. In 1988.            

    C. In 1992.                         D. In 2007.

3. The underlined word “that” in the 5th paragraph refers to _______.

   A. fifty weeks’ training                B. being a good sprinter

   C. training almost every day             D. part motivation and part preparation

4.What can we learn from Tanni’s success?

   A. Union is strength.                B. Never too late to learn.

   C. Well begun is half done.         D. No pains, no gains..