难度：★★☆☆☆ 词数：390 建议时间：6 分钟 温暖的晚风伴随着有节奏的掌声和欢呼，徐徐地吹入夜幕下的“伦敦碗”。体育场内的数万名观众不仅将掌声献给摘金夺银的名将们，更献给最后一位抵达终点线的特殊运动员——被誉为“刀锋战士（Blade Runner）”的南非运动员皮斯托瑞斯（Pistorius）。
The 25?year?old South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius, known as the “Blade Runner”, made history on Saturday and realized his long?held dream when he became the first double amputee（被截肢者） to compete in an athletics event at the London Olympics.
Pistorius, who had both legs amputated below the knee before he was one year old because of a congenital（天生的） condition, runs on carbon fiber blades（刀片）. Finally, he finished the semifinals（半决赛） of the 4×400m by running a season’s best of 45.44 seconds.
“It’s just an experience to be here. It’s a dream come true,” said Pistorius, whose time was the 16th fastest overall. I’ve worked for six years to try and make the 400m standard. It’s just an unbelievable experience. I found myself smiling on the starting blocks, which is very rare, and as I came out of the tunnel, I saw my friends and family here.” said Pistorius.
Most important of all for him was the presence of his aged grandmother, who has been a seminal（有影响力的） influence on him since his mother died 10 years ago. “My grandmother—she’s 89—she was here with the South African flag. It was just an amazing experience.” said Pistorius.
Pistorius, who had set himself the goal of reaching the semi?finals, said that it was hard to place this among his many other remarkable experiences in competition.
“I’ve had some experiences, which I hold very dear to my heart,” he said. “My first Paralympic Games（残疾人奥运会） in Athens（2004） is still probably one of the highlights of my career. I was a 17?year?old kid with curly hair and braces. I didn’t know what to expect and that was just mind?blowing for me and I didn’t even know the guys I was running against.”
Pistorius, who will stay on in Britain after the Games to compete in the Paralympics, admitted that he had found it difficult to keep his mind on the race itself. “The kind of pressure that you put on yourself coming into a competition like this is massive. It’s sometimes difficult to deal with.”
Pistorius suggested that the wait to compete at an Olympics had given him time to polish up his performances so he would not be embarrassed on the biggest stage of them all. “As you progress, your goals become harder and harder and your career and your knowledge becomes greater.”
【阅读理解】
1. What is Pistorius’s long?held dream？
A. Becoming the “Blade Runner”. B. Being famous in history.
C. Competing at the London Olympics.
D. Running on carbon fiber blades.
2. According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true？
A. No double amputee had competed in an athletics event at Olympics before Pistorius.
B. Pistorius had both legs amputated for a born condition.
C. The presence of his aged grandmother was important for Pistorius.
D. Pistorius will stay on in Britain after the Games to have a rest.
3. What does the underlined word “highlights” in the sixth paragraph most probably mean？
A. The most difficult parts. B. The most important parts.
C. The most useful parts. D. The most useless parts.
4. Which is the right order of the events related to Pistorius？
a. He took part in his first Paralympic Games in Athens.
b. His mother died.
c. He competed in an athletics event at the London Olympics.
d. He had both his legs amputated below the knee.
e. He worked for six years to try and make the 400m standard.
A. b, d, a, c, e B. b, a, d, e, c
C. d, b, a, e, c D. d, c, b, e, a
答案与解析
1. C。细节理解题。根据第一段中的“realized his long?held dream when he became the first double amputee to compete in an athletics event at the London Olympics.”可判断C选项正确。
2. D。细节理解题。由第一段、第二段的第一句和第四段第一句可分别判断A、B和C选项表述正确，不选；由倒数第二段第一句可知Pistorius奥运会后留在伦敦是为了参加稍后举行的残奥会，故D选项表述错误。
3. B。词义猜测题。由上下文可知，参加2004年的残奥会是他职业生涯的重要部分（important parts）。
4. C。事件排序题。采用“首尾定位法”。文中Pistorius经历的第一件事是“他在不到一岁时双腿截肢”（第二段第一句），即“He had both his legs amputated below the knee.”；文中Pistorius经历的最近的一件事是参加伦敦奥运会（第一段），即“He competed in an athletics event at the London Olympics.”故选C项。
【词汇积累】
1. make history 创造历史
2. realize one’s dream 实现梦想
3． set a goal of doing sth. 制定目标做某事
4. place... among... 把……置于……之中，平等看待。（这里place为动词，意为“放置”）
5. hold... to one’s heart 把……珍藏在某人心中
6. highlight n. 最重要的部分，最精彩的部分
7. keep one’s mind on sth. 专心做某事
8. polish up 擦亮，磨光；改善，提高
【难句分析】
1. The 25?year?old South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius, known as the “Blade Runner”, made history on Saturday and realized his long?held dream when he became the first double amputee to compete in an athletics event at the London Olympics.
译文： 被誉为“刀锋战士”的25岁南非运动员Oscar Pistorius周六创造了历史，在伦敦奥运会上成为第一个登上奥运赛场的双腿截肢的运动员，从而实现了自己的夙愿。
分析： 整个句子的主干是“Oscar Pistorius made history and realized his dream”。句中“known as the ‘Blade Runner’”是过去分词短语作定语，相当于定语从句“who was known as the‘Blade Runner’”。
2. Pistorius, who had both legs amputated below the knee before he was one year old, because of a congenital condition, runs on carbon fiber blades.
译文： Pistorius由于先天性原因不到一岁就膝盖以下双腿截肢，他靠碳纤维刀片跑步。
分析： 整个句子的主干是“Pistorius runs on carbon fiber blades”。句中who引导非限制性定语从句，修饰先行词Pistorius；句中“because of a congenital condition”作原因状语，修饰定语从句的谓语“had both legs amputated”，这里是为了平衡句子结构而后置。