当一个运动菜鸟去跑马拉松

I’ve always been a big fan of goal setting. Soon， I decided to focus on personal fitness goals. “I want to teach myself to run，” I announced one day to my husband and family.  This came as a surprise to them. Because at school I was never picked for the netball team. In adulthood I’d joined a gym， tried dance classes， and even had a personal trainer for a while but the fitness bug never really bit me.

My first run was a rude awakening， though.  I think I managed two and half minutes before I became a hot and sweaty mess. Trudging home defeated， I could have quit there and then. But I still went out the next day.

My running progressed slowly. I thought I’d quickly be able to run without stopping， but I didn’t have the stamina and fitness level for it and eventually I realised that I did need some guidance after all. That’s when I decided to join my local parkrun I’d seen pictures and adverts for the weekly event online–a free， regular community run – as well as seeing lots of runners who’d just finished their 5ks， but I’d never been tempted to join.

I thought it was for serious runners， people who were super fit and had been running since they were young – not someone like me. However， my first time was amazing. I went by myself and the people were so friendly. I immediately loved the community element and accountability to keep me running.

Three months in， I started to be able to run 5k easily.  And I decided to set myself new goals： entering the London Marathon for the following year. I started by combining walking and running a few times a week.

Eventually， I completed the London Marathon in October 2021. I’m not going to pretend the marathon was easy， or that I was the fastest runner. In fact， I crossed the finish line at six hours and five minutes， but it was never about the speed for me.  It was about proving to myself that I could do it.

（材料出自Metro网站，有删改）

1. What can we learn from the first paragraph？

A. The author was not good at sport.

B. The author was a fan of many sports.

C. The author was not crazy about goals.

D. The author made many goals about sport.

2. How was the first run of the author？

A. Exciting. B. Annoying.

C. Inspiring. D. Frightening.

3. What made the author join the parkrun？

A. She needed friends to run together.

B. She wanted to get running guidance.

C. She needed some specialists to train her.

D. She wanted to run very fast like an athlete.

4. What personalities does the author have？

A. Caring and loving.

B. Helpful and loving.

C. Determined and positive.

D. Determined and generous.

1. A。解析：细节理解题。材料第一段的倒数第一句和倒数第二句提到“因为在学校时，我从未被选入无网篮球队。所以成年后，我去过健身房，尝试过舞蹈课，甚至有过一段时间的私人教练，但健身没有真正吸引过我”。由此可知，作者不擅长运动，故选A。

2. B。解析：细节理解题。材料第二段的第三句提到“步履沉重地走回家后，我本可以就此放弃的”。由此可知，作者的第一次跑步是令人不爽的，故选B。

3.B。解析：细节理解题。材料第三段的第二句提到“我以为自己很快就能不停地跑步，但我没有足够的耐力和体能，最终我意识到自己确实需要一些指导”。B选项与材料内容相符，故选B。

4. C。解析：推理判断题。阅读全文可知，虽然跑步对作者来说很辛苦，但是她坚持了下来，并且还参加了马拉松比赛。虽然速度不快，跑到终点的用时也很长，但作者证明了自己是可以的。这说明作者是坚定和乐观的，故选C。