Exercises
A. Choose the best answer. Do not refer to the text.
The main idea of the story is that _______. ( A )
(a) overcoming her jealousy, a girl athlete helps herself and her rival build up confidence and both win an important race
(b) two girl athletes overcome their misunderstanding of each other and both win a swimming race
(c) sportswomanship helps two girl athletes form a team and win a chance at the Nationals
(d) a girl athlete comes to know sportswomanship better by helping another athlete gain confidence
B. Comprehending the text.
Choose the best answer.
1. Tobi thought it was unfair for Angela to swim in lane four because ______. ( C )
(a) Angela was from a small city swimming team and had not yet proved her ability
(b) Angela needed to swim three miles a day first
(c) Tobi got the right to swim in lane four through hard work while Angela was only a newcomer
(d) she was in the running to compete at the Nationals while Angela was not
2. When Angela first arrived, Tobi was unhappy, ______. ( D )
(a) but she didn't show her feelings to others
(b) and yet she pretended to be friendly
(c) but she tried to be friendly to her
(d) and she couldn't pretend to be friendly
3. When Angela was overtaking Tobi in lane four, the latter ______. ( B )
(a) didn't feel happy but let her go ahead nevertheless
(b) should move to the right but she didn't
(c) stopped swimming ahead because of jealousy
(d) realized that she shouldn't be jealous
4. When Angela beat Tobi and took her place as lane leader during time trials, Tobi felt miserable because ______. ( A )
(a) she was afraid that she would lose her chance at the Nationals
(b) she was sure that she would no longer have a chance at the Nationals
(c) she realized that she had to work harder to get back her chance at the Nationals
(d) the friendship between her and Angela ended at last
5. After Angela became lane leader , Tobi did all the following except ______. ( C )
(a) staying away from fellow team members
(b) walking on the bottom of the pool and pretending to make her stroke
(c) admitting that she was wrong
(d) realizing that she was jealous
6. Sportswomanship, according to Coach, means ______. ( D )
(a) to strive to be number one under all circumstances
(b) to let a better athlete win in the spirit of friendliness
(c) to know the value of a better athlete
(d) to accept a better athlete in the spirit of friendly competition
7. Coach asked Tobi to see the objective fact that __________.( A )
(a) Angela had made better time than Tobi
(b) Angela was a better athlete than Tobi
(c) Angela had defeated Tobi and the latter should accept defeat
(d) Tobi had changed from a good athlete into a bad one
8. When Tobi missed making it into the last and fastest qualifying heat at the Riverdale Meet, .( B )
(a) she was disappointed and lost her confidence completely
(b) she found it wise not to think about Angela and tried hard to concentrate on her own race
(c) Coach came to give her instructions on the spot
(d) she tried hard to cheer up and accept her defeat.
9. When Angela offered an orange to Tobi, __________. ( D )
(a) the latter gladly took it because it would give her quick energy
(b) the latter refused to take it because Angela didn't mean well
(c) she was confident in herself and pretended to be friendly to Tobi
(d) she was trying to comfort and encourage Tobi though she was nervous herself
10. When Angela felt sad because she had not done as well as she could have, Tobi did all of the following except ______________. ( B )
(a) trying to encourage her though she herself was not quite sure she would succeed
(b) advising her to concentrate on not making mistakes
(c) helping her take a positive approach and play the confidence game
(d) remembering that she had not acted properly when Angela had done better in workouts
11. While Tobi was trying to help Angela, she ______________. ( B )
(a) accepted Angela as a better athlete
(b) also had conflicting thoughts about helping her
(c) knew clearly that she herself was going to win
(d) didn't know what she was doing
12. After the scoreboard showed the winning times, __________.( B )
(a) Tobi regretted having helped Angela
(b) Tobi was sad but she congratulated Angela nevertheless
(c) Tobi was truly happy because at least one of the two had made it to the Nationals
(d) Tobi was not happy though she was also able to attend the Nationals
C. Understanding vocabulary.
Choose the correct definition according to the context.
1. My confidence started to disappear the day Angela Brady showed up at the pool for workout. ( D )
(a) was called
(b) got ready
(c) arrived
(d) reported
2. He'd motivated me into swimming three miles a day, and now I was actually in the running to compete at the Nationals. ( A )
(a) encouraged
(b) forced
(c) induced
(d) helped
3. My conscience told me to move over, but something stubborn kept my body in the middle of the lane. ( A )
(a) obstinate
(b) jealous
(c) unhappy
(d) strange
4. "Sportswomanship, in this case, Coach," I quipped, hoping to distract him. ( D )
(a) retort
(b) please
(c) attract
(d) divert
5. "She has made better time than you, Tobi. And that is an objective fact, not something everyone thinks." ( B )
(a) obvious
(b) unchangeable
(c) impersonal
(d) positive
6. I jumped into the water to cut off the sound and mechanically began my stroke. ( A )
(a) emotionlessly
(b) energetically
(c) swiftly
(d) confidently
7. My heat was called . Up on the blocks I willed my muscles into obedience, alert for the starter's commands. ( C )
(a) motion
(b) energy
(c) submission
(d) working
8. Exhausted, I sat on the deck for several minutes, eyes closed, totally spent. ( A )
(a) exhausted
(b) excited
(c) disappointed
(d) depressed
9. All at once, Angela interrupted me. "I do this all the time," she burst out. ( C )
(b) advised
(c) stopped
(d) surprised
10. "Very negative methods," I commented. ( A )
(a) pessimistic
(b) worthless
(c) dangerous
(d) useful
11. "All right!" he said, giving us a smile usually reserved for winners. ( D )
(a) understandable
(b) possessed
(c) given
(d) withheld
12. As Angela and I sat together on the ready bench, I had conflicting thoughts about helping her. ( C )
(a) uneasy
(b) deep
(c) contradictory
(d) agitating
13. Then on the last lap, I concentrated on a single word. Win! I shot through the water and strained for the finish. ( D )
(a) made my way
(b) dashed like a shot
(c) headed straight
(d) made very great efforts
14. I had never felt so left out, so disappointed in my whole life. ( D )
(a) depressed
(b) exhausted
(c) low-spirited
(d) neglected
D. Discussing the following topics.
1.Discuss sportswomanship in Angela and Tobi's story.
答案
1. According to their coach, sportswomanship refers to the fact that one athlete accepts a better athlete in a spirit of friendly competition. As Toby realized that Angela had some advantages over her, she began to behave unsatisfactorily. She came to the training late and even cheated in the training, so the coach wanted to warn her that when one athlete performed better than her, what she should do was to learn from the athlete rather than be jealous.
2. What is meant by the confidence game?
In the text, confidence game refers to how one makes oneself ready for something. In Tobi's opinion, she played confidence game when she was to take part in a race. Before the race really started, Tobi thought about all the good things she had done in the previous race and regarded herself as the best swimmer. This was a way for Tobi to give encouragement to herself and to help her get rid of nervousness before race. This game proved to be very effective when Angela learned to play it with the help of Tobi.
3. If someone does better than you in your class, how would you act towards him or her?
Learn from him or her and try to improve myself.
TOP
