A Leap to Honor
Leaping on a narrow balance beam(平衡木) is not easy. But Lola Walter, a 13-year-old gymnast, is an expert at it.
To perfect her skills, Lola
for four hours a day, five days a week. At the state championships in March, she finished seventh out of 16 girls.
That’s especially impressive,
she is legally blind, born with a rare condition that causes her eyes to shift constantly. She often sees double and can’t
how far away things are.
When she was little, her mom
that even though she couldn’t see
, she was fearless. So her mom signed her up for gymnastics when she was three. She loved the
right away and gymnastics became her favorite.
Though learning gymnastics has been more
for her than for some of her tournaments, she has never quit. She doesn’t let her
stop her from doing anything that she wants to.
She likes the determination it takes to do the sport. Her biggest
is the balance beam. Because she has double vision, she often sees two beams. She must use her sense of touch to help her during her routine. Sometimes she even closes her eyes. “You have to
your mind that it’ll take you where you want to go.” says Lola.
To be a top-level gymnast, one must be brave. The beam is probably the most
for anyone because it’s four inches wide. At the state competition, Lola didn’t fall
the beam. In fact, she got an 8.1 out of 10---- her highest score yet.
Lola doesn’t want to be
differently from the other girls on her team. At the competitions, the judges don’t know about her vision
. She doesn’t tell them, because she doesn’t think they need to know. Her mom is amazed by her
attitude.
Lola never thinks about
. She is presently at Level 7 while the highest is Level 10 in gymnastics. Her
is to reach Level 9. She says she wants to be a gymnastics coach to pass down what she’s learned to other kids
she grew up.
Lola is
of all her hard work and success. She says it’s helped her overcome problems in her life outside gymnastics, too. Her
for others is “just believe yourself”.
| 小題1: | | A．runs | B．teaches | C．trains | D．dances |
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| 小題2: | | A．since | B．unless | C．a(chǎn)fter | D．though |
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| 小題3: | | A．tell | B．guess | C．a(chǎn)ssume | D．predict |
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| 小題4: | | A．suspected | B．remembered | C．imagined | D．noticed |
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| 小題5: | | A．deeply | B．well | C．a(chǎn)head | D．closely |
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| 小題6: | | A．task | B．sport | C．event | D．show |
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| 小題7: | | A．boring | B．enjoyable | C．different | D．unsatisfactory |
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| 小題8: | | A．talent | B．quality | C．nature | D．condition |
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| 小題9: | | A．doubt | B．a(chǎn)dvantage | C．challenge | D．program |
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| 小題10: | | A．examine | B．express | C．open | D．trust |
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| 小題11: | | A．fearful | B．harmful | C．unfair | D．inconvenient |
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| 小題12: | | A．to | B．on | C．off | D．a(chǎn)gainst |
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| 小題13: | | A．greeted | B．treated | C．served | D．paid |
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| 小題14: | | A．pains | B．stresses | C．injuries | D．problems |
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| 小題15: | | A．positive | B．friendly | C．flexible | D．caution |
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| 小題16: | | A．defending | B．quitting | C．winning | D．bargaining |
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| 小題17: | | A．standard | B．range | C．view | D．goal |
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| 小題18: | | A．until | B．a(chǎn)s | C．when | D．before |
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| 小題19: | | A．proud | B．tired | C．a(chǎn)shamed | D．confident |
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| 小題20: | | A．plan | B．a(chǎn)dvice | C．reward | D．responsibility |
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