This time last year I entered two long-distance mass-participation swimming events, including the Jubilee River 10 km swim. At the last minute, just before both swims, I decided to pull out.
The reality is, I live in fear of coming last.
When you have swum the English Channel, people think you are somehow superhuman and fearless. Many years have passed since my Channel swimming days, but my expectations are still high.
Last year, in the run-up to the two events, I realized that I couldn’t cope with coming last. I had looked at the swim times of those who had completed the previous year and calculated that, at my current swim pace, I would probably have come last.
But when January 2016 came around, I decided to enter those same events again.
For a few months, I trained hard, but I didn’t get any faster. Then it was June 5，the day of the Jubilee River 10 km. The event started at 9:30 am, and the swimmers anxiously hovered, eager to start. As I swam along, the river was quiet and clean and everything was peaceful. The sun shone, Meadows (草地）rolled by and every now and again someone would wave or peer at the scene unfolding in the water.
As the day wore on, somehow I didn’t mind that, predictably, almost everyone was ahead. There were at least some swimmers still near me, and although we shared the same fiver we quietly occupied our own spaces. As I concentrated on doing my own thing, watching the sky, the bank, the other swimming caps passing or not passing, I realized I was enjoying myself.
In the end，four hours and 29 minutes after I ’ d started，I staggered out of the water and was greeted with a smile and a “well done” from the race organizer. I glanced back over my shoulder toward the water and noticed that there were a small handful of swimmers who were still to finish, behind me, out of a field of around 300. But it didn’t matter. I was just relieved, proud and happy to finish.
As I drove away, my thoughts turned to my next long race of the season and how much I was looking forward to it, my fears of coming last gently receding.
24. What caused the author to give up the swimming events last year?
A. The lack of time for training. B. The high expectations from other people.
C. The pressure from other competitors. D. The fear of being the last.
25. How did the author feel when she competed in the Jubilee River 10 km race?
A. Patient. B. Discouraged. C. Delighted. D. Anxious.
26. What does the word “receding” in the last paragraph refer to?
A. Arising. B. Quitting. C. Disappearinging. D. Strengthening.
27. What message does this article mainly convey?
A. Never should we give up.
B. Constant dripping water wears away the stone.
C. The process is more important than the result.
D. A good beginning is half done.