A Leap (跳跃) 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 ___41___ 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, ___42___ she is legally blind, born with a rare condition that causes her eyes to shift constantly. She often sees double and can’t ___43___ how far away things are.
When she was little, her mom ___44___ that even though she couldn’t see ___45___, she was fearless. So her mom signed her up for gymnastics when she was three. She loved the ___46___ right away and gymnastics became her favorite.
Though learning gymnastics has been more ___47___ for her than for some of her teammates, she has never quit (放弃). She doesn’t let her ___48___ stop her from doing anything that she wants to.
She likes the determination it takes to do the sport. Her biggest ___49___ 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 ___50___ 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 ___51___ for anyone because it’s four inches wide. At the state competition, Lola didn’t fall ___52___ the beam. In fact, she got an 8. 1 out of 10 –– her highest score yet.
Lola doesn’t want to be ___53___ differently from the other girls on her team. At the competitions, the judges don’t know about her vision ___54___. She doesn’t tell them, because she doesn’t think they need to know. Her mom is amazed by her ___55___ attitude.
Lola never thinks about ___56___. She is presently at level 7 while the highest is level 10 in gymnastics. Her ___57___ is to reach level 9. She says she wants to be a gymnastics coach to pass down what she’s learned to other kids ___58___ she grew up.
Lola is ___59___ of all her hard work and success. She says it has helped her overcome problems in her life outside gymnastics, too. Her ___60___ for others is “just believe yourself”.
41. A. runs B. teaches C. trains D. dances
42. A. as B. unless C. after D. though
43. A. tell B. guess C. assume D. predict
44. A. suspected B remembered C. imagined D. noticed
45. A. deeply B. well C. ahead D. closely
46. A. task B. sport C. event D. show
47. A. boring B. enjoyable C. difficult D. unsatisfactory
48. A. talent B. quality C. nature D. condition
49. A. doubt B. advantage C. challenge D. program
50. A. examine B. express C. open D. trust
51. A. fearful B. harmful C. unfair D. inconvenient
52. A. to B. on C. off D. against
53. A. greeted B. treated C. served D. paid
54. A. pains B. stresses C. injuries D. problems
55. A. positive B. friendly C. flexible D. caution
56. A. defending B. quitting C. winning D. bargaining
57. A. standard B. range C. view D. goal
58. A. until B. as C. when D. before
59. A. proud B. tired C. ashamed D. confident
60. A. plan B. advice C. reward D. responsibility