题干

阅读理解

    Winter sports tend to be more dangerous than summer sports — they take place mostly outside at the mercy of ice or snow, involving (牵涉) metal edges, extreme speeds and crashes. Skeleton (俯视冰梭), however, stands apart as one of the most difficult and least accessible of all the winter sports. Adam Edelman, Israel's first Olympic skeleton athlete, would like to change that.

    Edelman was the 10th athlete named to the 2018 Israeli Olympic Team. Qualifying for the Olympics in any sport is impressive. But it's more impressive if you qualify for the Olympics after only four years in the sport — and without a coach.

    Edelman was first introduced to skeleton watching the game on television in late 2013. Sports have always been a part of his life. He grew up playing football and was a goalkeeper on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology football team. Ready for a new challenge, he set his sights on the Olympics.

Without a coach, Edelman learned to drive by watching endless hours of YouTube videos and taking more runs than anybody else on the track. “When everybody else would take three runs per day, I would take six to eight.” he recalled.

    Succeeding in skeleton takes a large amount of athletic ability and technical skill, but there's one more element (因素) required, one that can't be taught. “These tracks but built in the middle of nowhere, and it's gray and cold. You haven't seen your family in seven months and you really just want to give up. To continue, it takes tenacity.” Edelman said.

    Edelman is already looking beyond Pyeongchang. The 2022 Olympics could be in his future, but whether he continues to compete or not, he promises to stay in Israeli sports as long as possible-as instructor or as a coach.

上一题 下一题 0.0难度 选择题 更新时间:2018-11-22 11:47:00

答案(点此获取答案解析)

同类题2

阅读《植物聊天》,回答问题

植物聊天

    ①随着科技的进步,计算机网络已成为人们传递和获取信息的重要途径。近日,有科学家研究发现,原来人们眼中那些被动的、只能站在一个地方等待被砍掉或吃掉的植物,也像人类一样,都会构建自己的联络系统。特别是草本植物,例如草莓、芦苇或是羊角芹都能自发地构建这种系统。

    ②在这个联络系统中,每一株植物都会释放和接收特殊信使物质所携带的信息,并与其他植株共享信息。这种传递信息的方式和人类的网络聊天十分相似,因此科学家形象地称之为“植物聊天”。但是让人们好奇的是,植物们在这个聊天网络里都聊些什么呢?

    ③科研人员发现,一些聪明的植物会在危险迫近的时候通过这个网络传递警告信息,从而有效地减轻植物受侵害的程度,提高植物的生存能力。如果有一株植物被毛虫咬食了,那么在同一个网络中的其他植物都会接到内部的警告信号。在接到警告信号之后,那些还没有被咬食的植物就会进行化学物质防御和机械防御,使自己不易受到侵害。此时,毛虫就像打了败仗的士兵,无计可施了。可见,聊天网络功不可没。

    ④当然,任何事物都可能有利弊两个方面,植物的聊天网络也是如此。就好比计算机网络上流行的病毒,在植物聊天网络中,有些特殊病毒就利用网络进行传播,致使整个网络内的植物都可能被感染。

    ⑤这项研究令人称奇的地方,在于它改变了人们对植物的传统认识。现在我们才发现,我们身边那些最常见的植物其实早就是网络聊天的高手了。

(选文有删改)