A morning rarely began so perfect. I took in the fresh air and felt my heart run into an enthusiastic rhythm. Though cool, the sun warmed my back as it rose over the horse from not far from my house. The slightest wind danced on my skin. Just enough to keep a runner form overheating. My ever-faithful jogging partner, a black dog named Nika pulled my leg with her mouth, mirroring my eagerness to start our run.
We raced forward with determination, ready to leap tall buildings and race against speeding trains. We pushed harder and ran faster, demonstration our skill and impressing passing motorists and neighbors.
We kept on running until we hit the Beast, a name for a very difficult, nearly two-mile long steep climb.
Only a few paces into the Beast, I gasped for air. Far short of superhero status, my enthusiasm and active steps were lost somewhere at the base of the hill. A vision of the newspaper and a cup of coffee waiting in my kitchen appeared, attracting me to turn back toward home.
With a glance I noticed Nika wasn’t doing any better. She continued to faithfully follow me, putting one paw in front of the other, but without her former eagerness. Her tiredness touched me. And in that moment, I felt a sudden spark of renewed determination to press on. I couldn’t allow this mountain to get the better of us. To improve both our spirits, I managed to shout, “Good girl, Nika! Keep going…you can do it!”
“I’m encouraging a dog, for heaven’s sake!’’ I needed to pull myself together. With a few simple words, I changed our course. One moment we were on the edge of quitting. The next, our feet picked up the pace and we continued. Though tired and discouraged myself, with a few kind words I impacted a dog’s ability to go further. I’m sure I could have completed the opposite with ill-chosen comments and an unpleasant tone. Instead, the Beast was defeated and we flew like heroes the rest of the way home.
Life is full of beasts to conquer. For some, it is the seemingly impossible climb of cancer. For others, their beast takes the shape of parenting a child or a teenager. Uphill climbs come in all shapes and sizes, common only in their ability to defeat, discourage and tempt tired travelers to quit. Sometimes all that’s needed is a few spoken, well-timed words of encouragement from a fellow runner – someone who sees the struggle, dares to jogs alongside, and cares enough to say, “Keep going! You can do it! You’re not alone. I believe in you!”
小题1: The writer starts the text by describing________.
| A．the beautiful scene of the morning |
| B．his or her preparations for a jogging |
| C．a lively dog named Nika |
| D．the growth of crops at the farm |
小题2: The writer mentioned the newspaper and coffee to suggest that he or she _______.
| A．liked reading newspapers while drinking coffee |
| B．had an intention to give up running |
| C．would treat himself or herself to coffee after running |
| D．might appear on the newspaper for the long running |
小题3: The writer decided to continue running _______.
| A．after he or she found the dog was still energetic |
| B．because they came near the top of the hill |
| C．when he or she noticed the tired dog |
| D．before they arrived at the bottom of the hill |
小题4: What does the writer expect to show by telling the story?
| A．Words are powerful than deeds. |
| B．Beasts in life aren’t easily to conquer. |
| C．Dogs are the best friend of humans. |
| D．Try it one more time before giving up. |