艾瑪完成第23次“狼跑”

山西祁縣中學校 張俊蕤

Adventure-seeker Emma broke her ankle when she fell awkwardly while climbing a rock and spent a week in hospital waiting for an operation on her foot．When she was sent home to recover under strict instructions not to bear any weight，she became so fearful of crutches（拐杖） that she didn't move for three weeks.“I tried crutches but I kept falling over and injuring myself．So I literally just stayed on the sofa all day，” says Emma．

She was gutted at the thought of missing the Wolf Run—a quarterly event that she hasn't missed since 2014．“If you complete four Wolf Runs in a year，one in each season，you get Alpha Wolf status，” explains Emma．“This year was going to be my fifth in a row as an Alpha Wolf and I was really upset that I'd lose my status．” So she was willing to try anything to get through the course—even with her injured ankle．

“I was telling my friend that I was going to cancel，but he persuaded me to give it a go．Having something to aim for really kept me going．” Emma completed the run wearing an iWALK2．0，which is a medically-approved device and it basically functions like a high-tech artificial leg，allowing users to walk freely．“I decided to get one and it completely changed my recovery．I could move around the house and start getting out and about again，which had a real impact on my mental well-being．”

On the day of the race，Emma was nervous but the sound of people cheering her on kept her motivated．Emma made it over the finish line in just under six hours and clocked up her 23rd Wolf Run in five years．“It was an incredible day and my determination to finish combined with the support I received along the way kept me going，” says Emma．

Reading Check

1．Why was Emma frightened to use a crutch?

A．She was warned not to move around．

B．She was afraid of recovering slowly．

C．She often got injured when using one．

D．She just had an operation on her foot．

2．What does the underlined word “gutted”mean in paragraph 2?

A．A bit relieved．

B．Extremely sad．

C．Very surprised．

D．Pretty cheerful．

3．What actually made Emma take part in the race?

A．Her new high-tech artificial leg．

B．Her fear of letting her friend down．

C．Her complete recovery from the operation．

D．Her strong desire to achieve her ambition．

4．Which of the following best describes Emma?

A．Creative．

B．Supportive．

C．Humorous．

D．Strong-willed．

Language Study

Difficult sentence

When she was sent home to recover under strict instructions not to bear any weight，she became so fearful of crutches that she didn't move for three weeks．

【翻譯】_____________________________________________________________________________

【點石成金】這是一個主從復合句，she became so fearful of crutches that she didn't move for three weeks是主句，屬于so．．．that．．．句型，that she didn't move for three weeks是結果狀語從句，When she was sent home to recover under strict instructions not to bear any weight是when引導的時間狀語從句。