當一個運動菜鳥去跑馬拉松

I’ve always been a big fan of goal setting. Soon， I decided to focus on personal fitness goals. “I want to teach myself to run，” I announced one day to my husband and family. This came as a surprise to them. Because at school I was never picked for the netball team. In adulthood I’d joined a gym， tried dance classes， and even had a personal trainer for a while but the fitness bug never really bit me.

My first run was a rude awakening， though. I think I managed two and half minutes before I became a hot and sweaty mess. Trudging home defeated， I could have quit there and then. But I still went out the next day.

My running progressed slowly. I thought I’d quickly be able to run without stopping， but I didn’t have the stamina and fitness level for it and eventually I realised that I did need some guidance after all. That’s when I decided to join my local parkrun I’d seen pictures and adverts for the weekly event online–a free， regular community run – as well as seeing lots of runners who’d just finished their 5ks， but I’d never been tempted to join.

I thought it was for serious runners， people who were super fit and had been running since they were young – not someone like me. However， my first time was amazing. I went by myself and the people were so friendly. I immediately loved the community element and accountability to keep me running.

Three months in， I started to be able to run 5k easily. And I decided to set myself new goals： entering the London Marathon for the following year. I started by combining walking and running a few times a week.

Eventually， I completed the London Marathon in October 2021. I’m not going to pretend the marathon was easy， or that I was the fastest runner. In fact， I crossed the finish line at six hours and five minutes， but it was never about the speed for me. It was about proving to myself that I could do it.

（材料出自Metro網站，有刪改）

1. What can we learn from the first paragraph？

A. The author was not good at sport.

B. The author was a fan of many sports.

C. The author was not crazy about goals.

D. The author made many goals about sport.

2. How was the first run of the author？

A. Exciting. B. Annoying.

C. Inspiring. D. Frightening.

3. What made the author join the parkrun？

A. She needed friends to run together.

B. She wanted to get running guidance.

C. She needed some specialists to train her.

D. She wanted to run very fast like an athlete.

4. What personalities does the author have？

A. Caring and loving.

B. Helpful and loving.

C. Determined and positive.

D. Determined and generous.

1. A。解析：細節理解題。材料第一段的倒數第一句和倒數第二句提到“因為在學校時，我從未被選入無網籃球隊。所以成年后，我去過健身房，嘗試過舞蹈課，甚至有過一段時間的私人教練，但健身沒有真正吸引過我”。由此可知，作者不擅長運動，故選A。

2. B。解析：細節理解題。材料第二段的第三句提到“步履沉重地走回家后，我本可以就此放棄的”。由此可知，作者的第一次跑步是令人不爽的，故選B。

3.B。解析：細節理解題。材料第三段的第二句提到“我以為自己很快就能不停地跑步，但我沒有足夠的耐力和體能，最終我意識到自己確實需要一些指導”。B選項與材料內容相符，故選B。

4. C。解析：推理判斷題。閱讀全文可知，雖然跑步對作者來說很辛苦，但是她堅持了下來，并且還參加了馬拉松比賽。雖然速度不快，跑到終點的用時也很長，但作者證明了自己是可以的。這說明作者是堅定和樂觀的，故選C。