(1)I used to watch her from my kitchen window, she seemed so small as she muscled her way through the crowd of boys on the playground. The school was across the street from our home and I would often watch the kids as they played during recess. A sea of children, and yet to me, she stood out from them all. (2)I remember the first day I saw her playing basketball. I watched in wonder as she ran circles around the other kids. She managed to shoot jump shots just over their heads and into the net. The boys always tried to stop her but no one could I began to notice her at other times, basketball in hand, playing alone. She would practice dribbling and shooting over and over again, sometimes until dark. One day I asked her why she practiced so much. She looked directly in my eyes and without a moment of hesitation she said, "I want to go to college. The only way I can go is if I get a scholarship. I like basketball. I decided that if I were good enough, I would get a scholarship. I am going to play college basketball. I want to be the best. My Daddy told me if the dream is big enough, the facts don't count." (3)Then she smiled and ran towards the court to repeat the routine I had seen over and over again. Well, I had to give it to her—she was determined. I watched her through those junior high years and into high school. Every week, she led her team to victory. One day in her senior year, I saw her sitting in the grass, head cradled in her arms. (4)I walked across the street and sat down in the cool grass beside her. Quietly I asked what was wrong. "Oh, nothing," came a soft reply. "I am just too short." The coach told her that at 5'5" she would probably never get to play for a top ranked team—much less offered a scholarship—so she should stop dreaming about college. She was heartbroken and I felt my own throat tighten as I sensed her disappointment. (5)I asked her if she had talked to her dad about it yet. She lifted her head from her hands and told me that her father said those coaches were wrong. They just did not understand the power of a dream. He told her that if she really wanted to play for a good college, if she truly wanted a scholarship, that nothing could stop her except one thing—her own attitude. He told her again, "If the dream is big enough, the facts don't count." The next year, as she and her team went to the Northern California Championship game, she was seen by a college recruiter. She was indeed offered a scholarship, a full ride, to a Division I, NCAA women's basketball team. She was going to get the college education that she had dreamed of and worked toward for all those years. (6)It's true: If the dream is big enough, the facts don't count.
单选题 When the author watched the girl playing basketball for the first time, he was______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】解析:根据题干的watched the girl playing basketball for the first time定位到第2段第2、7句。虽然作者没有直截了当点明他第一次看女孩练球时的感受,但从作者使用的in wonder,ask...why…等描述来看,作者当时的感受是“好奇”,故本题选A。B很具迷惑性,因为第2段有女孩跳起来投篮命中的表述,但作者在此时并没有表现出admire,而是直到最后才逐渐对女孩表达赞美之情;C、D纯属凭空想象。
单选题 "it" in Para. 3 Three most probably refers to______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】解析:根据题干直接定位到第3段第2句。解题时只要将四个选项代回原文中,即可发现只有C符合文意。将A、B代入原文句子中,句意不通顺;另外,作者并没有建议女孩做什么,所以D也排除。
单选题 Which of the following statements about the girl is CORRECT?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】解析:根据各选项内容定位到第4、5段。根据第4段可知,女孩因为听了教练的话:她太矮了,也许永远也无法为顶级的球队效力,很伤心,连作者也感觉到她的失落。由此可判断D的表述正确。听了教练的话,女孩当时虽然很伤心,但从后文可知她并没有因此改变对篮球的态度或对自己完全失去信心,排除A、C。文中虽提到女孩的爸爸对女孩说教练的话不对,但文中没有女孩是否相信的相关表述,故B可排除。
单选题 It can be inferred from the passage that a college recruiter is responsible for______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】解析:根据题干中的college recruiter定位到第5段。根据该段倒数第3句可知;女孩因为精湛的球技被college recruiter发现之后,获得了一笔全额奖学金,并进入了NCAA其中一个女子甲组篮球队。由此可见,college recruiter的职责在于发掘最优秀的球员,故B为本题答案。