Until 1954 it was thought that no man could run one mile in less than four minut

Until 1954 it was thought that no man could run one mile in less than four minutes. As years 1 the record came closer and closer to four minutes and Roger Bannister, a young English 2, began to believe he might 3 this almost magic barrier.

  It was a cold afternoon on May 6^th, 1954, when Bannister knew he had a 4 chance. Bannister had been _5 hard and was very fit, but the weather conditions were a real 6 to him. Describing the 7 later, Bannister said, “On the way to the track, the wind blew strongly. As I 8 for the start I glanced at the flag. It moved 9 now. This was the moment when I made my decision.”

  “The gun fired. My legs 10  to meet no resistance, as if I was 11 forward by some unknown force. The noise from the faithful 12 gave me greater strength. I felt the 13 of a lifetime had come.”

  “I was driven on by a 14 of fear and pride. My body had long since used up all its energy 15 it went on running just the same. This was the critical moment when my legs were strong enough to carry me over the last few yards as they 16 could have done in previous years. When I leapt(冲向) at the 17 tape（跑道终点的细绳）, I fell, almost 18.”

“I knew I had done it, even before I 19 the time. The announcement came, ‵Result of the one mile…Time, three minutes…′the rest was 20 in the noise of excitement.”

1.    A. passed along                   B. passed down          C. went by                  D. went over

2.    A. coach                            B. athlete                   C. captain                    D. judge

3. A. defeat                               B. move                     C. beat                        D. break

4. A. real                                  B. lucky                     C. serious                    D. false

5. A. competing                         B. training                  C. fighting                   D. attending

6. A. eagerness                          B. pleasure                 C. relief                       D. worry

7. A. accident                            B. event                     C. issue                       D. topic

8. A. did up                               B. made up                C. put up                     D. lined up

9. A. safely                                B. heavily                   C. thinly                      D. gently

10. A. seemed                            B. used                      C. happened                D. had

11. A. dragged                           B. drawn                   C. pulled                     D. pushed

12. A. mass                              B. residents                C. crowd                    D. team

13. A. moment                           B. period                    C. while                      D. date

14. A. concentration                   B. collection               C. combination            D. classification

15. A. so                                   B. but                       C. or                           D. as

16. A. never                              B. ever                      C. even                       D. still

17. A. starting                            B. lasting                   C. finishing                  D. running

18. A. unconcerned                    B. unconscious           C. unknown                D. unnoticed

19. A. offered                            B. told                      C. announced              D. heard

20. A. stuck                              B. involved                 C. lost                         D. spread

试题答案

1-5 CBDAB     6-10 DBDDA      11-15 DCACB      16-20 ACBDC