Passage 2

Choose the best answer.（根据以下内容，选择最恰当的答案）（12分）

Running a marathon is not easy. It takes hard work, practice, and patience. To run a marathon, you have to run 26.2 miles by foot! 26.2 miles is the same as running the length of a football field more than 460 times. It takes most people four or five hours to finish. In 2013 world's fastest marathon runner finished the race in 2:03:23. Imagine running for over two hours without a break.

By the age of 30, Lea Tambellini had run more than five marathons and had no plans to had always been an athlete. When she was in high school, she swam on her school's swim team and began to train relay race. Her mom and dad ran marathons, and when she was 22, they helped her train for first marathon.

Lea's first marathon took place in Ohio, which was called “The Flying Pig”. “I was very nervous, ” she said, “but I had my mom there, so that helped.”

Running the race was hard, but the hardest part was when she ran past a cookie factory and smelled cookies at mile 18. “I just wanted to be done.” She said, “I was spent, but my mom kept me going. It was already her 15th marathon.”

The word“marathon”comes from a Greek legend（传说，传奇）. In the legend, a brave soldier ran all the way from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens, Greece to tell everyone the Greeks had won the battle against the Persians. It is said that he ran the entire way without stopping—a distance equal to a modern marathon.

Today, thousands of people run marathons every year. Runners train for months to get ready. To prepare for one of the marathons, Lea ran four to five times every week. On weekdays, she completed shorter runs, five or six miles at most. But on the weekends she ran long distances—13 miles, 15 miles and 20 miles!

“I don't mind training because I get excited about working toward something. And I love running with a group of friends and working toward the goal together. But it does take a lot of time.”

Running a marathon is a great achievement.“It's a great feeling of accomplishment（成就） and nothing feels as wonderful as reaching my goal when I cross the finish line.” Lea explained. “I can't wait for the next one! ”

（　） 1. It usually takes most people _______hours to finish a marathon.

A. over two

B. two or three

C. over four

D. four or five

（　） 2. Lea trained for her first _______when she was 22.

A. swimming meet

B. relay race

C. marathon

D. baseball season

（　） 3. Lea felt _______when she ran her first marathon “The Flying Pig”.

A. bored

B. nervous

C. excited

D. tired

（　） 4. “But it does take a lot of time.” Here “it” refers to “ _______” in this sentence.

A. running with a group of friends

B. working towards the goal

C. training for a marathon

D. running a marathon

（　） 5. Which statement is NOT true according to the text?

A. Lea had run more than 15 marathons by the time she was 30 years old.

B. There was a marathon in Ohio called “The Flying Pig”.

C. The word “marathon” comes from a Greek legend.

D. Runners train for months to get ready for a marathon.

（　） 6. The main idea of this text is _______.

A. it takes most people several hours to run a marathon

B. running a marathon is hard work, but Lea enjoys it

C. the hardest part of Lea's first marathon was running past a cookie factory

D. running a marathon is a great achievement