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  3. Like many people, I’ve always seen the Olympics as the "main" sporting event

Like many people, I’ve always seen the Olympics as the "main" sporting event

游客2023-12-23  36
问题     Like many people, I’ve always seen the Olympics as the "main" sporting event held every four years—the headline act—and the Paralympics as something of an "add-on"—the supporting act. It you are not disabled yourself it is hard to understand some of the games and the athletes mobility problems.
    But being in the host city for these Paralympics changed my perspective. I came to realize these athletes were nothing short of superheroes. Deprived of physical abilities that able-bodied people take for granted, they made up for them and then some. They tested their senses and the boundaries of physical ability to extremes that the Bolts and Phelpses of this world would never have to.
    If some Olympic runners had to undergo a double-amputation, I wonder if they would strap two carbon fiber blades to their knees like Oscar Pistorius, also known as Blade Runner, of South Africa, and relearn everything that once came naturally.
    If some Olympic swimming heroes suddenly went blind, would they have the courage to still surge through the water like Donovan Tildesley, not knowing when they would reach the end of the pool? Would any of us have the guts to turn around a life-changing experience like a car crash or bad rugby scrum. And not only get our lives back on track but then strive to be the best at a sport?
    "What Paralympic sport would you do if you were disabled?" was a water-cooler question I posed today. It’s not something you would normally think about. You don’t watch TV as a kid aspiring to be a Paralympian. But it takes more than early mornings, training programs and special diets to get to the Paralympics. It takes a tragedy or loss that will have been grieved over, worked through and overcome.
    Skiing is terrifying enough if you have all your faculties. Standing at the top of a ski slope, it’s a battle of wills for most people to launch themselves, but Canada’s Donovan Tildesley, who has been blind from birth, revealed to a China Daily reporter that not only did he already ski, but he also wanted to take it up competitively.
    Superheroes indeed, each and every one. The Paralympics should be renamed the "Superlympics". It’s nothing to do with the equality denoted by the Greek "para", it’s about "super" ability, courage and strength that most of us, the top able-bodied athletes of the world included, will never have to muster.
    It’s worth remembering that many Paralympians suffered horrific injuries while living life to the full. You don’t get paralyzed sitting at home playing video games. And having lived life to the full they are not prepared to stop. That’s the lesser talked about "Paralympic spirit".
    I only hope that if life dealt me or my loved ones similar blows we would tackle them in the same way as these outstanding men and women. [br] The word "faculties"(para. 6)is closest in meaning to______.
选项 A、facilities
B、abilities
C、handicaps
D、adversities
答案 B
解析
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