Liu Xiang was the first Asian to win the men’s 110m hurdles（跳栏）at the Olympic Games in Athens. After that he became an idol（偶像）to the young people. When Liu Xiang crossed the finish line far ahead of the other players, in a world record-equaling time of 12.91 seconds, many fans burst into tears. It was Liu’s first Olympics and he won the gold medal.“I never thought I could run under 13 seconds, and I never thought I would break the Olympic record,”said Liu in tears,“I am very, very excited. This is a wonder. I’m proud not just for myself and for Chinese but for Asia. My race went wonderfully from start to finish,”Liu added.“It is an amazing experience being the Olympic champion. I want to thank my coach and my friends for all their help. I think today we Chinese have showed the world we can run as fast as anybody else.”

　　When Liu was a grade four student in a primary school, he was chosen by the Junior Sports School of Putuo District in Shanghai to practice jumping. But when a bone test showed he would not become a tall man, Liu was asked to give up practicing after one year although he had won the national championship for his age group. Liu’s parents also wanted him to give it up and study more at school, but Liu decided to continue practicing jumping. In 1998 when Liu Xiang, aged 15, met the famous coach Sun Haiping, his career changed greatly. Sun believed Liu was a rising star and after visiting Liu’s parents several times, finally he persuaded them to let Liu practice the ll0m hurdles. Since his return from Athens, Liu has been at the center of a media circus（媒体焦点）. He became well known around the world. But Liu thinks 2004 is just the beginning, he will be better in 2008, he said,“For some players, it’s just a job. For me, it’s what I love.”

(2) What does the underlined word “persuaded” mean?

A．a bone test showed he wouldn’t become tall enough to be a high jumper

B．his parents stopped him from jumping

C．the famous coach Sun Haiping changed his and his parents’ ideas

A．It is just a job

B．It can bring him a lot of money

C．It is what he loves.

A．Liu Xiang was not the first Chinese to win the sprint（疾跑）gold medal in Athens

B．Liu Xiang didn’t want to take part in the Olympic Games in 2008

C．the Chinese people can run as fast as the people in other countries

阅读理解训练

　　Have you ever suddenly felt that someone you know was in trouble-and he was? Have you ever dreamed something that came true later? Maybe you have ESP(超感官知能).

　　ESP stands for Extra Sensory Perception. It may be called a sixth sense. It seems to let people know about events before they happen, or events that are happening some distance away.

　　Here is an example：A woman was doing washing. Suddenly she screamed, “My father is dead! I saw him sitting in the chair!” Just then, a telegram came. The woman' s father had died of a heart attack. He died sitting in a chair.

　　There are thousands of stories like this on record. Scientists are studying them to find out what is behind these strange mental messages. Here's another example-one of hundreds of dreams that have come true.

　　A man dreamed he was walking along a road when a horse and carriage came by. The driver said, “There's room for one more.” The man felt the driver was Deather, so he ran away. The next day the man was getting on a crowded bus. This driver said, “There's room for one more.” Then the man saw the driver's face was the same face he had seen in the dream. He wouldn't get on the bus. As the bus drove off, it crashed and burst into flames. Everyone was killed!

　　Some people say stories like these are lies or coincidences. Others, including some scientists say that ESP is true. Form studies of ESP, we may some day learn more about the human mind.

1．ESP lets people know about ________.

[　　]

A．their dreams

B．events after they happen

C．events before they happen

D．heart attacks

2．According to the passage, the woman ________.

[　　]

A．dreamed that her father died

B．died of heart attack while sitting in a chair

C．felt her father died while she was washing

D．refused to get on the bus

3．The example of the man shows an ability to ________.

[　　]

A．avoid traffic accidents

B．judge the good and evil of a person

C．know about the events that are happening some distance away

D．sense a danger that will actually happen later on

4．The best title for this passage is ________.

[　　]