三、完形填空
“Three miles!” Sarah called, looking at the marathon poster. This seemed really hard, for her, the slowest runner in Grade 8. But Mum encouraged her, “You won’t know you try!”
Sarah joined the race. But the first training day ended in when she could only run half a mile, and some kids laughed at her, making her cry.
Feeling , Sarah went to the school library and stayed by herself. There, an old book caught her eye. On its cover were these words: , Not Perfection. Inside the book were stories of great people who succeeded by taking small steps. Sarah made a(n) : Run for one more minute each day. She began getting up early to jog. On the 21st day, she had a small win—she ran a full mile without ! Her breathing became easier too.
The race day arrived with light rain. Sarah did her best, but many runners passed her. By mile 2, Sarah’s shirt was with rain and sweat, and she slowed down. Then she heard the voices. “Go, Sarah! You’ve got this!” Her classmates were all cheering for her! Sarah ran as fast as she could to the finish line. When she crossed it, the clock read 34:17. She came in last but her time was much shorter than that of her first run.
Sarah smiled. The real victory wasn’t the race itself, but the courage to the challenges and keep trying day after day. And that made her stronger.
()1. A. probably B. certainly C. especially D. hardly
()2. A. if B. until C. although D. once
()3. A. hopes B. fears C. jokes D. tears
()4. A. excited B. terrible C. fine D. bored
()5. A. Peace B. Progress C. War D. Budget
()6. A. plan B. order C. journey D. hunt
()7. A. stopping B. breathing C. laughing D. jumping
()8. A. ancient B. comfortable C. heavy D. fresh
()9. A. familiar B. scary C. dead D. regular
()10. A. look B. turn C. pack D. face

1. C
2. B
3. D
4. B
5. B
6. A
7. A
8. C
9. A
10. D

【分析】
本题为励志主题的完形填空，需先通读全文把握主旨（Sarah从跑步困难到坚持完成马拉松，感悟面对挑战的勇气），再结合上下文语境、词义辨析及固定搭配逐一分析选项：1题强调对最慢的Sarah而言难度“尤其”大；2题考查“not...until”固定搭配；3题根据“made her cry”判断结果；4题训练失败后心情“糟糕”；5题结合后文“small steps”确定书的主题；6题考查“make a plan”固定搭配；7题对应“小胜利”的表现；8题描述衬衫被雨汗浸湿的状态；9题对应同学的声音特征；10题考查“face challenges”固定搭配。
【解析】
1. 选C。句意：这看起来真的很难，尤其是对八年级跑得最慢的Sarah来说。especially“尤其”，符合语境；其余选项（probably可能、certainly当然、hardly几乎不）均不符合。
2. 选B。固定搭配“not...until”意为“直到……才”，句意：你不尝试就不会知道！符合逻辑。
3. 选D。根据后半句“made her cry”可知，第一天训练以眼泪结束，tears“眼泪”正确。
4. 选B。训练失败后Sarah心情糟糕，terrible“糟糕的”符合；其余选项（excited兴奋的、fine好的、bored无聊的）均不符合。
5. 选B。结合后文“通过小步骤成功”可知，书的主题是“进步而非完美”，progress“进步”正确。
6. 选A。固定搭配“make a plan”意为“制定计划”，Sarah制定了每天多跑一分钟的计划，符合语境。
7. 选A。21天的小胜利是跑一英里没有停下，stopping“停下”正确；其余选项（breathing呼吸、laughing笑、jumping跳）均不符合。
8. 选C。衬衫被雨和汗浸湿，heavy“湿透的、重的”符合语境；其余选项（ancient古老的、comfortable舒适的、fresh新鲜的）均不符合。
9. 选A。听到熟悉的同学的加油声，familiar“熟悉的”正确；其余选项（scary吓人的、dead死的、regular定期的）均不符合。
10. 选D。固定搭配“face challenges”意为“面对挑战”，句意：真正的胜利是面对挑战并坚持的勇气，符合主旨。
【答案】
1.C 2.B 3.D 4.B 5.B 6.A 7.A 8.C 9.A 10.D
【知识点】
完形填空词义辨析、语境理解、固定搭配
【点评】
本文通过Sarah参加马拉松的励志经历，传递了“坚持面对挑战就是胜利”的主题，考查学生对上下文语境的把握及词汇、固定搭配的运用能力，是初中阶段典型的基础完形填空题型。
【难度系数】
0.6