Book1Unit5 Cliff Young an unlikely hero分析和总结分析和总结.docxVIP

B1U5 Cliff Young, an unlikely hero Para 1 Considered one of the toughest marathon events in the world, the 875-kilometer annual Australian race, a route from Sydney to Melbourne, is a harsh test of endurance for the world’s top athletesi,r age. The young, super-fit runners train for months before a competition and are under contract to prominent sponsors like Nike and Adidas, who finance them and furnish them with a substantial support mechanism of money and equipment. The contest takes up to seven days to complete and is a challenging test of fitness and strength even for world-class athletes who compete for distinction and a cash prize. Para 2 On the day of the race in 1983, Cliff Young, a toothless 61-year-old farmer and amateur runner, wearing rubber boots, and much older than the other runners, was in attendance. No one paid any attention to this odd-looking man who might as well have been invisible. The assembled crowd assumed Cliff was there to observe the race. When he asserted his intention to compete, the world-class athletes around him reacted with apparent disbelief and then with disrespect. Obviously, this was some sort of publicity trick. Para 3 But the press was curious, so as he took his number and moved into the crush of runners in their special, expensive racing gear, the camera focused on him and the assembled reporters shouted question regardless o after question at Cliff. They asked: “Who are you?” “What are you doing?” Para 4 “I’m Cliff Young. I’m from a large farm where we raise sheep outside of Melbourne.” Para 5 They went on, “What makes you think you can run this race? It takes a week to run this race on no more than six hours of sleep a night!” Para 6 Cliff replied, “I’ve run sheep for two or three days at a time. This race should only be a couple more days than that. I believe I can do it.” Para 7 Soon, the marathon started and the young athletes left Cliff far behind, The crowds smiled, and some laughed out loud because he didn ’t even