My life as a ‘runner’ began by running in a playground near my home in order to lose weight about 2 years ago. As time went by, I found myself so good at running that sometimes, I even forgot how many rounds I ran around the playground.
Thanks to all this practice, I was able to win the 5
th place in short course marathon game at ‘BASF Yeosu Site Athletic Competition’ held in October 2002. This event inspired（鼓舞）me to take part in public short-course marathon games such as 10km, 20km and half-course competitions. Finally, in May 2003, I was able to complete a full course （路线） marathon for the first time of my life. My next challenge was the Boston Marathon race, which is the world's oldest and most famous marathon races. To qualify for the Boston Marathon, one should meet the designated time standard of their age group at a certified marathon. So I took part in ChunCheon Marathon in Korea. I had to finish the full coursewithin 3 hours and 30 minutes to meet the time standard for my age group (45 to 49 years old). But to my pleasant surprise, I recorded 3 hours 22 minutes, which is 25 minute faster than my previous best record!
In April 2004, I was finally able to go to Boston. I was very pleased and proud because I could play a role to promote BASF all across the world through this sport. And it really happened! When I ran in the Boston Marathon wearing BASF logo（标记）, people along the streets rooted for me shouting ‘BASF! BASF!’. I was very touched and so proud of my company. Of course I completed the full course successfully. After the game, I was interviewed by Korean local newspapers and had an opportunity to appear on several TV shows, which helped me to promote BASF in the community.
小题1:The author first began running in order to ______.
| A．build up his strength | B．prepare for a marathon race |
| C．lose weight | D．train for a sport meet |
小题2: From the passage we can learn that BASF is ______.
| A．a company | B．a book |
| C．a piece of sports equipment | D．a city |
小题3:We learn from the passage that the author is NOW______.
| A．in his thirties | B．in his late forties |
| C．in his twenties | D．in his fifties |
小题4:According to the passage, the author first took part in a full course marathon in ______.
