Jessica Long, from Baltimore, Maryland, USA, is a champion by all definitions of the word. She is one of the world’s most decorated swimmers. Jessica was the youngest athlete, at 12 years old, to win a Paralympics medal. But her path to becoming a champion has been anything but easy.

Jessica was born in Irkutsk, Russia with a serious and rare birth defect—fibular hemimelia. This means that part of her leg bones were missing or deformed. Fearing she could not care for Jessica, her young mother placed her in a Russian orphanage.

Fortunately, she was adopted by an American family when she was 13 months old. She required 25 different operations to help her leg condition. But unfortunately, both of her legs had to be amputated when she was just 18 months old.

Jessica learned to walk with man-made legs. As a child, she took to sports including gymnastics, cheerleading, ice skating, biking, trampoline, and rock climbing.

She began swimming at her grandparents’ house before she started competitive swimming. She was really good at swimming. Shortly after she started competing, Jessica was selected as Maryland’s Female Swimmer of the Year with Disability.

Then Jessica was encouraged to enter her first Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece. She won three gold medals in swimming at age 12! She was the youngest athlete on the U. S. Paralympic Team to ever do so. But she did not rest on her success. Jessica has gone on to win 23 medals for Team USA at the Paralympics! She is one of the most decorated athletes of all time.

She is now a positive force on a mission to encourage the next generation of Paralympic athletes! Jessica always believes she can do anything. She always gives 110%. She is always learning. And she never allows herself to quit. As she says, “The only disability in life is a negative attitude.”

【小题1】What do we know about Jessica Long’s childhood?

A．She was born into an American family.	B．She was adopted from a Russian orphanage.
C．She learned swimming from a famous coach.	D．She went through 25 operations within 5 months.

【小题2】What does the underlined word “amputated” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Improved.

B．Linked.

C．Examined.

D．Removed.

【小题3】What is paragraph 6 mainly about?

A．Jessica Long’s achievements in swimming.

B．The effort Jessica Long has put into swimming.

C．The influence Jessica Long has had on other athletes.

D．The strength of the U. S. Paralympic Team in swimming.

【小题4】What does Jessica think is very important to her success?

A．An opportunity.

B．Good luck.

C．A physical disability.

D．An active attitude.