“Milano Cortina 2026 might be my last Winter Olympics. Whatever the result will be, I have only one goal (目标), which is to go beyond my earlier results,” 33-year-old Olympic champion Xu Mengtao said at her book launch party (新书发布会).

Xu was born in 1990 in Liaoning Province. Her parents ran a barbecue restaurant, where Xu would help out during holidays. Xu started her sports career at the age of 4 as a gymnast (体操运动员), before changing to freestyle skiing aerials (自由式滑雪空中技巧) at the age of 12, when she was considered too tall to continue gymnastics.

Xu has won 55 freestyle skiing aerials championships so far, but they have come at a cost.

Xu has had four operations on her knees. When she took part in the Pycongchang 2018 Winter Olympics, there were steel pins (钢钉) in her knees. Just as at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, she wanted to get an Olympic gold medal. Unluckily, she failed to achieve her goal, although she tried her best.

But failures, painful injuries and lonely months of recovery (康复) didn’t stop her. Xu finally realized her dream at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, by completing three somersaults (空翻) on her final jump.

In her book, Xu records her true feelings about her life over the past 30 years, her memories of heart-stopping international competitions, the number of medals she won, the low points she managed to overcome (克服) and her full preparation for each competition. “Plan each jump, review each problem and look for every possibility. The real situation is unpredictable (无法预料的), so I have to be fully prepared,” Xu wrote in the book.

“I hope my personal experience can encourage more people to go after their dreams,” Xu added. “Don’t stop trying. It’s hard to say when your efforts will pay off, but they will do sorely at the most important moment.”

The 2022 Qatar（卡塔尔）World Cup brought us many wonderful games and let us witness（见证）the rise of new superstars. What’s your most impressive（印象深刻的）soccer player?

I am a huge fan of Lionel Messi, the captain (队长) of Argentina (阿根廷). As a strong team, it was surprising when Argentina lost its first game against Saudi Arabia. People started to doubt Messi’s ability. However, Messi didn’t care too much about the comments (评论) from outside. He believed himself and his teammates, so he asked them to stay focused on the following matches. Finally, he led his team to win the 2022 World Cup final. Huang Yixiang,15

In my opinion, Cristiano Konaido is without doubt the most impressive player. Before the World Cup this year, Portugal (葡萄牙) won many prizes and honors under his leadership. When he saw his team get beaten in the World Cup, he felt angry. This was the last time he served for Portugal’s national team. It was a pity that he didn’t lead the team to go further. I felt sad, but he is still a hero in my heart. Yang Ruixian,14

Kylian Mbappe, who is a sports hero in France, is the greatest player in my heart. During the Round of 16 match of the 2022 World Cup, Mbappe led France to beat Poland 3-1. In the match, he shot calmly (冷静地) and scored the first goal. At last, he won the match with a beautiful curve ball (曲线球). Will he be the new king of the soccer? I think so. The reasons are that he trains hard and never gives up when facing difficulties. His spirit always cheers me up. Zhao Xuanyu.14

James Cleveland Owens was the son of a farmer and the grandson of black slaves. His family moved to Cleveland when he was 9. There, a school teacher asked the youth his name.

“J. C.,” he replied.

She thought he had said “Jesse”, and he had a new name.

Owens ran his first race at age 13. After high school, he went to Ohio State University. He had to work part time so as to pay for his education. As a second-year student, in the Big Ten games in 1935, he set even more records than he would in the Olympic Games a year later.

A week before the Big Ten meet, Owens accidentally fell down the stairs. His back hurt so much that he could not exercise all week, and he had to be helped in and out of the car that drove him to the meet. He refused to listen to the suggestions that he give up and said he would try, event by event. He did try, and the results are in the record book.

The stage was set for Owens’ victory at the Olympic Games in Berlin the next year, and his success would come to be regarded as not only athletic but also political. Hitler did not congratulate any of the African-American winners.

“It was all right with me,” he said years later. “I didn’t go to Berlin to shake hands with him, anyway.”

Having returned from Berlin, he received no telephone calls from the president of his own country, either. In fact, he was not honored by the United States until 1976, four years before his death.

Owens’ Olympic victories made little difference to him. He earned his living by looking after a school playground, and accepted money to race against cars, trucks, motorcycles, and dogs.

“Sure, it bothered me,” he said later. “But at least it was an honest living. I had to eat.”

In time, however, his gold medals changed his life. “They have kept me alive over the years,” he once said. “Time has stood still for me. That golden moment dies hard.”

A．he was the grandson of black salves

B．he was the son of a poor farmer

C．he didn’t shake hands with Hitler

D．he didn’t talk to the US president on the phone