湖南省2024届普通高等学校招生全国统一考试考前演练二英语试题详情
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A few days before my fiftieth birthday, I experienced a bad brain injury. At the time, I was a long-distance runner, and sports had always helped me deal with my-life-long depression. But depression after a brain injury became severer, and I needed something new in my life.
So at the age of fifty, depressed and brain-injured, I did what many women would do: learning the circus (马戏表演). I was athletic as an adult but not as a kid, and I had never taken dance lessons or gymnastics. I was strong, but neither very flexible nor graceful in the least.
Since the beginning of my severer depression I had kept to myself. I took time away from work, my social circle became much smaller, and I felt very alone. I was often afraid to leave the house. Even booking my first circus class was a leap in the dark (冒险之举) for me.
When I walked into my first circus class, I wasn't surprised to find I was the oldest student; in fact, even my teachers were young enough to be my daughters! But I was determined to stretch beyond my comfort zone, and the "kids" welcomed me. One of my classmates said to me, "Wow, my mom would never do this!"
After a group stretch and warm-up, my coach Katelyn told us that weeks after finishing the course, there would be a student performance. All students would be invited to give a performance, showing what they had learned in class. And all the performers' family members and friends would be invited to watch. I felt worried.
After talking about that performance, the coach asked which equipment I'd like to learn. There were silks, trapezes and the aerial hoop (空中吊环). I eyed the aerial hoop, Oh, how I wanted to sit up in the hoop and learn to fly like a bird! But I didn't have the arm strength to lift myself up onto the hoop. I was discouraged. My excitement was replaced with self-doubt and disappointment.
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When I expressed my upset to my coach, she smiled and said, "Just keep trying!"
When my name was called, I stood up, confidently walking to the stage.
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