At the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, the youngest athlete in the Chinese delegation is only twelve years old. Cao Shiqi, a first-year junior high student, competed in the women’s skateboard bowl final on September 25 and finished fourth with 81.23 points, just 1.63 points away from a medal.
Cao first stepped on a skateboard at the age of four, and began professional training at seven after the Beijing team chose her. At eight, she won a silver medal at the World Extreme Games. In May this year, she took second place in the Asian Games trials and earned her ticket to Nagoya, her first competition outside China.
The bowl event is demanding. Athletes skate on curved walls up to 4.5 metres high and perform airs, spins and grabs in the air. In the qualifying round on September 24, Cao ranked fifth among fourteen skaters and entered the final. In the final, she scored 73.03 in the first round and fought her way into the golden round for the top five.
There were hidden difficulties behind the result. Before the final, athletes shared the practice time freely, and the youngest one often could not get her turn. Cao had no time to practise her hardest trick, a 540-degree spin, so her coach lowered the difficulty of her last move to make sure she could finish the run safely.
After the final, she cried in the mixed zone, but two hours later she was happily eating an ice cream. Her coach said her mental strength is far beyond her age, and her goal is clear: the Olympic Games. Twelve years old, she still has a long road ahead, and her next take-off is already on the way.
Words to know:
- delegation (代表团)
- athlete (运动员)
- qualifying (资格赛的，预赛的)
- trial (选拔赛， trials 亦可指测试)
- demanding (要求高的，辛苦的)
- spin (旋转)
- medal (奖牌)
长难句拆解 · so 引导结果分句
原句：Cao had no time to practise her hardest trick, a 540-degree spin, so her coach lowered the difficulty of her last move to make sure she could finish the run safely.
主干：Cao had no time to practise her hardest trick, so her coach lowered the difficulty. 结构：a 540-degree spin 是同位语，补充说明 her hardest trick 的具体内容。so 连接结果分句；句末 to make sure she could finish the run safely 是目的状语，make sure 后接省略 that 的宾语从句。 语法点：同位语是写作里最省力的「解释工具」，一个逗号就能把抽象名词落到具体动作上；so 前后有逗号，是并列连词，不要与表示「如此」的副词 so 混淆。 直译：曹诗祺没来得及练习自己难度最高的动作——540度转体，教练只好降低她最后一个动作的难度，确保她能安全完成整套滑行。
再看一句：Athletes skate on curved walls up to 4.5 metres high and perform airs, spins and grabs in the air. 主干：Athletes skate on curved walls and perform airs, spins and grabs. 结构：up to 4.5 metres high 是形容词短语作后置定语，修饰 walls，表示「高达4.5米」。and 连接两个并列谓语 skate 和 perform；airs, spins and grabs 是三个并列宾语。 语法点：up to + 数字 + 单位 + 形容词，是描述「上限」的紧凑写法，等于 which reach 4.5 metres at most。 直译：运动员要在最高4.5米的弧形池壁上滑行，在空中完成腾空、转体和抓板动作。
同义替换 · 雅思阅读利器
题目往往不会照抄原文的词，而是换一种说法，认出替换就能快速定位答案。
- the youngest athlete in the Chinese delegation → the youngest member of China’s team（中国代表团年龄最小的运动员）
- first stepped on a skateboard at the age of four → first tried a skateboard when she was four（4岁第一次踏上滑板）
- earned her ticket to Nagoya → won her place in Nagoya（拿到名古屋入场券）
- ranked fifth among fourteen skaters → placed fifth out of fourteen（14人中排第五）
- fought her way into the golden round → made it into the golden round（闯进黄金轮）
- her mental strength is far beyond her age → she is mentally older than her years（心理承受力远超年龄）
- her next take-off is already on the way → her next flight is coming soon（下一次起飞已在路上）
阅读自测 · 3 题
- 判断题：根据第一段，曹诗祺是中国代表团年龄最小的运动员，决赛获得第四名。请判断 True / False / Not Given。
- 简答题：How many points was Cao Shiqi away from a medal in the final?
- 选词填空（从 trial、spin、medal、delegation 中选）：In May, she took second place in the Asian Games ____; in the final she could not practise her hardest ____, and finished just off the ____; she is the youngest athlete of the whole ____.
参考答案与解析
- True。第一段 the youngest athlete in the Chinese delegation is only twelve years old 与题干一致，第四名也有 finished fourth with 81.23 points 对应。干扰项套路是「偷换限定」：若题干把「中国代表团」删掉改成「本届亚运会年龄最小」，范围就扩大了，文中并无此信息。
- 1.63 points。第一段 just 1.63 points away from a medal 直接给出答案。注意 81.23 是得分、73.03 是第一轮得分，都不是分差，把任何一个当分差都是「张冠李戴」。
- trial；spin；medal；delegation。第一空对应第二段 the Asian Games trials；第二空对应第四段 her hardest trick, a 540-degree spin；第三空对应第一段 away from a medal；第四空对应第一段 the Chinese delegation。qualifying 和 demanding 都在文中出现，但位置不对。
中文译文
在爱知·名古屋亚运会上，中国代表团年龄最小的运动员只有12岁。刚上初一的曹诗祺在9月25日参加了滑板女子碗池决赛，以81.23分获得第四名，距离奖牌只差1.63分。
曹诗祺4岁第一次踏上滑板，7岁被北京队选中后开始专业训练。8岁那年，她在世界极限运动会上拿到亚军。今年5月，她在亚运会选拔赛中获得第二名，拿到了通往名古屋的入场券——这是她第一次出国比赛。
碗池项目要求很高。运动员要在最高4.5米的弧形池壁上滑行，在空中完成腾空、转体和抓板动作。9月24日的资格赛中，曹诗祺在14名滑手中排名第五，晋级决赛。决赛里，她第一轮得到73.03分，冲进了只有前五名参加的黄金轮。
结果背后藏着不少困难。决赛前的练习时间大家自由抢用，年纪最小的她常常轮不上。曹诗祺没来得及练习自己难度最高的动作——540度转体，教练只好降低她最后一个动作的难度，确保她能安全完成整套滑行。
决赛结束后，她在混合采访区哭了，但两个小时后，她已经开心地吃起了冰淇淋。教练说，她的心理承受力远超年龄，而她的目标很明确：奥运会。12岁，她还有很长的路要走，而属于她的下一次起飞已经在路上。