Until 1954 it was thought that no man could run one mile in less than four minutes.  As years 36 ,the record came closer and closer to four minutes and Roger Bannister, a young English    37   ,began to believe be might   38  this almost magic barrier.
It was a cold afternoon on May 6th, 1954 , when Bannister knew be had a   39  chance.  Bannister had been   40  hard and was very fit, but the weather conditions were a real  41 to him.  Describing the   42  later, Bannister said,“On the way to the track the wind blew strongly.  As I  43  for the start I glanced at the flag.  It moved  44 now.  This was the moment when I made my decision. ”
“The gun fired.  My legs  45 to meet no resistance, as if I was  46  forward by some unknown force.  The noise from the faithful  47  gave me greater strength.  I felt the  48 of a lifetimes had come. ”
“I was driven on by a   49 of fear and pride.  My body had long since used up all its energy   50  it went on running just the same.  This was the critical moment when my legs were strong enough to carry me over the last few yards as they  51  could have done in previous years.  When I leapt at（冲向）the    52  tape, I fell, almost    53  .
“I knew I had done it, even before I  54 the time.  The announcement came.  ‘Result of the one mile…Time, three minutes…’the test was  55 in the noise of excitement. ”
36. A. passed along      B. passed down    C. went by           D. went over
37. A. coach                       B. athlete             C. captain            D. judge
38. A. defeat                      B. move              C. beat                D. break
39. A. real                         B. lucky              C. serious            D. false
40. A. competing         B. training           C. fighting           D. attending
41. A. eagerness          B. pleasure           C. relief               D. worry
42. A. accident            B. event               C. issue               D. topic
43. A. did up                      B. made up          C. put up             D. lined up
44. A. safely                      B. heavily            C. thinly              D. gently
45. A. seemed             B. used                       C. happened            D. had
46. A. dragged            B. drawn             C. pulled             D. pushed
47. A. mass                 B. residents          C. crowd             D. team
48. A. moment                   B. period             C. while              D. date
49. A. concentration     B. collection              C. combination     D. classification
50. A. so                   B. but                    C. or                     D. as
51. A. never              B. ever              C. even                D. still
52. A. starting           B. lasting           C. finishing          D. running
53. A. unconcerned      B. unconscious     C. unknown                D. unnoticed
54. A. offered                    B. told                 C. announced       D. beard
55. A. stuck                B. involved          C. lost                 D. spread