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Read the passage below and answer the questions following it.

Some months before Michael Phelps swam his way to immortality with eight gold medals in Beijing, he was involved in an unfortunate accident that seriously jeopardized his Olympic dreams. In October 2007, as Michael was getting into a friends car in Michigan, he slipped on a patch of ice and fell, breaking his wrist.
Interesting sidelight: Michael may be fabulously graceful in water but on ground, he is apparently an extremely awful mover, perennially prone to slipping. Life is like that. Great swimmer, lousy walker. You win some, you lose some. But rather than worry about his inability to walk with grace and stability, he focuses on doing what comes naturally – swimming. And that makes all the difference.

Back to the accident: A cracked wrist meant a plaster cast – a serious blow to his Olympics preparation. He couldn’t swim for the next few weeks. He was shattered. Was the great eight-gold Olympic dream over? All those years of practice, would they come to naught? After his fabulous showing at Athens, Michael has the world’s eyes trained on him – and he was a hot favourite for bagging an unparalleled eight-gold haul. Was the accident start of the end?

Michael was disillusioned but quickly picked himself up and was back in the pool. With his plastered arm, he couldn’t swim but he would lie in the pool, kicking with a kickboard while Olympic teammates did laps. He just splashed and kicked away furiously. While that was no substitute for swimming, it had one huge positive. He added incredible strength to his leg muscles.

Fast forward to 16 August 2008, in Beiijing. Having won six golds, Michael Phelps was on track to the eight-gold dream. Just two races to go. In the seventh event, the 100 metre butterfly stroke event, Michael was neck to neck with Milorad Cavic. He won by the narrowest of margins – picking up his seventh gold by edging out Milorad by a mere hundredth of a second! As experts analysed the race and watched slow-motion replays, they found that in the last 5 metres of the race, while the exhausted Milorad dragged his legs, Michael used a strong kick to get his hands to the wall first, going ahead by that hundredth of a second. That strong final kick made the difference. Those leg-strengthening exercises paid off!

1. Why was Michael not able to walk properly?

a.) because he had met with an accident.
b.) because he always focussed on swimming
c.) because he never tried
d.) none of these.

2. What helped Michael win his gold medal in 100 metre butterfly stoke event?

a.) His years of swimming practice.
b.) The speed with which he swam.
c.) His passion for swimming
d.) The strong final kick.

3. What would Michael do with his plastered arm?

a.) He sadly watched his competitors practicing for the Olympics.
b.) He would enter the pool and kick the water with his legs.
c.) He kept practicing with a broken wrist.
d.) He watched his teammates do laps.

ANSWER : He would enter the pool and kick the water with his legs.

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