enjoying myself.

　　In the end, four hours and 29 minutes after I'd started, I staggered (摇摇晃晃地走) out of the water and was greeted with a smile and a "well done" from the race organizer. I glanced back over my shoulder toward the water and noticed that there were a small handful of swimmers who were still to finish, behind me, out of a field of around 300 swimmers. But it didn't matter. I_was_just_relieved,_proud_and_happy_to_finish.

　　As I drove away, my thoughts turned to my next long race of the season and how much I was looking forward to it, my fears of coming last gently receding (渐渐远去)．

　　4．The author intended to quit swimming mainly because ______.

　　A．she feared that she couldn't finish the two races

　　B．she was afraid that she would let family members down

　　C．she was unwilling to accept the possibility of finishing last

　　D．she wasn't fully prepared for the two races

　　解析：选C　细节理解题。根据第一段最后一句可知，作者放弃比赛是因为害怕自己是最后一名。故选C项(她不愿接受成为最后一名的可能性)。

　　5．The author hopes to convey the message that ________.

　　A．never give up when facing challenges

　　B．it is process that matters most

　　C．failure is the mother of success

　　D．winners always take it all

　　解析：选B　推理判断题。根据倒数第三段最后一句可知，在游泳的过程中，当作者关注自己的事情时，无论别人游得快慢，作者都不介意，并且意识到自己乐在其中。所以作者想要传达给我们的信息是：过程最重要。故选B项。

　　6．What does the underlined sentence mean in Paragraph 5?

　　A．She took pride in leaving all the other swimmers behind.

　　B．She was proud that she was not the last one in the race.

　　C．She was glad to finish the race and had a sense of relief.

　　D．She was proud to be praised by the organizer.

解析：选C　句意理解题。根据画线前一句"But it didn't matter."可知，relieved意为"减轻的；缓和的"，这和C项中的a sense of relief(解脱感)意思相符；proud and happy to finish在句中作伴随状语。该句意为"我只是松了一口气，为自己完成比赛感到骄傲和