A 63-year-old Chinese man who only started learning ballet a decade ago has gone viral on social media as a living example that you are never too old to follow your dreams.

Growing up in a poor family in a village near Baotou, the largest city in Northern China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Liu Ziqing’s main focus was always on helping his family and putting food on the table. For him, dancing was a luxury. He ended up becoming a farmer but also worked as a street cleaner in order to make ends meet. But he never got over his love for ballet, and at age 53, he decided to become a ballet dancer.

Most people in their early 50s call themselves lucky if they can lightly jog a few times a week without suffering any pain, but ballet requires a degree of fitness and flexibility that are almost impossible to attain at a certain age without a lifetime of training. But Liu Ziqing wasn’t going to let such an unimportant thing stand between him and his dream.

Becoming a ballet dancer at age 53 wasn’t the easiest thing in the world, especially since most of his friends and acquaintances just didn’t understand why he put himself through this tough training at his age. But Liu Ziqing ignored them all with the help of his family, who always supported him.

Not only does ballet make him a happy man, but he is convinced that it has done wonders for his health as well. “In the past, I had stomach problems. After dancing regularly over the past decade, the stomach issues have mostly gone away,” the 63-year-old ballet dancer said. “When I am in this class, I feel like those young students, as if I have become young again.”

1.What is the second paragraph mainly about?

A Liu’s health condition.

B Liu’s experiences.

C Liu’s dreams.

D Liu’s childhood.

解析：选B。B段落大意题。该段主要讲了刘子青的经历：童年生活→农民→街道清洁工→芭蕾舞演员。故选B。

2.What do the underlined words “such an unimportant thing” refer to?

A Justice.

B Finance.

C Pain.

D Age.

解析：选D。D词意指代题。根据划线部分前面的“but ballet requires a degree of fitness and flexibility that are almost impossible to attain at a certain age without a lifetime of training”可知，大多数50岁出头的人如果他们每周能慢跑几次而不感到疼痛的话都认为自己很幸运，但芭蕾需要一定程度的体能和灵活性，如果不经过一生的训练，在特定年龄几乎不可能达到这一点，但刘子青不会让年龄这样的小事阻碍他实现自己的梦想。故选D。

3.What is Liu’s family’s attitude to his becoming a ballet dancer at age 53?

A Neutral.

B Uncaring.

C Supportive.

D Opposed.

解析：选C。C推理判断题。根据第四段最后一句“But Liu Ziqing ignored them all with the help of his family, who always supported him.”可知，53岁成为一名芭蕾舞演员并不是世界上最容易的事情，尤其是因为他的大多数朋友和熟人都不明白他为什么在这个年纪接受如此艰苦的训练。但在家人的帮助下，刘子青忽略了他们，家人一直非常支持他。故选C。

4.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A Ballet is good for Liu’s health.

B Ballet improves Liu’s confidence.

C It is difficult for Liu to practice ballet.

D Liu will teach others ballet in the following years.

解析：选A。A推理判断题。根据最后一段的“After dancing regularly over the past decade, the stomach issues have mostly gone away”可知，过去刘子青有胃痛的毛病，在过去十年里经常跳舞后，他的胃痛基本上消失了。故选A。