As a kid，I was always chubby (圓胖的)．In college I started blowing up . It got out of control when I went to law school.

I’d made a decision a thousand times：I’m going to lose weight now. But what motivated me to get serious about it was turning 30. I weighed 414 pounds. I was always tired. Some of my family members have suffered from heart disease，and I was scared. I also wanted to look better. So after my birthday，I walked into the office of a weight­loss doctor.

She was very understanding. Her focus was on balanced meals and she wanted me to exercise.

Walking was all I could do at first. I started by walking a few blocks and gradually increased the distance，until one weekend，I found myself saying，“Wow，this seems pretty easy.” So I started to run.

I was losing nine or ten pounds a month，and I had more energy. I started to think about the New York City Marathon. For years，I watched the runners and thought，“This looks like fun，but I could never do that.” But now I realized that maybe I could. I joined the New York Road Runners. I ran a 10km，then a half­marathon. I still wasn’t confident I could run a full 26 miles. But I told myself I was going to do it，no matter what.

By my 33rd birthday，I was down to 180 pounds. I started formally training for the marathon. And on the morning of November 1，I stood on the Verrazano Bridge in Staten Island with more than 40,000 other runners，waiting for the event to start.

It was unbelievable to have the audience cheering me on，handing me cups of water. And I crossed the finish line. My friends sprayed (向……噴射) me with beer，as if I’d won the Super Bowl. And at that moment，I knew：If I set my mind to something，nothing is impossible.

56．The underlined phrase “blowing up” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to________.

A．going weaker                                   B．becoming fatter

C．becoming healthier                             D．growing high

57．The author who was at the age of 33 had lost ______pounds in weight during the past three years.

A．180                   B．414                    C．594                   D．234

58．What do we know from the passage?

A．The author formally trained for the marathon for three years.

B．The marathon the author ran started on the Verrazano Bridge.

C．The author started by running when losing weight.

D．The author has won the Super Bowl.

59．Which of the following proverbs can best summarize the passage?

A．Where there is a will，there is a way.

B．Pride comes before a fall.

C．A good beginning is half done.

D．Practice makes perfect.