Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the option that best fits each of the numbered...
Đề bài
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the option that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 36 to 40.
The weekend streets of major cities have been claimed by a new breed of athlete: the amateur marathoner. What was once a solitary pursuit for the elite has swelled into a mass movement, fueled by the gamification of fitness apps and social media validation. This ecosystem has transformed casual joggers into data-obsessed enthusiasts, (36) ______, investing heavily in carbon-plated shoes and specialized nutrition plans to shave seconds off a personal best. This obsession with data transforms a primal activity into a metrics-driven enterprise, where every stride is analyzed for efficiency.
The physical toll of this hobby is often underestimated by novices. First-time participants, swept up in the collective euphoria of race day marketing but ill-prepared for the grueling reality of mile 20, (37) ______, battling a level of physiological depletion they had never anticipated. The mental fortitude required to push past this "wall" is immense. (38) ______. It functions as a rite of passage that separates the casual jogger from the disciplined endurance runner.
Despite the punishing nature of the sport, participation numbers continue to break records. (39) ______. The finish line offers a rare moment of tangible achievement in a world of abstract digital labor. In the final analysis, the sport's appeal lies in its democratic brutality; (40) ______, reminding us that resilience is a muscle that must be trained.
(Adapted from The New York Times)
Question 36:
A. which identifies performance metrics as the defining character of their own pursuit of identity
B. for whom the pursuit of performance metrics has become a defining characteristic of identity
C. so defined is the pursuit of performance metrics that it characterizes their whole identity
D. characterizing the pursuit of performance metrics as the definition of their truly identified persona