英文短篇故事（纽约）242 The Wheelchair Race

 　　William was in his first wheelchair race. There were five other contestants¹. The age group was 12 to 15. William rolled up to the starting line. He was in the #1 lane². He said hello to the boy on his right. He was in the #2 lane. William asked, "Is this your first race?" The boy said yes. William asked, "Did you train for this race?" The boy said, "Train? Who cares about training? I don't care if I win or lose. I'm just out here to meet other boys like me. Maybe I can make a new friend. I don't have any friends in wheelchairs. I have a few friends, but they have two good legs. Sometimes I feel like I'm a burden to them." William said, "I feel that way too. Maybe we can be friends." The race hadn't even started, but William already felt like a winner.

1 contestants   

n.竞争者，参赛者( contestant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The competition attracted over 500 contestants representing 8 different countries. 这次比赛吸引了代表8个不同国家的500多名参赛者。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency. 两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 lane   

n.(乡间)小路(巷)；车(跑，泳)道；航道

参考例句：

• There is a shop at the end of this lane.这条胡同的顶头有一家商店。
• The champion is running in lane five.冠军跑在第五跑道上。