When I was 14, I decided to make some pocket money by    1     (help) Mr Miller cut the grass in the garden. I worked hard because that was my first part-time job. After working for one week, Mr Miller said that he had no money for me. That surprised me    2     (great). I argued with him, and then I went back home in     3     (angry).

My parents told me not to be angry with Mr Miller because    4    was in difficulties. Then my mother called up Mr Miller and they talked about something on    5     phone. A few days    6     (late), my mother asked me to return to Mr Miller’s garden because he was too weak    7     (look) after it.

When I came back, Mr Miller said, “Sorry, I have no money,    8    I can do something for you.” He played a CD for me. Hearing the beautiful music, I was so     9    interest) in it that I forgot the money and did the work with pleasure. At last, he gave me a ticket to a concert.

After that, I    10    become) very fond of music. Now I am fond of the most popular singers in our country. I can never thank Mr Miller too much.

One day, Nick invited his friends to supper. He was cooking some delicious food in the kitchen. Suddenly, he ___    1    _ (find) that he had run out of salt. So Nick called to his son, “Go to the village and buy some salt, but pay a fair price for it; neither too much __    2    __ too little.”

His son looked __    3    ___ (surprise). “I can understand why I shouldn’t pay too much, Father, but if I can pay less, why not __    4    __ (save) a bit of money?”

“That would be a very good thing to do in a big city, but a small village like ours would be __    5    ___ (destroy).” Nick said.

Nick’s guests, ___    6    __ had heard their conversation, asked why they should not buy things more cheaply if they could. Nick explained the reasons __    7    _ them.

“But such a small thing couldn’t ___    8    __ (possible) destroy a village.”

“In the ___    9    __ (begin), there was only a very small amount of unfairness in the world, but everyone added a little, always __    10    __ (think) that it was only small and not very important, and look where we have ended up today.”

Last week, our school     1     (hold) a basketball match against another school. Near the end of the match, they only had an advantage over us. When our captain got the ball, one of them pretended     2    (knock) down by him. Upon seeing that, our captain tried to help him up, but the match was over and they won. We lost the game.     3    , we were all satisfied with the result because we went all out.

From this match, I learn that being     4     winner doesn’t mean gaining while a loser doesn’t mean     5    (lose) everything. What really counts     6    (be) the spirit, not the result. As long as we try     7    (we) best, there is no need in regretting.

    8     reality, a true loser is even more precious than a false winner. Without that match, I couldn’t have learnt the importance of spirit.

To sum up, a true winner is to a match what water is to a fish. It is not the result but the process     9     matters. Life without spirit is like sailing without a compass, so be a true winner and you will find its     10    (important).

After 20 days of world-class sporting action, the 19th Asian Games concluded on October 8th in Hangzhou. As the biggest Asian Games in history     1    (feature) a record 12,417     2     (athlete), the Hangzhou Asian Games witnessed 15 world and 28 Asian records being set in 481 medal events, again the highest ever. China ranked first in the medal table with     3     total of 383 medals, including 201 gold. So far, China     4     (top) the Asiad medal table 11 times in a row, ever since the 1982 Games in India.

Two short films in the closing ceremony demonstrated the athletic highlights and touching moments during the Games, leaving audiences smiling     5     (tearful). The giant virtual torchbearer, who lit the main flame at the opening ceremony,     6     (make) a surprise return to the stadium amid thunderous applause from the crowd.

Some competitions also served     7     Olympic qualifying events (预选赛), whose winners would proceed    8     (participate) in the coming Paris Olympics.

China’s     9     (commit) to a “green, smart, economical and ethical” approach to presenting a distinctly Chinese, uniquely Asian and spectacular Games paid off and the event won widespread praise from both the Olympic Council of Asia     10     the global community.

The ancient Olympic Games began in the year 776 BCE.     1     , they died out around the year 393. It was in 1896, in Athens that the modern Olympic Games     2     (hold) first. A Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin     3     dream was that the Olympics would make it possible for people     4     ( live ) side by side in peace brought the Olympics back to life. Since then, motivated by the Olympic motto “Faster, Higher, Stronger”, thousands of     5     (high) trained and talented athletes     6     (devote) themselves to achieving sporting excellence and pushing the boundaries of human achievement, such as Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Jessica Ennis-Hill and so on.

Chinese athletes have also made important     7     (contribute) to the Olympics. At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, China returned     8     the Olympics after 32 years’ absence and Xu Haifeng won our country’s first-ever gold medal. At the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Liu Xiang became the first Asian     9     (win) the gold medal in the men’s 110-metre hurdles. In 2008, in addition to hosting the Olympic for the first time, China also ranked first in the medal table. The year 2022 was another historic moment for China, as Beijing won     10     election to host the Winter Olympics.