【推荐1】I used to hate running. It seemed too hard, and pushing outside my comfort ______ was not something I was raised to do.

In fact, I wouldn’t have become a(n)______ if it weren’t for my husband Charles He had been a ______ competitive runner for many years. After our marriage, he wouldn’t stop talking about how much he ______ it.

So he picked it up again, and after about a year, I started to join him at the ______. Just a few weeks later, Charles signed us both up for a five-kilometer race. I ______ about doing it. It was too soon.

But on race day, there I was.

The gun went off Thousands of runners ______.

The first kilometer was tough. I was already breathing ______ and painfully aware of the group of runners____ past me.

After another minute I saw the three-kilometer ______.All I could think of was that I was ______.

I rounded a comer, and saw both sides of the street______ with people watching the race, all cheering the runners on. I ______ my legs to keep going.

Then I looked up and saw the clock. The ______ ticking away gave me an incentive(助力). I knew that if I had ______ finished this race I would have achieved something, So, I ______ up, and kicked it.

I had my arms ______ higher when I passed through the finish line. A volunteer put a(n) ______ around my neck.

“You did great! I’m so proud of you!” Charles was thrilled that I’d ______.

“That was amazing! I want to do another race.” I proudly hugged my medal as we started to walk to the post-race festivities. My lungs and my comfort zone both______.

【推荐2】I first met Annie Mae, a maid (女仆), at my parents-in-laws’ in 1959. She prepared and_______meals in her quiet, gentle way and then returned to the kitchen to read her Bible (《圣经》) while we_______. She was a devoted Christian. I found this increasingly true_______I came to know her more by observation than by conversation.

My husband and I_______visited his parents. Each time I saw her eating_______, reading her Bible, I wanted to sit down with her and just talk._______, whites didn’t do that with blacks then, and I had to_______the practice.

In 1965, I decided to_______the furniture and return to my home state with my two_______when my husband wanted a divorce (离婚).

Annie Mae asked if she could buy the boys’________. When I answered________, she asked the price. Then, she asked if she could_______ a little money each month. She was_______ , and I knew her well.

Then each month, an envelope________us from Annie Mae with 2 or 3 dollars. A year passed. Annie Mae’s________payment arrived along with the following note:

I am sending you my last payment of three dollars for the beds________. I told my two sons they could now put the beds________and sleep in them, for they are now paid for and rightfully________us.Thank you for your________.

Annie Mae

I read the note two or three times, my eyes filled with tears. Had I only known earlier, I would have said, “Use them now. Don’t________until you pay for them.”

【推荐3】I’ve never been an athlete. At school, my main goal was to _________ PE at all costs. In my twenties, I went for an occasional yoga or Zumba class, but that was really the _________ of all my athletic accomplishments.

That was until the end of 2016, when I was unexpectedly laid off. The chances of getting a new job soon were not in my favor and _________ thoughts of not being good enough started to kick in. I was feeling quite depressed but pushed myself to go and _________ for the TCS NYC Marathon runners as the course was going through our neighborhood.

However, while being there, I got great _________ from all the runners, smiling, applauding and high-fiving constantly. Not a runner myself, I thought maybe I could give running a _________, just to try, to use my neglected gym membership and see where it _________ me. And so I tried. I started to run on a treadmill (跑步机). I was out of breath by minute five, but I _________ down, walked for a bit and then restarted. I came back the next day, hoping to _________ a few minutes longer. By the end of two weeks, I could run for 30 minutes, which was a huge__________.

Aside from becoming tougher, I also noticed my negative thoughts didn’t occur that __________. And it sparked a thought—what if I could set a running __________ and sign up for my first-ever race? I did and races became a new hobby.

In the meantime, I was able to __________ a few freelance (自由职业的) projects. They offered me a good salary, and, __________, the time to work out for the big race. Also, when I was going for interviews, I started to feel very __________ in my abilities, experience and skills.

I got my full-time job __________ at my dream company just a couple of weeks before the halfmarathon. Although I got an __________ from overtraining right before the race, I still went for it and still finished within my __________ time.

I still have a long running journey ahead of me — I’d love to __________ my speed and my technique. Running gives me ________ that I can do anything I set my mind to.

【推荐2】“WELCOME TO HELL, LADIES!” says Mr. Smith, the ________ of the adult ballet class. I force a smile as he presses down on my stiff (僵硬的) back, attempting to be a little more ________.

When I was a little girl, I ________ elegantly dancing across the stage like the Swan Princess. With several reasons, my hopes of taking ballet lessons were ________. But every so often, usually while watching a brilliant performance of Swan Lake, those little ________ of unfulfilled desire would speak up and say that I should take lessons before it’s too late.

And here I am - more than 50 years - finally ________ for it.

I’m an absolute ________, but 30 years older than the rest of the participants in the adult class. We are practising “port de bras,” a ballet term for the ________ of the arms. I flutter (挥动) my arms, awakening my inner ________. “Your hands, they look like claws of a chicken,” Mr Smith ________. “No one wants to look at that. It’s ugly.” He ________ his finger at various body parts while ________ giving feedback, “Head up, neck long, chest proud, stomach in, back straight, bottom tight.” Every time he looks at me, I instantly know that I’ve missed ________. So I take note of every previous________ to gain his approval.

After a few sessions, I find myself looking forward to taking ballet classes with a mix of anxiety and excitement. Between classes, I ________ my posture (姿势) in every window I pass. I’m ________. My hands are less claw-like and my posture a little more ________. And I constantly imagine I’m on stage, holding the audience entirely in my ________.

Learning ballet as an adult has been a much bigger ________ than I expected, but I’m glad that I ________ and that ballet still appeals to me as it did when I was a little girl.

【推荐3】Kids love percussion instruments (打击乐器). In truth, becoming a percussionist requires a great deal of __________ and practice. It was believed that one more thing was vital—a good sense of hearing. Dame Evelyn Glennie, __________, has proven that isn't always true.

At age 8, Glennie began taking piano lessons, and she also began losing her hearing. She was totally deaf when she joined her school orchestra (管弦乐队) at 12. The moment Glennie saw the __________ in the percussion section, she knew that was where she __________. At 15, She __________ the Royal Academy of Music in London for a solo percussionist. However, never hearing of it, they were unsure about accepting her. Ever __________, she persuaded them to take her.

Since Glennie made her first professional __________ in 1985, she has gained fame as the world's first fulltime solo percussionist and won many awards.

When asked how she __________ the music, she says, "I use all my __________, especially sight, feeling and touch." Paying close attention to the __________ and relying on feeling the music, she performs in bare feet on a wooden platform, which __________ her to feel vibrations (震动) from the instruments through the floor. She is in __________ motion as she moves from one instrument to the next.

She has become a(n) __________ wherever she performs. As a writer observed, "She was able to __________ disabilities aren't barriers. They're __________ to thinking differently."

【推荐3】Our son, Tom, was different from others, because he was born with a serious brain disease. My wife and I often comforted him as he faced many _______ in his early years.

It was _______ to see him regularly chosen last for baseball, but his most tough time came when he began high school. One afternoon, Tom returned home in _______ and shouted: “I’m never going to school again!” He was _______ with food that other kids had _______ him on the school bus on the way home. Tom later told us what had _______. A few days earlier, Tom had _______ up for the school running team. That day, a few older students made fun of his performance on the track. I called the headmaster about the _______ and it never happened again.

One day, as the other kids exercised in the gym, they _______ one lonely runner Tom, jogging around the snow-covered track. A few weeks later, Tom said to me, “Dad, I was ready for the worst.” He added that each month, each student ________ an “athlete of the month” and voted (投票) for the ________. Tom’s name had never been ________. But that day, one student said: “Sir, I would like to propose (提名) Tom for athlete of the month.” The coach looked ________.“He works harder than any of us, Sir,” the student continued. “But we’ll have to have someone support the proposal,” the coach replied. Tears formed in Tom’s eyes as everyone in the class put their hands up. We, also in tears, looked on as he ________ showed his certificate (证书).

Whenever I feel hopeless, I think of this story. I ________ myself that challenges are not overcome by force, but by patience, determination, and faith.