I and the other fifty girls sat on the chairs in the gym of my middle school.We waited there for the coach to give the results of the competition for roles as cheerleaders (啦啦队队员)．One by one, each girl left her seat, jumping up and down as their number was called out. “Will I be one of them?” I wondered. I was getting more nervous, and each second felt like a century.

“Number seventeen.” the coach called out. Hearing it, I jumped right away from my seat. And I ran over to stand next to the girls who had been chosen to be cheerleaders. We smiled and hugged each other because we became members of the 10­girl cheerleading team.

During the following days, I and the other nine cheerleaders practiced for the performance. We were dressed in our blue uniforms before the upcoming sports meet. It was going to be held on a Friday morning. However, the night before the sports meet, I got very nervous, and worried what if I made a mess in the performance. I tried to comfort myself, “You can make it. Just calm down and relax.” The next morning, my parents left home for work and I hurried to go to school.

Unluckily, when I arrived at school, I found the other nine cheerleaders were all in their white uniforms. But I was still in my blue uniform. At once I realized I had made a mistake: wearing the wrong uniform. There was not much time left before the cheerleading performance started. What should I do? Both my team members and the coach were worried. Then a cheerleader called Tammy offered to help me. She said, “My home is quite close to our school.Maybe I could give my mother a call. She is at home now. She could drive Jane to her home, so Jane can change her uniform quickly.”

The coach allowed Tammy to give it a try.

I joined the other girls for the cheerleading performance.

One day, Alex, a 12-year-old school boy in a small town, got the news that the World Chess Championship was taking place in the neighboring city of Grandington. Fueled by his deep passion for chess, Alex decided to enter the competition, even though he was not officially invited. He had a feeling that he could stand a chance against some of the world’s most skilled chess players.

The following morning, Alex packed his chessboard and chess pieces. With a mix of nervousness and determination, he boarded the train to Grandington. Once he arrived, the big city overwhelmed him with its tall buildings, bright lights, and the energy of chess enthusiasts from around the world.

With the help of a friendly stranger, Alex managed to find the tournament venue (比赛场地). The hall was enormous, filled with rows of chess tables and players engaged in intense matches.

As Alex glanced around, he noticed how small he felt compared to the chess celebrities surrounding him. Taking a deep breath, Alex approached the registration desk. The tournament organizers were surprised to see such a young boy standing before them, but they couldn’t turn him away. Sensing his determination, they allowed him to participate, considering it a good opportunity for the other players to show their skills against a young talent.

As the championship progressed, Alex’s opponents thought nothing of him due to his age. They saw him as an easy win, but little did they know that Alex possessed a strategic mind and a skill of unconventional moves. With each round, Alex astonished the players with his brilliant plays. Word quickly spread about the young talent who had accidentally entered the championship. The media became excited by Alex’s story, and soon cameras and reporters flocked to capture his journey. Despite facing experienced opponents, Alex’s passion for the game and his unwavering focus helped him advance through the ranks. His victories grew more remarkable with each passing day. People from all corners of the world began cheering for him, sending messages of support and admiration.

In the final round, Alex found himself facing the world chess champion.

Alex’s unexpected victory made him a household name.

Running has always been a big part of my life. It was an easy and cheap way to stay healthy when I was a teenager and at university. As I got older, I kept running though I took on the responsibilities of being a mom, having a job and other hobbies. Running was a fun activity that I could do quickly and then get back to my busy day.

When I moved to a new city, I was excited about trying new foods, visiting new places, meeting new people and having new experiences. But, I also felt lonely and really wanted to make new friends. I joined a book club and a dinner group. But after a few months, I still felt like I hadn’t made any close friends.

One day, someone asked me if I wanted to run in a half marathon. Without thinking, I said, “Sure, count me in!” A half marathon is 13.1 miles, which is a lot longer than the three miles I usually ran. I was a bit scared, but also excited.

After the shock wore off, I started to learn everything about running a half marathon. I even bought my first pair of really good running shoes. They were the most expensive shoes I’d ever owned. I was ready to start training with them.

My new running friends picked me up at my house, and we started to jog together. I took it slow at first, running one mile, then two. They taught me how to run properly and how to drink enough water. I learned new words like chafing, carb loading, strides, and electrolytes. I slowly built up to running three, four and five miles. Running seven miles straight felt like climbing a really high mountain, and I started to love the feeling I got after a long run.

The day of the race finally came.

All the training I had done was now paying off.

“Go Denny, go!” my teammates yelled.

The cheering from the my classmates grew louder as I reached the final turn. I found myself in the lead. I knew better than to look back at the runners behind me. That would slow me down. Besides, I could hear them breathing. I launched into my sprint(冲刺).

I pumped my arms harder as I pounded down the straightaway. It made my legs go faster. I don’t know what strange connection in the body makes that work, but it does. I threw my chest forward into the string. It dropped across my body. I thudded to a stop.

I was breathing hard, but at least I was still on my feet.

“You made it in sixty-eight seconds,” Coach Setlich told me. “That’s good enough for third place overall. Nice job, Denise.”

I smiled and nodded, since I didn’t have enough breath to answer. I was exhausted but I had to walk slowly around so my muscles wouldn’t tighten up.

A few minutes later, Coach Setlich found me resting on the high-jump mats. She looked worried. “Denise, I need you to run the relay. Tracy pulled a muscle in the long jump.”

I pushed up onto my elbows. “I’m not a sprinter.”

“Not the sprint relay. The medley (混合接力). I want you to run the last leg (赛程) . Amanda and Cindy, each one hundred meters. Megan ,two hundred meters, one lap (圈).”

I looked at her with horror. “You want me to run four hundred meters again?” I screamed.

She nodded. “We have a shot at second or third in the team standings if your relay does well.” the coach’s eyes glowed. Second place may not sound exciting, but we had been near the bottom of the standings all season. Now in the league championships, we were definitely showing improvement. I struggled to my feet. “Couldn’t I run the two-hundred-meter leg instead?”

Coach shook her head. “The other girls on your relay team are sprinters and they don’t understand the pacing for the longer distance.” she said.

I followed Coach Setlich to the edge of the track. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A second runner came by, getting ahead of me. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________