Have you heard of Freddy Adu? Born in Ghana, West Africa, in 1989, Freddy Adu has become one of the most promising young soccer     1    (play) in the world. Soccer fans have been crazy about him since 2003, when he     2    (join) a professional sports team in the United States. The next year, he became     3    (young) athlete ever to play in an all-star game, a match in which the best players from many professional teams compete.

As a child, Adu did what many children in Ghana love to do — play soccer. His mother recognized her son’s talent and encouraged it     4     providing soccer balls, which were expensive for them. Education was very important to Adu’s mother, and she wasn’t sure that her son could receive a good education in Ghana. So she tried     5    (real) hard and moved to Maryland, U.S. when he was eight. His new school friends soon noticed his talent for soccer, and the parents of one friend encouraged him to join a soccer club. This was     6    (he) first time playing organized soccer, and he helped his team from the Potomac Soccer Association win a tournament in Italy in 2000. One professional Italian team was so impressed that they offered him $57,500     7    (play) for them. However, his mother refused     8     offer and thought that her 11­year-old son needed to finish school first.

Adu did finish high school at the age of 14. Nowadays, he’s playing professional soccer and living with his mother in a house     9     he bought for her. His salary with the D.C. United team is $500,000 a year，and Adu is happy that his mother no longer has to work at two jobs,     10     his fans are happy that they can watch him play their favourite sport for many years to come.

Do you know Wang Jianjiahe? She is really a star in    1    (swim). Though she is only 17 years old, she is already a member of the national swim team. She    2    (break) the Asian records in the 800m and 1500m freestyle in March, 2019. In the Second National Youth Games (第二届全国青年运动会) in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, she won gold medals in the 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle and a bronze (铜牌) in the 200m.

“I am still young and the Youth Games is a good chance (机会) for me    3    (practice) and make myself better,” she said. This was her    4    (one) and also her last National Youth Games, so she really wanted to have great    5    (result) and wonderful memories, and so she did.

As a member of the national team, Wang was seen as a role model by most of her rivals (对手) here. “We are rivals, but outside the pool, we are all friends,” said Wang. “There is no big    6    (different) between me and other swimmers. I might be    7    (fast) now than them, but I believe these young rivals       8    (get) better soon.

For many players, the Youth Games was    9    (they) first big competition. Wang hopes she and other players    10    (learn) to enjoy such big events and do better in sports. And she thinks they can do it.

Prince of the Park

China’s 15-year-old Chen Ye won gold in the men’s park final of skateboarding at the 19th Asian Games. It made him one of Team China’s youngest gold     1     (获胜者) at the Asian Games.

His love for the sport began in 2016 when he saw a skateboard at a store. His father encouraged him to try varied activities,     2     (包括) table tennis, volleyball, piano and guitar. Finally, he met skateboarding and gave up the rest.

It was really challenging to stay     3     (合适地；正确地) on the board at first but he practised hard. As a junior high school student, Chen needed to find a balance between his schoolwork and     4     (业余爱好). He trained for more hours at night in order not to miss daytime classes.

“Every time I     5     (成功) in a difficult move, I felt the pleasure of making progress,” said Chen. For better training, his father even made a skate park     6     (他自己). “He would work on it late into the night, sometimes     7     (直到……为止) three or four in the morning. I’m really thankful for my father’s support,” said Chen.

Chen     8     (影响) many Chinese young skateboarder since his victory. “If you want to try this sport, be prepared that you     9     (失败；未能达到) hundreds of times,” he advised. Looking back on his seven years of learning to skate, Chen said this experience made him stronger and     10     (勇敢的) to do something he truly loved.