【推荐1】Lou Gehrig was one of the world’s greatest baseball players. He was born in 1903, and started ________ for the New York Yankees in 1923. When he was in the training camp, he improved(进步) so much that he was ________ American League’s Most Valuable Player. He played in over 2,000 games. It was a ________ that wasn’t broken(打破) for 50 years.

Then something ________ happened, though. He could hardly swing(摆动) his bat, and he ________ run any more. He knew something was wrong. He went to the ________. They said he had an illness called ALS. It can ________ a person unable(不能的) to go around. He knew he couldn’t play baseball anymore, so he ________ the team. Though he could no longer play baseball, he still worked. He took a ________ working for the New York State Parole Commission. He kept working ________ he died in 1941.

Of all Team China’s ping-pong stars in Tokyo, Ma Long shone brightest. He became the first player to win back-to-back Olympic men’s singles titles (单打冠军), as well as the first man to complete two Grand Slams (大满贯).

He collected his first gold in Tokyo by ________ his teammate Fan Zhendong. Later, “Captain Long” helped his team beat Germany by the ________ 3-0 and got the gold medal (奖牌).

“You can always ________ the Chinese ping-pong team. For me, as long as I still love the sport, any age is a golden age. I will never stop fighting. ________ belongs to Team China,” the 32-year-old said.

Ma was already a great player before the Tokyo Olympic Games, first completing the sport’s Grand Slam in 2016. ________ he has gone through a lot of difficulties in the past five years. He had a ________ knee injury (损伤) and had an operation (手术) in 2019. He even said that he was ready to “start everything from zero”. It was not easy for him to return to the match. At one point it ________ he was being overtaken (超过) by his teammate Fan Zhendong, who beat him in several important matches last year. But all these didn’t stop him from fighting.

In Tokyo, Ma proved (证明) he still has the ________ to stand on the highest place.

“This is ________ we call perfect. Ma Long has completed what many people have only dreamed of before,” said Chinese Ping-pong Association President Liu Guoliang. “We ________ him. His spirits go way beyond gold medals and good results.”