2 . British Cycling had recently hired Dave Brailsford as its new director. At the time, professional cyclists in Great Britain had ________ nearly one hundred years of mediocrity(平庸). In fact, their________   had been so poor that one of the top bike companies in Europe ________ to sell bikes to the team because they were afraid that it would hurt sales if other professionals saw the British people using their bikes.

What made Brailsford different from previous coaches was his________ of searching for a tiny improvement in everything they do. The whole principle came from the idea that if you________   everything you could think of that goes into riding a bike, improve it by 1 percent and you will get a________ increase when you put them all together.

Brailsford and his coaches began by making small________. They redesigned the bike seats to make them more________. They asked riders to wear electrically heated over-shorts to ________ ideal muscle temperature while riding and used biofeedback sensors to ________how each athlete responded to a particular workout.

But they didn’t stop there.They________ to find 1 percent improvements in overlooked areas. They hired a(n)________ to teach each rider the best way to wash their hands to reduce the ________ of catching a cold. They even painted the ________ of the team truck white, which helped them ________little bits of dust that would normally slip by ________ but could affect the performance of the________tuned bikes.

As these and hundreds of other small improvements were ________, the results came faster than anyone could have ________. Just five years after Brailsford took over, they________ the road and track cycling events in all the important Games.

It was the final part of the 2016 World Triathlon Series in Mexico. W    1     just 700 metres to go, Alistair Brownlee was in the third place and his younger brother, Johnny, was in the l    2     . Alistair pushed himself towards the finish line in the burning heat, but as he came round the corner, he saw his brother a    3     to fall onto the t    4    . Alistair had to choose—brotherly love, or a chance to win the race?

For Alistair, the choice was clear. His brother was in trouble. He had to help. Alistair ran towards Johnny, caught him and started pulling him towards the finish line. Alistair then p    5     his brother over the line. The move put Johnny in second place and Alistair himself in third. It was an u    6     end to the race, but Alistair did not want to discuss it with the m    7     . He just wanted to see his younger brother, who had been rushed to the m    8     area.

The Brownlee brothers have been doing triathlons since they were children. “O    9     , when your older brother is doing it, you think it's a cool thing to do," says Johnny. Alistair says that they encourage each other as much as they can when they train. D    10     arguments over “stupid things" now and then, Alistair agrees that having a brother is an a    11    . “Throughout my e    12     life, I've had my brother trying to beat me at everything I do. It has been an e    13    . positive force."

Watched by millions, the ending to the race has d    14     opinions: should the brothers have been disqualified or highly praised for their actions? But for Alistair, this decision was easy to explain: “Mum wouldn't have been happy if I'd left Johnny behind.” At that moment, he was no longer an athlete a    15     for a medal—he was just a brother.

4 . U. S. Open Championships

The US Open has been in existence for almost 140 years. The first tournament was held in 1881 at the Newport Casino. It was called the US National Singles Championship. Entry was limited to only those clubs which were members of the United States National Lawn Tennis Association, and the competitors were all male, competing in both single and doubles. Richard Sears won the men’s championship and he went on to win the next six men’s singles championships.

The Wimbledon

In 1875, the All England Croquet Club was troubled financially due to declining membership. A new sport called lawn tennis was gaining fast in popularity and taking away the members. Two years later, a new roller was needed for maintaining its lawns so the club proposed to hold a tournament to raise money. Twenty-two players entered that first Wimbledon tournament which was won by Spencer Gore in straight sets over W. C. Marshall. Two hundred spectators each paid a shilling to watch the final game, enabling the club to buy the needed roller plus some extra cash.

The French Open

The very first French Championship was held way back in 1891, and the tournament has since grown into one of the four tennis Grand Slam tournaments we know today. The first competition was a one-day national championship which was won by a British. The competition was poorly attended by world class players. It took 24 years before it became fully international and an accepted tennis grand slam event. After the First World War, French tennis was achieving stature（重要性）. Suzanne Lenglen was the predominant（卓越的）French player, winning the championships six times between 1920 and 1926.

The Australian Open

The very first tennis tournament ever played in Australia was held in January 1880, on the courts of the Melbourne Cricket Club. In 1905, the Australian Open was established as the Australasian Tennis Championship and was played at the Warehouseman’s Cricket Ground in Melbourne. It became the Australian Championship in 1927 and the Australian Open in 1969. Women’s events were added in 1922.

8 . Active Challenge

Weight loss camp for girls aged 13—18 in Canada

Active Challenge is a weight loss program specially for young women. The burden of being overweight is heavier than just the extra pounds. We use outdoor adventures to challenge the girls, to give them something to draw strength from.

Because you’ll be losing weight alongside young women just like you, you’ll find no one laughing at you and you’ll help each other. At Active Challenge you’ll make lifelong friends with young women of your own age and learn to love new adventurous activities.

Unlike any other weight loss program, Active Challenge is designed so you’ll lose weight and have the strategies and skills to keep the weight off forever. Active Challenge does not put you on a diet. We follow the Canada Food Guide to healthy eating and exercise appropriate portion control. We help you develop healthy habits.

The staff at Active Challenge combine experienced outdoor adventure professional with highly qualified clinicians. All of us are absolutely devoted to helping you achieve lasting behavioral change and weigh loss. Most of all we are devoted to having a great time doing it.

Pre-Camp: Upon registration in Active Challenge, a registration package will be sent out to you with forms to be completed before camping as well as program preparation materials, an introduction to Active Challenge and pre-program personal challenge assignments to get you on your way toward a healthier you.

Post-Camp: Our post program is designed to keep you focused and remind you of the goals that you set during the camp. We will send you home with your personal meal and exercise plan and keep in touch with you for a full three months after the camp ends through letters, emails and phone calls, tracking your progress and giving you strategies and support.

9 . Kayaking(皮划艇) is an activity enjoyed by many people of all ages. It requires little or no experience and nearly anyone of any skill level can participate. It’s most popular as a summertime sport, but it is also a great activity during the winter. Kayaking also seems relatively friendly to the environment, more so than speed boating or water skiing. Because a kayak doesn’t create large or frequent waves, require fuel, or let off polluted air, it is indeed a fairly safe activity for humans and wildlife alike.

Kayaking on freshwater lakes and streams creates little turbulence and therefore does not disturb fish or other aquatic life. Actually, the gentle paddling and movement of the kayak helps to bring seaweed to the surface, making for convenient snacking to the fish. However, there is a drawback to the all-you-can-buffet for your fishy friends. In addition to bringing food to the surface, kayaking also stirs up litter that’s been hiding beneath the waters. Some aquatic animals will mistake it for food. This could cause the animals to choke on the indigestible litter, leading to death. As hazardous as this sounds, it isn’t very likely for such an event to take place. Most litter in lakes and streams is found along the shoreline and settles in the sand and dirt, and isn’t likely to drift away to the main body of water. Unlike boats operated by motor and fuel, kayaks pose little or no harm to the fish swimming beneath. And because kayaks do not have a motor, fish have no risk of getting caught underneath the boat.

One potential hazard that results from kayaking is human waste. This depends solely on where you plan to kayak, and if there are resources available (such as campsites) along the shoreline. When there are no facilities in sight, you’re paddling in the middle of a lake, and nature calls, then often you are given no choice but to expel your waste in the middle of the water. While human waste is considered biodegradable, it can be harmful when swallowed by fish. The only preventative measure is to avoid using the water as a restroom. Some public lakes and streams have taken steps to preserve the quality of the water by requiring permits for kayaking. This won’t ease the human waste problem, but does help regulate entry into the lake and prevent it from becoming overcrowded.

An important factor to remember when kayaking is that you are a guest in someone else’s home. You may not be greeted by anyone or be able to kick up your feet and watch TV, but the water is home to many aquatic animals and wildlife. Just as you would not throw trash on the floor or destroy the home of another, you shouldn’t do it outdoors either. Keep all trash with you in your kayak and properly dispose of it after you return to shore. By doing your part, you will help keep kayaking a safe and enjoyable activity for yourself and the environment.

10 . William Purkey, a well-known professor of education, said, “Dance like no one is watching, love like you'll never be hurt, sing like no one is listening, and live like it's heaven on earth.” It seems like the perfect life philosophy-- and one I've learned to apply to running over the year.

But I didn't always feel this way. In my early days, when I weighed 240 pounds, I ran like everyone was watching and judging. If I was on a run and saw a car approaching, 1'dstop and pretend I was looking for something I'd lost. I bought the high-tech gear and clothes that I thought would make people believe I was a runner. And I didn't have a clue if the expensive shoes I was wearing were the right kind for me --I just wanted to look like I fit in with this group.

To be honest, I felt a certain satisfaction in believing that someone was watching. I really thought that other people cared about my performance. The best example of this was a combined, two-lap marathon in Florence, Italy. As I approached the finishing line, the crowd began to cheer. I was surprised. Here I was, thousands of miles from home, and the Italians were shouting for “IIpenguino.”

About 20 yards from the finishing, the truth set in when the winner of the full marathon went past me as I was finishing the half-marathon. No one was cheering for me. No one probably even noticed that I was finishing. I couldn't help but smile at my own illusion of self-importance.

That's when I realized I had been running for every reason except the right one. I ran to make other people happy, ran to live up to their expectations. But no one was watching --no one cared. So I decided I was going to run for me, just me, and gained a new enjoyment from the sport I hadn't truly experienced yet. I've learned to run like no one is watching.

So if you see me at race, and I look like a 60-year-old guy waddling（蹒跚） along, don't worry. I'm fine. The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.