Mary waited anxiously for her turn in the empty dressing room. Never had she been so nervous before. This competition was of vital importance to her comeback. “If I can win today,” she said to herself, “I can dance on the national stage next month.” Three months ago, her left arm was seriously injured in a car accident. After the medical treatment, she began to recover slowly. She practiced over and over again in order to regain her dancing skills.

“Hi, Mary,” in rushed her friend Jessica “How is your arm? Is it going to influence your performance?”

“I guess it can be tolerated for I am to win the match.” said Mary with a determined look.

“Admirable! But I hear that a girl called Linda is really gifted and strong. She can be your real well-matched competitor. Come on!”

After Jessica left, Mary decided to practice her most difficult spin. “If I don’t try harder, I won’t grasp this chance.” She thought. But her arm began to hurt, making her worried. “Mary, what makes you think you have a chance tonight?” she said to herself. After the pain was gone, she continued to warm up.

A slim girl hurried in and put down an equipment bag on the chair. Then, she took out her dance dress quickly and put it on skillfully. Seeing Mary, she smiled politely and said “Hi, I’m Linda. I am the next one!” Mary nodded in reply but felt uncomfortable. “This is just my competitor. Because of her, I may lose tonight.” Her mind was wandering when Linda let out a scream, “Oh, God, I can’t find my music tape!” Linda searched her bag but in vain. “It may be missing on the way.” With these words, she then rushed out.

3 . For a teen running in his final cross-country outing before graduating from high school, his personal best wasn’t about marking the fastest time but something more________.

When he came out of the blocks that day, Brandon Schutt knew if his ________ was good enough, he still had the potential to ________ the upcoming state meet. A mile into the 3.1-mile race, though, Schutt felt bad. Instead of risking injury, he ________ to a comfortable pace.

________, Omaha Burke High School student Blake Cerveny was also running. Aiming to beat his own personal record, after a fast start, he continued to ________ himself hard. Suddenly, Cerveny’s legs cramped (抽筋) up and ________ him. But determined to finish, Cerveny rose from the track again and again. However, about 100 meters from the finish line, he lay curled (蜷缩) on the ground. His legs had simply ________.

At this time, Brandon Schutt was at his side to offer a ________. His first attempt to get Cerveny up failed, but like Cerveny, he also refused to________. With a second ________, Cerveny was on his feet. At a measured jog, with Cerveny holding Schutt for support and Schutt helping Cerveny maintain ________, the two completed the race together. Schutt even ensured the injured runner crossed the finish line first, ________ his opponent a faster time.

In today’s competitive world, it was ________ to see that for an athlete like Brandon Schutt, the ________ of true sportsmanship still had legs (会长期受到关注).

I used to be very active in sports and games when I was in primary school. I won the B Division long jump and was a good sprinter (短跑运动员). As a result, I was chosen to represent the school in the long jump and relay events at the District Sports Meet. Before the sports meet, I had put in a lot of hard work and dedication during the training sessions. I woke up early every morning to go for runs and did countless drills to improve my technique. My teammates and I supported and encouraged each other during training, pushing ourselves to do better and achieve our goals.

The meet lasted two days, I had no events scheduled for the first day. So I kept myself busy by watching the others compete. Large tents were provided for the young competitors on one side of the track. Despite being assigned the last tent that was furthest from the track, I made the best of the situation by decorating it with our school colors and creating a supportive atmosphere.

The next day, I was getting ready for my events. The long jump was scheduled for the early afternoon, followed by the 8×50m relay later in the afternoon. I thought I was a pretty good jumper, but as the competition began, I realized I was vastly outclassed. We finished our jumps, and I came in fourth place, just missing out on a medal.

That was disappointing, but I reminded myself that we still had a chance in the 8×50m relay, for which I was assigned to run the fifth leg. The race date arrived. We filed into our assigned spots and prepared for the race. After a tense minute or so, I heard the starter’s gun go off. When the first runners took off, I watched nervously and excitedly as my team runners kept up with the others. As they got closer, I realized we were at least in second place.

My turn arrived and I took the baton (接力棒) cleanly and began my run.

As a result, I left the meet empty-handed.

5 . Physical education, or PE, isn’t required for all high school students. In some schools, it isn’t offered for some different reasons. But should high school students have physical education? The answer is certainly “yes”.

Today many people don’t do sports. But as is known to all, doing sports is very important for an adult. Teaching teens the importance of a healthy lifestyle and making fitness plans now can help teens put exercise in the first place as an adult.

High school isn’t that easy. Many students are under a lot of stress. Stress can be harmful to a student’s study and life. Doing sports can help them deal with stress better, helping them live a happier life at school.

The American Heart Association says that 10 million kids and teens suffer from obesity (肥胖症). Teens should get 60 minutes of physical activity per day to control their weight and to help their bones get stronger. The increase in activities that don’t get teens to move around, such as video games and computer activities, means many teens don’t get their required exercise. PE classes act as a public health measure to encourage physical activities and help teens have healthy weights.

Not doing sports increases teens’ risk of developing many diseases. An active lifestyle offers a good way of protection from these health problems. As much as 75 percent of health-care spending goes toward treating medical conditions that can be hindered by lifestyle changes,according to the American College of Sports Medicine.

According to the President’s Council on Fitness,Sports and Nutrition (PCFSN), students who performed five hours of physical activity each week improved their academic (学业的) performance. Students from programs with no physical activity, who used the extra time for classroom study, did not perform better on tests than those who gave up some study time in support of physical education.

6 . Why do we play sports? You might say “to get exercise” and you’d be right. To have fun? That’s true, too. But there’s more.    1    According to the Women’s Sports Foundation, girls who play sports get a lot more than just fitness.

Girls who play sports do better in school. You might think that playing sports will take up much of your study time.     2    Exercise improves learning, memory, and concentration, which can give active girls an advantage in the classroom.

Girls who play sports learn teamwork and goal setting skills. Sports teach us valuable life skills. When you work with coaches, trainers, and teammates to win games and achieve goals, you’re learning how to be successful.     3    Sports are good for a girl’s health. In addition to being fit and keeping a healthy weight, girls who exercise are less likely to get osteoporosis (骨质疏松症) later in life.

Playing sports improves self-confidence.    4    Why? It builds confidence when you know you can practice, improve, and achieve your goals. Sports are also a feel-good activity because they help girls keep in good shape, keep a healthy weight, and make new friends.

    5    Playing sports can reduce stress and help you feel a little happier. How? The brain chemicals released during the exercise improve a person’ mood. Friends are another mood-lifter. And being on a team creates connections between friends. It’s good to know your teammates will support you—both on and off the field!

9 . All over the world people enjoy sports. Sports help to keep people healthy and happy, and to live longer.     1    They buy tickets or turn on their TVs to watch the games. Often they get very excited when their player or team wins.

    2    Football, for example, has spread around the world. Swimming is popular in all countries near the sea or in those with many rivers. What fun it is to jump into a pool or lake, whether in China, Egypt or Italy!     3    Think how many lovers to skate or ski in Japan, Norway or Canada.

Some sports or game go back thousands of years, like running or jumping. Chinese Kungfu, for example, has a very long history. But basketball and volleyball are rather new. Neither one is a hundred years old yet.     4    Water-skiing is one of the newest in the family of sports.

People from different countries may not be able to understand each other, but after a game together they often become good friends.     5    One learns to fight hard but fight fair, to win without pride and to lose with grace.