1 . Thousands of runners gather for the annual Marathon. The largest holiday race in California_______ folks of all ages, sizes, shapes, and _______. The gun goes off and runners push for position. I just _______ at the new day and feel righteous for having gotten up and down to the event.

Before long, my _______ turns to depression as the seven-year-old passes me by. Elvis has already _______ the turn way before me and I fall behind a woman. The sense of _______ heats up and so does my _______. I forget that I already run many miles and have 4.2 miles left to _______. The runners around me set my pace.

Suddenly, as I make the turn, I am _______ by an overwhelming sight. A young man with one leg ________ in the sun is going at a lazy pace. The metal leg is ________ to his thigh. He is unaware of anyone who passes him. He is running his own ________ at his own pace.

I slow down and take his lesson. I finish despite the ________ in my knee. Far behind the 7-year-old. It doesn’t matter. It is my race, at my pace.

How many times do we let others ________ the pace, ________ our own goals, our abilities? How many times do we judge our success or our failure by what others have done?

4 . Billy Mills was born on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation for the Oglala Lakota people. His mother died when he was 9 years old. Hurting from the________, young Billy took up sports,________ an article that stated that Olympians are chosen by the gods.

So Billy started running. He ran his first race ________   jeans and basketball shoes. He finished dead last but fell in love with the sport. Then his father ________, and with a broken heart, he stopped running. Being orphaned at 12 and feeling ________, Billy didn’t run again ________   he reached high school.

He came out of high school with the fourth-fastest mile in the nation. He went on to the University of Kansas and ________ hard, hoping to make the Olympic team. He finished second in the trials and was on his way.

At the start of the 10, 000-meter race in that 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games, Billy Mills, an orphaned boy from ________ Pine Ridge, South Dakota,________ up to run for his country, his parents, his people. As the race wore on,________   fell behind, lap (一圈) after lap, until four led the pack. With one lap to go, he was nudged out of his lane from behind, then bumped off his stride again. He was ________ at a distant fourth place.

In the last 100 meters, an unheard-of Billy Mills ________ into a dead sprint from lane four and strode his way into the ________ books with an Olympic record.

“It was ________ a belief,” Billy remembers. “Beliefs ________ us or destroy us, but we have that opportunity to create our own journey. ”

5 . My Favourite Sport

Skiing is my favourite sport, even though I have only skied for four days in my whole life. Last year, my father promised to take me on a holiday if I did well in my final exams. When I got straight A’s, Dad said, “How about a weekend at the Botanical Gardens?” However, my mum said, “No, you promised a special holiday. I think you ought to keep your word.” And, despite the expense, he did.

My dream was to see some real snow, so in the Christmas vacation we flew to Seoul, South Korea, and then took a shuttle bus which runs back and forth between Seoul and Muju Resort. As the bus climbed through the mountains, we saw the snow on the trees. I was raring to get out of the bus. No one in my family had ever touched snow before, so soon after the arrival, we were all like little children — we picked snow up, made snowballs, and threw them at each other!

Then we checked in at the hotel. Our room overlooked one of the ski slopes. The slope was floodlit, so we watched people skiing until 10 p. m. We could not wait to try it ourselves.

The next day we had our first skiing lesson. We rented our ski suits, boots and skis, and went outside onto the snow. Wearing skis for the first time makes you feel very strange. Suddenly you find you cannot even walk.

Our instructor took us onto a gentle slope, and showed us some basic skills. In order to go up a hill, you have to stand sideways, and go up step by step. You must point the tips of your skis together so that you can stop. However, the tips must not cross, or you will fall. You should not ski alone in case you fall and get injured. To be honest, that first lesson was not a great success, and I kept on falling down!

However, the next day I definitely improved. I only fell over a few times, and I managed to do a few longer runs. I felt pleased with myself, and the instructor congratulated me, so I felt great. Although it was very cold, I spent most of that holiday skiing. It was the most wonderful time of my life.

Nevertheless, it was all over too soon. Now I have decided to work part-time this summer after the College Entrance Examination, so I can earn enough money for another super skiing holiday.

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8 . When watching sports events, we often notice athletes with their earphones on while preparing in the locker room or entering the stadium. They keep their eyes shut, and gently nod along the beats. It seems as if the music is empowering them and toughening them up for the competition. But is there any science behind such practice?

According to a recent research, it turns out there is. Music actually does make us feel powerful, but not all songs have the same effect. The research was led by Dennis Hsu of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in the US. His team had people listen to 31 songs of different types. The listeners felt powerful after listening to some songs, such as Queen’s We Will Rock You and 2 Unlimited’s Get Ready for This. Researchers also found that high-power music made people want to take control in social events and come first in competition. As for the reason for music’s magical power, Hsu’s team came up with one possible explanation: When people hear music that expresses a sense of power, they mimic these feelings in their mind.

So, when choosing music, we need to look at the type of music. In previous research by the Music in Exercise and Sport Group at Brunel University in London, they found that pop was perfect for slower, more repetitive-type tasks. Dance music was found to be best suited to strength and weight training because it’s “fast and rhythmical”. During high-intensity workouts, though, you’d better not listen to rock. Its different changes in tempo can affect your rhythm.

Diet and exercise are two of the most important parts of leading a healthy life. There is     1     old saying in the United States that     2    (read), “You are what you eat.” It means that your health and appearance     3    (affect) greatly by what you eat. If you eat high calorie, fatty foods, then you may suffer     4     obesity (肥胖) at one time or another. If, however, you eat plenty of green vegetables and little to no fat, your chances of     5    (be) fit are much better.

Walking can help you achieve your healthy living     6    (goal). You should plan on walking at least one mile per day. Of course, the more you walk, the better. It takes most people less than 40 minutes     7    (walk) two miles, but the benefits of this could last a lifetime.

Another benefit of eating right and exercising is that it can lead to a positive outlook in life. Practicing these good habits can make you feel and look better. Your clothes will fit a bit better,and you will sleep better,    8     will lead to a healthy self-image. A positive self-image can make you feel     9    (confidence) whatever you do,    10     it is at work, in school, or at home. So eat right, exercise daily, and enjoy the benefits.