The Ace

Billie Jean was always full of energy and played as well as she could. One teacher suggested she should be more “ladylike” and try not to win all the time, but her parents didn’t agree.

“Play as well as you can and be the best that you can be!” they told her.

One morning, Billie Jean’s friend Susan tapped her on the shoulder during class.

“Do you want to play tennis?”

“What’s tennis?” Billie Jean whispered back.

“It’s a fun game. You’ll love it — you get to run and jump and hit a ball with a racket (球拍)!”

Billie Jean didn’t know what a “racket” was, but tennis sounded exciting!

The next weekend, Susan took Billie Jean to a famous club — the Country Club. Then Susan handed her a strange thing looking like a net. “This is a racket. You hit a ball with it!”

Susan threw a yellow ball at her. Billie Jean frowned and waved her racket as hard as she could. She spent more time hitting the air than she did hitting the ball, but she loved playing tennis anyway! It seemed that she found out what she was going to do with her life — she wanted to be an ace of tennis in the world! When going home that night, sunburned and exhausted, she had only one question in her mind.

“Mom and Dad, can I please have a tennis racket of my own?” Billie Jean asked. Her parents looked at each other. “Money is a bit short,” her mother said. “But you can save up for one!”

“What can I do to make some money?” Billie Jean thought to herself.

With her beloved racket, Billie Jean decided to practise hard to realize her tennis dream. She practised hard after school every day. Joining the Country Club and getting a professional coach contributed to her great progress. Gradually, she mastered basic rules of the game. The more Billie Jean learned, the more fun she had! She always took her parents’ words to heart and always played as well as she could. Billie Jean made it! She entered tennis tournaments and became an ace of the game — one of the most famous sports legends ever!

7 . “I never will be a runner.” I spoke those words at any mention of this ________. I didn’t discriminate (歧视) against running, though. I ________ all physical activity.

When my co-workers invited me to join them in a 5K run and I ________ the event was The Color Run, I ________. Once, after seeing a picture of a runner covered in colored powder (粉末), I’d said, “If I ever ________ a run, it would be a Color Run.”

I signed up and trained for eight weeks. I felt intimidated (胆怯) by my co-workers, who were ________ runners. I worried I would shame myself in front of them.

However, the day of the race, I not only kept up but I ________ the group. I had become a runner.

Two months after the race, a friend invited me to run a half marathon. Could I ________ run for more than 13 miles? Run for more than two hours? It seemed ________, but I signed up and started training.

As the event date came closer, I got ________. Thoughts troubled me. I can’t do it. I’m not ready. Two days before the race, I came close to ________. But I’d paid the fee for this race and thought that if I had to walk I would.

The first few miles passed easily. At mile 5, I felt ________. At mile 11, my friend needed to ________. I walked with her but didn’t need to. I’d ________ more than I thought possible.

Now having run three half marathons and a full marathon, I know I can do things that seem ________.

8 . “Humans can develop certain abilities we aren’t born with by practicing animals’ movements,” the traditional Chinese Wushu lovers believed in the past — and still do today.

Chinese Five-Animal Exercises, also known as Wuqinxi, are the first complete set of qigong exercises following the movements of animals: monkeys, deer ( 鹿 ), birds, bears and tigers. They were created by one of the greatest doctors in Chinese history, Hua Tuo, more than 1,800 years ago.

The Five-Animal Exercises are well-designed to help blood circulation (循环), and let the energy go smoothly in the body so as to improve the health.

“ The bear movements are good for the stomach. The tiger movements can reduce the pain in the back. The deer movements help reduce the fat around the waist (腰). The bird movements can help keep our knees healthy and the monkey movements can be good for the heart.” said Hua Yi, the 59th inheritor (继承人) of Wuqinxi.

For those new learners, the first few exercises might not go well. You may find it hard to focus. Wear comfortable clothes, keep peaceful in your mind, try to move slowly... Little by little, you’ll feel more and more harmonious with nature. You may even feel you become a tiger or a deer, walking in the forest freely.

These exercises need no tools. You can search online for the videos and practice them at any time when you feel like relaxing your body and mind. Because it’s fun to practice and good for health, Five-Animal Exercises are becoming more and more popular in recent years, not only in China, but also in many other places of the world.

The Asian Games is the largest sporting event in Asia. Its predecessor (前身) was the Far Eastern Games. In 1948, Guru Dutt Sondhi, the leader of Indian sports, felt that the Far Eastern Games were not good enough to reflect the level of Asian sports and the unity spirit of Asian people, and suggested building the Asian Games so that all Asian countries could join.

The Hangzhou Asian Games will be the third Asian multi-sport event held in China, with 12,417 athletes from all 45 Asian countries and regions joining. Some rising sports that are popular among young people will make their first appearance at this year’s Games, such as break dance and e-sports. Weiqi, a mind sport, will return to the Hangzhou Games after a 13-year absence since it appeared at the Guangzhou Games in 2010. Certain regional sports in Asia, especially dragon boat racing, kurash, and sepak takraw (库拉什和藤球), though not recognized as Olympic sports, will also be medal-awarded events at the Asian Games.

In the lead-up to the sporting event, the design details of the victory ceremony elements, including bouquets (花束), trays, and podiums, were exposed. The bouquet, named “Fruits of Victory”, mixes traditional Chinese elements such as rice ears and lotus pods, meaning fruitful harvests, and wishes the athletes a journey of achievement and honor. The medal tray’s design is inspired by the ripples of the West Lake and describes the elegance (优雅) of lakes and hills. The podium (领奖台) sports a purple rainbow on its outside, reflecting energy and innovation (创新). Its surface, painted in white, shows the spirit of unity, harmony and mutual success among Asian nations and regions.

On August 25, two sports culture exhibitions kicked off in Hangzhou to celebrate the upcoming Asian Games. With just several days remaining, organizers are fully prepared to host the Games, and it is sure to impress all the athletes and attendees (参加者), and leave a heritage (遗产) of a smart and green event for people.

While     1     (hundred) of millions train their eyes on the igniting (点燃) of the caldron (大锅) during the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou on Saturday, many will turn to their phones to soak in the excitement of that climactic moment.

They will be able       2      (participate) in the first ever virtual lighting of the caldron in the Games’ history, the culmination(高潮) of       3      (it) first ever digital torch relay.

First     4      (introduce) on Nov 27, 2022, the digital torchbearer program aims to break through the constraints of time and space, so       5     more people can enjoy the Games,     6      (accord)to the Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee.

It was     7      (official) launched on June 15 this year, when the flame of the Asian Games was lit.

Over a hundred million users have signed     8      and passed on their digital torches, according to figures released by Ant Group,     9     developed the digital platform and made it part of Alipay, one of       10     most popular mobile payment apps in China.