1 . The Price of a Dream

I grew up poor. We had little money, but plenty of love and attention. I understood that no matter how poor a person was, they could still afford a dream. My dream was athletics.

By the time I was sixteen, I was good at baseball and football. My high school coach was Ollie Jarvis. He not only believed in me, but taught me the difference between having a dream and showing conviction (信念).

One summer a friend recommended me for a summer job. This meant a chance for money in my pocket — cash for dates with girls, certainly, money for a new bike and new clothes, and the start of savings for a house for my mother.

Then I realized I would have to give up summer baseball to handle the work schedule, and that meant I would have to tell Coach Jarvis I wouldn’t be playing. I was afraid of this, but my mother said, “If you make your bed, you have to lie in it.” 

When I told Coach Jarvis, he was as mad as I expected him to be. “Your playing days are limited. You can’t afford to waste them,” he said.

I stood before him with my head hanging, trying to think of the words that would explain to him why I dream of buying my mom a house.

“How much are you going to make at this job, son?” he demanded.

“Three point twenty-five an hour,” I replied.

“Well,” he asked, “is $3. 25 an hour the price of a dream?”

That question exposed the difference between wanting something right now and having a goal. I devoted myself to sports that summer, and within the year I was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates to play rookie-league ball, and offered a $20, 000 contract. I signed with the Denver Broncos in 1984 for $1.7 million, and bought my mother my dream house.

2 . Have you ever wondered how your favorite NBA team received its famous name? All NBA teams have an interesting story or a history behind their names. Some of the names reflected the city’s culture or history, others came from previous owners and many were selected through “Name the Team” contests.

For teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and the Utah Jazz, the names were not always a reflection of the city. Even though Los Angeles has no lakes, the Lakers name has been a city treasure for almost 40 years. Before going to Los Angeles, the team originated in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In1947, team officials changed the name to the Lakers to reflect the Minnesota State’s nickname, “Land of 10,000 Lakes”. The team name went unchanged after moving to Los Angeles in1960.

Because the Utah’s team originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, it was called the Jazz. In 1974, New Orleans club officials chose the name to represent the city for its reputation as the “Jazz Capital of the World”. The name stayed with the team even after they found a new home in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1979.

The original owner of the Chicago Bulls, Richard Klein, named the team the Bulls. He picked the name because a fighting bull is relentless and never quits. Klein, who founded the club in 1966, believed these qualities were necessary for a championship team and hoped his Chicago athletes would live up to the team name. The Bulls, the winner of the six NBA championships, has definitely followed the belief.

In 1967, the Indiana Pacers selected their team name in a different way from most other teams. Their decision was based on what they wanted to achieve in the NBA. Team officials chose the Pacers name because the organization wanted to set the “pace” in professional basketball.

3 . Five tips for safe running

We all know that exercise is good for our health. But some kinds of exercise may be better than others. Running, for example, may help to protect against heart disease and other health problems.

Running is good exercise, but it can be hard on the body.     1    

Take it easy. Do not run too much, too soon or too fast. Most people get running injuries (受伤) when they push themselves too bad. The body needs time to get used to increase in distance or speed.     2    

Listen to your body. Most running injuries do not come unexpectedly (意外地).     3    

They may include body aches, sore muscles (肌肉) and pain that does not go away.

    4     There is no single best shoe for every runner. You should find the shoe that offers the best fit and support for your feet. More importantly, you should replace your shoes every 500 to 800 kilometers.

Take good notes. Take time after each run to write down what you did and how you felt. Look for patterns, things that happen over again. These notes will help you find the best exercise for you.

Cross train. As we said earlier, running is hard on your body. So physical fitness experts suggest some form of cross training to improve muscle balance and to help you stay injury free. They say, besides running, swimming, yoga, and riding a bicycle are good exercises.     5    

Exercise is something     1     can help to make you look good, feel good and be     2    (health). Experts suggest that teenagers     3     (spend) at least 30 minutes exercising, five    4     (time) a week. That is easy to do! Walking and riding your bike count, and so do school sports. Often, teenagers give up sports, saying they have no time left after     5     studies. Many teenagers are     6     (surprise) to learn that     7     you exercise, your body produces some chemicals that     8    (make) you feel peaceful and relaxed and increase your ability     9     concentrate when you study. These chemicals can even help you sleep better     10     night.

According to a review of evidence in a medical journal, runners live three years     1     (long) than non-runners .You don't have to run fast or for long     2     (see) the benefit. You may drink, smoke, be overweight and still reduce your risk of     3     (die) early by running.

While running     4     (regular) can't make you live forever, the review says it is more effective at lengthening life than walking, cycling or swimming. Two of the authors of the review also     5     (make) a study published in 2014     6     showed a mere five to 10 minutes a day of running reduce the risk of heart disease and early deaths from all     7     (cause) .

The best exercise is one that you enjoy and will do. But otherwise... it's probably running .To avoid knee pain, you can run on soft surfaces, do exercises to     8     (strength) your leg muscles (肌肉) ,avoid hills and get good running shoes. Running is cheap, easy and it's always     9     (energy) .If you are time poor, you need run for only half the time to get the same benefits as other sport, so perhaps we should all give it     10     try.

7 . Don’t Take the Fun Out of Youth Sports

When I joined a private football league a few years ago, the sport meant everything to me.

My coach said that I had lots of potential, and I became captain of my _________. That was before all the fun was taken out of _________. At first, everyone on the team got _________ playing time. Then the team moved up to the top division after winning all its games, and the _________ started. Some parents, who had paid the coach extra so their daughters could have _________ one-on-one training, got angry when she didn’t give them more playing time in our _________. The coach was _________ . The new coach, however, took all the fun out of the game: all we did during practice was _________. I always wished to God that it would rain so we would not have the _________. Of course, all teams run drills(操练); they are __________. But we ran so much that, afterwards, we had trouble __________. Younger people shouldn’t be doing exercises __________ for 18-year-olds. I was very thin __________ I started football, but as a member of this team I wouldn’t eat much, because I was afraid of being too __________ to run. I feared making mistakes, and the added pressure caused me to make more than my usual __________. Is all this pressure necessary?

I __________ up leaving the football team. Four other girls did the same, and two of them stopped playing football completely. That’s __________, because they had so much potential. They were just burned-out with all the pressure they felt from the coach or their parents. I continued playing football at school and __________ my love for it. I joined a private team coached by my school coach. When I started playing for him, he told me I needed to __________ because I looked nervous. After I __________ down, I played better. When you enjoy something, it’s a lot easier to do it well.

8 . My track and field coach, Mr. Jones, had decided to get the team to take part in the 4×100m race. It would be the first time that we were running in such a race. We needed to work as a team to improve our speed. The most critical moment was the passing of the baton (接力棒) at the right time to the next runner.

Mr. Jones had chosen me to start the race. The next runner would be Susan. In the beginning, whenever we practiced passing the baton, something would go terribly wrong. I would either be going too slowly or she would be taking off too late. We needed to perfect it. At the same time, I had to make sure that I would not go beyond the yellow line.

Finally it was the day of the race. We were confident that the gold medal would be ours. Each of us had improved in our running speed. Our passing of the baton had been perfected during the practices.

My reactions were exact and accurate as I started running. Everything felt the way it should be as I sprinted towards Susan. I held the baton in my sweaty palms, promising myself not to let it go. My long legs moved me as fast as I could go round the corner. As I came closer to my final steps, my heart was beating faster than usual. The cheering by the spectators (观众) got into me and I became nervous. “What if we lose?” I thought to myself. It was then that I saw Susan in the far distance.

I held out the baton and continued running quickly towards Susan. Susan yelled “Slow down, slow down!” However, it was too late. The official held up the red flag. It was then that I realized that I had gone beyond the yellow line.

9 . Why play sports? You might say “to get exercise” and you would 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 fit.

Girls who play sports do better in school. You might think that athletics will take up all 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.     3     When working with coaches, trainers , and teammates to win games and achieve goals, you're learning how to be successful. Those skills will serve you well at work and in family life.

Sports are good for a girl's health. In addition to being fit and keeping a healthy weight, girls who play sports are also less likely to smoke. And later in life, girls who exercise are less likely to get breast cancer or osteoporosis(骨质疏松症).

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 get in 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 leased during exercise improve a person's mood. Friends are another mood-lifter. And being in a team creates tight bonds between friends. It's good to know your teammates will support you-both on and off the field!