1 . Exercise and I had never had a good relationship due to my fear of sports. From a young age, my dad _______ me into a dozen sports. I didn’t like any of them, _______.

When I entered the University of Regina, my dad _______ telling me “You have to find a way to stay _______.” or “You don’t want to get the Freshman 15, do you?” So I _______ to give swimming a shot, but I _______ managed to go to the pool twice during the fall semester (学期). Worse still, I was _______ to convince myself that’s OK.

The spring semester came. A friend of mine _______ me if I wanted to try Zumba (尊巴) with her. All I knew about Zumba was that it was basically a kind of exercise: dancing to Latin pop songs. It didn’t sound too bad, but I couldn’t be _______.

I went, and that was it. Zumba became my ________ of tea. The instructor would always say, “Don’t worry about the steps. Have fun. Do your own thing.” That removed my ________ of sports. I didn’t have to be ________. I didn’t even have to be good. I just needed to ________ the music and move. Zumba did ________ me from the Freshman 15, and it also did so much more. It let me make ________ with my unpleasant past about physical exercise, and enjoy staying healthy.

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 . The Olympic Games are the greatest festival of sport in the world. Every four years, a hundred or more countries send their best sportsmen to compete for the highest honors of the sport. As many as 6000 people take part in over 20 sports. For the winners, there are gold medals and glory. But there is honor, too, for all who compete, win or lose. That is the spirit of the Olympics—to take part is what matters.

The Olympic Games always start in bright color and action. The teams of all the nations parade in the opening ceremony and march round the track. The custom is for the Greek team to march in first. For it was in Greece that the Olympics began. The team of the country where the Games are being held—the host country—marches in last.

The runner with the Olympic torch then enters the stadium and lights the flame. A sportsman from the host country takes the Olympic oath(誓言)on behalf of all the competitors. The judges and officials also take an oath. After the sportsmen march out of the stadium, the host country puts on a wonderful display.

The competition begins the next day. There are usually more than twenty sports in the Games. The rule is that there must be at least fifteen. The main events are in track and field, but it is a few days before these sports start. Each day the competitors take part in a different sport—riding, shooting, swimming, and cross-country running. Points are gained for each event. Medals are awarded for the individual winners and for national teams.

More and more women are taking part in the games. They first competed in 1900, in tennis and golf, which are no longer held in the Olympics. Women’s swimming events were introduced in 1912, but it was not until 1928 that there were any track and field events for women. Now, they compete in all but half a dozen of the sports. In horse riding, shooting, and boat racing, they may compete in the same events as the men.

4 . Former pro basketball player Kobe Bryant won five NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers while making himself as one of the game’s all-time greats. He died tragically in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020.

Kobe Bryant was born with basketball already in his blood. His dad was a former NBA star Joe “Jellybean” Bryant. Born on August 23, 1978, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Kobe spent his early years in Italy, because his dad started playing basketball in Europe and his family moved there. The family moved back to the United States when Kobe was 13 and he started playing high school basketball.

Kobe knew he was already good enough to play in the NBA, so he skipped college and was selected right after high school. He played in the NBA All-Star Game for the first time in 1998 and by 2000, Kobe had developed into one of the best basketballs players. Kobe and Shaquille O’Neal teamed up to lead the LA Lakers to three straight NBA Championship (冠军) Titles from 2000 to 2002.

In 2003, Kobe was caught by the police. In 2004, the case against Kobe was dropped, but Kobe still had to live with a damaged reputation. In 2004, Kobe tried to prove that he could lead the LA Lakers without Shaq. After Kobe told the Lakers he wouldn’t be wearing the purple and gold if Shaq was in the team, O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat before the 2004-2005 season.

In 2008, Bryant was named Most Valuable Player and carried his team to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Boston Celtics. In the 2009 NBA Finals, the Lakers beat the Orlando Magic to win the championship.

Although later seasons were affected by injuries, he surpassed (超越) Michael Jordan for third place on the NBA all-time scoring list in December 2014 and retired in 2016 after scoring 60 points in his final game.

5 . Every time I passed boys who were playing basketball, I stopped to silently watch them. I really envied them. But as a girl, I once thought that I could _______ play basketball.

I like playing basketball though I’m not good at it. I’ve had a basketball _______ I was a child. At first, I could play freely because no one _______ when I was just a kid. But as I grew up it seemed harder for me to enjoy basketball. At school, boys always played basketball during PE classes. The girls were _______ allowed to play volleyball or badminton. My parents did not _______ me play basketball at home.

“Basketball is not fit for girls,” they said. _______ I went to play basketball with my friends, boys _______ at me on the court as if I were an alien. I was feeling _______ and had lost hope of playing basketball. _______, something changed the first day of high school. I made some friends who also enjoyed playing basketball. They ________ me to get back on the court.

One of them told me with a smile, “Go your own ________, let others talk.” This girl would always play basketball with me. Even the boy who sat next to me in class talked about ________ with me almost every day.

I was inspired by them. Confidence and passion ________ to my heart. I will play as well as I can, ________ for me, even the sky is boundless (无限的).

Basketball has become an important part of my ________. I am interested in it. I watch matches and enjoy playing almost every day. Through basketball, I not only feel happy and confident, but also ________ a lot.

I’ve heard the NBA star Tracy McGrady say, “Nothing is impossible.” I have ________ to realize that life is just like playing basketball. You should have an ________. After that, just be confident and ________ going. Never give up and you’ll make it sooner or later.

I love the motto of the NBA. It can ________ my strong feelings for basketball, “I love this game!”

6 . The true Olympic spirit has been displayed by Canadian cross-country ski coach Justin Wadsworth, who helped Russian athlete Anton Gafarov with his broken ski during the Men’s Sprint Free Semifinals.

Gafarov’s start wasn’t smooth. He fell three times, crashing early in the race and breaking his ski. It was clear that Gafarov was out of the race for the men’s finals and wouldn’t be able to compete for medals. Still, he wanted to finish in front of the home crowd, but his left ski was too badly damaged in the crash and its base had come off. The Russian skier faced finishing the race by walking to the line, not skiing.

However, the Russian’s fall was seen by Canadian coach Justin Wadsworth, who immediately ran on to the course and helped Gafarov. “I went over and gave him one of Alex Harvey’s, a member of the Canadian team who didn’t qualify for the finals. It was about giving Gafarov some dignity (尊严) so he didn’t have to walk to the finish area,” Wadsworth said. “We help because we know everyone works so hard in our sport,” says Wadsworth, who was an Olympic skier for the S before becoming a coach. “Everyone wants fair results. It was a matter of allowing Gafarov to finish the race.”

Gafarov was thoughtful about his performance. “My fall cost me a broken ski and a pole,” said Anton Gafarov, adding that he decided to continue fighting for the finals despite all the difficulties.

Gafarov believed the race should be finished in any way possible. “It was a matter of principle to hold on to the end,” he added. He is not devastated (毁灭) by his failure and is eager to take part in the next Winter Olympics despite back problems due to injuries.

Just a few seconds later, fourth-placed Navarro caught up with him. Surely, he could simply overtake Esteban and come third. But Navarro slowed down and let Esteban run ahead of him. The two cyclists reached the finishing line with Esteban ahead on foot, Navarro just behind him. Navarro had let Esteban finish in third place, while he came fourth. The audience was amazed at his show of sportsmanship and cheered and clapped for the cyclists. After the race, Navarro said, “I didn’t want to win that way.” Later, Esteban, who won the bronze medal, tried to give his medal to Navarro. However, Navarro refused, and his response was: “Offering me the prize was worth more than what I did for him.”

Long-distance running is a great sport for beginners. It has a lot of benefits. It will help you get fit and prevent diseases.     1    

If you are new to running, here is some advice for you. It is important to warm up and cool down properly before and after running, so you do not hurt yourself.     2    . After a long run, you should jog slowly for ten minutes, then walk for five minutes. Such kind of warm-down relaxes your body after exercise.

10 . “Some day, there’ll be no Americans left in the NBA,” said 12-year-old Xing Tao, who joined his school team two weeks ago after watching Yao Ming in a televised NBA game, “The players will all be Chinese, like Yao.”

To China, Yao is a home-grown superstar who helped make the world’s first basketball league closer to Chinese players. To the NBA, the 2.23-meter center offers an opening of a different sort into the world’s largest new market. Yao’s NBA first appearance against the Indiana Pacers in October reached 287 million families in the US. That game might have been a bit of a letdown to Yao’s fans: He played just 11 of the 48 minutes, had two rebounds (篮板) and got no points. Comparing that with his performance on December 19, also against Indiana, Yao won 29 points and 10 rebounds. “This was one of the most exciting games I’ve had,” Yao said after Houston’s 95-83 victory. The NBA has to be excited about his on-count success. In all his games, he’s averaging 12.7 points and 7.7 rebounds, quite good for a new star. “Yao Ming has brought the NBA closer to the Chinese,” said NBA spokeswoman Cheong Sau Ching, “That makes the dream seem practical for other people in China and proud to be Chinese.”

The 22-year-old Yao is not the country’s first player in the NBA: Wang Zhizhi broke down the Dallas Mavericks in November 2003. But Yao’s combination of modesty (谦虚) and skills make him a favorite back home.