2 . I’ve never been an athlete. At school, my main goal was to _________ PE at all costs. In my twenties, I went for yoga class occasionally, but that was really the summary of my athletic accomplishments.

That was until the end of 2016, when I was unexpectedly laid off. I was feeling quite depressed but pushed myself to _________ for the TCS NYC Marathon runners.

However, while being there, I got phenomenal _________ from all the runners, smiling, applauding and high-fiving constantly. I thought maybe I could give running a _________ , just to try, to see where it _________ me. So I tried. I got on a treadmill (跑步机) in my local gym the next morning. I was out of breath by minute five, but I slowed down, walked for a little bit and then restarted. I came back to the gym the next day, hoping to _________ a few minutes longer. By the end of two weeks, I could run for 30 minutes.

While my body started to look more toned, I also noticed my negative thoughts didn’t occur that _________ . And it sparked a thought — what if I could set a running goal and sign up for my first-ever race? I did and races became a new hobby.

Also, when I was going for interviews, I started to feel _________ in my abilities. I got my full-time job _________ at my dream company just weeks before the half-marathon. Although I got injured right before the race, I still went for it.

I still have a long running journey ahead of me. Running gives me __________ that I can do anything I set my mind to.

4 . No one is born a winner. People make themselves into winners by their own _________.

I learned this lesson from an experience many years ago. I took the head coaching job at a school in Baxley, Georgia. It was a small school with a weak football program.

It was a tradition for the school's old team to play against the _________ team at the end of spring practice. The old team had no coach, and they didn’t even practice to prepare for the game. Being the coach of the new team, I was excited because I knew we were going to win, but to my disappointment, we were defeated. I couldn’t believe I had got into such a situation. Thinking hard about it, I came to realize that my team might not be the number one team in Georgia, but they were _________ me. I had to change my _________ about their ability and potential.

I started doing anything I could to help them build a little _________. Most importantly, I began to treat them like _______. That summer, when the other teams enjoyed their vacations, we met every day and practiced passing and kicking the football.

Six months after suffering our defeat on the spring practice field, we won our first game and our second and continued to improve. Finally, we faced the number one team in the state. I felt that it would be a _________ for us even if we lost the game. But that wasn’t what happened. My boys beat the best team in Georgia, giving me one of the greatest _________ of my life!

From the experience, I learned a lot about how the attitude of the leader can affect the members of a team. Instead of seeing my boys as losers, I pushed and _________ them. I helped them to see themselves ____________, and they built themselves into winners.

Winners are made, not born.

6 . Last night was the last game for my son’s soccer team. Everyone in the team had trained very hard for it and thus confidently expected a big win.

It was the final quarter. The score was two to one, my son’s team in the_______. Parents encircled the field, offering encouragement. With less than ten seconds remaining, the ball rolled in front of my son’s teammate, Mickey O’Donnell. With shouts of “_______it!” across the field, Mickey took the chance and gave it everything he had. All round me the crowd erupted. He had_______!

However, everyone realized immediately that Mickey did it, but in the_______goal, ending the game in a draw. For a moment there was total_______. The air seemed to be at a standstill. You see, Mickey has Down’s syndrome, a condition in which a person is born with learning difficulties, and for him all goals should be celebrated. He had_______been known to hug the opposing players when they won a point.

Not knowing what was happening, Mickey ran over to my son excitedly, “I made it! I made it! Everybody won!” For a moment I held my breath, not sure how my son would_______. I need not have worried. I watched, through tears, my son_______his hand in the classic high-five gesture and started shouting, “ Way to go Mickey! Way to go Mickey!” Within moments both teams surrounded Mickey, joining my son to_______him on his goal.

Later that night, when my daughter asked who had won, I smiled as I replied, “It was a__________. Everybody won. ”

I am thankful to this day that I signed up volunteering in this Special Olympics event. If I had missed the event, I would have missed one of the most unforgettable moments that I have ever _________.

Standing at the finish line, I was able to witness many amazing efforts and close races. I was most impressed by the effort each athlete put into his or her event. What also impressed me was the sincere _________ each athlete expressed while participating though sometimes the joy of participating in a sporting event can get _________ in the fierce competition of winning and losing.

Then an amazing moment happened right before my eyes. A group of athletes were _________ up to run a short race. One of them was in a wheelchair, a little girl with a _________ smile. The gun sounded. They were off. Runners sped up in the track with all their might. There she was, pumping her arms with all the _________ she had. Her efforts were getting little result, but that did not stop her. I noticed as she got closer that she also had an injured arm. But that did not stop this bright star. The race was long over _________ the young athlete kept pumping her arms. As she finally _________ the finish line, the noise of the crowd was thunderous. There I stood cheering, with tears falling down my cheeks.

After all these years, I can still hear those cheers. I grew up a lot that day because of the _________ of that little girl in the wheelchair. I was __________ that day of a poem from a book that states, “Whatever you do, do it with all your might.”

9 . Gidda’s Team

The door closed behind Malik, making Mama look up from the hot meal. “Just in time for dinner. Will you _____ Gidda, please?”

Gidda was staying in Malik’s bedroom. He didn’t _____ giving up his room for his 82-year-old grandmother at first. But then she didn’t leave. Malik _____ over her suitcase on the floor. “Sorry,” Gidda said. “I’m just a nuisance(讨厌的人) here. I’m _____” Malik didn’t answer as he helped her up from her chair.

At dinner, Mama asked Malik, “How’s your _____ with the coach?”

Malik was captain of school soccer team, and he had to discuss a fundraiser with the coach. They’d have to raise hundreds of dollars to _____ their old shirts, and that seemed unlikely unless Malik came up with a(n) _____ plan.

Unwillingly, Malik said, “It’s just team stuff.” Changing the _____, Malik turned to Gidda. “Do you want to go sit outside after dinner?”

Gidda agreed. In the soft warmth of the evening, Gidda settled herself beneath the enormous fig(无花果) tree. “Feels like home,” she said. But Malik _____, “It drops figs everywhere.” Right then, a fig landed on his head. Gidda laughed, picked it up, and took a _____. “Perfect. Pick me a bunch. I’ll make fig cakes.”

The next morning, Malik found Gidda making fig cakes in the kitchen. She offered him one. Malik, hoping it wasn’t too awful, put it in his mouth. His eyes _____ as he chewed. It was delicious. He eyed the tree in the backyard. How many fig cakes could it _____?

Malik grabbed his phone and started _____ in a rush of excitement. An hour later, most of the soccer team gathered in the kitchen, and ate up fig cakes.

“Gidda’s Fabulous(极好的) Fig Cakes!” Malik said. “We’ll _____ them! Gidda said they were easy to make; she’ll _____ us how.”

At dinner that night, Gidda shared their plan with Mama, smiling _____ as she repeated the title Malik gave on her, “Team Grandmother.”

The next day, the kitchen was full of _____. Walking slowly among the excited boys, Gidda taught them to make fig cakes. Soon the fig cakes piled up.

As Malik _____, Gidda’s Fabulous Fig Cakes were a huge hit and they were quickly sold out.

When the new _____ arrived just in time for the opening game, Coach Garcia invited Gidda to watch. She arrived early, and waved at Malik. Then she turned _____ to show off her shirt. On the back were the words Team Grandmother.

10 . My Olympic dream began a few years after I started ski jumping. The Sochi Games are the first time women ski jumpers are_________to compete for gold. Before that my Olympic dream was just impossible. So I dearly wanted a(n) _________ on this historic team. But first, I had to overcome the worst day of my life.

Five months before the Games, an unimaginable amount of_________overtook me during my training—my right knee was severely broken. Lying there, a sense of despair seized me, and I thought my dream was all over.

To my surprise, my doctor told me that it was still_________to make it to Sochi. He said that if anyone could come back in time, it would be me. I took his words to heart, and decided I wouldn’t let anything_________ me.

The road to my full _________demanded hard work. I couldn’t control how quickly my body healed, but I could_________ myself to workouts and rehab (康复治疗). I_________hours and hours at the gym. Despite all the sweat, I was_________about the outcome due to my injury. However, I was all in because I knew that I had to work hard so that I could have a chance to prove myself.

__________, my hard work paid off. I passed the strength tests and was named to the 2014 Sochi Olympic team.