1 . A 70-year-old Chinese woman has been called “Super Grannie” after it was reported that she is _________ about running and has completed over 100 marathons (马拉松) so far.

Most people _________ to take it easy after they retire (退休), but Wang Guilan, from Liaoning, is _________ not one of them. She only started running at the age of 50, as a _________ to keep in shape, but soon realized it was her passion (酷爱). She ran her first marathon in 2004 and hasn’t _________ since. From 2005 to 2017, she completed the Beijing Marathon thirteen times, and this year she set a new record, becoming the _________ person to ever complete the 168-kilometer Liaoning marathon.

“This lady is as old as my grandmother, how can she run so fast? That’s _________,” a runner in his twenties said after seeing Wang compete _________ the Liaoning marathon in April. Last year, she ran for the 110 km version of the marathon with her _________. It was reported that she waited for her friend to catch up for about 5-6 hours __________ they could cross the finishing line together, but this year she took part in the marathon by __________, and chose the longest distance.

So __________ can a 70-year-old stay in good condition to complete a marathon, while most people half her __________ couldn’t finish? One reason, according to Sina, is that Wang Guilan runs at least 20 kilometers every day. And she __________ running on mountain roads in her native Liaoning, but in winter she runs on asphalt (沥青) roads.

Wang Guilan __________ believes that age is just a number, and plans to continue running and enjoying the sunset of her life for as long as her health allows it.

3 . On Oct. 11, hundreds of runners competed in a cross-country race in Minnesota. Melanie Bailey should have _________ the course earlier than she did. Her _________ came because she was carrying a _________ across the finish line.

As reported by a local newspaper, Bailey was more than two-thirds of the way through her _________ when a runner in front of her began crying in pain. She _________ to help her fellow runner, Danielle Lenoue. Bailey took her arm to see if she could walk forward with _________. She couldn’t. Bailey then _________ to let Lenoue climb onto her back and carried her all the way to the finish line, then another 300 feet to where Lenoue could get _________ attention.

Once there, Lenoue was _________ and later taken to a hospital, where she learned that she had serious injuries in one of her knees. She would have struggled with extreme __________ to make it to that aid checkpoint without Bailey’s help.

As for Bailey, she is more __________ about why her act is considered a big __________. “She was just crying. I couldn’t __________ her,” Bailey told the reporter. “I feel like I was just doing the right thing.”

Although the two young women were strangers before the __________, they’ve since become friends. Neither won the race, but the __________ of human kindness won the day.

4 . Marcus is a handsome and athletic kid. He plays tennis and _________ the state tournament every year. Marcus’s neighbor, Conrad, is also _________ to compete, but he has rheumatoid arthritis (类风湿性关节炎). Although it pains him just to walk, he _________ painful days at school walking to the sports field. He loves watching his school compete so he doesn’t _________ a game.

Marcus has known Conrad since primary school. They’ve always been _________. He sees Conrad in pain and his _________ at not being able to play sports. So, every day alter school, Marcus _________ his classmates to go to Conrad’s for a moment of discussion about the game competition. The discussion is as _________ as a real high school game, which makes Conrad forget the hurt.

Finally, the doctors found a new _________ to reduce the pain. Conrad walks without much pain, and then begins running, but he still has to learn the __________ of running. After a childhood of walking carefully and taking __________ steps, Conrad has to train his walking like a kid again and stay in shape. He pushes himself every day，building his lungs and doing leg lifts repeatedly for his leg __________. He knows what pain feels like, but running for Conrad is no longer __________.

To Conrad’s delight, he gets a chance to join the cross country team. Conrad doesn’t win, not once, but Marcus is there, __________ for him who always finishes in the middle of the competitors, breathing in wind and waving his hands __________.