3 . In one Nebraska teen running race before graduating from high school, Brandon Schutt’s personal best turned out not to be about marking the fastest time but displaying the biggest heart.

During the race, he knew he had the________o qualify for the upcoming state meet, so he slowed to a comfortable pace that would allow him to simply enjoy the moment and the day. Meanwhile, aiming to ________his own personal record, after a fast start, Blake Cerveny continued to push himself ________.With less than 400 meters to go, Cerveny got a cramp(抽筋)in his legs and they failed him.________to finish, Cerveny rose from the ground and continued on, only to________ again after another 150 meters...and again. This time he’d made it only 25 meters more before going down. With great________,the young runner pulled himself up and with an unsteady pace, moved forward for one final push. It wasn’t enough. Less than 100 meters from the finish line, he lay curled(弯曲的)on the ground. His legs had simply________．

Brandon Schutt, who was at his side,________a helping hand. His first attempt to get Cerveny up ________,but like Cerveny, he too refused to give up. With a second hard________, Cerveny was on his feet. With Cerveny holding Schutt for support and Schutt helping Cerveny maintain balance, the two________ the final 75 meters. Schutt even made sure the injured runner crossed the finish line first, securing his________a faster time.

In today’s competitive world in which the emphasis in________is so often put on breaking records, it is________to see that for an athlete like Brandon Schutt, the value of true sportsmanship still has legs. And for others, like Blake Cerveny, knowing that finishing the race, no matter the odds or adversity, is the true________ of a win.

5 . As the drumbeat changed, the dress fluttered in tune with the girl’s changing steps. Finally, she _______ the performance in a neat pose on stage before the audience.

The girl _______ is actually me. I’ve learned Latin dance since childhood. However, when I became a young girl, conflicts brought by Latin dance made me _______. The fair skin and slim bodies of mainstream beauty stand in contrast to what Latin dance pursues: power and wildness. As a young girl, I am _______ for beauty. But a girl like me with strong muscles stands out in a crowd. In addition, _______ feelings caused by unkind judgment piled up in my heart. It was so much that I compromised between power and _______.

Luckily, in Vienna, the match for the Chinese youth team _______ my attention, dragging me out of _______. Players from different countries gathered to _______ the honors. Though I had made my efforts, I was ________ to find that I didn’t get the score I expected. The reason, obviously, lay in my ________. With my reduced intake of protein and carbohydrates, I ________ lost a lot of weight, but at the cost of a sense of power and speed in dance.

In between games, I saw a little girl from Europe take firm and powerful steps in the ________. Her beauty came from her full muscles. The confidence in her eyes was unstoppable. Definitely, she won the top prize. ________ her so much, I made her acquaintance and shared my difficult situation. Till now I do remember the confidence that ________ me and some of her words: “Just be yourself.”

Looking back, I’m still the dancing girl but my heart has grown lighter. Something within me is dancing.

6 . 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.

7 . 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.

8 . In one Nebraska teen running race before graduating from high school, Brandon Schutt’s personal best turned out not to be about marking the fastest time but displaying the biggest heart.

During the race, he knew he had the potential to ________ for the upcoming state meet, so he slowed to a comfortable ________ that would allow him to simply enjoy the moment and the day. Meanwhile, aiming to ________ his own personal record, after a fast start, Blake Cerveny continued to push himself ________. With less than 400 meters to go, Cerveny got a cramp (抽筋) in his legs and they ________ him. ________ to finish, Cerveny rose from the ground and continued on, only to ________ again after another 150 metere... and again. This time he’d ________ it only 25 meters more before going down. With tremendous effort, the young runner pulled himself up and with a(n) ________ pace, moved forward for one final push. It wasn’t enough. Less than 100 meters from the ________ line, he lay curled on the ground. His ________ had simply given out.

Brandon Schutt, who was at his side, ________ a helping hand. His first ________ to get Cerveny up failed, but like Cerveny, he too refused to ________. With a second tug (拖拽), Cerveny was on his ________. With Cerveny holding Schutt for ________ and Schutt helping Cerveny maintain balance, the two ________ the Final 75 meters. Schutt even made sure the injured runner crossed the finish line first, securing his ________ a faster time.

In today’s competitive world in which the emphasis in athletics is so often put on breaking records, it was ________ to see that for an athlete like Brandon Schutt, the value of true sportsmanship still had legs. And for others, like Blake Cerveny, knowing that finishing the race, no matter the odds or adversity, is the true ________ of a win.

9 . After getting married, I moved to an absolutely new town. _________ as I was to be in a new city, with various new things to explore, I was still lonely. I was desperate to make friends and establish_________.

This could explain my enthusiastic “Count me in!” when_________ to participate in a half marathon. Reflecting on my usual 3 miles, I must have been_________ — a half marathon, 13 miles seemed a(n) _________ task.

After the initial shock wore off, I found comfort in burying myself in_________. I took it slow, one mile, and then two, three, four and five miles. Seven straight miles felt like to climb Everest in my eyes, and soon I became used to that_________.

Mile after mile, I managed to step beside my running partners. We talked about our favorite music and_________ funny stories about our children. At about mile 10, the conversations_________. We shared our past and hopes for our future, our fears and disappointments. By the time we were running 12-mile legs, I know that I’d made__________ friends.

__________, the day of the race arrived. At the start line, armed with my friends, I already felt like a champion. My time training had__________. I managed to hold a steady pace and kept up with my__________. Legs shaking and knees buckling, we crossed the finish line together.

I have participated in multiple races since. Although running started as a__________ of building social ties, it not only provided me with friendships, but with a skill that would benefit me the rest of my life. Though the first pair of shoes is long forgotten, running will never be__________.