1 . The greatest sports moments often have a wonderful flow state behind the victories or performances. Being in flow refers to the moments where distraction reduces, and concentration ________.

It was a ________ summer camp ping pong tournament where I was not only down 1 set, but 7 points behind my opponent, who had only 3 points left to ________ the set, and the tournament. For a comeback, I had to win at least 10 points, without making ________!

Facing the ________ situation, I could call it a day and let my opponent win. Perhaps my opponent had already focused on the ________, but failure wasn’t an option! ________, I stuck it out, hoping for the best. I told myself, “Let’s just try and win the next point, nothing else.” ________ deep, I stared at the ball with a clear mindset and keen ________. I took it, hit it back and scored!

5 points to go, 4 points to go... My opponent started getting visibly ________ and made mistakes. Point by point I was getting closer to being even 7-8. I was one point away from doing the ________. My mouth was shut and my eyes stayed sharp the entire set. He made another ________ 8-8. The comeback was complete. The crowd went ________! Winning the next 3 points, I managed to win that set. In the last set, my opponent turned restless again. ________ the flow, I ended up winning the final set, and the tournament.

Despite a small game, it inspired me a lot. Not being able to control how our opponent plays, we can ________ how to react. Don’t be there, where you are not. Instead, be here and now! Stay in flow! Be concentrated!

2 . Last year, Doctor Steve Lome came to truly understand what it means to be at the right place at the right time. During a half-marathon, he found himself in the position to _________ not one, but two runners. Things had been going _________ up to that 3-mile mark, but that’s when Steve noticed a (n) _________ runner named Gregory.

Gregory had just reached the peak and was _________ to see that he would run downhill for a bit. This was the last thing he _________ before collapsing. Meanwhile, Steve saw this happen, and he could _________ it wasn’t a simple fall. Steve stopped immediately to perform CPR. Once it was _________ that Gregory was doing well and an ambulance took him away, Steve continued the race.

The rest of the race itself was _________ but when Steve crossed the finish line, his life-saving _________ was needed once more. A man named Michael began to feel dizzy moments after crossing the finish line. Then, just like Gregory, he __________.

“I never expected something like that would happen to my life, let alone in the same __________,” Steve said. The __________ of this entire situation is truly remarkable. Had Steve not __________ to help Gregory, he would have crossed the finish line much sooner than Michael, __________ he wouldn’t have been around to save him, too. Thankfully, the events had a happy __________. Now the three remain good friends.

3 . “I never will be a runner.” I spoke those words at any mention of this ________. I didn’t discriminate (歧视) against running, though. I ________ all physical activity.

When my co-workers invited me to join them in a 5K run and I ________ the event was The Color Run, I ________. Once, after seeing a picture of a runner covered in colored powder (粉末), I’d said, “If I ever ________ a run, it would be a Color Run.”

I signed up and trained for eight weeks. I felt intimidated (胆怯) by my co-workers, who were ________ runners. I worried I would shame myself in front of them.

However, the day of the race, I not only kept up but I ________ the group. I had become a runner.

Two months after the race, a friend invited me to run a half marathon. Could I ________ run for more than 13 miles? Run for more than two hours? It seemed ________, but I signed up and started training.

As the event date came closer, I got ________. Thoughts troubled me. I can’t do it. I’m not ready. Two days before the race, I came close to ________. But I’d paid the fee for this race and thought that if I had to walk I would.

The first few miles passed easily. At mile 5, I felt ________. At mile 11, my friend needed to ________. I walked with her but didn’t need to. I’d ________ more than I thought possible.

Now having run three half marathons and a full marathon, I know I can do things that seem ________.

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

I learned this lesson from a(n) ______ 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 ______ 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 ______ I had got into such a situation. Thinking hard about it, I came to ______ that my team might not be the number one team in Georgia, but they were depending on me. I had to change my ______ about their ability and potential.

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

Six months after suffering our ______ 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 ______ 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 . In an international spelling contest (竞赛) in America, an 11-year-old girl was asked to spell a certain word. But with her _________ voice the judges were not sure if she spelled the word with the letter A or E. They talked it over and _________ decided to simply ask her what she had said. By now, the girl knew she had _________ the word, but instead of lying, she told the truth that she had said the _________ letter — so she lost the contest.

As the girl walked off the _________, the entire audience stood to their feet, clapping (鼓掌) to applaud her _________. Later, dozens of newspaper reporters wrote about this 11-year-old girl’s good quality, even when it _________ her the contest. But the fact is that she _________ the biggest contest that day: the contest of her _________.

Probably the biggest test of our character and honesty is what we should do if we knew we would never get __________. This young girl could easily have __________ and nobody would have known it but herself. But that’s just it: She would know she did wrong. It’s been said, “If you __________, you make yourself cheap.” This young girl was strong and smart enough to __________ her own conscience (良知) and character more than the prize from a spelling __________. Her pride was more important than any __________ others might give her for winning a contest. She knew she would have to __________ herself and the choice she made in that moment will have long-lasting influence.

It’s so true that the choices you make today __________ you what you are tomorrow. Our children will __________ our behavior much more than our advice. So if we want them to __________ to be honest, we must show them the way by being honest ourselves. Remember, our kids are __________ what we do and how we live even when we don’t think they see or know.

10 . I have grown up in a football-loving family. My dad played until injury _________ him out. My elder sister Stevie _________ with Crewe Alexandra Girls for a year or two as a left back (后卫), just like our hero Jamie Carragher.

I remember the exact moment when I told my dad I was _________ in doing what my big sister did. I was watching the game with him in the living room and it just came out: “It makes me _________ that I can’t be a footballer.” He asked why not, and I answered, “Because I’m not a boy.”

He _________ responded by telling me that women’s football was “great” and that I could play if I wanted to. “Yeah, I suppose so,” I responded, “but no one _________ women’s football.” Looking back, I can see exactly why I felt like that.

At school, there was an unwritten _________ that sports like rugby and football were for the boys. I’d never seen a women’s football match on TV and the only _________ athletes I’d heard of were in the Olympics.

Today, the England Lionesses (母狮队) will _________ Scotland in the World Cup, and people across the world will watch it. __________ women’s football has turned out to be one of FIFA’s investments, the majority of female players in top tiers are earning under what anyone would consider a fair __________, and only £24 million prize money was awarded to the women’s World Cup victors in __________ with £315 million to the men’s. That’s a vast __________.

Maybe, the truth is: Investment is needed for female football to become more visible and become a(n) __________ respected game. It’ll mean talented, skillful female footballers being __________ by millions of homes and maybe, just maybe, a little girl believing that she can also be a Lioness one day.