1 . I had always been warmly praised for my basketball shooting ability when I was in high school. But when I went to Ohio State, I discovered that everyone on the team was ______ in his hometown.

To win a starting job on the team, I had figured I would have to ______ the coach with my shooting ability. But it turned out that the team was ______ full of attacking players and what it needed was someone to ______ on defence (防守). Unwillingly, I decided to take that role, but didn’t expect the ______ was to make all the difference to me later.

One day, when we were ______ a game against the Bucks, I was called out by the coach, Milwaukee, who gave me the ______ to guard our court (球场). Though feeling a bit ______, I accepted. Throughout the game, I continued playing the defence role.

Then, near the end of the game, in a(n) ______ to widen the score gap, Milwaukee gave me a precious ______. He asked me to organize an attack. Running to the center of the court, I ______the ball. It was a ______ three-point play and the championship was ours.

Standing there in that circle of cheering audience, I came to ______ the importance of teamwork. Just as Milwaukee said, “______ teams often have one or two players who stand out; good teams have five who work together. It is amazing what can be achieved when no one cares who gets the ______.”

2 . 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.

4 . It was the final part of the 2016 World Triathlon (铁人三项) Series in Mexico. With just 700 meters to go, Alistair in third place and his younger brother, Jonny, was in the ________. Alistair pushed himself towards the finish line in the________heat, but as he came round the corner, he saw his brother about to ________onto the track. Alistair had to choose-- brotherly love or a chance to ________the race?

For Alistair, the choice was clear. His brother was ________. He had to help. Alistair ran towards Jonny, caught him and started pulling him towards the finish line. Alistair then________ his brother over the line. The move put Jonny in second place and Alistair himself in third. It was an________ end to the race, but Alistair did not want to discuss it with the media. He just wanted to see his younger brother, who had been________ to the medical area.

The brothers have been doing triathlons since they were children.“________, when your older brother is doing it, you think it’s a cool thing to do.” says Jonny. Alistair says that they________ each other as much as they can when they train. Despite________over “stupid things” now and then, Alistair agrees that having a brother is an advantage. “Throughout my entire life, I’ve had my brother trying to beat me at everything I do. It has been an hugely________force.”

Watched by millions, the ending to the race has ________ opinions: should the brothers have been disqualified (使丧失资格) or highly ________ for their actions? But for Alistair, his decision was easy to explain:“Mum wouldn’t have been happy if I’d left Jonny behind.”At that moment, he was no longer an athlete aiming for a medal -- he was just a ________.

6 . Very often, it seems that the athletes we watch on TV effortlessly win the game. However, it’s _______to remember that things don’t always go their way. At one time or another, everyone has a bad game or becomes _______. Here two top athletes tell us about a time when they had to _______back and what they _______from the experience.

Maya Moore was a member of the U.S. women’s basketball team that won gold at the Olympics in 2012.” My team was playing at the national championships when I was 13. I could not hit a _______during the whole game. We _______and I felt like I let my team down. I was extremely _______. My mom helped me see that my _______does not define who I am. She helped me realize that it is how I respond to difficult times that _______. I learned to bounce back from ________times in life.”

Swimmer Natalie Coughlin has ever won 12 Olympic gold medals.” By the time I was 16, I had already ________for years to qualify(具有资格)for the Olympic team. ________, I tore a muscle in my shoulder, which meant I had to temporarily ________my goal. It made me hardly wish to ________because swimming was my whole world.The injury ________me to seek things outside of swimming, like friendships and hobbies. It helped me realize that swimming was not life and death.”

7 . After graduation, I decided to take the gym seriously. Accompanied by a friend, I _______ a routine of walking on the treadmill(跑步机). I was _______ with our routine in the gym. My friend, however, became bored.

One day, he suggested that we _______ an outdoor sport. I was an uncoordinated (动作不协调的) person, so I _______ his idea.

But several weeks later, he managed to _______ me to step onto an outdoor racquetball (美式壁球) court. When I hit the ball, I sent it flying in every direction except the direction that I had _______. Still, somehow, I tried hard to learn it and became _______ after constantly practicing.

“We’re not getting enough _______ on the treadmill. Why not play tennis to build up our body?” suggested my friend.

“Tennis? I can’t play tennis! That _______ real skills!” I firmly resisted (抵制) his new ________.

However, weeks later, I started playing tennis. After several months of painful practice, one day, as the ball came flying towards me, my racket and the ball met in what tennis players ________ as the “sweet spot”. I had ________ learned how to play tennis properly!

I learned a valuable ________ from these experiences: I can do whatever I set my mind on. I just need to put in efforts, and the results will ________. And I become quite ________ about trying new things and I’m always filled with a sense of excitement.

9 . When I tried out for the football team during the summer before 9th grade, I never imagined how important this sport would become in my life. Football is a _____ sport, at times almost painful, and practices really _____ a team’s physical and mental limits. Without trust in my own ability and a strong sense of commitment, I would never have managed to continue after years of hard work as a player, and with countless _____.

In the first year, I played on the defensive line. This was an amazing _____ that gave me a great sense of achievement. But in the last game of the season, I was seriously injured. I was prohibited from any physical activities for six months. After going _____ a series of physical treatments, I returned to the field as a team captain. I practiced harder than ever to make up for my _____ time.

In September, during my junior year, my name was mentioned in the local newspaper as the key defensive lineman on the team. After playing a fantastic season, I was given the _____ of the Most Valuable Player.

_____, my skills in football do not magically extend to other sports. During the winter break, I went on a snowboarding trip and seriously injured my right shoulder. I had to have four _____. Since I could not use my right arm for two months, I had to learn how to write and eat using my left hand.

______ life must go on. I knew that my own present efforts would decide my future, so I ______ the strict training program to build up strength and improve flexibility in my ______. After an eight-month recovery, I was back to the field playing football, the sport I ______.

In this sense, the world of football has taught me an important life lesson: ______ and commitment make what seems impossible ______. This lesson from football is the one that can be applied to every part of life.