1 . The Olympic spirit is about a lot more than winning medals and setting records. Just look at the story of _________ Eric.

The boy from Equatorial Guinea found his_________ for swimming shortly after high school._________ he found it difficult to get a swimming pool to learn swimming. Eventually, he_________ a 13-meter hotel pool that he could only use three hours a week. On days he could not practice in the pool, he_________ in rivers. After about eight months of swimming, he_________ the chance to compete in the 2000 Summer Olympics.

On the 100m freestyle, Eric was in the first_________ along with the other two strong swimmers. Both swimmers were_________ to carry on competition for starting too early,_________ Eric as the only man in his race. Not only were the eyes of the 17,000__________ at the scene entirely on him, but the billions__________ the Games that day, from all over the world.

When he heard the crowd shouting, encouraging him to ‘Go, go, go.   he gathered all his__________ to finish the race with a time of 1:52.72,the slowest__________ time in Olympic history. But the fans did not care,__________ him as if he had broken the world record.

Although he is not outstanding in performance, he has made__________ for his motherland and has left an everlasting chapter(篇章)in the swimming field.

2 . Johnny Agar always dreamed of competing in triathlons (铁人三项). The ordinary competition once wasn’t ________ to Johnny, who suffered from a brain disease. This disorder makes it difficult for the 28-year-old to ________. However, he and his father ________ that where there’s a will-and a lot of ________ — there’s a way!

Jeff Agar, 59, is helping Johnny experience life to the fullest by ________ every triathlon together with Johnny. “I’m not ________ of triathlons,” Jeff joked. “This probably won’t be in the top things I’d select to do... I just want to give Johnny the ________ to do it.” When Johnny swims, he pulls; when Johnny runs, he pushes.

Johnny himself never stops ________. In last year’s triathlon, Johnny got out of his wheelchair and ________ to walk the last steps towards the finish line. “You can tell a person thank you ________, but until it was turned into ________, showing gratitude over and over doesn’t mean anything,” Johnny said. “Walking in the race is my ________ of thanking Dad for his love and effort.”

Johnny and his dad now form Team Agar, using their story to ________ others. “We hope to help people put ________ behind them. Though the result is unknown, we’re sure every attempt is ________,” said Johnny. “Either you win or you learn.”

3 . The world of sports can be challenging. Sometimes, a simple ______ can take on an extremely ______ meaning. That’s what happened to a teenage runner whose show of ______stretched far beyond a track meet.

Ella_______ the race of her life. She thought it was a good feeling to be able to ______something she had worked for in her whole life. So she managed to take an active part in ______ and won many awards. She was the state ______ in the 1,600 meter race, the first girl to win a track and field title in more than 20 years.

However, what people remembered wasn’t her ______ but a race where she finished last. It was when she was ______ to finish the race that something ______ happened. Ella said, “I was ______, some meters to go. A girl was not far in front of me, and suddenly, I saw her ______.” What she did next not only ______ up another runner’s day but also the entire stadium. She stopped at the bend to pick up the girl and ______ her out. Soon, all the other runners went past them. ______, she insisted on supporting the girl to the finish line.

“It was really ______ and people were moved into tears by what Ella had done,” said Ella’s coach. ______ failure, Ella felt very ______ in her heart. When asked why she gave up winning to assist the other, she said, “If we work to get to the state meet, we ______ to finish no matter who we are. I just wanted her to make it no matter what happened.” On Ella’s shirt is a slogan: Part Speed, Part Patience, All Heart. It ______ sums up the girl’s characteristics who found victory while finishing last.

4 . 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.

5 . I have always wondered how far I could push myself. What are my ________ limits?

Our bodies, of course, set ________ for each of us. Even with newer running shoes and better ________ , there will always be limits to how fast people can ________ or how much weight they can lift. Also, although we can get ourselves in ________ shape, some of us are just genetically more suited to strength and ________ . But, more importantly, it’s a person’s ________ that determines how far he or she can go.

So, how could I best test myself?

John Collins was living in Hawaii when he ________   this question. One night, he was listening to a few friends argue about whether runners or swimmers were in better shape. He ________ the argument by turning it into an idea for a competition. Each ________ would swim3. 9 kilometers, bike 180 kilometers and then run 42 kilometers. The first one to ________ would be given the title Ironman!

I decided to take the advice. Preparing for the Ironman race started with food. I started ________ five to seven times a day to give myself more energy as I ________ .

Swimming, cycling and running began to ________ a large part of each day for me. In between, there were workouts in the gym.

Finally, the day arrived. Seventeen hours after starting, I arrived at the finish line. I ________ wasn’t the first, but I had challenged myself and felt like a winner!

6 . Hearing the Olympics were coming to Vancouver, I decided to go for its voluntary work. I’d forgotten what it was like to put myself out there to make friends. I was glad I didn’t have anyone I knew with me because I wouldn’t have met Callie ________. Taking the risk of sitting by her started a ________. I still keep in touch with her.

As night fell before the opening ceremonies, I was stationed outside the MMC. Accents from all over ________ my ears. The games seemed to ________ the whole world. Suddenly, I could see people running toward the harbour. I turned to Callie, “Isn’t that the way to the torch (火炬)?” We looked at each other and started to run. My heart pounded as I sprinted. The air seemed to be ________ with everyone’s excitement, like a kind of electric energy pulsing through us. I’d never felt a(n) ________ like it before. Then, fireworks ________ into the air above us. Their bright colors glittered against the dark sky. I had ________ the lighting of the torch many times on TV, but to actually see it ________ was amazing. When the last of the fireworks ________, there stood the Olympic torch unveiled (揭幕) in all its ________ with its flames licking at the night sky.

Even now, I can still remember the heat from the torch. I had been one of the ________ MMC staff to walk underneath it while it burned. A beacon (灯塔) of ________ for the future. I stood for a moment right under it, listening to the ________ voices of my new friends, and I knew I’d made one of the best ________ of my life.

7 . My sister Diana is a runner. She used to be a pretty good sprinter(短跑运动员), but one day, all of that changed because of a _________ she made.

She went to _________ early in the morning. After she took off her shoes, she realized she had left her running shoes home, which are _________ because they’re small, light and have spikes(钉) on the bottom.

When her coach found out the fact, he got _________, so he ordered her to run around the track as a punishment. Off she went. Soon, she was running _________ other students who were on the long-distance practice runs.

The runners were moving _________. It surprised the long-distance coach to see that this girl could keep up. He walked up to the sprinting coach to _________ about the girl. The two coaches were even more amazed to see that as the group of runners were coming around the final corner, my sister was in the _________! Another girl was close to my sister for a while, _________ because of her sprinting ability, my sister seemed to just pull away from that girl.

It was her __________ time to run a long-distance race and she came first! The two coaches went to my sister to congratulate her on her __________ job. They were much more shocked when they looked down and realized Diana wasn’t __________ any shoes!

“You told me to run and I thought you meant right away, so I __________ and started,” she explained.

“I can’t believe how comfortable it is to run without my __________ filled inside those little sprinting shoes.”

From that moment on, Diana’s sprinting days __________. She’s a natural long-distance runner. She works hard and hopes that she can go to the Olympics one day.

8 . At age 83, Barbara Humbert dreams of taking part in next year’s “Marathon for All” race at the Paris Olympic Games. It is the first ______ of its kind, allowing amateur(业余)athletes to run the same race path as the Olympic marathon athletes. Humbert has a history of success suggesting she could ______ some runners half her age.

Unlike your ______ great-grandmother, the German-born Frenchwoman runs 50 kilometers a week. She has ______ in many marathons and has the medals to show for it. “It's ______ to have the Olympics in my homeland,” said Humbert, “It would be a ______ for my 60th marathon.”

However, Humbert is ______ whether she will receive the paper for admission to the race, as the number for the Marathon for All will be ______ to 20,024. Humbert's husband Jacques is a big supporter, helping where he can. He is waiting to hear from the sports ministry about the ______ to reserve a piece of admission paper for his wife.

Many ______ hang in the entrance of Barbara and Jacques’s home. They ______ Barbara of all the races she has taken part in, from Athens to Boston and many other cities. She figures out that she has ______

about 8,000 kilometers in those races.

Humbert wants others to ______ in her footsteps. She said of running, “It gives you balance. You run, you empty your head, you feel ______ relaxed afterwards.” Barbara is planning for more races ______ just staying on what has been achieved.

9 . Having experienced life as both an overweight and now a skinny woman, I have personally seen the differences in the reactions of others towards heavier people. People generally are nicer and less________thin people, and________those who are overweight at first.

Recently I was up north celebrating my 25th birthday in Muskoka, Ontario. We went into a little____and they had lots of clothing, house decorations and novelty items. I overheard a lady laughing and saying to her husband “George, these napkins (餐巾纸) say ‘Every time I hear that ________word exercise I wash my mouth out with wine’.” I walked over and there were other quotes on goods putting down________.

My first________when I saw these novelty items was also to________but as a few minutes went by that saying was still________me. Exercise is one of the most________activities you can do to improve yourself. Nobody should ever put a(n)________value on any type of exercise.

When I was heavier, I got________at friends who would rather go to the gym than sit on the sofa and watch TV with me. Now after my________, I see it from the________view. People who actually enjoy working out are focusing on themselves, which is so________for the overall health. People should stop making negative humour about exercising and start________it.

10 . Games and sports teach people a lot of useful skills, as well as helping them to ____ fit and healthy.

Lots of people love team sports. They enjoy being a member of a team so they have the chance to ____ the matches and events. They also enjoy sharing the ____, or failure, with others. While playing, people have to ____ each other, otherwise they can never win. At the same time, it is important to respect rules, because no game will work ____ everyone plays according to them. Team games also teach you that ____ is not the end of the world. You will always have another opportunity (机会) and you will be more successful against your competitors next time.

_____, there are many people who just don’t like team sports. They have to find other ______ to exercise. Perhaps they had a bad ____ with a kind of sport when they were younger. Maybe they feel embarrassed (尴尬的) because they think they’re not very ____ at a sport. They worry about disappointing (使失望) the rest of the team if they ____ badly. Team sports are ______ about competitions, and for some people, this is too ____. So individual (个人的) activities are more suitable for them. ____, during the COVID-19, many people exercise in their houses by following work-out (锻炼) videos posted online. Hundreds of free workouts are produced online every day, so you can have your own personal ____ without leaving your own house.

Whether team sports or individual activities, always lead positive lives!