1 . Exercise and I had never had a good relationship due to my fear of sports. From a young age, my dad _______ me into a dozen sports. I didn’t like any of them, _______.

When I entered the University of Regina, my dad _______ telling me “You have to find a way to stay _______.” or “You don’t want to get the Freshman 15, do you?” So I _______ to give swimming a shot, but I _______ managed to go to the pool twice during the fall semester (学期). Worse still, I was _______ to convince myself that’s OK.

The spring semester came. A friend of mine _______ me if I wanted to try Zumba (尊巴) with her. All I knew about Zumba was that it was basically a kind of exercise: dancing to Latin pop songs. It didn’t sound too bad, but I couldn’t be _______.

I went, and that was it. Zumba became my ________ of tea. The instructor would always say, “Don’t worry about the steps. Have fun. Do your own thing.” That removed my ________ of sports. I didn’t have to be ________. I didn’t even have to be good. I just needed to ________ the music and move. Zumba did ________ me from the Freshman 15, and it also did so much more. It let me make ________ with my unpleasant past about physical exercise, and enjoy staying healthy.

2 . How Running Helped Me Turn My Life Around

I've never been an athlete. Aside from excelling at all academic disciplines at school, my main goal was to ____ PE at all costs. In my twenties, I went for an occasional yoga or Zumba class, but that was really the summary of all my athletic accomplishments.

That was until the end of 2016, when I was unexpectedly laid off. The chances of getting a new ____ soon were not in my favor and ____ thoughts of not being good enough started to kick in. I was feeling quite depressed but pushed myself to go and ____ for the TCS NYC Marathon runners as the course was going through our neighborhood.

However, while being there, I got phenomenal ____ from all the runners, smiling, applauding and high-fiving constantly. Not a runner myself, I thought maybe I could give running a ____ , just to try, to use my neglected gym membership and see where it ____ me. And so I tried. I went to my local gym the next morning and got on a treadmill （跑步机）. I was out of breath by minute five, but I ____ down, walked for a bit and then restarted. I came back the next day, hoping to ____ a few minutes longer. By the end of two weeks, I could run for 30 minutes, which was a huge _____.

While I saw my body starting 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 ____ and sign up for my first- ever race? I did and races became a new hobby.

In the meantime, I was able to ____ a few freelance （自由职业的）projects. They offered me a good ____ , and, most importantly, the time to work out for the big race. Also, when I was going for interviews, I started to feel very ____ in my abilities, experience and skills.

I got my full-time job ____ at my dream company just a couple of weeks before the halfmarathon. Although I got an ____ from overtraining right before the race, I still went for it and still finished within my ____ time.

I still have a long running ____ ahead of me—I'd love to work on my speed, my technique and I dream of running a marathon outside of the US. Running gives me ____ that I can do anything I set my mind to.

3 . During my first three years of college, I put on about 30 pounds of weight. Between classwork and a part-time job, I had zero time for _______. Besides, I ate a lot of fast food. Not surprisingly, I got a fat stomach.

After leaving college, I _______ to take exercise. Invited by a friend, I began working out with exercise machines three times a week. I was the kind of person who did not try something _______. I ate the same foods; I did the same things. Clearly, I _______ my routines (习惯). My friend, however, became _______. One day, he said, “We’re not getting enough exercise. We should play tennis instead.”

Me? Play tennis? No way. I was strongly against his _______. 1 was not good at sports. Besides, I was _______ the exercise machines. However, weeks later, I found myself standing on a tennis court (球场). As I held my racket (球拍), I felt _______. I gave my friend some looks that could kill. I ran after every ball he served to me, completely _______ about 90% of them, and hitting the rest into the other court. The first few months were quite __________. But one day, as the ball enough came flying toward me, my racket and the ball finally met in the place where it is most effective to hit a ball. I watched __________ as my return landed where I had aimed (瞄准) it, I had finally. __________ how to play tennis properly!

Tennis would finally become my __________. I played it for several years, only __________ because of a knee injury. I learned a lesson during my journey toward learning to play tennis: I can do whatever I set my mind to. I just __________ to put in the work, and the results will follow.

One summer weekend, my wife, my son and I entered a running race on mountain trails. When the race started, our son took off ______, but my wife and I stayed back, enjoying the scenery. After some time, while running down a narrow, ______ trail, I walked on a big stone and had a ______. I realized I'd got my toe ______, but I didn't check my damage. Instead, we kept running.______, after going half the course, I realized my watch on my wrist was______. I encouraged my wife to go on ahead, and returned to see if I could find it. Later, I ______ my broken watch and quickly put it into my pocket. Then I ______ down the trail. In the end, I saw my son, who had finished 30 minutes earlier, had run back up the trail to ______ me. He ran with me to the end.

______ it turned out, both my wife and son had won first place in their age groups, but I had no chance of placing. After the race, I took off my shoe and found that my sock was in blood. Luckily, the race ______ had a special award for the most injured runner.

Although everyone wants to live a life of comfort, the ______ is that we often face pain and ______. However, the key to happiness is ______ pain into something positive. In other words, ______ can make us stronger if we face them bravely.

6 . In 2016, 60-year-old Marshall Reeves got onto his bike in California. He _________ the Race Across America, a 3000-mile _________ than runs from coast to coast.

The _________ was to cross the finish line in Maryland in two weeks. It had _________ him twice. But he didn’t give up. For his third _________, Reeves had a new source of _________; He was racing with 3000 Miles to a Cure, which raises money for brain cancer research.

The race is one of the most _________ in the world. Only about half the competitors are able to finish it. _________ other long-distance bike races, it is continuous—once the clock starts in California, it doesn’t stop until Maryland. Therefore, racers have to meet the _________ time cutoffs（截止点）, otherwise it is impossible for them to __________ it.

Racers are typically __________ by a small crew in cars, whose job is to keep the racers not only physically fit, but also mentally __________. In the early days of the race,when Reeves had time to stop at a hotel, he would be __________ to a full-body massage（按摩）and a good night’s sleep. But after three days, rest was a luxury（奢侈品）as he needed to __________ for over 20 hours a day to achieve his goal.

After crossing the two points where his previous attempts had __________, Reeves entered an unknown area. With just 25 miles left, Reeves __________ to stay awake, just catching quick naps. __________, he successfully crossed the finish line in 12 days, 13 hours and 52 minutes.

This year, Reeves will __________ across America again. But this time it’s a little __________ —as a road director, he returned the __________ for his crew’s hard work.

7 . Every time I passed boys who were playing basketball, I stopped to silently watch them. I really envied them. But as a girl, I once thought that I could _______ play basketball.

I like playing basketball though I’m not good at it. I’ve had a basketball _______ I was a child. At first, I could play freely because no one _______ when I was just a kid. But as I grew up it seemed harder for me to enjoy basketball. At school, boys always played basketball during PE classes. The girls were _______ allowed to play volleyball or badminton. My parents did not _______ me play basketball at home.

“Basketball is not fit for girls,” they said. _______ I went to play basketball with my friends, boys _______ at me on the court as if I were an alien. I was feeling _______ and had lost hope of playing basketball. _______, something changed the first day of high school. I made some friends who also enjoyed playing basketball. They ________ me to get back on the court.

One of them told me with a smile, “Go your own ________, let others talk.” This girl would always play basketball with me. Even the boy who sat next to me in class talked about ________ with me almost every day.

I was inspired by them. Confidence and passion ________ to my heart. I will play as well as I can, ________ for me, even the sky is boundless (无限的).

Basketball has become an important part of my ________. I am interested in it. I watch matches and enjoy playing almost every day. Through basketball, I not only feel happy and confident, but also ________ a lot.

I’ve heard the NBA star Tracy McGrady say, “Nothing is impossible.” I have ________ to realize that life is just like playing basketball. You should have an ________. After that, just be confident and ________ going. Never give up and you’ll make it sooner or later.

I love the motto of the NBA. It can ________ my strong feelings for basketball, “I love this game!”

8 . 15 years ago, when I was playing basketball in one of Australia’s premier basketball leagues, I remember a sports psychologist we had for the season. As young professional athletes with high egos (自我价值感), the team were not quite convinced the techniques of psychology would ____   performance, especially when it didn’t involve using the physical strength and endurance needed to _____ the weeks of training and games. I, ____ , was interested.

We were trained in a visualization technique used before games. It involved moving ourselves into a meditative (冥想的) state and taking ourselves on a journey into the ____ to recreate the experience of a game, From ____ home, getting to the stadium, being in the change room, walking out onto the ____ and then finally visualizing how we would play and see ourselves ____ . The most important part of the ____ was to bring to life the vivid details of each stage, while also focusing on the ____ that came with it. We were trained to ____ fear, doubt and learned to go beyond them, so that by the time we got onto the court, we were grounded, ____ and ready to play.

What I learnt most from this technique was that winning games was important but how we ____   to play was even more vital. And ____ visualization was a powerful way to see through to the ____ , there were absolutely no ____ in the hard work of getting there.

9 . The competition Michael Stone, a blind man, faced today was fierce. The pole was set at 17 feet. That was three inches higher than his personal best. Michael faced the most_______day of his pole- vaulting(撑竿跳) career.

As long as Michael could_______he had always dreamed of flying. Michaels mother read him many stories about flying when he was_______. Her excitement and enthusiasm made Michael’s dreams full of_______and beauty.

From the age of 14, Michael_______every day with weights and running. The program was carefully_______by Michael’s father.

All of Michael's vaults today seemed to be the_______for his hard work. As soon as he_______on the mat full of air，the crowd stood on their feet in surprise. Without hesitation，Michael_______began preparing for his next attempt. He seemed________of the fact that he had just surpassed (超出) his personal best by three inches and that he was one of the final two________in the pole vaulting event.

When Michael cleared the________at 17 feet 4 inches, again he showed no emotion. What he needed were constant________and strong determination. As he________his turn and heard the other let out a sigh, Michael knew the other vaulter had________his final jump. He knew it was time for his________jump. He knew it was time to________when he heard the singing of some distant bird.

As he began________, something felt wonderfully different, yet________. Michael Stone was now flying, just like in his childhood________.He set a new world record National Junior Olympics record.

10 . Hailing from Sweden, “plogging” is a fitness craze that sees participants pick up plastic litter while jogging adding a virtuous, environmentally driven element to the sport. Plogging appears to have started around 2016, but is now going global, due to increasing awareness and __ over plastic levels in the ocean.

The appeal of plogging is its __—all you need is running gear and a bin bag, and the feeling of getting fit while supporting a good cause. By adding regular squats(蹲) to pick up junk and carrying __ to jogging. we can assume the health benefits are increased.

Running and good causes have always gone __ — just think of all the fundraising marathon runners do. But there couldn’t be a more on-trend way of keeping fit than plogging.

Anything that’s getting people out in nature and connecting __ with their environment is a good thing, says Lizzie Carr, an environmentalist who helped set up Plastic Patrol, a nationwide campaign to __ our inland waterways of plastic pollution. There’s been a real __ in the public mindset around plastics, helped by things like Blue Planet highlighting how disastrous the crisis is,” she says.

We need to keep momentum high and the pressure up, and empower people through __ like plogging and Plastic Patrol.

The plastic Patrol app allows users to __ plastic anywhere in the world by collecting discarded items, photographing them and __ to the app, giving us a better knowledge of what sorts of plastic and which brands are being thrown out. “I’d urge all ploggers to get involved,” adds Carr.

Plogging isn’t the first fitness trend to combine running with a good cause, Here are some of our favourites:

Good Gym

Its idea is simple: go for a run, visit an elderly person, have a chat and some tea, and run back.

__ among the elderly is a growing problem in the UK. With over 10,000 runs so far, __, Good Gym is finding a solution.

Guide Running

Guide runners volunteer their time to helping blind people get __. By linking themselves together, the __ —impaired individual can feel safe while both work of a sweat.

___for the Homeless

Start-up Stuart Delivery and the Church Housing Trust collaborated last year in bringing clothing and healthy food to the homeless. Deliveries are mostly made by bike, so those who deliver keep fit while helping rough sleepers(无家可归者).