1 . For me, becoming an Olympian was not developing a gift of natural athletic ability, but an act of will.

In the summer of 1979, I started _______ for the Olympic trials(选拔赛) to be held the next year.I felt happy as I made progress towards my big _______. But then in November, an _______ situation appeared. I injured my back and couldn’t move. I had to leave the _______. Everyone felt _______ for me. Everyone but me.

I never believed this would _______me. However, my _______ was slow. With only a few months remaining, I knew I would never make it _______ I did something. So, I started training in the only way I could in my mind.

I bought films of the world­record holders in pentathlon (五项全能运动).Sitting in a chair, I _______ them over and over.I lay on the bed and imagined the experience of ________ at the trials. Some people thought I was crazy, but I wasn’t ready to ________ yet. I trained as hard as I could without moving a muscle (肌肉). I ________ this practice with all my heart.

By the time the trials actually began, I had been ________ enough to compete. ________,as I walked across the field, I heard a voice on the loudspeaker announcing my name.I could hardly hold back my ________ as the announcer said, “Second place,1980 Olympic Pentathlon: Marilyn King.”

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.

4 . Don’t Take the Fun Out of Youth Sports

When I joined a private football league a few years ago, the sport meant everything to me.

My coach said that I had lots of potential, and I became captain of my _________. That was before all the fun was taken out of _________. At first, everyone on the team got _________ playing time. Then the team moved up to the top division after winning all its games, and the _________ started. Some parents, who had paid the coach extra so their daughters could have _________ one-on-one training, got angry when she didn’t give them more playing time in our _________. The coach was _________ . The new coach, however, took all the fun out of the game: all we did during practice was _________. I always wished to God that it would rain so we would not have the _________. Of course, all teams run drills(操练); they are __________. But we ran so much that, afterwards, we had trouble __________. Younger people shouldn’t be doing exercises __________ for 18-year-olds. I was very thin __________ I started football, but as a member of this team I wouldn’t eat much, because I was afraid of being too __________ to run. I feared making mistakes, and the added pressure caused me to make more than my usual __________. Is all this pressure necessary?

I __________ up leaving the football team. Four other girls did the same, and two of them stopped playing football completely. That’s __________, because they had so much potential. They were just burned-out with all the pressure they felt from the coach or their parents. I continued playing football at school and __________ my love for it. I joined a private team coached by my school coach. When I started playing for him, he told me I needed to __________ because I looked nervous. After I __________ down, I played better. When you enjoy something, it’s a lot easier to do it well.

5 . People think children should play sports. Sports are fun, and children keep healthy while playing with others. However, playing sports can have _______ effects on children. It may produce feelings of poor self-respect or aggressive behavior in some children. According to research on kids and sports, 40,000,000 kids play sports in the US. Of these, 18,000,000 say they have been _______ at or called names while playing sports. This leaves many children with a bad _______ of sports. They think sports are just too aggressive.

Many researchers believe adults, especially parents and coaches, are the main _______ of too much aggression in children's sports. They believe children _______ aggressive adult behavior. This behavior is then further strengthened through both positive and negative feedback. Parents and coaches are powerful teachers because children usually look up to them. Often these adults behave aggressively themselves, sending children the message that _______ is everything. Many parents go to children's sporting events and shout _______ at other players or cheer when their child behaves _______. As well, children are even taught that hurting other players is _______ or are pushed to continue playing even when they are injured. __________, the media makes violence seem exciting. Children watch adult sports games and see violent behavior replayed over and over on television.

As a society, we really need to __________ this problem and do something about it. Parents and coaches in particular should act as better examples for children. They also need to teach children better __________. They should not just cheer when children win or act aggressively. They should teach children to __________ themselves whether they win or not. __________, children should not be allowed to continue to play when they are injured. If adults allow children to play when injured, this gives the message that health is not as __________ as winning.

6 . When the Chinese government first sent students to America in the late 19^th century, it could not decide whether their goal should be to acquire specific technical knowledge or to _______ new ways of thinking. More than a century later, a third of a million Chinese students are enrolled at American schools and universities. Yet folks back home remain _______ about what an American degree means.

Attending an American university is a good career move. It is also _______ as a soft option for well-off kids, scared of the gaokao, China’s brutal university-entrance exams. Yet many bright Chinese youngsters explain the appeal of an American education in a remarkably _______ fashion. One place to hear such dreams is an English-language debating tournament in the central city of Wuhan. It follows a(n) _______ popular at high schools across America, known as “Public Forum Debate”.

At first sight, the event bears the stamp of _______. It uses the classrooms at a bilingual private boarding school in Wuhan with its own golf course and an ice-hockey team coached by imported Russians. But the debate is not for big-city _______. It is run by the National High School Debate League of China, which _______ contests in dozens of Chinese cities each year. This one has _______ pupils, aged 13-18, from nine cities. Many will never study overseas.

The proposition is: “Countries should give ________ to climate-change adaptation over alleviation.” An early round is won by a pair of 17-year-old girls who attend the international section of a state-run high school in Shenyang. In confident, rapid-fire English the duo argue that climate change should be treated with realism. The pair also had speeches arguing the opposite ready, in case the coin-toss had gone ________.

Unlike America, where debating clubs are ________ by shouty, self-assured boys, most contestants in the Chinese league are girls. Of its 20 highest-ranked debaters, 16 are female. In a society that is still ________-centered, the chance to argue forcefully and be applauded for it has a rare appeal, suggests Liam Mather, the league’s executive director. The winners in Wuhan are Joyce Yi and Erica Chen, from a state school in the southern boomtown of Shenzhen. Their swaggering first-round performance leaves two ________ boys open-mouthed like fish. Ms Chen initially ________ debating in English because “I’m kind of an argumentative person.” Then she realized the subtle effects of having to research both sides of an argument. Chinese education emphasizes one correct answer to a question, she says.

7 . The Chess Competition

I had signed up to play in the School Chess Competition two months before. I’d been counting the days, filling my afternoons with practice games and begging everyone I knew to play _________ with me.

Soon the competition was about to begin. I would be competing against twenty _________, and all of us would be battling for just a few trophies. Glancing up at the prizes, I could just _________ one of them sitting on my bookcase.

My daydream was interrupted by the announcement of the _________ round. “Shake hands and start playing!” said the judge. I _________ across the board and saw that my first opponent (对手) was almost too small to see over the top of the table. “Aha!” I thought. “This will be a(n) _________ win.”

One unexpected game later, I _________ my overconfidence. My opponent, the nine-year-old girl, had beaten me in only 10 minutes! I hid my disappointment and _________ her. “Good game! You’re a fantastic player,” I said with a sincere smile.

The next three rounds went by very quickly, with each game proving more _________ than the one before. By evening I had one win and three losses. After the second game, I was ready to go home and give up, ____________ I stayed anyway, smiling and sincerely congratulating each of my opponents.

As the trophies were being awarded, I listened ____________, applauding each winner as his or her name was called.

It was hard to hide my disappointment, but I tried. ____________, I heard the announcer say my name. “For excellent chess etiquette (礼仪), a friendly ____________, and great determination, the Good Sport Award ____________ to Dustin Hodges,” the judge declared. It was amazing and I smiled broadly as I walked up to accept the prize. Although it wasn’t the trophy that I had hoped for, the gold cup looks pretty good on my bookcase. I think it won’t stay there forever, and I plan to ____________ it with the championship trophy next year.

8 . Even if you’re a couch potato like me, you’ll know the benefits of running. But if you’re a real fitness fan, the ____ running challenge is to participate in a marathon. While many runners’ ______ is to beat their personal best and cross the finishing line without ______ , they’re also doing it for a good cause – to generate funds for ______ .

But just like other ______ events, the marathon also ______ a massive carbon footprint. Thousands travel - some by plane - to the location, and ______ from food packaging and goody bags gets left behind by ____ and runners. For example, during the London Marathon in 2018, ______ 47,000 plastic bottles were collected. This is becoming a big issue for cities – how to ______ a worthwhile event, encouraging people to exercise and help charities, while ______ the environment?

Several cities have ______formal plans to reduce their environmental influence and ______ sustainable (可持续的) ideas. One event in Wales, for example, introduced the recycling of ______ running equipment. The London Marathon tried to deal with the environmental problem by ______ the number of drink stations on the running route, ______ water in paper cups and offering some drinks in edible (可食的) seaweed capsules. They also tried new bottle ______ made from recycled plastic so 700 runners could ______ water bottles with them during their run.

Dr Andrea Collins from Cardiff University told the BBC: "Training for a marathon makes you more sustainable in day-to-day activities. I started walking or running to work every day and _______ private cars altogether. Being environmentally friendly becomes a good ______ ." So while you not be an excellent runner in a marathon, let’s hope the event, in terms of sustainability, certainly is!

9 . As a high school coach, I did all I could to help my boys win their game. I cheered as hard for _________ as they did. A dramatic ___________, however, following a game in which I was a referee(裁判), changed my _________ on victories and defeats.

It was a league championship basketball game between New Rochelle and Yonkers High. New Rochelle was _________ by Dan O’Brien, Yonkers by Les Beck. The gym was _________, and the noise made it impossible to hear. The game was well played and _________ competed. Yonkers was _________ by one point as I _________ at the clock and discovered there were but 10 seconds left to play. New Rochelle, the home team, took _________ of the ball, passed off and shot. The ball __________ around the rim(篮筐边沿) and off. The fans ____________. New Rochelle recovered the ball, and tapped it in for what looked like victory. The noise was __________.

I looked at the clock and saw that the game was over. I hadn’t heard the final buzzer(终场哨) because of the noise. I __________ with the other official, but he could not help me. So, I __________ the timekeeper, a young man of 17 or so. He said, “Sir, the buzzer __________ before the final tap-in was made. ” Yonkers won!

I had to tell O’Brien the sad news. His face __________. The young timekeeper came up and said, “I’m sorry, Dad. The ____________ ran out before the final basket. ”__________, like the sun coming out from a cloud, O’Brien’s face lit up. He said, “that’s okay, Joe. You did what you had to. I’m __________ of you.” The two of them then walked off the ____________ together, the coach’s arm around his son’s shoulder.

10 . Danny Redden was just putting his sneakers into his locker when his baseball teammate Max told him he was wanted by the coach in the principle's office. Danny felt _______. ''Why? '' ''He didn't say. '' Danny was a(an) _______ good student, so it wasn't about his grades. Taking a big _______, he knocked on the closed door and then _______ inside. There was the principle Mr. Irving at his desk. _______ the desk sat coach Geller. And when he’d taken an empty seat, he saw his _______. Oh, no. if his mom was there, he must really be in _______.

''I've got some bad news, '' said the principle. Danny just _______ hard. ''You won't be able to _______ in the last game of the championship. '' ''Why not? '' he asked. The series was ________, 2-2. The last game would be played this coming Saturday. ''It's not because of anything you did. ________, you've been a real treasure to the team, Danny. Coach Geller ________ left your name off the list and the rules state that every player has to be ________ in order to participate, '' said Mr. Irving. ''Can you just ________ my name? '' Danny asked. ''I'm very sorry, Danny. The list was submitted last night. Additions are not allowed, '' said the principle.

Then the big day came. Danny sat in the stand as the game got ________. First his team was ahead, and then the other team ________. Finally, Danny's team scored the winning run. Danny ________ out of his seat. He couldn't wait to get down to the ________ to celebrate the moment with the team.

That night he told his mom with the biggest smile of his life, ''That was my win and Max's, and Simon's too. That's what it means to be ________ of a team. I helped get us to the championship. And in my own way, I helped win it, too. ''

Yes, as the saying goes, ''No one can whistle a symphony. It ________ a whole orchestra to play it. ''