2 . I had been swimming competitively for about five years and was ready to quit because I felt I was horrible at it. I kept _______ “Honorable Mentions”(安慰奖). Any _______knows that you don’t want to have a bookshelf full of “Honorable Mentions”, which you get just because you _______.

One summer day, the day _______ a big swim meet, I decided to tell my grandma that I was quitting the swim team, but she said, “Baby, _______ these words: ‘A quitter never wins and a winner never quits.’ You go to that swim meet tomorrow.”

The next day we arrived at the swim meet late, _______ my group of swimmers in the 15/ 16 age group. My _______ insisted that I be allowed to swim with the _______group. I knew that she was _______ me in the race so that our long drive would not be ________. As I got on the board, I quickly noticed that these girls were here to do one thing—to________ me! All of a sudden my grandma’s words ________ in my head, “Ouitters never win and winners never quit, quitters never win and winners never quit.”

SPLASH!

I was swimming ________ than I’d swum before. As I drew my right arm back, I noticed I was tied with one person. I assumed we were battling for the eighth place and I refused to finish dead last, so I added more kick on the ________ 200 yards. I hit the wall and ________ to the left and to the right for the swimmers who had beaten me, but no one was there. They must have gotten out of the ________ already. I raised my head to see my coach________ hysterically(歇斯底里). My eyes ________her pointing finger and I couldn’t believe what I saw. The other swimmers had just reached the halfway point of the ________! That day, at age 15, I broke the national 17/18-year-old 400-freestyle record. I had hung up my honorable mentions. That day, I ________ them with a huge gold medal.

3 . It was an extraordinarily busy time of year. I felt some ______ to head straight home after a long meeting. So I headed to the ______ nearby for some therapeutic (治疗性的)hiking. As I reached the top and admired the view, my unclear mind ______ .Re-energized, I knew that I could deal with the _______ that waited for me upon my ______ .When I arrived back in the office the next day, I was full of energy, and finished my work ______.

It was almost 20 years ago that I learned how ______ it is for me to carve out time to escape to the wild. I had finished my Ph.D.,______ soil and water conservation in Honduras, but I wasn't sure what ______ I wanted to have. So, I decided to act on a dream I had been nursing for a few years, _______ my mom showed me a magazine article about a man who had ______ around America. I figured that I could ______ cycling with research for a book on American agriculture while I worked out my next career step.

So I did it. During the cycling ______, I found the clearness I needed to ______ my next career move. Talking with farmers I met along the way, I learned that their biggest ______ was selling their produce. I decided to broaden my ______ from land management to improving farmers' access to markets. My ______ interest led to working for a nongovernmental organization and I did eventually _______ a book on. American agriculture.

The ______ is to find your source of inspiration and make good use of it. For me, I always get nourishment(营养)from being ______ in the outdoors.

4 . Cali Scores a Goal

It was the last game of the season. Cali had been playing soccer all summer. She really enjoyed __________ around with the other players in her blue uniform, chasing the black and white ball across the grassy field. As much as she tried, __________, Cali still had not scored one single goal.

“Don’t give up,” said her coach. He showed Cali and her team how to pass the ball to each other and take shots at the goal. Cali was pretty good at passing the ball, but she couldn’t kick the ball __________ the goalkeeper. She wondered if she should __________ soccer.

“Don’t give up,” said her teammates. ”You just need to keep trying and you will get __________ .” So Cali stayed on the team and did her best.

“Don’t give up,” said Aunt Lisa. But it was half-time, and Cali was feeling __________ . She was trying! Every time she got a(an) __________ to kick the ball, it would go in the __________ direction or a player from the other team would take control of it.

The break was over and the referee(裁判) blew her whistle to __________ the game again. The two __________ walked back onto the field, both __________ to win. Cali heard her aunt whisper in her ear. “Look for an opportunity to get the ball. You can do it.”

Cali took a deep breath. __________ she didn’t get one goal all summer, she knew that she had tried her best. She dreamed she’d leave her team after the game was over. Suddenly, she was woken by some __________ that was the sweet, happy jingle of the ice cream truck. It was driving right beside the soccer field, playing its music loudly to attract __________ .

The players on both teams turned to __________ at it. A few girls pointed to it and cheered. The soccer game had nearly stopped. Cali looked around and saw the soccer ball close by, __________ by the nearest player from the other team. Cali dashed over to the ball. She dribbled(带球) it between her feet, moving forward toward the net of the yellow team. By the time the other girls had __________ , Cali was positioned right in front of the net. The goalkeeper was __________ to one side, looking at the ice cream truck. She turned back __________ to guard the net as Cali kicked the ball hard.

The keeper __________ out her gloved hand. The ball touched the tips of her fingers as it swooshed past, right into the net. “Goal!”

5 . My least favorite part was participating in sport meets, for I loved running by myself. When faced with running against fellow athletes, I was _________. I had butterflies in my stomach and the sudden urge to go to the nearest ________. This year,_________, I was encouraged to join in a long distance running competition by my coach.

The 800-meter event was approaching, meaning that I would _________ soon. I breathed deeply and tried to ________ my worries. I walked over to some of the _________ who would run with me and started to ________ with them. We were all loosening up and getting ready to run as _________as possible.

I stepped up to the line for the event. The starter raised his cap gun and ________. About twenty-five runners ________. With these runners around me, I ________ my coach’s words, “You may be small, but you have ________ power.” So, I kept up with athletes twice my _________. I picked up the runner in seventh place and based my steps on him, making it a little bit faster. One by one, I ________ to make it to the top four, bursting around the lap.

It was the last lap before the final straightaway. I_________ I had the possibility to win. So I widened my steps, speeding up my_________. I caught up with the runner in first place and we ran side-by-side down the last 100 meters --- I _________ him by a hair at the finishing line.

My coach gave me a _________ hug as I headed back to see him. He was ____ because I had shortened my original _____ by twelve seconds at least.

6 . When my dad finally finished the triathlon（铁人三项）in Montauk, the crowd cheered. It showed me how his hard work paid off and it_______my curiosity. I wondered whether a small boy of my size could_______something like that. I found myself_______this out loud and my father overheard me. He_______me and said I could train with him.

Training with my dad turned out to be very______.We would get up early for a morning jog, or go for a swim in the pool after school. After a few weeks of_______, I signed up for my first triathlon. Before the competition, I nervously waited for the_______.When someone fired the gun, I was_______, swimming towards the distant buoy（浮标）that marked my turn. I_______the half-mile swim and ran towards my bike. I was dripping wet, trying to________it. Once on my bike, I experienced an excitement specific to________. I went through the transition zone（转换区）again and________my running shoes. At the start of the run part of the triathlon, my________already felt like they were made of cement（水泥）.

For me, the real competition began during the run,________now I could see each competitor as a target. No matter my________in the field, each racer was either following me or being followed. The run part of the race boiled down to________tolerance. "Shut up, legs", one of my favorite quotes, kept me from________the burning feeling. Then I crossed the finish line. I took a breath and then began a(n)________with the other finishers. The sense of accomplishment was there for all of us.

Looking back, I________the small boy on that day in Montauk who thought he couldn't________it. Now, that same boy is not only a huge fan, but also a training partner.

7 . Running for a Dream

I will never forget that November day．It was hotter than normal．This was the ________ my father and I had waited so long for，because we had been working towards this race for three years．Dozens of familiar faces from church and school flashed across my view．They had come ________me．I saw worry and ________on my father's face．Then the race began!

For the first two and a half miles．I felt________．I had never before been so ready for something．The weeks leading up to the race were filled with controlled________and a strict diet．My friends hadn't seen me in weeks，but they understood the _______required to make my dream a reality．As in all of my races，I didn't _______ out in the front，I loved the pleasure of passing people as my strength overtook their premature speed．

Then without warning，my strength began to decrease．Neck and neck with one of my greatest competitors，I ________see the finish line．I had begun the final dash into_______when my knees became weak and my legs gave way．Nothing I could do would make them _______ weight．

I watched as runners rushed by me．________ I knew my dreams of victory were destroyed．I had to finish the race．However，my legs hurt badly．With all of the ________ left in me，I got on my hands and knees and crawled （爬），inch by inch，across the finish line．Voices，both ________ and familiar，cheered me on．They gave me the courage to keep ________until the very end．

The doctors were there in seconds，but my eyes searched the crowd for him．There was only one person I wanted to ________to．I whispered，"I'm so sorry，Dad，I'm so sorry I ________you．"He looked at me，saying，"You could never disappoint me．Sometimes these things just ________．All that matters is that you did your best．"

"But we worked so ________．What about our dream？"He reached over for my hand and said，"Don't you know that you are my dream and it has come true？"

It wasn't long before my running shoes were back on，marking a________path for my journey，I learned that all of the miles，the tears，the sweat，and the pain my dad and I experienced together were not for a________．What I realized，though，was that to him，I was the greatest prize he had ever won．