1 . If you asked me how I felt about running five years ago, I would have laughed at you .Coupled with my asthma (哮喘)and general lack of motivation, I considered running as one of my __ enemies.

As a pre-teen, the days in gym class always __ me when the teacher announced that we would be running the mile. I would __ myself to the starting line, a little behind everyone else, and wait for the whistle to ____. After the whistle blew, I started off in step with my classmates, but felt my __ began to bum, and my legs felt like they’d __ out any minute. My breath would hitch in my chest as I slowed to a walk, __ looking up to see my classmates run past. I’d constantly __ myself for walking. I felt like my lungs __ me back. If I can’t even run a __ , can I even do anything right?

Having those _____, I decided it would be best to avoid running at all _____. If I went to the gym, I took gym classes that __ little to no running, such as yoga. My ____ to avoid running succeeded.

Years later, I impulsively (冲动地)decided to run a 5k. When I ___ the course, I felt the same pit in my stomach. But something __ happened. Instead of allowing my thoughts to overtake me, I __ putting one foot in front of the other, and I let myself get caught up in the __ of my feet hitting the ground. Surprisingly enough, my lungs were able to find a beat with my feet, and I ended up running the entire race without __ to walk.

In hindsight (事后看来),I realize that it was my ____that got me through the race, I believe in running.

2 . More than 30,000 runners, selected from 160,000 applicants both in and out of China, took part in this year's Beijing Marathon on Nov. 3.

Wearing colorful T-shirts and posing for photos, they _______at Tiananmen Square before taking their _______ at the starting line.

Nearly a decade ago, Chinese marathon _______ struggled to make full preparations. Now, at big _______ like the Beijing Marathon, runners must win a lottery to enter.

This is _______of the world’s running boom. For millions of runners around the world, the real reason they _______to pound the roads until their legs hurt is more than weight loss or fitness.

Chasing records like the three-hour _______, for example, is important, but it’s not the reason people run mile after mile, up hills, in wind and rain, when they could just stay _______ in their beds. Record times are _______ the carrots they hang in front of themselves.

Last year, a runner in the United Kingdom __________ with the goal of running a marathon in less than three hours. In the end, he __________ in three hours and two minutes. However, he was __________ afterward.

If I’d done it, that would be it, Mie told the Guardian. “Now I've still got my __________, I can try again next year.”

Although running is __________ and requires effort, it also brings joy. __________ children. When they are excited, they can’t stop running back and forth, __________.

Indeed, when we race through the streets of a city, splashing through puddles (水洼), getting __________ in the rain and ruffled in the wind, we can __________ that childish joy again. As Holden Caulfield, the main __________ of the novel The catcher the Rye(《麦田里的守望者》), said, “I don’t __________ know what I was running for — I guess I just felt like it.”

3 . How much do you know about athletes? Many people regard watching sports games as a form of _________. But for athletes, they are challenging the _________ of human beings and breaking boundaries. Intensive training is a task which they do every day as a matter of _________. On May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister, who ran a mile in 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds, _________ the whole world’s attention. People believed that it was _________ imagination for a person to run a mile within 4 minutes. Bannister made a（n）

_________ in what people believed was impossible. In the years since, more and more athletes have overcome the four—minute—mile _________. Today, the record—held by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco since July 7, 1999—_________ at 3 minutes and 43. 13 seconds!

Records are _________ at a lower and lower rate in both running and other fields. When new records are set, they're changed by a small proportion of a（n） __________ . The decimal point（小数点）,set at one- tenth of a second for Bannister's record, now __________ one-hundredth of a second. __________, we'll have to go to a third decimal place, and then a fourth.

The closer athletes get to being __________, the harder it is to make improvements. Even though they are __________ the best performances of human beings, excellent athletes can still __________ proportions of seconds off existing records. They have a real __________ to break records. The gaps between new and old records decrease __________. Athletes are getting closer and closer to physiological __________ performances all the time. It will be tougher and tougher __________. However, excellent athletes never __________ trying.

4 . This was what all of the training and pain was about winning. I watched TV to see the _______ runner AVHO who had been under my   _______ for the last few years. I would have been _______ had it not been for the traffic problem.   _______ the young runner enter the _______ of thousands of people, I could not help thinking of the   _______ that he had   _______   in his training.

The young runner was   _______ considered to be promising when he first came to me. There were _______ training sessions (训练课)full of pain for him. I had seen tiredness ________   on his face. I had been ________ about his anger and pain. It was clear that only hard work could   ________ him success. I had ________to myself when I found that he had too much passion (热情)to give up. And he would keep up the training until he reached achievement. I had never forgot to ________ him that regardless of the ________   he had to keep on practice.

The thunderous shouts and cheers ________ me back to the   ________ . The young runner was gaining speed! He was running to the finish line. He was strong enough to ________other runners. His courage, heart and discipline(纪律)together with his years of practice won him the honor. Tears ________ down my cheeks when I found on the screen the young runner was looking around. I understood at once that he was looking for me. For years, lie had become so used to my________, success or failure.

5 . 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 and harder for me to enjoy basketball.

At school, it was always the boys who 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 am ready to stand up and play. 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, not only do I feel happy and confident, but also_______a lot.

I’ve heard the NBA star Tracy McGrady say, “Nothing is impossible.” It is from an advertisement on TV. 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!”

6 . For over four years, I learned ballet. It was a ___part of my life. I loved it because of the challenge, the ________required to improve every single day. However, when the teachers in Florida told us to_____， I found myself designing an unhealthy weight. Unfortunately, as my weight went down, my ___got worse.

I'd heard about eating disorders but I never_____that it would happen to me. Because I had lost so many________in such a short amount of time, my organs ___ I had to stay in the hospital for four nights and five days.1 realized the serious_____ I had caused to my body, and I was ready to____

As part of recovery from an eating disorder, I was not ___to exercise for a few weeks. During this time, I_____ballet and whether I truly wanted to continue it. Did it buy my____? Not any more. It was something that I could ____. So I did, but not even once have I ever____it. I began with walks around the neighborhood with my mom when I was _____allowed to exercise, and I also took long hikes. These ___were incredibly enjoyable for me. Being outside in the sunshine was_____I became happy.

As for where I'm in my recovery, I take every day as a(n) ___to get a little bit better. I celebrate every minute I exercise, and every day I am ___of anorexia ( 厌食症). I do not exercise to____ calories, and I do it because I love it.

7 . Sports are fun, and children keep healthy while playing with others. However, sometimes playing sports can have ______ effects on children. It may produce feelings of ______ self-respect or aggressive behavior in some children. Many children 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 ______.

Many researchers believe adults are the ______ cause of too much aggression in children’s sports and they are to blame. They believe children watch the aggressive adult behavior and ______ it. This behavior is then further ______ from one child to another. Parents and coaches are powerful teachers because children ______ look up to them. Often these adults ______ aggressively themselves, sending children the message that ______ is everything. Many parents go to children’s sporting events and shout insults at other players or cheer when their child behaves_______. What’s worse, children are also taught that hurting other players is ______ or are pushed to continue playing even when they are injured. In addition, children watch adult sports games and see violent behavior replayed over and over on television.

_____ it comes to how to solve this problem, parents and coaches in particular should act as better ______ to children. They also need to teach children better ______ of life. They should not just ______ when children win or act aggressively. Besides, children should not be allowed to continue to play when they are _____. If adults ______ children to play when injured, this gives the message that ______ is not as important as winning.