1 . 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.

2 . 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.

3 . When I was younger, I was very sporty. My dad is a runner who great ____ me. My great hobby between the ages 11 and 14 was cross-country____. However, when my family ____, my new school didn't pay attention to ____, and had no after-school activities like football or running.

Over the next few years, I ____ exercising except during P.E. lessons at school. I was ____ that I could eat what I wanted and didn't put on any weight, so it looked like I was healthy, but in reality I was very ____.

When I started university, I decided that I would try and get fit, but by then I was worried about ____ myself in front of other people. ____, this year, one of my New Year's promises has been to try and get in shape. This ____ came after I was late for a bus, tried to run after it and was very out of ____ in under a minute! I considered ____ running again, yet my housemate tried to practice yoga, so my New Year's ____ was delayed.

Finally, one of my friends ____ a swimming pool close to my house that she had gone to a few times. Now, I love ____, and I find doing laps in the pool very relaxing. Experts say everyone should do 30 minutes of proper ____ every day, so I'm starting with an hour three times a week and ____ every day. I hope that I will soon start to feel the ____ of regular exercise, and will become fitter and ____. In the long term, I know it will be very good for me, and ____ all sorts of health problems that often occur in later life.