1 . British Cycling had recently hired Dave Brailsford as its new director. At the time, professional cyclists in Great Britain had ________ nearly one hundred years of mediocrity(平庸). In fact, their________   had been so poor that one of the top bike companies in Europe ________ to sell bikes to the team because they were afraid that it would hurt sales if other professionals saw the British people using their bikes.

What made Brailsford different from previous coaches was his________ of searching for a tiny improvement in everything they do. The whole principle came from the idea that if you________   everything you could think of that goes into riding a bike, improve it by 1 percent and you will get a________ increase when you put them all together.

Brailsford and his coaches began by making small________. They redesigned the bike seats to make them more________. They asked riders to wear electrically heated over-shorts to ________ ideal muscle temperature while riding and used biofeedback sensors to ________how each athlete responded to a particular workout.

But they didn’t stop there.They________ to find 1 percent improvements in overlooked areas. They hired a(n)________ to teach each rider the best way to wash their hands to reduce the ________ of catching a cold. They even painted the ________ of the team truck white, which helped them ________little bits of dust that would normally slip by ________ but could affect the performance of the________tuned bikes.

As these and hundreds of other small improvements were ________, the results came faster than anyone could have ________. Just five years after Brailsford took over, they________ the road and track cycling events in all the important Games.

2 . I had been swimming competitively for about five years and was ready to quit, because I ________ receiving “Honorable Mentions(鼓励奖)”at each competition, which simply ________,“Thank you for coming. You didn't even rank first, second or third, but we don't want you to go home with ________.”

The very day before 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 ________never quits. You go to that swim meet tomorrow.”

The next day I arrived at the swim meet, and as I ________ the board,I noticed the other girls with their skintight caps, goggles (护眼镜) and Speedo suits were here to do one thing—________ me.

The competition began and I was swimming ________ than before. I noticed I was tied with one person. I thought we were battling for eighth place and I refused to finish ________, so I added more kick on the last two hundred yards.

I hit the ________ and looked to the left and to the right for the swimmers who had beat me, but ________ 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 couldn’t believe what I saw--the other swimmers had just reached the halfway point of the pool.

That day, I broke the national 15- year-old- 400-freestyle record. I had hung up my honorable mentions. That day, I ________ them with a huge gold medal.

4 . Two years ago, Kiah Twisselman was working for the Kentucky Beef Council, when she reached the weight of 285 pounds. Kiah was responsible for their nutrition program, which meant _______ the health benefits of beef and it wasn’t sitting well with her. She had to stand up in front of a group registered _______, a group of influencers, and tell them about the nutritional benefits of beef, and it made her so _______.

While on a flight to a work conference, Kiah read a book by motivational speaker Rachel Hollis. “That book was kind of my _______ call to me that if you want to change your life, it is 100 percent in your _______ and nobody else’s,” said Kiah.

She started _______ Hollis on social media and decided to try her Five To Thrive plan, which _______ her to adopt five simple habits and commit to _______ them every day for 90 days.

Kiah started waking up earlier, _______, began daily journaling, drank water according to the instruction and ate healthily. In just a few months, she lost 25 pounds, which ________ her to keep going, ________ when she hit a plateau (停滞期). She set a new goal: to lose 100 pounds.

To ________ things up, Kiah started trying out harder workout videos. Unlike previously blaming herself for her failure, this time, she started from a place of ________. “When I failed, I was more willing to ________ myself and say, ‘What can I learn from this?’”

Over the next year, Kiah lost 103 pounds and the physical transformation was so ________!

5 . In high school, Dad got me to play rugby in the first place. I enjoyed throwing the ball around, but I didn't think I had what it _______ to play on a team. "You'll never know what you're capable of _______ you give it a try, Adam. " Dad told me. There was _______ a game where Dad wasn't on the sidelines, cheering me on.

Four years of efforts came down to my last game. I urged my dad to bring our _______

I _______ at my parents before the opening kick-off, and put on my game face. I grabbed at the clothes of an offensive player and _______ him to the field. A loud cheer came from the sidelines. There was Dad with the camera, cheering like crazy. My best _______ ever, a perfect end to my career.

I couldn't wait to _______ the moment again. I pressed Play—the two teams _______ before the game, and then, the sky and clouds! I could only hear my dad ________ "Way to go, Adam!" The truth was that he was crazily waving, too ________ to notice anything.

"I'm sorry,” he said, "I ________ to record you the whole game.   I sensed the ________ in his heart. I firmly answered. "It was your cheers that ________ my courage in that fierce rugby game. " During the ________ recording, I found the unforgettable tune of the game and my entire life.

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.