1 . Exercise and I have never had a good relationship because of my fear of sports.   From a young age, my dad __________ me into a dozen sports. I didn’t like any of them, __________.

When I entered University of Regina, my dad __________ telling me “You have to find a way to stay __________ ”or “You don’t want to get the Freshman 15, do you?” So I __________ to give swimming a shot, but I __________ managed to go to the pool twice during the fall semester (学期). Worse still, I was __________ to convince myself that “Yeah, that’s OK. ”

The spring semester came.   A friend of mine __________ me one day asking if I wanted to go to Zumba with her. All I knew about Zumba was that it was basically exercise dancing to Latin and pop songs. It didn’t sound too bad, but I couldn’t be __________ .

I went, and that was it. Zumba became my __________ of tea. The instructor would always say: “Don’t worry about the steps. Have fun. Do your own thing.” That removed my __________ about sports. I didn’t have to be __________. I didn’t even have to be good. I just needed to __________ the music and move. Zumba did __________ me from the Freshman 15, but it also did so much more. It let me make __________ with my unpleasant past with physical fitness, and enjoy staying healthy.

2 . When I was in my college, I have a full class schedule and a part-time job. I ________ had time for exercise. On top of that, my lifestyle as a starving college student lent itself to many a fast-food run. Undoubtedly, I was ________.

After graduation, I decided to go to the ________.Together with a friend, I began to work out ________. I was very satisfied. My friend, however, became ________. One day, he suggested that we take up a sport.

Me? Sports? No way. I was not ________, and no one was going to change my mind. However, after a few weeks, I stepped onto an outdoor racquetball court (球场) unwillingly. I hit the ball, sending it flying in every direction (方向) except for the direction that I had ________.

But just as I was beginning to feel comfortable.my friend suggested we play tennis ________. Tennis? I can’t play tennis! I was ________ against his new suggestion. However, weeks later, I found myself standing on a tennis court.________.I ran after every ball that he served to me, completely ________ about ninety percent of them, and hitting the rest into the woods and the other court.

The first few months were quite ________. But one day, as the ball came flying toward me, my racket and the ball finally met in what tennis players consider as the “sweet spot”. I watched ________ as my return landed powerfully on the other side of the court, almost exactly where I had aimed. I had finally learned how to play tennis properly (正确的)!

Obviously, if I hadn’t stepped outside of my comfort zone (区域), I would have never ________how much I enjoyed tennis. I began to try new things willingly, with a sense of ________.

5 . When Marco was a boy, he tried everything to get his father’s love and attention. He studied hard to get good ________ and tried to behave well. He was shy and shorter than the other boys. Besides, his father was ________ and had little time for him. Except for his ________ for housework after school, there was no communication. Marco felt very ________.

One day, his maths teacher called him that some young teenagers were ________ a public speaking contest. She thought he should give it a ________. She firmly believed he could perform on stage (舞台) like other kids. Feeling her strong trust, Marco agreed to ________ the contest.

All winter, he took a bus to ________ twice a week in another city, where the competition would take place. Marco was taken by a strong ________ he never felt before. Finally, the big day arrived. His father, and yes, his maths teacher, were present. When he stepped onto the stage and began to speak, he felt ________ at home. He was funny, and acted very naturally. He won! He noticed his father’s eyes were ________ — he was so proud. It was then that his father ________ he should pay more attention to the child.

As the winner, his name was ________ in the local papers. He knew this was the ________ of his new life. It all happened because of a phone call, from one who ________ him.

6 . Fat and shy, Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team. “Football, tennis, cricket — anything with a round ball, I was _______,” he says now with a laugh. But back then he was the one always _______ in school gym classes in Devonshire, England.

It was a mountain _______ he received for his 15th birthday that _______ him. At first he went biking alone in a nearby forest. Then he began to ride the bike along with a _______ friend. _______, Saunders set up his mind on building up his body, increasing his speed and _______. At the age of 18, he ran his first marathon.

The _______ year, he met John Ridgway and was hired as an instructor at Ridgway’s School of Adventure in Scotland, where he _______ about Ridgway’s cold-water adventures. Greatly ________ , Saunders ________ that this would be his future.

In 2001, after becoming a skillful skier, Saunders ________ his first long-distance expedition (探险) towards the North Pole. It took ________ energy. He ________ frostbite (冻疮), ran into a polar bear and pushed his body to the ________, pulling his supply-load sled (雪橇) up and over rocky ice. Since then, Saunders has skied more of the North Pole by himself than any other British man. His old playmates would not believe the change.

Next October, Saunders, 27, heads south from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back, a 2900-kilometre journey that has never been completed on skis.

7 . Of all the stories of Olympic medalists, the most touching one is that of weight-lifting champion Oscar Figueroa.

During his athletic _________, the 37-year-old man had the chance to _________ in the Olympic games four different times. But he met with plenty of heartbreak and _________ before he finally succeeded.

In the 2004 Olympic games, Figueroa made his first _________. Because he wasn’t satisfied with his result, he looked _________ to competing in the Beijing 2008 Olympic games to prove himself. _________, just two weeks before the event, his hand was _________, which set him back in his weightlifting and _________ him the chance. By the London Olympic games in 2012, Figueroa took home the silver medal.

In spite of all that he’d already _________, he still aimed higher. In 2016, he headed to Rio to __________ the highest prize and he did. After his final lift, he __________ his shoes and put them on the stage, indicating that he would __________ from the Olympics. Amazingly enough, he took home the gold that year!

No matter how hard he felt, he never gave up, serving as a __________ example of hope, perseverance, and determination. Oscar Figueroa is the __________ Colombian man to have even taken home the gold in his field. He said he was __________ for the whole country in the competition in an interview.

8 . Exercise and I had never had a good relationship due to my fear of sports. From a young age, my dad _______ me into a dozen sports. I didn’t like any of them, _______.

When I entered the University of Regina, my dad _______ telling me “You have to find a way to stay _______.” or “You don’t want to get the Freshman 15, do you?” So I _______ to give swimming a shot, but I _______ managed to go to the pool twice during the fall semester (学期). Worse still, I was _______ to convince myself that’s OK.

The spring semester came. A friend of mine _______ me if I wanted to try Zumba (尊巴) with her. All I knew about Zumba was that it was basically a kind of exercise: dancing to Latin pop songs. It didn’t sound too bad, but I couldn’t be _______.

I went, and that was it. Zumba became my ________ of tea. The instructor would always say, “Don’t worry about the steps. Have fun. Do your own thing.” That removed my ________ of sports. I didn’t have to be ________. I didn’t even have to be good. I just needed to ________ the music and move. Zumba did ________ me from the Freshman 15, and it also did so much more. It let me make ________ with my unpleasant past about physical exercise, and enjoy staying healthy.

9 . The teacher blew the whistle and 30 girls started running. Every kid’s goal was to reach the end of the field and then back to the _______ line. Those who got the first three _______ would be given awards (奖励).

Kid’s parents were present there, _______ them. When kids were running back from the finish line, the parents’ _______ got louder—Faster… Faster…

The race _______. The kids who took the first three places were _______ their hands happily towards their parents. The kids who couldn’t win were _______.

Little Emma came in at number 5. She ran towards her father sadly. Her father said, “Well done, baby. Let’s go and eat the ice cream as an awards for _______ the race.”

“But Papa, I didn’t get any place in _______ three. I came in at number 5.” said Emma.

“I mean you beat the other 25 kids. This time, you didn’t ________ the four kids ahead of you.”

“Why?” asked Emma.

Her father smiled and replied, “Because they had made more ________ than you. If you ________ more, you will do better.”

“I’ll practice even ________ and run faster. I’ll beat all girls.” Emma said with ________.

Her father said, “Great. But in fact, it’s not about getting ahead of others but getting ahead of ________.”

10 . From 2003 to 2007, I gained all the weight back, plus an additional 25 pounds-I hit 180 pounds. I _______ with depression and anxiety, and I was very _______. I knew a change needed to be made, but wasn’t sure how.

So, in July of 2017, a month away from my 32nd birthday, I _______ up to do a mud run with friends. After this run, I remembered how happy I was when I ran. I decided to _______ going, and began running in the mornings. I had to constantly _______ myself not to make excuses and signed up for a half marathon for motivation.

By November 2017, I had finished the half marathon. My motivation now was to take up that marathon I had _______ years ago. Finally, I was able to complete my _______ full marathon in May 2019.

In 2020, _______ races were canceled, my running was not. I kept training, and in April 2020, I completed my second marathon. Next, I took on the 4×4×48 _______, where you run four miles every four hours for 48 hours. Now. I get up at 4 a.m. most mornings, six days a week, and run average about 30 miles a week. I create my own plans suited to my current __________, which is to complete my third 26.2 miles at the 2021 Chicago Marathon. And __________ I will run my first 50 km the week after. I now try to run one __________ each month to always have something fun to __________.

Overall, I have lost 40 pounds. Running helps clear my __________. For me, running is more focused on keeping my mental health than physical health. But you have to have balance between __________. Besides, accomplishment at the end of each goal is wonderful.