1 . A bunch of strangers showed up at the gym in the early morning of the last Sunday of April. A few athletes were already stretching their arms, but most of us could barely focus. As I was burning off last night's wrong decision—a big meal, I spotted a poster about a gym's 21-day workout challenge, and I immediately signed up. I always wanted to train for a marathon, so I considered this as my warm-up. Besides, I needed to stop being lazy and this was my chance to make a change.
It was easy to promise on paper, but three weeks of recommended exercise routines and diet restrictions wouldn't be easy. I stuck to working out 30 minutes a day, and I didn't disturb my normal routine. Instead, I had to be faced with the tough work of being more creative in my spare time, thus breaking some bad habits.
Overcoming weaknesses with willpower was my goal for the next part of the journey. But the difficult part about making a challenge is realizing that “wanting" and “doing" are two very different things. Just like a career, you have to physically work for it rather than just wait for it to happen. But that's hard. Throughout the 21 days, I often told myself that the challenge was meaningless and tried to sabotage myself from exercising. However, finally I overcame that negative thought and kept working out.
At the end of the challenge, I learned something even more important: Feeling the results is better than seeing them. I had fewer headaches and more energy, and was simply happier. I even felt a little smarter as I researched which foods were better for my body, and learned how to make healthier meals. I felt a sense of accomplishment, too, because even though I wanted to give up dozens of times, I didn't. I felt my waist got smaller and my arms got stronger, and I no longer felt guilty after having a piece of cake or a drink.
1. What was the author's wrong decision?| A．Going to the gym early. |
| B．Training for a marathon. |
| C．Eating a lot the previous night. |
| D．Stopping being lazy for a change. |
| A．Some of the author's bad habits. |
| B．Some ways of the author's killing his spare time. |
| C．The importance of sticking to the normal daily routine. |
| D．The difficulty of the author's keeping on with the workout plan. |
| A．Prevent. | B．Hear. |
| C．Improve. | D．Distinguish. |
| A．Eating healthy food is more important than exercising. |
| B．Overcoming a challenge could bring good feelings to him. |
| C．It's more important to see what he likes than just feel it. |
| D．There was no need to feel guilty about things he disliked to do. |
