Today I will introduce two of the “Living Legends of Sports” to you, One is Lang Ping, and     1    other is Michael Jordan. Lang Ping is     2     (know) to Chinese people as a player and a coach. As a player, Lang Ping brought honour and glory to her country. As a coach, Lang Ping     3     (lead) her volleyball team to Olympic gold in Brazil in 2016.

Michael Jordan is famous as “Air Jordan”,     4    showed great mental     5     (strong) in the games. He says that the secret     6    his success is learning from failures. He also says that he can accept failures,     7    he can’t accept not trying.     8     (lose) games taught him to practise harder and never give     9    . Besides, he has learnt to share his success with others.

Although they are in different sports, they are both     10    (master) and set good examples for others.

Deng Yaping, who has set     1     example to table tennis players all over the world, was born in 1973, in Zhengzhou, Henan Province. It was her addiction to the sport     2     led to her playing table tennis when she was only 5 years old. Four years later, she won her provincial junior championship. At the age of 13, she won her first     3    (nation) championship and beat other     4     (competitor) in all kinds of competitions in the following years. She had won 18 championships by the time she retired (退役) from sports at the age of 24. Deng Yaping is regarded as one of the     5     (amazing) players in the history of sport.

However, compared with other athletes, it seemed     6     (extreme) challenging for her to achieve her dream. At first, she     7     (refuse) by the Henan Provincial Team just because she wasn’t tall enough. Her path to success was filled with many other challenges,     8     none of them stopped her. She practised even harder and finally made     9     to the top. Her great determination and mental     10     (strong) have inspired thousands of people. Now, she has become a living legend in the sports field at home and abroad.

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, China’s sprinter (短跑运动员) Su Bingtian made history by     1     (become) the first Chinese athlete (运动员) to make it to the final of men’s 100m Olympic event.

“I’m very     2     (excite) to be in the 100m final. Stepping on the track has realized my dream.” Su said after the race. Su has set     3       Asian record of 9.83 seconds,     4     is also the best performance for the Chinese on the world stage.

“London 2012 was my first Olympics. I was just a young man eager to become one of the top     5     (athlete).     6     (lucky), perseverance (坚持) helps me prepare     7     the game and with my determination, I make my dream come true. I feel more confident than I used to be. It is a breakthrough for me     8     (complete) the semi-final at that time.” Because of his excellent performance, Su, titled the “Asian flying man”, was chosen as the flag-bearer for the Chinese delegation at the closing ceremony of the games on Aug 8.

Su’s great success    9     (inspire) more Chinese athletes and teenagers to improve    10     (they) since he lowered the Asian 100m record to 9.83 seconds.

It’s never easy for    1    Asian athlete to shine in track and field events. But Su Bingtian, 28,    2     (know) as the “Chinese flying man”, became the first male Chinese sprinter (短跑运动员) to win a    3    (globe) medal in an individual event.    4    March 3, he took the silver in the men’s 60m final at the World Indoor Championships in the UK. In the final, Su Bingtian ran his personal best of 6.42 seconds,    5    (break) the Asian record of 6.43, which he also set last month in Germany.

More impressively, a Chinese athlete    6    (achieve) a milestone in 2004,    7    Liu Xiang won a gold medal in Athens in the 110m hurdles. Inevitably (不可避免地), Su is compared to Liu. “Liu Xiang is my idol and also my friend.” Su told Xinhua News Agency.

As a matter of fact, Su had expected    8    (win) a bronze during the final. “There is no difference between silver    9    bronze. Even a bronze could prove that Chinese sprinters have made breakthroughs in many major world    10    (competition)” he said.

Shawn Cheshire is a blind cyclist who competed in the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She lost her ability     1    (see) after an accident nine years ago. She has tried to become as     2    (depend) as possible in the last few years.

She said that,     3     a long time, she was in a really dark place and hated being blind. She said that sports and physical exercise gave     4    (she) another opportunity at living.

Earlier this month, Cheshire crossed 68 kilometers of steep and uneven ground in the Grand Canyon(大峡谷). She did so in 24 hours and 15 minutes,     5     is believed to be a record for a blind hiker (徒步旅行者). The     6    (early) record of 28 hours     7    (set) in 2014.

Three friends helped her during the Grand Canyon hike. They walked several steps apart. They guided and warned her of     8    (barrier). She listened for and followed the sound of a bell     9    (wear) by the lead hiker. She used hiking poles for balance.

Cheshire and her friends finished the hike on October 8, 2018. She said as the group neared     10     end of the trip, “I had a huge ball of emotion welled up in my chest –I cannot believe we just did that.”

It was at the 2012 ISU World Figure Skating Championships that I first saw Japanese figure skater Hanyu Yuzuru. He competed in free skating with     1     piece of music from Romeo and Juliet. I was     2     (immediate) attracted to his amazing performance along with the expressive music.

Yuzuru has been an     3     (inspire) for me in my years as a senior high school student. In his career so far, he     4     (experience) countless difficulties and injuries. In 2014’s ISU Grand Prix, he was badly hurt on the ice due to a collision. Even though he was bleeding, he still insisted on     5     (compete) with no regrets. What’s more, in the 2018 Rostelecom Cup in Moscow, he couldn’t even walk because of a problem with the ligament (韧带) in his right ankle. But he ended up winning the championship and then     6     (award) the gold medal.

Despite suffering     7     asthma (哮喘), Yuzuru has always trained hard. He bravely overcomes obstacles so he can dance on the ice and live life to the     8     (full). From 2012 to 2021, I have been inspired by his spirit,     9     has helped me push forward no matter what.

    10     (face) with homework and sliding grades, I watch videos of Yuzuru skating over and over again in search of hope and perseverance. After all, he succeeded against so much uncertainty. So how could I not face my own problems?

Paul and I were on our school basketball team, The Lions. We     1     (love) basketball and were both huge fans of the NBA. My favorite player was LeBron James. Paul’s favorite player was Tyrone Bogues, a guy     2     played for the Charlottee Hornets, although we     3     (actual) agree that they are both champions.

Bogues was only 1.6 metres tall, which made him the     4     (short) player ever in the NBA. Paul was only 1.6 metres tall, too! During all those hours of doing jump shots     5     his own, he used Bogues as his     6     (inspire). Paul once said. “If Bogues could make     7    , why not me?”

Our coach was not so sure. Paul had to try out many times just for     8     (make) the team. He was still usually on the bench,     9     was really tough on him. Everyone knew Paul had real skills, and was someone who worked really hard and had a strong desire to play for     10     team. However. Paul didn’t get a chance.