Michael Jordan, known as “Air Jordan”, changed basketball with his graceful moves and jumps. Apart from his skills, it was his mental strength     1     he showed that made him unique. In the final seconds of a game, Jordan always seemed to find a way to win. He said, “I can accept failure; everyone     2    (fail) at something. But I can’t accept not trying.”     3    (lose) games taught him to practise harder and never give up.

Chinese volleyball superstar Zhu Ting has inspired a new English word “Stay awesome and ZHU perb!”    1    (call) by Volleywood, a US-based volleyball website. The word combines “Zhu” and “superb”, describing the 24-year-old player’s dominance (主导) on the court.

Last month, Zhu announced that she was joining the Tianjin women’s volleyball club for the     2    (approach) season, after China’s women’s volleyball team won the FIVB Women’s World Cup on Sept 29.

Zhu's productive scoring    3    (perform) has put her among the Top 10 Global Outstanding Athletes for this year’s Heracles Prize of the Big Ben Award.    4    the captain, Zhu created the new golden age of women’s volleyball in China. Zhu    5    (consider) to be a national hero by many people in China. Although it hasn't been easy for Zhu to get to     6    she is, she’s a superstar now.

    7    (bear) into a farming family in Henan province, Zhu earned a chance to attend a local sports school at age 13. Young Zhu got homesick during the first few months of training, but with her father’s    8    (inspire) words, she made progress    9    (steady). Zhu quickly moved up, from the provincial youth team to the national youth team. She became famous by helping China’s U20 team win the 2013 FIVB U20 World Championship. Shortly after, Zhu became    10    national team member and began playing under legendary coach Lang Ping.

Basketball fans around the world are mourning the     1    (die) of American superstar Kobe Bryant. Bryant, along     2     his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people,     3    (kill) in a helicopter crash Sunday in California. 41-year-old Bryant was an 18-time All-Star player and     4    (win) five NBA championships and two Olympic gold medals. He is considered one of the     5    (great) basketball players of his generation. The helicopter     6    (carry) Bryant and the others crashed into a hilly area in foggy conditions outside Los Angeles.    7    caused the crash is under investigation (调查).It took place about thirty-two kilometers from Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy, a basketball training center in Newbury Park, California. Bryant was on his way     8    (attend) a youth basketball competition with his daughter. When he retired from the NBA in 2016, Bryant was     9     third-leading scorer in NBA history with 33, 643 points. He is     10    (wide) expected to be elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this year.

It’s never easy for     1     Asia 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 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.

The last time a Chinese athlete achieved a milestone was in 2004,     6     Liu Xiang won a gold medal in Athens in the 110m hurdles. Inevitably, Su     7     (compare) 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 major world     10     (compete),” 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.”