As a player, Lang Ping brought honour and glory to her country. As     1     coach, she     2    (lead) the China women’s volleyball team to medals at world championships     3     the Olympics. As a person, Lang Ping     4     (love) by fans at home and abroad. When the Chinese team was preparing for the 2015 World Cup, her     5     (determine) was tested. The team     6     Lang Ping had built was falling apart. One of the best     7     (player) had been injured, and the team captain had to leave because of heart problems.     8     (lose) two important players was a big challenge, but Lang Ping did not lose heart. She had faced difficulties before, and she knew that her young players could win if they worked together     9     a team. Two weeks     10     (late), they were world champions! Then in 2016, Lang Ping led her volleyball team to Olympic gold in Brazil.

Famous for carrying his tennis rackets in a bamboo basket, Wang Fa, a 14-year-old dark horse,     1     won the U14 boys’ singles title in the Guangzhou stop of the 2022 ASICS Tennis Junior Tour, has become     2     internet sensation.

Wang, a Chinese Wa ethnic(佤族)boy, started to learn tennis after he was selected by Zhang Xiaohong, head coach of a tennis club in southwest China’s Yunnan Province in 2016. Over the years, Wang and his peers     3    (put) tremendous efforts into advancing their skills and acquiring knowledge. “    4     for tennis, I would still be helping out my family with farm work back at home, ” Wang said. “We always carry a bamboo basket when we work in the field. We all regard     5     as a typical farming tool of the Wa ethnic group. I carry my rackets in the basket     6    (primary) to honor my hometown, ” he added.

Home for Wang is a mountainous area named Cangyuan Wa Autonomous County.     7    (locate) in southwest China’s Yunnan Province, the county, composed     8     67 villages with a population of more than 40, 000, was lifted out of     9    (poor) in 2019. For Wang,     10    (win) this title is just the beginning of a promising future. The rising star said he would head to the top spots in the professional arena.

Here are two world-famous living legends.

One is Lang Ping, and     1     other is Michael Jordan. Lang Ping used to be a player, who brought honour and glory to her country. Years later she became a coach, who led the women’s volleyball team to medals at world championships and the Olympics. When preparing for the 2015 World Cup, the team    2     Lang Ping had built was falling apart. One of the best players    3     (injure), and then the team captain had to leave because of heart problems.     4     ( lose) two important players was a big challenge for Lang Ping, but she did not lose heart. She knew that her young players could win if they worked together as a team. Two weeks later, they were world    5     (champion)!

Michael Jordan,     6     ( know) as “Air Jordan”, changed basketball with his graceful moves and jumps. Jordan’s skills were     7     (impress), but the mental strength that he showed made him unique. Jordan says that the secret     8     his success is learning from his failures. Losing games taught him to practise harder and never give    9    . In life, Jordan has learnt to share his success with others. The Boys and Girls Club which he started in Chicago     10     (help) young people since 1996.

Nikhil Kumar is one of the best young table tennis     1    (player)in the United States. Less than a month after Kumar won the right     2    (compete)in them,the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games     3    (put)off until 2021. Like so many other Olympic athletes, he is now trying to stay sharp and in shape.

    4    is different are all the details of his training. All things considered, he says, everything seems to be working. “For my sport, a little lucky that we’re able to have everything indoors, and it’s not taking up too much space and everything,” Kumar said. “Not many sports are as lucky as ours are right now, to be able to have the opportunity to continue playing     5    a daily basis.”

The coronavirus pandemic(新冠病毒)has forced many athletes to be     6    (create)as they try to continue their training. But in some Olympic sports, working from home is fairly common. Kumar has been able to play table tennis with a robot     7    shoots balls at him.

Many competitors are facing tough issues during the pandemic.     8    , some have been lucky. Weightlifter Kate Nye trains at home in her garage. She said, “Everything kind of started shutting down, which     9    (affect)our lives in other ways—but weightlifting wasn’t one of them. I’ve just been going as    10    (plan).”

When Michael Jordan’s feet left the ground, time seemed to stand still. The player     1     became known as “Air Jordan” changed basketball with his graceful moves and jumps. Jordan’s     2     (skill) were impressive, but the mental strength that he showed made him unique. In the final seconds of a game, Jordan always seemed to find a way to win. Jordan says that the secret to his success is learning     3     his failures. Losing games taught him to practice harder and never give up.

As a player, Lang Ping brought honour and glory to her country. As a coach, she    1     (lead) the China women’s volleyball team to medals at world championships and the Olympics. As     2    person, Lang Ping is loved by fans at home and abroad. When the Chinese team was preparing for the 2015 World Cup, her     3    (determine)was tested. The team     4     Lang Ping had built was falling apart. One of the     5     (good) players had been    6    (bad) injured, and the team captain had to leave because    7    heart problems.     8     (lose) two important players was a big challenge,     9       Lang Ping did not lose heart. She had faced difficulties before, and she knew that her young players could win       10     they worked together as a team. Two weeks later, they were world champions! Then in 2016, Lang Ping led her volleyball team to Olympic gold in Brazil.

Stephen’s grandfather built a simple basket by attaching a piece of plastic to a telephone pole along a narrow dirt road,     1     was near the small town of Grottoes. Stephen spent many childhood hours playing on this     2    (mud) basketball court, where he learnt to be creative and flexible as a player. The bumps and rocks that lined the road under the basket caused the ball to bounce in all directions,     3     which Stephen learnt to know where the ball     4    (go) and shoot with great accuracy.

    5    , Stephen was thought by many people to be too weak and too short     6    (follow)in his father’s footsteps. But he didn’t give up because     7    (play) basketball was his dream. He finally ended up playing college ball at a small, little-known school. His     8    (create) and perseverance made him Davidson’s star player.

He performed beyond everyone’s     9    (expectation) with his accurate shooting and continuous efforts. After receiving the Most Valuable Player award for two years in a row, Stephen explained his philosophy: What he wanted to do was just be himself. Inspiring others to believe in     10    (them), he showed that anything is possible through his self-belief, hard work and perseverance.

Lionel Andres Messi was born in Rosario, Argentina in 1987. As Messi grew up playing soccer     1     his older brothers, his controlling and kicking the ball became as natural and easy as breathing, and he was quite    2    (satisfy) with his progress. At the age of 4, Messi joined a local team     3     (accompany) by his father. Starting at age 6, he played for six years with     4     older boys’ team. Around the age of 10, he     5     ( find) to have a growth hormone deficiency (生长激素不足). Because of this condition, he would never grow taller than 170cm.     6     Messi never stopped     7    (improve) his soccer skills or scoring goals.

In 2000, at the age of 13, Messi went to Barcelona, Spain. Futbol Club Barcelona (Barca), one of the great European     8     (team), was impressed with his skills for such a young player. In his very first game, he started making soccer history. He scored a goal, becoming the    9     (young) Barca player to do so in an important league match.

Messi is now a master in soccer     10     has led his teams to win over 30 medals, including an Olympic gold medal. The soccer’s little superstar will achieve more goals in the future.