Yao Ming was born in 1980. When he was young, he ate a lot, so most of his parents’ salary (工资)     1     (spend) on food. He was already 1.47 meters tall when he attended primary school. Yao Ming was a student,     2     liked reading, but because of his height,     3     (play) basketball became his first choice. In 1989, at the age of 9, Yao Ming began his part-time basketball training at the youth sports school.

In 2002, he entered the NBA Draft and     4     (select) by the NBA Houston Rockets     5     the first pick. On July 20, 2011, Yao Ming     6     (official) announced his retirement due to injury. He is modest and persistent, loyal and hard-working, and has the spirit of     7     (cooperate). And we all know he is a     8     (remark) player. We can find almost all the characteristics used     9     (describe) the advantages of a traditional Chinese man in Yao Ming.

If Jordan is regarded as the founder of basketball in the United States and the world, then Yao Ming is undoubtedly the     10     (influential) player in the world after Jordan.

Irene Schouten did what most people expected of     1     (she) at the Olympics: winning gold for the Netherlands at Beijing 2022.

But the speed skater was not satisfied     2     just being an Olympic champion. She quickly and       3     (elegant) established her position as the queen of the Ice Ribbon with three gold medals and a bronze (铜牌).

It has been a busy period for the Dutch star     4     had her days fully occupied (被占用) between training     5     skating in Beijing. She has also been busy     6     (plan) for her upcoming wedding.

Here is something you should know about Irene Schouten who won the first and last speed skating     7     (event) in Beijing.

Schouten let out a scream (尖叫) and threw her hands in the air as she crossed the finish line of the women’s mass start. Her     8     (three) gold medal at Beijing 2022 was hard-earned. It was worth all the effort. A natural-born long-distance skater, Schouten started skating when she was 8. Watching her first Olympics, Salt Lake 2002, she     9     (attract) by Gretha Smit’s silver winning moment in the 5000m.

That Olympic moment encouraged her interest in the long-distance races in speed skating. “When I was young, I had a strong wish     10     (win) Olympic gold and now I have it,” she said after her 5000m gold in Beijing.

Stephen Curry,     1     father is Dell Curry, a famous basketball star, spent many childhood hours     2     (play) on the muddy basketball court. He learnt to be     3     (create) and flexible as a player and     4     (develop) his own playing style and shot     5     (accurate). Although Stephen was thought to be too short, too thin and too weak to follow     6     his father’s footsteps, he carried on and would not give up because playing basketball was his dream. As a result, Stephen ended up playing basketball at Davidson College.       7     (select) for the NBA in 2009, Stephen joined the Golden State Warriors. In 2015, he won his first NBA championship and led his team to their first championship since 1975. All his     8     (achievement) were made through his self­belief, perseverance and continuous efforts.     9     we learn from him is that anything is possible if you believe in     10     (you) and work hard.

It’s tough for any baseball player to get to the major leagues, but Jim Abbott had an extra obstacle that should     1     (overcome). He might have been an average person if he     2     (born) with a right hand.

But Abbott was not     3     (stop) from loving sports, and he was practising constantly. In high school Abbott     4     (participate) in school sports activities and became a pitcher (投手) for the baseball team. Later he won a baseball scholarship to study at University of Michigan. As a junior, he     5     (name) Big 10 Conference Player of the Year. For some time, many people thought that he     6     (limit) there since then, but in the 1988 Olympics he     7     (win) the Gold Medal Game 5-3 over Japan.

How did Abbott handle all this with just one hand? This is what fans often asked. Jim Abbott     8     (see) as a left-handed pitcher, not as a one-handed pitcher. “I didn’t grow up     9     (think) about not having a right hand,” he once said. When asked to explain how he     10     (make) it to the top, Abbott said, “The only thing that could stop me was myself.”

As an athlete, Mike had been practicing hard. He preferred     1     (play) basketball rather than stay indoors in his free time. His favorite player was Jordan, who was a famous champion. Mike had a strong desire     2    (play) for his team. However, he was the shortest player in the team, so he was usually on the bench, being just a replacement,     3     was really tough on him.

Once two players crashed     4     each other during a game and one of them was badly hurt. The team quickly gathered around and the doctor put on ice pack on his knee. In that case the coach had to let Mike play, so Mike rushed onto the court. All the extra hours that he’d spent practising alone     5    (pay) off. The other team just couldn’t keep up with his energy and speed and the audience couldn’t stop clapping and     6    (cheer). At last, Mike earned his place on the team!

Mike likes many kinds of sports, such as jogging, cycling and boxing. He is in good shape, for he always keeps a     7     (balance) diet. He drinks a large amount of water every day. He also     8     (offer) some tips on sports on his blog. For example, long-distance running has a lot of benefits. It can strengthen your immune system and relieve you of some ache. It also helps you see     9     you are capable of. If you are fed up with your life, do some running! You don’t need some special     10     (equip). Do some warm­up activities before running, which will prevent you from being injured. If you keep it up, you will be amazed at your strong body some day!

Once considered as one of the best and strictest referees (裁判) in the NBA, Javie is now working at a church in America.

Despite coming from a diligent family, sports were in Javie’s blood too. It was sports that really inspired him as a young boy. His father had a career as a football back referee for the football league,     1     his grandfather was an umpire (裁判员) for the baseball league.

In Javie’s     2     (young) days, a famous basketball team had picked him as a possible basketball player, but that was destroyed by an arm     3     (injure). He started as a baseball umpire and then shifted to a basketball referee,     4     (become) an NBA referee in 1986,     5     he quickly developed a bad reputation for his bad temper. In one game, Javie even drove out one of the     6     (announcer), and in another threw out a team mascot (吉祥物).

As his years in the NBA     7     (go) by, Javie developed a good reputation not only as one of     8     most feared referees but also a     9     (respect) one. In 2000, he began suffering     10     an arthritic (关节炎的) knee. So during the season, he was barely working. Surgery could only postpone the terrible situation. As a result, Javie had to change his job as a member of church staff in America.

Venus Williams and Serena Williams are both tennis     1    (champion). Venus is now 11th while Serena has moved up to 3rd in the world. They were     2    (bear) in a poor and dangerous area     3     was full of drugs and     4    (violent). Finally in 1991, their family moved (搬家) to a     5    (safe) area and since then they have never looked back.

The sisters’ father was strict with his daughters,    6    (train) them hard to compete     7     each other. Their mother     8    (teach) them at home so that they could complete high school. Today both sisters have expressed a keen interest in working in design after their careers come to     9    end.

The sisters’ road to     10    (succeed) has been amazing. Venus has won Wimbledon and the US Open twice, while Serena has continued to improve and made fantastic progress. In 2002 and 2003, she was the women’s singles champion at Wimbledon.