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!

So far, the village soccer super league in Rongjiang county, Southwest China's Guizhou province, has become     1     popular that it has caught the attention of famous figures such as former soccer player Michael Owen.

On June 12, former national soccer player Fan Zhiyi responded     2     an invitation from players from Guizhou's villager soccer super league. Fan expressed his     3     (excite) and promised to join them on June 22 in Rongjiang, where he will also bring his team to play a match with them on June 23.

Before this, Hong Kong movie star Natalis Chan also     4     (challenge) the village soccer super league and promised to bring his celebrity(名人) soccer team for a     5     (friend) match. The celebrity football team includes many famous     6    (star) such as Alan Tam, Eric Tsang, Andy Lau, Hacken Lee, and Jacky Cheung.

The Guizhou village soccer super league’s players,     7    come from all walks of life, include truck drivers, carpenters, shopkeepers, construction workers, farmers, and more. They all share     8     same passion for soccer and are devoted to     9     (put) on an exciting show.

Following the final match of the village soccer super league on July 29, Rongjiang will launch a national invitation competition, inviting teams from all over China     10     (participate) in the event.

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.

China’s genius Pan Zhanle has put the swimming world on notice after breaking the men’s 100m freestyle Asian record on the opening day of the National Championships. The 18-year-old,    1    finished fourth in the event at the 2022 World Championships last year,    2    (clock) a time of 47.22 seconds in Hangzhou on Monday, 0.34 seconds faster than the previous record, set by South Korean Hwang Sunwoo at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

“I’m quite surprised by my    3    (perform) today,”said Pan. “I never expected that I would be able to complete the race in just 47.22 seconds.”

The result means Pan has become the 11th    4    (fast) men’s 100m freestyler of all time and removed current world record holder David Popovici to claim the top spot in the latest world rankings.

When    5    (ask) about his future ambitions, Pan said, “As    6    athlete, my final goal is to reach the very top echelons(梯队) of my sport. I hope one day I will have the chance    7    (compete) against Popovich and see how I measure up against    8    (he).” “Looking ahead, I will continue to work hard and struggle for success,    9    the goal of achieving great results at the upcoming Asian Games, and    10    (ultimate) pushing myself to even reater heights at the Paris Olympics.”

Ever since he was a young boy growing up in Rosario, Argentina, Lionel Messi always dreamed     1     becoming a World Cup champion. Now, he has achieved this.

On Dec 18, Argentina     2    (defeat) France in the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. This victory has helped Argentina win     3    (other) World Cup after their last win in 1986. For a long time, Messi     4    (compare) with Maradona, an Argentina soccer legend.

With excellent skills and great accomplishments, these two players are both considered the     5    (great) players in their era. Maradona succeeded in helping his team lift the trophy in the World Cup. Yet, Messi hadn’t before.

Messi has won many honors, including FIFA World Players of the Year. While he led the   Argentina team     6    (take) part in World CuIp four times before, his team’s best result was     7    (mere) runner-up in the 2014 Brazil World Cup. Many Argentine fans felt disappointed and even suspected Messi didn’t want to win     8     World Cup for his country.

But now, all rumors are cleared away. With his     9    (persevere) and skills, the 35-year-old Messi completed the sport of soccer by winning the final trophy     10     still excited him.

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.

Hockey (冰球) goalkeepers are the rare athletes in team sports who can try to show their history, family and personality through the     1     (choose) of clothes. That’s no different at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

China’s goalkeeper Zhou Jiaying caught the attention of the world when she showed     2     with her dragon-themed pads(护膝) at the hockey competition in Beijing.

“She always     3     (want) to honor her Chinese heritage,” explained Chris Joswiak, who has helped to design the pads for     4     26-year-old goalkeeper.

Her notice to Joswiak and his team read, “I hope that immediately we Chinese people see the pads, they think, ‘That’s the Gold Dragons in the Forbidden City!’”

Zhou Jiaying helped create the pads by     5     (send) Joswiak several examples of Chinese-style dragons that could convey     6     she was looking for in her pads.

The design team worked up multiple     7     (sample) for her before she finally approved the one that she wore at the Olympic competitions.

To meet her deadline, the pads that     8     (typical) take about 8 to 10 weeks to build     9     (make) for her in less than two weeks.

Wearing her dragon pads, Zhou Jiaying stopped 22 of 23 shots in China’s win over Denmark on Friday. The Chinese team is scheduled     10     (face)Japan on Sunday.