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.

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

Lang Ping is one of China’s most recognised     1     (athlete). She has been a volleyball star for more than 35 years and has contributed greatly to the sport,     2     has made her the most popular figure in China’s volleyball history. Lang Ping played on China’s national volleyball team during the 1980s. They achieved a series of success including gold medals at the 1984 Olympic, the 1982 World Championship and the 1981 and 1985 World Cups. In 1995, she     3     (return) to be the coach of women’s national team and lead the team become the winner of the 2015 World Cup. That year, she     4     (give) the Best Coach and the Sports Special Contribution awards at CCTV Sports Personally Awards.

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.

All over the world there are people who have achieved great things. Yet many of these people have done so with one amazing difference: They have physical disabilities. Take Jim Abbott for example, Jim succeeded     1     becoming a pitcher (投球手) for the USA 1988 Summer Olympics Team.

Jim Abbott was born without his right hand. He was a     2     (talent) athlete and wanted to be a baseball pitcher, even though being able to use two hands     3     (be) extremely important in playing baseball. A pitcher needs to throw the ball with one hand and wear a baseball glove on the other—something     4     Jim couldn’t do.

From the time he was four years old, Jim worked at     5     (overcome) this challenge. He practiced     6    (rapid) moving the glove to his good hand after he had pitched the ball to his father. He was always forcing     7     (he) to get that glove faster and faster.

Jim Abbott made up his mind     8     (play). He loved the game     9     much that he invented his won method to help him do it with excellence. He went on to be a Major League pitcher for the New York Yankees, and today is an     10     (inspire) to young athletes everywhere.

When it comes to volleyball, we can’t help     1     (think) of Lang Ping. Lang Ping used to be a     2     (fame) player. Now she is also known as a coach who brings honor     3     glory to our country. Led by her, Chinese womenvolleyball team won the world championship in 2019,     4     made the whole nation excited.

Lang Pingwas born in Tianjin in 1960. She began playingvolleyballas a teenagerand     5     (final) joined the national team in 1978. Her height made    6     possible for her to play volleyball well. Lang Ping and her teammates playedsowell that theywon goldmedalsseveral timesin    7    1980s.

In 1995, she returned to China to work as a coach. When the Chinese team was preparing for the 2015 WorldCup, her determination     8     (test).Her teamwas fallingapart， as she lost two important players. But Lang Ping did not lose heart. She     9     (face) difficulties before, and she knew that her young players could win if they worked together as a team. Two weeks later, they were world     10     (champion)!