1 . My name is Annijke Wade, and I am an adaptive athlete. ________, an adaptive mountain biker.

It was July 17, 2021. I was mountain biking at my favorite downhill mountain on my favorite trail. I hit a barrier and tried to ________ as much speed as I could. Unfortunately; I ________ hitting the next barrier.

I could no longer feel or move anything ________ my chest. I knew at some point I was paralyzed (瘫痪的). I stayed at the hospital for 17 days, ________ to move 75 percent of my body.

For the last few years I have enjoyed every aspect of mountain biking. I love being able to take in nature in that particular ________ So after the accident, I knew I wanted to be back on the trail and I felt the need to build my ________ around adaptive mountain biking. So three to five days after my accident, I started to ________ all of my time and energy into researching this sport.

The experience of learning how to mountain bike again has been fun and ________, and the natural, safe progression of skills has been really important. I have to remember that although visiting the same trails, I have a ________ body. Taking that step back has allowed me to feel confident in those moments of extreme uncertainty as I ________ the trails.

Each day there are going to be tons of issues. For instance, putting pants on used to be something that took less than 30 seconds, and now it can take ten minutes. Whenever I ________ in tasks that take longer than before, I just try to be present and not think about how ________ the task may be.

Every single day you have the opportunity to decide whether to accept your situation or not. Some days it’s easy. Some days it’s a(n)________. But I do think it’s a matter of choice. Coming to terms with my accident has been really ________ in allowing me to reenter mountain bike as an adaptive athlete.

2 . My first goal: try not to look so scared. It took quite a few tries before I could ________ from the mouth open, eyes wide ________ that being on roller skates gave me.

I took up roller skating at the end of 2021, as a way to ________ a difficult year spent in my house. In online skate class, they ________ me to wear protective equipment, to cheer and ________ when someone falls. Falling means you’re trying, and everyone ________ in skating, but having a positive ________ helps.

I learned how to move on wheels and danced alone at home, but the rink (滑冰场) was incredibly ________. Everything moves so fast, ________ in unpredictable directions. What ________ me about the rink is how people create their own sense of   ________ inside the circular movement, so that two awkward dancers might ________ past each other to avoid knocking into each other, all while on rhythm.

Now I’ve made much progress. The other day I skated past an older woman moving ________ in her knee pads (护膝). “My goal is to skate like you,” she said, almost under her breath. I tried ________ my ride. Keep at it! I yelled over my shoulder. Soon, I tripped, fell, quickly ________ myself up, and then kept at it.

3 . I was never a fan of football, or any sports for that matter. At primary school, my classmates spent lunch break ______ on the playground, while I was in the library getting pleasure from ______ . In Games lessons, to fit in, I ______ to be interested.

As I got older, I ______ trying to fake (假装) it. Instead, I showed off my dislike for football as a sign of ______ “It’s only a silly game!” I’d tell Dad, as he ______ me to watch a match.

But, sometimes I’d find myself ______ an opener like, “Cor, a terrible season we’re having, eh?”, or ______, “Who do you support?”, and feel my heart sink, knowing my reply would surely ______ .

And then I became a dad, and I didn’t want my boy Harvey to ______ this desirable social skill. So I bought him ______ to watch our local team, Boreham Wood. And, because he kept asking me what was going on, I stayed relatively ______ on the game.

Almost without noticing, my ______ of support when “The Wood” scored a goal were actually real, as were my sighs when “we” missed a penalty kick (罚球).

Harvey was ______ , and we’ve since returned to Meadow Park five times, each time feeling a ______ connection with the team’s supporter community.

4 . Ida Keeling was 67, weak and sick, when her daughter Cheryl suggested a run to her. Cheryl thought that maybe what would pull her mother out from dark cloud was something that would get her _______ again.

Keeling lived a hard life when young, growing up _______ in Harlem, and doing hard work in factories during the Great Depression. She had _______ her husband early, and two of her four children died in drug-related incidents in 1978 and 1981.

Keeling had sunk into a deep _______, her health had begun to _______, and her daughters began to _______ that they soon might be losing their mother as well.

It had been decades since Keeling had done any _______, and she would later recall that first “mini-run” feeling as if it would never end. But when it did, “I just threw off all my bad _______.”

She hasn’t stopped running since, and it’s no longer as _______ as it was during that first meet. “I was just exercising then,” she says ________ regarding that first run, “and now I’m all over the world.”

When she’s not running, she must be ________. She’s in the gym three to four days a week on a ________ basis. Part of her healthy diet is occasional consumption of alcohol mixed with her coffee or water to ________ blood circulation.

She’s written a book about her ________, titled Can’t Nothing Bring Me Down: Chasing Myself in the Race Against Time. Her ________ is also suitable for everyone: “Every day is another day forward.”

5 . During the holiday season in 2015, Felicia Hall was battling depression. “I was unhappy, overeating fast food at night and not really caring for myself. I wasn’t physically _________, but always felt tired,” she says.

It wasn’t until New Year that Hall wanted to make a _________. A friend recommended Daily Burn, a workout program, and she _________ to sign up. “I registered, though not believing I can keep on. I even set a _________ on the phone to cancel it before the free trial ended,” says Hall. “Within two weeks, I did not _________. So I deleted the note.”

The _________ gained from Daily Burn also got her running. “I love the sound of _________ my feet on the ground, knowing my body is _________ of doing that,” she says. Hall also _________ her late-night fast-food sessions and started cooking healthy meals. After five months, Hall lost 20 pounds — and gained a new __________ on exercise, and on life. She consistently __________ the Daily Burn community group for support. And she __________ started teaching group fitness classes in her hometown. __________, she learned the power of positive thought and self-belief. “To be physically able to exercise and continue to __________ with it — it’s an amazing gift,” she says. “People not experiencing it aren’t __________ what something like this can do for a person. It’s not just physical — it’s mental. It’s everything.”

6 . Linda Munson, 56, has worked a desk job from home since the initial COVID shutdown. At the height of the pandemic, when going to the gym wasn’t an option, millions of people began exploring ________ workouts from home. Munson’s never been much of a ________ person. “I am very socially awkward. I probably would sign up for a ________ and then not go,” she says.

In 2021, she was ________ with diabetes (糖尿病) and her doctor told her she needed to ________ more on her health. She started walking and ________ out junk food. One day, her son brought home a VR headset called an Oculus Quest.

While messing around with it, Munson ________ the popular fitness app Supernatural, and she was hooked. Supernatural lets you box, swing your arms at ________, meditate (冥想) or stretch with a ________ in front of you and in your ear while you’re moving to popular music.

Currently, Supernatural membership ________ hundreds of workouts and costs $179 per year, after a two-week free ________. The Oculus Quest headset needed to ________ it is $299. It’s worth it, Munson says. “When you finish one workout, you’re tired, but you think, “I can do one more.” Moving to the beat is ________, she says, and “so much fun.” Also, “there’s nobody ________ you. I’m home and I can be weird,” she says.

Munson has lost nearly 50 pounds in a year, has not had to take diabetes ________, and can now play with her seven active grandchildren.