1 . In late 2021, I began to have a little bit of a midlife crisis. When my father was 48 years old, he had a heart attack that nearly ended his life. As I _________ my mid-forties, I knew that I needed to make a change in my life. I wanted to do something _________ to prove to myself and everyone else around me that I wasn’t going to have the same fate.

As I was trying to determine what kind of _________ that I wanted to set, I found a _________ called The Rut. The Rut is a series of races that are _________ in Big Sky, Montana every September. There’s multiple distances, but the 28 Kilometer _________ is the most popular, as well as the most _________ of the entire series. This race is regularly listed in the top ten most difficult races in the world. It involves almost 8,000 feet of elevation (海拔)_________ . This was the type of race I was _________ .

I also did a detailed training __________ . Even if I was traveling for business, I would stick to it and never __________ a workout (训练). And then came race day.

That day, Big Sky Montana, was unseasonably __________ , almost 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The race is going almost entirely above tree line, which means that you just are __________ to the elements (恶劣天气) nearly the entire time. Many people __________ out of the race halfway. But I finished it. When I reached the finish line, I was greeted by my wife and children, also friends that had traveled with us to Big Sky that day. This was the biggest challenge I had made for myself, but I __________ it.

2 . With her paddle slicing through the water swiftly, 37-year-old Chinese canoeist (皮筏艇运动员) Xie Maosan enjoyed a significant lead in the women’s KLI canoe final and won the first gold medal of the 4th Asian Para Games on Monday.

Born to a rural family in Anhui Province in 1986 and afflicted by Poliomyelitis (小儿麻痹症), Xie couldn’t _______ before the age of 10. Throughout her childhood, as she recalled, the _______ stares of relatives and mockery from classmates made her more determined to _______ herself.

In her teens, with the _______ and understanding of her mother, Xie decided to master a craft to _______. She packed up her belongings, went to the county to learn tailoring for three years, and then became a tailor. Later, she went to Shanghai to learn CAD pattern-making.

“Regardless of the career path I choose, I always push myself _______. I want to prove to everyone that we are _______ capable,” she shared at the post-race press conference, tears in her eyes.

In 2015, things _______ when news reached her of the national team’s _______ for canoeing talents. Without hesitation, she ________, and at 29, she joined the national canoeing team.

Recalling her initial days, Xie said, “Lacking a foundation in sports, it was truly ________ for me at the beginning. I ________ into the water multiple times during training. Not knowing how to swim, I almost passed out from choking on water.”

Despite all the hardships, ________ to win glory for her country kept Xie going. At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, Xie finished fifth in the women’s KL1 canoeing final. “________ me, canoeing is a ________, as it gave me confidence and a new life,” said Xie.

3 . A football-loving penguin was unveiled as the official mascot of the 2023FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Streetwise and confident, Tazuni ______from the crowd thanks to her signature blue bunch of hair. Tazumi is a penguin based on the Eudyptula minor species which is ______ to New Zealand and Australia.

The name Tazuni is a ______of her home — the Tasman Sea — and “unity”, the key______of the event to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand in 2023.

Her football dreams come true when one evening she looks up to see fireworks ______ overhead coming from a nearby_______. The kids from beach ______ over a personalized football kit, and she ______walks into the stadium to showcase her talents.

“Tazuni stands for everything which makes the event unique, and her______ will resonate with millions of young fans around the world,” Fatma Samoura said. “Tazuni is the______mascot for this tournament, ______ all that is positive about the biggest women’s football event ever ______, and our sport-obsessed host nations who are ready to ______ the world.”

Like millions of youngsters worldwide, football is how Tazuni ______herself, and the event will provide______ for a new generation of football fans and participants from across the globe.

4 . On Oct. 11, hundreds of runners competed in a cross-country race in Minnesota. Melanie Bailey should have _________ the course earlier than she did. Her _________ came because she was carrying a _________ across the finish line.

As reported by a local newspaper, Bailey was more than two-thirds of the way through her _________ when a runner in front of her began crying in pain. She _________ to help her fellow runner, Danielle Lenoue. Bailey took her arm to see if she could walk forward with _________. She couldn’t. Bailey then _________ to let Lenoue climb onto her back and carried her all the way to the finish line, then another 300 feet to where Lenoue could get _________ attention.

Once there, Lenoue was _________ and later taken to a hospital, where she learned that she had serious injuries in one of her knees. She would have struggled with extreme __________ to make it to that aid checkpoint without Bailey’s help.

As for Bailey, she is more __________ about why her act is considered a big __________. “She was just crying. I couldn’t __________ her,” Bailey told the reporter. “I feel like I was just doing the right thing.”

Although the two young women were strangers before the __________, they’ve since become friends. Neither won the race, but the __________ of human kindness won the day.

5 . Marcus is a handsome and athletic kid. He plays tennis and _________ the state tournament every year. Marcus’s neighbor, Conrad, is also _________ to compete, but he has rheumatoid arthritis (类风湿性关节炎). Although it pains him just to walk, he _________ painful days at school walking to the sports field. He loves watching his school compete so he doesn’t _________ a game.

Marcus has known Conrad since primary school. They’ve always been _________. He sees Conrad in pain and his _________ at not being able to play sports. So, every day alter school, Marcus _________ his classmates to go to Conrad’s for a moment of discussion about the game competition. The discussion is as _________ as a real high school game, which makes Conrad forget the hurt.

Finally, the doctors found a new _________ to reduce the pain. Conrad walks without much pain, and then begins running, but he still has to learn the __________ of running. After a childhood of walking carefully and taking __________ steps, Conrad has to train his walking like a kid again and stay in shape. He pushes himself every day，building his lungs and doing leg lifts repeatedly for his leg __________. He knows what pain feels like, but running for Conrad is no longer __________.

To Conrad’s delight, he gets a chance to join the cross country team. Conrad doesn’t win, not once, but Marcus is there, __________ for him who always finishes in the middle of the competitors, breathing in wind and waving his hands __________.

6 . Jessica Long is a famous American swimmer who has won 23 medals at the Paralympics (残奥会), becoming the second-most of any U.S. Paralympian in history. Born in 1992, Jessica was sent to an orphanage (孤儿院) and was adopted (收养) by a family from USA when she was only 13 months old.___________ , she had lost her legs below the knees ___________   a rare disease at 18 months old.

___________ , as a young girl she found her dream in swimming, and she’s never let her___________ slow her down. Being the only girl athlete on her swim team made her work ___________ harder.

“There are so many things swimming has taught me over the past 15 years,” says Jessica. “___________ you are new to the sport or not, you have to ___________ on your goals. It’s not easy getting in the pool every day, but you have to stick to your training and honor the _________ you’ve made. You don’t become great overnight, but the sweat will ___________. ”

“There were times I wanted to quit,” she adds. “I remember training with the US Olympic swim team. It was incredibly ______________ —these are some of the best athletes in the world. But I saw this challenge as an amazing chance, and it ______________   a proud moment for me.”

From an orphan at 13 months to becoming one of the greatest Paralympic swimmers of all time, Jessica has truly come a ______________ way. She has faced many ______________ that would make most of us give up. But she has faced each one head-on, and ______________ . She never stops pushing to be a better person and a better swimmer. Her determination and fighting spirit ______________ her who she is today.

7 . After watching my son Todd run in a race, I made my usual comment, “Todd, I could walk faster than those women run.” Todd ______ as he knew I wasn’t a runner. “Listen, Mom, how about you run with me next year at this race?” Without thinking, I quickly agreed to this ______. I felt this was going to be a piece of cake!

Never in my ______ dreams did I ever imagine what the next year would ______. When it was almost time for this race to ______, Todd wasn’t going to be running. He had died in a car accident. A few of his friends knew this “challenge” I had agreed to with Todd. They started to ______ me to run the race. I hadn’t ______ or prepared anything. Quite ______, I had almost forgotten I said I would do it.

I decided I should keep my ______. The day of the race came. I felt pretty ______. When it was time for the race, I was all dressed and ready. It was freezing cold that day, but I didn’t care. I ______ all my warm clothes and ran with only a sleeveless shirt and shorts on. Nothing was going to ______ me.

Before the race, I listened to some ______ talking about how to run a race. They gave ideas about staying ______ and knowing when to make your ______. I played the race over and over in my ______ when I listened to the tapes. Now the time had come to put it into a ______ practice.

No one knew what ______ me to run. I found that running ______ the stress I was feeling of losing my dear Todd. I finished my run, fell on the grass, and cried my eyes out.

It brought me___ and relief through running.

8 . The first Olympic Games at Olympia were held in 776 BC. They were held _______ four years from 776 BC to 393 AD. In _______ Greece, games were _______ connected to the worship(崇拜)of the gods and heroes. They were also held as part of religious ceremonies(典礼) to _______ dead heroes. But from the beginning the games at Olympia served to _______ the Greek sense of national unity. So every four years over 1,100 years, thousands of   _______ stopped all wars and _______ to a small sanctuary(圣殿) in northwestern Greece for five days in the late summer for _______ reason-to watch the Olympic Games. During that time, _______ from all over the Greek world competed in a number of athletic __________ and worshipped the gods at Olympic. The athletes competed not for __________ or material benefits, __________ only for the honor of being Olympic visitor. Like our Olympics, __________ athletes were heroes who put their hometowns on the map. However, unlike our Olympics, only free men who spoke Greek could compete, instead of athletes from any country and the games were __________ held at Olympic instead of moving around to different places every time.

The ancient Olympics had a __________ variety（种类) of games. Many of these are the ancestors(原型) of our modern Olympic Games and had rules and playing conditions.

9 . Lee Chong Wei, the 38—year—old Malaysian badminton legend, praised Lin Dan as the greatest badminton player ever in a recent Facebook Live Session(实况转播)on April 16.When he was _______ “who is the greatest badminton player of all _______ ” by Malaysia's former Deputy Sports Minister Steven Sim during a recent Facebook Live session, Lee _______ ,“You have to say it's Lin Dan. He's a legend. His _______ speak for themselves. We have to show our _______ for him.”

Lin Dan was born in Longyan, Fuijian on October 14,1983. He began to play badminton at the age of five. He entered the _______ school of Fujian in 1992 and joined the _______ team in 2000 to play badminton for China. Li Chong Wei was born in Malaysia on October 21,1982,the _______ of whose ancestors(祖先)is Fujian.

The two badminton titans(巨人) treat each other as _______ rivals(对手) on the court, but are ________ off the court. They met in 2000 and ________ each other for the first time in the Thomas Cup Badminton Asia Preliminaries in 2004.Between their 40 ________ from 2004 to2018,Lin has walked away triumphant(胜利的)28 times, ________ Lee beat the difficulties and ________ 12 times.

Throughout the years, fans have ________ their friendly post—match ________. Their mutual(互相的)encouragement has been an inspirational ________ of sportsmanship. ________ that, Lee even attended Lin's wedding in 2012.

The two—decade long friendship has been such a ________ example of cross—cultural exchange that Lee was even ________ with the China—Malaysia Star of Friendship award.