1 . Do you think you are too old to do something? Just go online and ________ the video of John Harrison doing the 50m backstroke in 2014.

He ________ the 100-104 years world record by 15 seconds! Yes, you read that ________. The 100-104 years group! A time of 1:29.78. The first ever British man to set records in that age group. The applause (掌声) is long-lasting and heartfelt from all the crowd. A(n) ________ moment.

John loved swimming. He still tried to keep ________ by swimming in his last years before he passed away at the age of 105 in January 2020. Many of John’s friends speak ________ of him saying he was a “wonderful man”.

John was born in Farnborough on 25 July, 1914. And his ________ in swimming was unusual. “When I was five years old, on the way home from school, I came across a small pond,” he said ________, “so I went swimming. It taught me two things. One, to swim; and two, not to drink the water.”

“My parents ________ two years later that I was still doing it. They were ______ at first. But their anger soon ________” when I said, “I didn’t get asthma (哮喘病) last winter. They then bought me a costume and ________ me swimming skills.”

However, John didn’t start swimming ________ until his wife told him to stop teaching swimming and life-saving classes and ________ the sport for himself at the age of 79. From then on, he didn’t look back and was full of praise for everyone who ________ him during his successes.

2 . A cheerleader amazed everyone at the Nebraska State High School Cheer & Dance Championship (锦标赛).

Just two weeks before the competition, something unexpected happened. Morrill High School cheer coach (教练) April Ott _________ the sad news to 17-year-old Katrina that she was the only one left on the cheer squad (拉拉队) after three girls _________ for personal reasons. The coach added the only choice for them was to watch other girls in action, but Katrina had other _________. She made up her mind to go at it _________.

And that was exactly _________ Katrina did. It was the first time that a cheerleader had competed on her own. Surprisingly, she had the _________ audience when she was _________. She was greeted by huge cheers. And despite not being able to be _________ the same as other competitors, her _________ ended up eighth out of the 12 squads.

“It was the last competition in my high school life. It was certainly out of my comfort zone,” said Katrina. “That was not something I would __________ do by any means, but I didn’t want to end my senior year on a(n) __________ note.”

Katrina’s story __________ her coach and many other people. “Katrina __________ herself,” Ott said, “I feel like this is a story for everyone. Never quit. Whatever the __________ are, just keep going.”

As for her advice to others, Katrina smiled, “Never back off. You’re __________ than you think you are.”

3 . As China’s first ever full-time Formula One (世界一级方程式锦标赛) driver, Zhou Guanyu makes a living by doing the sort of things many people can only dream about: traveling the world and racing in a fast car.

“I think the only ______ between Formula One and a roller coaster is that you have to be ______ where you’re going, and you have to be at 100% of yourself,” Zhou told CNN.

Zhou has been putting his all into ______ since he was a young boy ______ in Shanghai. Today, Zhou is predicted to become F1’s answer to Yao Ming, who is often praised for making basketball ______ in China.

It was back in Shanghai in 2004 that-at just 5 years old-Zhou ______ Rubens Barrichello win the first ever Chinese Grand Prix on TV. The moment helped to ______ his interest in racing and has ______ with him ever since, he said.

There was a ______ of Chinese racing role models, so he ______ a path of his own. A very important moment in his racing life came at age 12, when he ______ Shanghai for Sheffield in the United Kingdom to ______ his development with the strawberry Racing Krting team. The move put him on the road to achieving his ambitions.

Zhou is often ______ to the former NBA player Yao Ming, who is also a sport star from Shanghai. “Who knows, maybe in 10 years’ time. I could have the same ______. And that is my aim ______,” he said.

4 . After winning the 100-meter dash at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in August, 26-year-old sprinter (短跑运动员) Noah Lyles was named “World’s Fastest Man”. Now he has his ____ set on winning more medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Lyles, the son of two former runners, grew up in Alexandria, Virginia. He began ______ as a sprinter when he was a teenager and dreamed of going to the Olympics. He ______ for a spot (排名位置) on the US Olympic team in 2016 but did not ______. Fortunately, in 2021, he ______ the US team for the Tokyo Games and won a bronze medal in the 200-meter race.

Lyles has been ______ with legendary Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who has held the same ____   “World’s Fastest Man”. Bolt won the 100 meter and 200 meter races at the World Championships and still holds the ___in the 200 meter with a time of 19. 19 seconds, set in 2009. Lyles’ best time for that race is 19.31, and he said his _____ is to run it in 19.10 seconds, which would break Bolt’s record. Lyles said that he did not ______ top runners like Bolt as idols (偶像) while growing up. “I believed in myself and in learning something from _____people, because everyone has their own advantage,” he said.

After his win, Lyles said he felt that his years of training and patience have finally ______. In Paris next year, Lyles hopes to win more golds.   “If I got three gold medals at the World Championships, maybe I have the ______ to get three gold medals at the Olympics,” he said. His another expectation is to make track and field more _____ and accessible to a large number of people. “I’m trying to make sure that everybody comes and ______ the sport,” he said.

5 . Simply finishing a marathon is a big achievement, but one woman in Thailand didn’t just run all 26.2 miles — she also _________ a little dog, Chombueng!

Runner Klongsanun was _________ a local marathon on Jan. 20th, 2023 when around mile seven, she noticed a seemingly _________ young dog along the roadside.

While other runners reportedly passed by the dog, Klongsanun, a dog lover, decided to pick it up and finish the _________. However, she still had 19 more miles to go. For anyone running a marathon, carrying any kind of _________ for 19 miles can make a marathon even more _________ and tiring. But instead of putting the dog down or _________ it to a looker-on to hold, the _________ Klongsanun crossed the finish line with the tiny dog in her arms.

After the race, Klongsanun _________ to take the dog home. Klongsanun even went back to the area where she first __________ Chombueng to make sure there weren’t any other dogs in need of __________, but she didn’t find any other animals.

“It was __________ a challenge to run almost 20 miles carrying a dog. __________, I did it because he is pitiful,” said Klongsanun. It looks like Chombueng has found a(n) __________ family while Klongsanun has a marathon __________ she’ll never forget.

6 . For the hearing-impaired swimmer Peng Huidi, participating in the Chengdu FISU World University Games, has been a life-changing experience and a ______ journey for the young student who has overcome all the difficulties to ______ her sporting dreams.

When she was 2 years old, her ______ was damaged due to a high fever. She became ______ and dared not speak to others. Hoping to ______ her out of her shell, Peng’s father took his daughter to learn swimming. It was there that Peng discovered her passion and her ______ was spotted by a coach.

“I love being in the pool. When I’m in the water, I hear no ______ . There’s just me charging forward, and me alone. The blue pool in my eyes is peaceful, and it also ______ strength,” Peng said. ______ she cannot hear the starting order during competitions, she uses a light next to the pool as her ______ to start. This means there is usually a(n) ______ of between 0. 2 and 0. 5 seconds in Peng’s dive. In order to ______ the gap, she has to train extra hard.

Years of effort finally ______ . She was invited to the swimming team for the Olympics. “The World University Games ______ me with a very rare and important chance. It has broadened my horizons and allowed me to compete on a much bigger ______ . I prepared for these games for a very long time,” Peng said excitedly.

7 . Last Sunday, our school held an ice hockey (冰球) game. I was so proud when my team ________ the game. It made me feel like I could do ________. Only three years ago, I was________ of walking or skating on the ice. To deal with this problem, I decided to ________a skating club. I really envied (嫉妒) the other club members, who were so ________and confident on the ice. But my teacher was good at teaching and before I knew it, I was able to ________. He then advised me to try ice hockey. I ________ it and was soon practising ________ my local team almost every evening. We are now training for national games________  hope to be winners one day, but my final________is to be an ice hockey teacher and help people learn to play this game.

8 . Chris Turnbull, 39, finished the touching 3,856 km run on September 16, in the Sydney suburb of Manly, becoming the quickest runner from Perth to Sydney. He _________ the current record holder Achim Heukemes, who completed the distance in 43 days in 2005. To _________ the new world record, he was wholeheartedly _________ to preparing himself.

Mr Turnbull had a(n) _________ for running at a young age. He ran his first half marathon at 9 and since then he had been _________ at plenty of ultra marathons at different times in his life.

Mr Turnbull had run every single day from his beachside home in the Sydney suburb of Clontarf to his _________ on work days. The daily cross country run _________ him to see the sights of Australia, meet amazing people and most importantly, _________ himself physically and mentally.

With his 40th birthday _________ next year, to see what was his physical and mental limit, he wanted to __________ himself to the new record.

To make it in record time, Mr Turnbull was running between 100 km and 105 km daily.He had to __________ huge trucks rushing past him on major highways, blisters(水泡), aching muscles, and being __________ of sleeping well due to the pain his body was feeling

Mr Turnbull’s wife, along with their two kids, had been tracking his __________   on a map from their home as he made his way across the continent. They were __________ waiting there at the finish line in Manly for Mr Turnbull’s falling into their arms for a loving post- run __________.

9 . As Isaac climbed up to the podium (领奖台) and had gold medals placed around his neck, his mum, Emma, and big brother, Bailey, cheered. Emma couldn’t help herself crying _________ tears. The crowd, as they so often do for Isaac, went wild.

Isaac was competing at the Dwarf (矮人) World Games in Canada. Battling and beating the best sportspeople in the worldwide dwarf community, Isaac came home with five gold _________.

In October 2007, Isaac was born. He was such a good baby. But as the months went on, he was quite floppy (松垂的) and seemed to _________ to hold his head up without help. Out of _________, his mother took him to a doctor, and after several tests, the doctor said Isaac is a dwarf and he might never walk.

_________, when Isaac was 18 months old, he learned to walk. As he got older, he _________ his mum with his natural athleticism and _________ nothing more than playing sports with Bailey and his friends.

When Isaac was five, _________ how much he loved sport, his doctor _________ the Dwarf Sports Association(DSA). It is a charity started in 1993 to provide __________ for people with restricted growth to __________ their skills across a variety of sports, and he joined in.

In 2017 he was asked to __________ Team GB at the Dwarf World Games in Canada. His __________ were earned and fought for.

“I know it won’t always be easy,” says Emma. “On a recent holiday people were staring and his little cousin__________ asked why. Isaac said, ‘They’re looking at me because I’m different.’ But he wasn’t sad, just as a matter of fact. He will have to get used to people staring, but I wish people __________ he’s no different to anyone else.”

10 . This is the dream of my running partner: Eduardo. He’s a marathon runner with an eye problem who needs ______ to train and to compete.

Eduardo has been running longer than me, and has more desire than any person I know. ______ , he didn’t like training for a marathon. He ran with ______ , without a clear goal, got bored with training and didn’t train with many people.

Now it has ______ — he has an 18-week training plan where he runs six days a week, and he has realized he ______ running more because he has a ______ — to make a little progress every day. He runs with me, one who loves running so much and with the training group at La Tapia de Madrid. The ______ we share for running is what ______ us.

Eduardo and I run together by a rope-I have to ______ turns, different terrain (地形) and barriers. It’s ______ , but I have never ______ this in the presence of others. The main thing we ______ is to run confidently and enjoy running as a whole.

Now, Eduardo goes running with different people, but with a fixed goal of rhythm (节奏) and ______ . He has taken five weeks of training, but he says he will keep on doing it, because he has understood ______ can be the way to improve his fitness.

Eduardo wants to run sub-3:30 in the Madrid Marathon, and he will do it. ______ , it’s not written in stone, but I’m confident that he’s going to succeed.