[The Underdog]

Paul jumped up and rushed onto the court... When the game ended, our team     1    . “Well,” said the coach as he hit Paul on the shoulder, “you’ve just     2     , big guy!”

It was the final sprint (冲刺) of the Santa BarbaraXV Grand Prix cyclo-cross race in Spain. Fans lined the road to the finishing line, cheering on the     1    (运动员).

Ismael Esteban, in third place, was just ahead of another cyclist, Agustin Navarro, with only 300 metres to the finishing line. Esteban had been cycling as hard as he could for hours and with the finishing line in     2    (视野). And all the cyclists began to speed up with all their s    3     to cross it. Then, suddenly Esteban got a puncture (轮胎上刺破的小洞).The audience was anxious and     4    (好奇的) about what he would do. Would he give up or continue when facing the     5    (挑战)? Ismael Esteban didn’t give up and then tried to find a     6    (解决方法) to the problem. He threw his bike over his shoulders and ran towards the finishing line. Just a few seconds later,fourth-placed Navarro caught up with him. Surely, he could simply overtake Esteban and come third. But Navarro slowed down and let Esteban run ahead of him. The two cyclists reached the finishing line with Esteban ahead by foot, Navarro just behind him. Navarro had let Esteban finish in third place, while he came fourth. The audience really     7    (钦佩) Navarro for his show of sportsmanship and cheered the cyclists. Navarro said,“I didn’t want to win that way.” Later, Esteban,who won the bronze m    8    tried to give it to Navarro. However, Navarro refused,and his response was:“Offering me the prize was worth more than what I did for him.”Tonya, a big fan of Esteban,    9    (评论道),“The two cyclists’ sporting gestures make a deep i     10    on us and this is sportsmanship at its very best.”

Suddenly, a player and I crashed into each other. Pain raced through my body. My knee hurt badly. The team     1     around, looking worried. The last quarter was about to begin, and my team was behind by 10 points.

Paul jumped up and rushed onto the     2    . And clearly, all the extra hours that he’d spent practicing alone    3    . The other team just couldn’t keep up with his     4     and speed. He made shot after shot, and the crowd couldn’t stop     5     and cheering. When the game ended, our team won by tow points.

Dave wanted a pair of trainers badly, but his family was too poor to afford it. So when he read in the local newspaper that there would be a 1000-meter running race, of which the prize was a pair of trainers, he jumped at the opportunity. Day and night, he trained hard for it. On the sports day, a crowd of people gathered on the play field and there was     1     (兴奋的嚷嚷声) in the air. After doing some     2     (热身伸展运动), Dave heard the whistle. All at once, the runners set out like lightning and soon they were a blur. One after another, the other runners     3     (飞驰而过). Dave     4     (感到肋部疼痛) and his breath     5     (开始呼哧呼哧地喘). But he     6     (咬紧牙关) and pushed on. Now, it was the last lap. Dave gathered all his strength, gave himself     7     (额外能量的迸发) and ran like mad. One…two…three…Dave overtook all the others. As the crowd     8     (惊讶地看着), he     9     (向……发起最后冲刺) the finish. Yes, Dave was the champion! Although he was     10     (气喘吁吁), Dave grinned, holding the precious pair of trainers tightly to his chest.