It was the district sports meet. My foot still hadn’t healed(痊愈)from a(n) ___1___ injury. I had ___2___ whether or not I should attend the meet. But there I was, ___3___ for the 3,000-meter run.

“Ready … set …” The gun popped and we were off. The other girls rushed ___4___ me. I felt ___5___ as I fell farther and farther behind.

“Hooray!” shouted the crowd. It was the loudest ___6___ I had ever heard at a meet. The first-place runner was two laps (圈) ahead of me when she crossed the finish line. “Maybe I should ___7___,” I thought as I moved on. ___8___, I decided to keep going. During the last two laps, I ran ___9___ and decided not to ___10___ in track next year. It wouldn’t be worth it, ___11___ my foot did heal.

 When I finished, I heard a cheer— ___12___ than the one I’d heard earlier. I turned around and ___13___, the boys were preparing for their race. “They must be cheering for the boys.” I was leaving ___14___ several girls came up to me. “Wow, you’ve got courage!” one of them told me.

“Courage? I just ___15___ a race!” I thought. “I would have given up on the first lap,” said another girl. “We were cheering for you. Did you hear us?”

Suddenly I regained ___16___. I decided to ___17___ track next year. I realized strength and courage aren’t always ___18___ in medals and victories, but in the ___19___ we overcome(战胜). The strongest people are not always the people who win, ___20___ the people who don’t give up when they lose.

1. A. slighter  B. worse     C. earlier    D. heavier

2. A. expected      B. supposed    C. imagined   D. doubted

3. A. late    B. eager   C. ready     D. thirsty

4. A. from behind   B. ahead of  C. next to   D. close to

5. A. ashamed B. astonished  C. excited D. frightened

6. A. cheer     B. shout  C. cry    D. noise

7. A. slow down     B. drop out    C. go on  D. speed up

8. A. Therefore   B. Otherwise   C. Besides   D. However

9. A. with delight    B. with fear  C. in pain    D. in advance

10. A. play     B. arrive   C. race  D. attend

11. A. even if   B. only if  C. unless   D. until

12. A. weaker     B. longer      C. lower  D. louder

13. A. well enough     B. sure enough   

   C. surprisingly enough   D. strangely enough

14. A. while       B. when    C. as     D. since

15. A. finished   B. won    C. passed      D. lost

16. A. cheer   B. hope   C. interest   D. experience

17. A. hold on   B. turn to   C. begin with    D. stick with

18. A. measured   B. praised   C. tested  D. increased

19. A. sadness     B. struggles    C. diseases   D. tiredness

20. A. or     B. nor    C. and     D. but