阅读下面短文，从短文后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中， 选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

    My friend Samuel, who is a good runner, and I ran a 5K race last weekend. It was my first organized1. “You run ahead,” I said at the starting line. “You2?” he asked. “Go!” I said. “I'll see you at the3”

    Samuel took off, strong and full of energy. My4 hit the ground in a familiar pattern, and I5 it to the half-way point. My legs started to6 and my back hurt. 7, I wanted to give up but my spirit told me not to. I started to think I should have8 a shorter goal as the great distance was too much for me. I began to9 deciding to run the 5K race. I thought about all this while running. The road seemed very10.

    11 I ran along, my feet felt like lead(铅). It seemed as if I would 12 make it. I was so tired that I couldn't move a step further. I tried to13 myself by sayings. Some words appeared in my mind. They were “Do 14 by halves” and “To persevere(坚持) means victory”. They were 15 and they filled me with fresh energy. Anyway, I wouldn't quit. I 16 along. I eventually saw the white tent by the finishing line.

    Samuel was at the finishing line. When I 17 at the end, he put his arm around my shoulders and18 his hand for a high-five.

    I realized that19 you never give up, the goal you set can be reached. Above all, you just have to be20 and take one step at a time.

    Jumping into the cold sea from 25 meters above the sea level. This was my short journey in year seven, well known as 1 education in Australia.

    I have weak memory of the place,2 when it was just last year. From the following day of our arrival, we were told that we were3 to jump off the platform next to where we lived. Yet I didn't have the4 to do it.5 we came, we had swimming lessons to learn how to dive from a platform. Now, I wanted to be 6. So I got up there and looked down ... I did not want to go down there. Then I 7 back down. Everyone 8 me.

    The next day, I went up again. This time, I jumped. I 9my eyes. I had my hands on the 10side's shoulders in a cross formation, standing straight and waiting for the 11, just like we were taught in school. There was a 12 second or two before I 13 the water. My thighs (大腿) were burning. My heart was 14 fast.

    I kept 15 under my breath. It was hard not to. Soon enough, I climbed up onto the platform to find everyone 16 me. My teacher came up to me and 17my hands. “You did it, mate! You jumped off. It's the18 of the year!”

    The next day, we were leaving. One of my roommates came over to me. “Remember yesterday? You landed with a 'POW' into the water!” he had a little 19 “You were saying the bad words over and over again and the teacher didn't even mind!” I laughed with him. But the 20 was indeed, an interesting one.

    A talented actor, producer, and singer, Will Smith is a success. In fact, his huge success can1back to some valuable lessons life taught him early on.

    Once Will's father2him an outdoor project. He had to rebuild a long 3wall in the yard. He had to4concrete and place one brick at a time, eventually covering the entire wall. Will felt surprised at their father's demand5 he couldn't even think of completing a project as big as this. However, with the 6of "one brick more", he completed it in six months. Will who7was so pessimistic about the job, felt a sense of 8 , and so did his father. Even today when Will thinks that he won't be able to do 9, he looks back to it and10himself, "one brick at a time."

    As a refrigeration engineer, Will's father often11stores to install freezers. Will mostly12his father. During one such visit, both Will and his father were installing a freezer in a supermarket basement and the employees had 13a rat killing solution across the floor. Both Will and his dad went in 14the place for the compressor(压缩机), and they found a dead rat. Will's dad had to 15the exact place where the rat had died; his dad, 16 even the slightest hesitation held the dead rat with his bare hands. He removed the17and fixed the compressor. This taught Will that one should never 18 about life. this made him realize the value of 19and hard work.

    Every successful man is shaped right from his 20. To achieve dreams, one should be disciplined and determined.

A Welcome Gift

    Dario and his mother loved their new apartment. The living room was large enough for their piano. That night, the two of them 1 side by side at the piano. They played jazz music to celebrate their new home. The loud 2 filled the room and made them feel very happy.

    The next morning, 3, their happiness disappeared. Someone had left a 4 under their door during the night. One of their neighbors had written to complain about the sound of the piano. Dario's mother asked the building superintendent (管理员) if he knew anything about it. But he said that they were all 5 people and he couldn't imagine any of them had done that. Later that morning, Dario suggested that they write a letter to their 6 and apologize for their playing.

    "Maybe we could go and 7 everyone in person." his mother said.

    "What if we invited them to come here for a 8 instead?" Dario asked.

    They both loved the 9. Over the next few days, they sent out invitations and prepared desserts 10 their guests. They decorated the apartment with streamers (彩带) and party lights.

    Finally, the day of the party 11. Some guests brought presents. Others brought flowers. Some even brought desserts to 12. One woman, Mrs. Gilbert, 13 Dario's mother with a book of piano music by Chopin.

    "I heard you playing the other night," she said. "The sounds woke me out of bed. I 14 that you might play like this every night. So I wrote a short note. I hope you don't think I disliked the playing."

    Dario's mother smiled at Mrs. Gilbert. "I think maybe we 15 you an apology." she said. "I didn't 16 how late it was when we were playing. Maybe we should play some quieter music at night.

    "You play, you play!" Mrs. Gilbert said. "I like what you play! Just not so loud at night." She pointed to the book she had given them. "These songs are not such 17 music."

    "These songs are beautiful music." Dario's mother said. "We will be 18 to play them in the evening."

    "And we won't play so loud or late!" Dario said. He was already looking forward to 19 the new music. More than that, however, he was happy to see the big smile on his mother's face. It gave him a feeling of 20 and made him feel that they were home at last.

It was a long time since I had seen my parents last time. Last Saturday I drove a long way to visit them, 1neither of them was at home. So I waited patiently at their home 2their return. Not seeing them made me really3.

As I was walking around their bedroom, I 4 little reminders of them. Some

Christmas gifts were still 5in boxes. There were 6on the wall, which I guess must have a 7 meaning to them. What 8 was seeing my dad's emblems (徽章) from his military service of our country when he was young. My father never 9to us about the Korean Wars. As I looked at those emblems hanging 10 with all the photos that he treasures, I 11 that this was an important part of his life, but I never spent 12in talking with him about them. The photos of my mom with her close 13made me realize her life before she was my mom. I had been so 14running my business to raise my own family that I 15the chance to know about their past and experience.

We sometimes don't realize something is 16for us until we have lost it, so it's not too late for us to talk to our parents about their past. I am writing my story to 17 everyone who is fortunate to still have their parents 18to invest some time to learn about them. I am grateful to have 19of my parents. So I still have time to talk with them. I hope that readers will 20from my story and find the time to talk about those things in their life that mean so much to their parents.

For about three years now, I have been writing poetry. It was not until my junior year in high school that I developed an interest, love and skill for writing poetry. 

Back in elementary school, I loved to write stories. I would write stories on post-it notes and anywhere I could. Yet when I had to write a limerick(五行打油诗) for an assignment, I could not wrap my head around poetry. I had a very hard time figuring out how to rhyme words and have the words make sense. I eventually tossed the paper with the attempted limerick in the trash. I did not try my hand at poetry again until several years later. 

Many years later in my freshman year of high school, my English teacher gave my class a poetry project as an assignment. I still remember my limerick assignment and was afraid of doing the poetry project. For the project, we had to analyse a poem and write a response to it. I chose to respond to Robert Frost's poem Fire and Ice. I also wrote my own poem first. I became really excited when writing the poem. 

Two years later, I started writing poetry as a hobby and for fun. To learn how good or bad my poems were, I handed them in to some magazines and contests. I won the second place in the North Carolina Poetry Society's Sherry Pruitt Award Contest, and had my two poems published as high quality poems. I have continued to write poetry, and have even self-published three collections of poetry in both print and e-book formats, which can be found in my store on Lulu. 

Now, I love writing poetry, but I don't hate writing short stories. I just find it more difficult and not my style of writing, even though I still write short stories occasionally.