In the sport of track and field, athletes compete not only with one another but against themselves to achieve a new personal best. Aiming to 1 his own record, Cerveny pushed himself hard. However, his legs cramped(抽筋)and 2 him with only 200 meters to go. Determined to 3, Cerveny rose from the ground and continued on, only to fall again after another 50 meters.

4, his coach asked Cerveny if he wanted to stop. He didn't. With great 5 Cerveny pulled himself up and with a(n)  6 pace, moved forward for one final push. 7, it wasn't enough. 100 meters from the finish line, his legs simply 8 .

Before his coach could 9 him, another runner- Brandon-was at his side to help. His first attempt to get Cerveny up failed, but he  10 to quit too. With a second pull, Cerveny was 11. At a measured jog, the two completed the final 100 meters of the course, with Cerveny holding Brandon for 12 Brandon even made sure Cerveny crossed the finish line first, securing his 13 a faster time

In today's 14 world in which the emphasis in athletics is so often put on breaking records, it was 15 to see that for an athlete like Brandon, the value of true sportsmanship still had legs.

As a writer, I miss rejection slips. Not that I enjoyed receiving those pre-printed slips of paper, but at least when I got one, I was pretty sure that a flesh-and-blood 1 had put it in the envelope. And there was always the chance I might see a handwritten sentence on the bottom, 2 the piece almost made it. When an editor at McCall's wrote, "I'm afraid I have to say no on this 3 piece, but try me again on another, would you?" It was almost as 4 to me as if she had said, "We'll 5 it and here is an advance for you". 

Nowadays, rejection slips seem to have disappeared with the use of online submissions. Most editors don't feel it a must to 6 they have received, read, or considered your work because they receive so many 7 each day. 

For me, there are three 8 of rejection slip pain. The first is 9 brought on by finding a flat "no" on a 10 piece of paper, then followed by anger (how could they 11 a piece that is obviously so much 12 than most of the stuff they print), and, finally, rebirth: I will live to 13 a new piece another day.

Learning to 14 rejection seems like part of growing up as a writer. Despite the many letters of acceptance I have received, my folder of "Noteworthy Rejection Slips" is far 15 than that of "Noteworthy Acceptances", which indicates to me the fact: I still have some growing up to do.

I wasn't raised to be a fan of snails(蜗牛). I was always taught that if we see a snail on a plant, we should pick it off and1 on it. This brought us the kind of giggly(咯咯傻笑的) 2 that only children experience. We loved it. However, my3 on snails has changed, as I've grown older. They bring me a different kind of happiness. 

The first time. I thought of snails as more than a4 was when I saw something that 5 me in my garden. A small snail, 6 a hard shell, moved slowly toward one7 bud and explored it. The exploration lasted for quite a while and, 8 enough, the bud turned into a full bloom. Watching the snail carefully touching the flower9 me of the lyric:"Snails see the beauty in every inch. "I realized that the snail is probably a best representation of10 and taking life slowly.

Then, I11 the snail in my palm. It was scared by the sudden move and immediately 12 back into its shell. I thought it would13 inside for several minutes, but shortly after gutting used to the takeaway, the snail poked its head out again. It was not just hiding but 14 . 

Giving ourselves time to nourish(滋养)inside and out, and waiting for the right15  to reenter the exciting life, is extremely restorative and worthwhile.