I used to hate being called upon in class mainly because I didn’t like attention drawn to myself. And     otherwise assigned（指定）a seat by the teacher, I always    to sit at the back of the classroom.
All this      after I joined a sports team. It began when a teacher suggested I try out for the basketball team. At first I thought it was a crazy    because I didn’t have a good sense of balance, nor did I have the   to keep pace with the others on the team and they would tease me. But for the teacher who kept insisting on my “    for  it”, I wouldn’t have decided to give a try.
Getting up the courage to go to the tryouts was only the      of it! When I first started   the practice sessions, I didn’t even know the rules of the game, much   what I was doing. Sometimes I’d get       and take a shot at the wrong direction—which made me feel really stupid.     , I wasn’t the only one “new” at the game, so I decided to        on learning the game, do my best at each practice session, and not be too hard on myself for the things I didn’t      “just yet”.
I practiced and practiced. Soon I knew the   and the “moves”. Being part of a team was fun and motivating. Very soon the competitive     in me was winning over my lack of confidence. With time, I learned how to play and made friends in the       — friends who respected my efforts to work hard and be a team player. I never had so much fun!
With my      self-confidence comes more praise from teachers and classmates. I have gone from    in the back of the classroom and not wanting to call attention to myself,     raising my hand— even when I sometimes wasn’t and not 100 percent    I had the right answer. Now I have more self-confidence in myself.
A. as             B. until         C. unless       D. though
A. hoped          B. Agreed        C. meant        D. chose
A. continued      B. changed       C. settled      D. started
A. idea           B. plan          C.belief        D. saying
A. right          B. chance        C. ability      D.patience
A. going          B. looking       C. cheering     D. applying
A. point          B. half          C. rest        D. basis
A. enjoying       B. preparing     C. attending    D. watching
A. less           B. later         C. worse        D. further
A. committed      B. motivated     C. embarrassed  D. Confused
A. Interestingly  B. Fortunately   C. Obviously    D. hopefully
A. focus          B. act           C. rely         D. try
A. want           B. do            C. support      D. know
A. steps          B. orders        C. rules        D. games
A. roles          B. part          C. mind         D. value
A. process        B. operation     C. movement     D. situation
A. expressed      B. improved      C. preserved    D. recognized
A. dreaming       B. playing       C. relaxing     D. hiding
A. by             B. for           C. with         D. to
A. lucky         B. happy         C. sure         D. satisfied