What to Do when You’re Falling Behind

When I was a kid, it took me longer to learn how to ride a bike. I kept using a bike with training wheels and I didn’t _______ much, so of course I didn’t learn how to balance.

One day I _______ that my sister, 2.5 years younger than me, was getting close to _______ how to ride a bike. She wasn’t quite there yet, but she was _______ much closer to balancing than I was. I couldn’t let her _______ me to it!

So I took my bike, _______ it out to the street, and decided that I was going to learn how to ride it right now. I _______ the training wheels, jumped on, and swerved (突然转向) all over the place like an out-of- control madman. I tried to stay near the grass when I could get some degree of _______, so when I fell, I’d _______ fall to the lawn instead of the street or sidewalk.

After many attempts, I finally learned how to ________ Then I rode my bike a lot that summer and have had the ________ ever since.

Up until that point, I’d been making a big deal out of the whole process. It seemed ________ and discouraging. I was afraid of falling. But once I began to face the fear and ________ the courage to risk getting hurt, I quickly showed my ________ ability on the other side with a whole new skill. From the moment of making the decision to the time I ________ to get the basic skill it probably took me less than an hour.

What finally ________ me to face the fear and take action? It was the ________ that I was falling behind. My sister was leaving me in the dust. She could ride ________ I couldn’t. I really didn’t want that to happen.

I had no idea that I could learn to ride a bike so quickly. The feeling of falling behind served as a powerful motivator (动力). ________ trying to hide the disappointment, I allowed myself to feel the weight of that pressure. I used the ________ feeling to motivate myself to take action.

The Dujiangyan is the oldest man-made water system in the world, and a wonder in the development of Chinese agriculture. 【小题1】（build）over 2,200 years ago in what is now Sichuan Province in Southwest China, this amazing engineering 【小题2】（achieve）is still used today.

In ancient times, the region where Dujiangyan now stands 【小题3】（suffer）from regular floods from the Minjiang River. 【小题4】（help）the victims of the flooding, Li Bing, 【小题5】 region governor, together with his son, decided to find a solution. Li designed a series of channels built at different levels along Mount Yulei that would take away the floodwaters while leaving the river flowing naturally. 【小题6】（good）still, the extra water could be directed to the dry Chengdu Plain, making 【小题7】 suitable for farming.

Once the system 【小题8】（finish）, no more floods happened and the people were able to live 【小题9】（peaceful）. Today, Dujiangyan is admired by scientists from around the world because of one feature. Unlike modern dams, 【小题10】 the water is blocked with a huge wall, Dujiangyan still lets waterflow through the Minjiang River naturally, making the ecosystem（生态系统）and fish populations exist in peace.