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.

As new students at an university in Boston，many of us were unfamiliar with the campus but consequently late for class. One professor，however，was particular intolerant of being late，making clear that no excuse would be acceptable. So when a girl student came to his class one morning later，we expected the worst results. Then the professor demands the reason for her coming late.“I was being waiting online to buy your new book，”she replied very nervously. While looked at the rest of the class，the professor asked，“Well，why was not the rest of you late？”

   Scott and his four companions were terribly disappointed. When they got to the South Pole, they found the Norwegians had_________them in the race to be the first ever to reach it. After_________ the British flag at the Pole, they took a photograph of themselves _______ they started the 950-mile journey back.

The journey was unexpectedly _________, and the joy and excitement about the Pole had gone out of them. The sun hardly _______. The snow storms always made it impossible to sight the stones they had _________ to mark their way home. To make things _________, Evans, whom they had all thought of _________the strongest of the five, fell badly into a deep hole in the ice. Having _________ along for several days, he suddenly fell down and died.

The four who were __________ pushed on at the best speed they could __________. Captain Oates had been suffering for some time from his __________feet; at night his feet swelled (肿胀) so large that he could __________ put his boots on the next morning, and he walked bravely although he was in great ________. He knew his slowness was making it less likely that __________ could save themselves. He asked them to leave him behind in his sleeping-bag, but they refused, and helped him __________ a few more miles, until it was time to put up the ________ for another night.

The following morning, __________ the other three were still in their sleeping-bags, he said, “I am just going outside and may be __________ some time.” He was never seen again. He had walked out __________ into the snow storm, hoping that his death would help his companions.

   Trekking (徒步旅行) 500 miles across Spain is no easy task for anyone, but for the wheelchair user Justin Skeesuck, achieving the dream seemed nearly impossible. However, Skeesuck’s lifelong best friend, Patrick Gray, simply didn’t accept that idea. He said, “We’ve done everything together so far. Why don’t we have one more adventure?”

That’s exactly what he did — pushing Skeesuck across northern Spain’s Camino de Santiago. Though Skeesuck has a muscle disease similar to ALS (肌萎缩侧索硬化) and high blood pressure, he first got the idea to go on the journey after he watched a travel show about the trail. He said, “I knew immediately since my heart was just telling me, ‘You need to do this.’”

With Gray on board and the blessings of their family, the two best friends from Idaho set off to make Skeesuck’s dream of going for the journey a reality. However, neither Gray nor Skeesuck realized how physically and emotionally arduous the trip would be. Not only did they have a strict time limit — about six weeks to get from start to finish, but they also faced extremely difficult obstacles (障碍). With Gray pushing Skeesuck in a three-wheel wheelchair, the pair crossed mountains, rivers and a desert. “I’ve never been that physically exhausted in my entire life,” Gray said. The pair came across countless kind people during their trip who were eager to help them finish their journey, but they refused their help with gentle words. 34 days later, the two best friends finished their journey, realizing a dream that helped them learn about themselves and others. “The adventure has taught me for sure that when you do something with faith, and never give up, amazing things can really happen,” Skeesuck said.

Gray recorded their incredible trip in a book — “I’ll Push You: A Journey of 500 Miles, Two Best Friends and One Wheelchair”, which would be published soon. Skeesuck and Gray are also working on a children’s book that will tell the story of their adventure. They hope that the book will give kids strength when they deal with difficulties.