I used to hate being called upon in class mainly because I didn’t like attention drawn to myself．And         otherwise assigned 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 it 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 to 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 competitiv       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 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．role 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