1. (2023高二上·信阳期末) 完形填空

I love football. I started playing when I was nine years old, and football got me through difficult periods. It helped make me who I am today. And even though I did not1the National Football League（NFL国家橄榄球联盟）, I sometimes think I got more from2that dream, but not realizing it.

My romance with football started when my dad3me, kicking and screaming, to join a league. I had no4to be there. I was naturally5and the smallest kid by far.6turned to awe （敬畏）when I met my coach, Jim Graham, a huge and strong guy. And he was really7and old-fashioned.

Coach Graham used to push me8I remember one practice9"You're doing it all wrong, Pausch. Go back! Do it again!" I tried to do what he wanted. It wasn't enough. "You10me. Pausch! Go to do push-ups（俯卧撑）after11! "

When I was finally12, one of the13coaches came up to me. "Coach Graham pushed you pretty hard, didn't he? "he said.

"That's a good thing," the assistant told me. "When you're doing badly and nobody says anything to you any more, that means they've14you."

That15has influenced my whole life. When you see yourself doing something badly and nobody's willing to tell you anymore, that's a bad place to be. You may not want to hear it, but your16are often the ones telling you they still love you and care about you, and want to make you17.

When Coach Graham first got hold of me, I was such a weak kid with no18and no physical strength. But he made me realize that if I work hard enough, there will be things I can do19that I can't do today. Even now, having just turned forty-seven, I can give you a three-point stance（站姿）that any NFL lineman would be20of. I really felt grateful to Coach Graham for what he had done to me, though it surely didn't feel good at that time to do so many push-ups after practice.