【推荐1】On Saturday night, a five-person team of the Chinese e-sports club, with the full name EDward Gaming, won the 2021 League of Legends World Championship in Reykjavik , Iceland , beating defending champion Damwon KIA (DK) from South Korea. The live streaming of the championship had over 200 million viewers on two major domestic smartphone apps and other channels.

The team has taken the opportunity to share Chinese culture with the world. At the beginning of the championship, the members of EDG and other staff displayed tai chi, martial arts and traditional Chinese costumes in Reykjavik, launching a “Chinese hurricane” in the Icelandic capital. Now the posting of photos and videos on social networks have spread that hurricane to the whole world.

With the popularity of digital technology, new forms of cultural exchanges have been appearing, of which e-sports are of the hottest. Unlike texts and videos, e-sports go beyond the barriers of language and are understandable around the world.

Also e-sports appeal most to those in their early 20s, as shown by the carnival of college students on Saturday night. That in turn makes them a good bridge of communication between Chinese youngsters and their counterparts (同行) around the world. More importantly, the e-sports industry is sustainable (可持续的) in spreading Chinese culture, as the large audiences mean huge commercial potential. In 2020 alone, the sales profit of the domestic e-sports industry went beyond $ 43.56 billion, and involved 280,000 companies, which in turn created over 10 million jobs.

As early as 2019, Hainan province announced its ambitious plan of building an international e-sports center. On Nov 5, the Organizing Committee of the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou city, announced it had listed eight e-sports as events in the Games. Both show the strong policy support being given to e-sports.

With more Chinese star gaming clubs and teams appearing, the industry is expected to boom and continue spreading Chinese culture to the world.

【推荐3】As a high school coach, I did all I could to help my boys win their games. One thing, however, changed my view on victories. I was refereeing (担任裁判) a championship basketball game between New Rochelle and Yonkers High.

New Rochelle, the home team, was coached by Dan O’Brien, Yonkers by Les Beck. The gym was too crowded to hear the buzzer (终场哨). The game was well played. Yonkers was leading by one point as there were but 30 seconds left to play.

New Rochelle got the ball and tapped it in (投进篮筐) for what looked like victory. I took a look at the clock and saw that the game was over. I hadn’t heard the final buzzer because of the noise. I checked with the other official, but he could not help me.

So I approached the timekeeper, a young man of 17 or so. He said, “Mr. Covino, the buzzer went off as the ball rolled off the rim (篮筐) before the final tap-in was made.”

I was in a dilemma about whether to tell Coach O’Brien the sad news. “Dan,” I said, “time ran out before the final basket was tapped in. Yonkers won the game.”

His face clouded over. The young timekeeper came up. He said, “I’m sorry, Dad. The time ran out before the final basket.”

Suddenly, like the sun coming out from behind a cloud, Coach O’Brien’s face lit up. He said, “That’s okay, Joe. You did what you had to do. I’m proud of you.” Turning to me, he said, “Al, I want you to meet my son, Joe.”

The two of them then walked off the court together, the coach’s arm around his son’s shoulder.

【推荐1】I’m racing on the 1,500-metre track (跑道) with my friend, Mary. I’m tired and my throat is giving me much pain. I want to stop but a voice repeating in my head keeps me running: “No one knows what the result will be. Everything is still possible.” Today, I have to fight with myself.

Nine years ago, when I was a 6-year-old girl, my mother took me on a trip. We went to the foot of a high mountain which she told me that we would climb. I had never done this before and the thought of it made me very happy.

At the beginning, I climbed fast. But half an hour later, when I was thirsty and tired, I just stopped and sat upon the ground , completely silent. My mom came and sat next to me.

She said, “Get up and go on!”

Almost shouting, and with tears in my eyes, I replied, “No, I don’t want to do this. It’s too tiring and I am thirsty. I don’t like it. I want to go back home now.”

Patiently she explained, “Listen, my dear. If you try your best, anything is possible. If you don’t try, your dreams will never come true. However hard the task is, we must finish it. You will never know how beautiful the scenery looks unless you reach the top of the mountain.”

Hearing her words, I stopped crying and started to climb again. Finally I made it; I did reach the top of the mountain and enjoyed the glorious view.

Today I’m on the racing track. I’m going to keep running because I know its always worthwhile (值得做的) to finish.

And in the end I managed it; I got through the finish line. Although it was really difficult and I did not win, I did make it. As former Indian President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (1931-2015) said, “Never stop fighting until you arrive at your destined (命定的) place — that is, the unique you.”

【推荐2】He was born in Germany in 1818, and German was his native language. He stayed in Belgium for a few years; then he went to France. In 1849, he went to England and made London the base for his revolutionary（革命的）work.

The first time I saw him was in February 1865. I was twenty-four years old. Never in my life shall I forget the impression made on me by my first visit. Marx was in poor health then, but was hard at work on the first volume of Capital.

Marx could read all the leading European languages and write in three：German, French and English. He was fond of saying, “A foreign language is a weapon in the struggle of life.”

At fifty he took up the study of Russian. Although the language had no close relation to any of the modern or ancient languages he knew, he made such progress in six months that he was able to enjoy reading Russian poetry and works.

Although he went to bed very late, he always got up between eight and nine in the morning. Having drunk a cup of black coffee and read through his newspapers, he would go to his study and work there till two or three next morning — breaking off only for meals, and when the weather allowed, for a walk on Hampstead Heath, London. In the course of the day he slept for an hour or two on the sofa. For Marx, work had become a passion, and he was so absorbed in it that he often forgot his meals. Frequently, he had to be called again and again before he came down to the dining room. But hardly had he eaten the last mouthful when he was back in his study again.