【推荐2】No Excuse Workout

Nobody likes a complicated workout program. Too often you find yourself buying highly complex programs which take up hours upon hours of your week.

That stops today.

No Excuse Workout is a new workout DVD that includes2 DVDs each packed with10 short, intense(激烈的) workouts. Every workout is exactly 4 minutes long, broken down into 8 specific sets. Each set lasts for 30 seconds——20 seconds of intense exercise and 10 seconds of rest.

All you have to do is follow along with Ryan as he takes you through these quick, effective, four-minute workouts.

After years of research, scientists have discovered that the key to burning fat and building muscles is not longer workouts. Instead, it’s the right combination of correct exercises——intense bursts with short rests. This is known as “interval training”. For more information, read The Science Behind High Intensity Interval Training.

No Excuse Workout DVD#l:10 Dumbbell(哑铃) Workouts

When you work out with Ryan in the first DVD, you’ll use inexpensive dumbbells in 10 different muscle-building, fat-burning workouts.

No Excuse Workout DVD #2:10 Bodyweight Training Workouts

This DVD is your secret to uncovering the lean, sculpted(雕塑般的) body.

No equipment needed! Most of the workouts are done on the ground.

Pop them in your DVD player and you won’t need one or two hours some people spend every day to get in shape.

Get these DVDs today for just $14.95.

【推荐3】Why Is There an Offside(越位)Rule in Soccer?

The offside rule is one of the most important and significant rules in the game of soccer. It is one of the core influencers of game play, formations, and how the sport is played as a whole.     1    

To get the official rule we have to consult the rulebook of IFAB(International Football Association Board). It is the organization that governs the laws of soccer. It is an independent body and the only organization authorized to decide and agree on changes to the Laws of the Game.

Without the offside rule, soccer would descend to a game where the ball is hit from one end of the pitch to the other, with all players competing to score in a sea of mess. It would be an unrecognizable game.

Thankfully, instead of this, we have “the beautiful game”: the most popular sport in the world, full of excitement, skill, athleticism, and tactical guile(战术诡计).     2    Let me explain it to you in detail.

It’s not an offense to simply be in an offside position. If involved in active play from a touch by a teammate, the player in an offside position will be subsequently ruled offside and an indirect free-kick will be ruled against them. Becoming “involved in active play” infers that a player:

·Interferes with play by touching a ball that is passed or touched by a teammate.

·Prevents an opponent by obstructing their vision, by challenging them for the ball, or by making an obvious action to impact their ability to get the ball.

·Gains an advantage or interferes with an opponent when the ball is rebounded from the post, cross-bar, opponent or match official.

There are several pages of more specific circumstances and situations where offside can occur in the IFAB rulebook. However, these are the small print and are not important to discuss in general terms.     3    In the simplest terms possible, offside is where a player is in their opponents half and they are closer to the goal-line than the ball and the second-last opponent when the ball is played.

    4    A player cannot be ruled offside if they receive the ball directly from a throw-in, a corner-kick, or a goal-kick. In most cases, the linesman or assistant referee, who operates on the sidelines of the field, is in charge of monitoring and flagging offside.

【推荐3】Bubba, a handsome blue-and-turquoise parrot, was the best little companion I could have hoped for. At 88 years of age, I don’t plan to have any more pets, but for 12 years, Bubba and I kept each other company throughout the day.

I bought him from my local pet shop, when he was a baby; the bigger parrots were pushing him away from the seed dish and off the end of the perch—so I had to save him.

I asked him his name, and he replied, “Bibbi”. I changed it to “Bubba”. He must have liked it because he learned to say it pretty quickly.

He would make me laugh by practising new words, and if he didn’t pronounce them correctly, he would mutter loudly, which I took to mean he was cursing himself.

I left Bubba’s cage open unless he did something naughty. I would shut him in till he behaved himself. It didn’t take long and he soon learned to say, “Bubba’s a good boy.” When he came out, I got lots of kisses! At bedtime I had to sing “Unchained Melody” to him.

My favourite memory is of his last Christmas in 2014. He asked, “What doing?” I told him that the following day was Christmas Day and that the decorations would cheer us up. Next morning, he was out early kissing me, and it continued all day. That night, as I put him to bed he had a very satisfied look on his face.

On his last day, he clung to me and lay in my hand for hours. I placed him on a feather duster in a small box so that he could be on my walker tray while I cooked dinner.

At bedtime, I placed him back into the box with some water and seed. After the usual songs, I told him to lie down and get comfortable. In the morning he was lying down, one wing over his head.

I’m sure he still visits me.

【推荐1】As one of the city’s most popular free outdoor events, the Cape Town Carnival is a multicultural celebration which focuses on social inclusion and bridging the divide between the diverse communities of the Western Cape and specifically Cape Town. It’s a celebration of the many diverse cultures which makes Cape Town stand out from the most world-famous cities. The carnival is considered a community participation event by the Western Cape Government and draws bigger crowds each year.

The event serves a platform for local performance groups, designers, musicians and artists to showcase their talents to the world. Every year, it may create over 1, 000 part-time jobs. The long-term vision, however, is to create more programmes focusing on skills development, thus permanently employing people. Since 2010 when the carnival was held on Long Street, it has become the festival of the year, and has grown from 17, 000 spectators to as many as 55, 000. This year, the carnival will be held on the Fan Walk in Green Point.

And its theme is Mother City, Mother Nature, exploring two of Cape Town’s greatest assets, its natural beauty and its people. The festival will showcase what makes the Mother City one of the most unique cities in the world. Over 2, 000 shining costumed performers and musicians will take to Cape Town’s Fan Walk, entertaining viewers with floats (花车) and dynamic dance routines. The parade (游行) will be followed by a grand street party, showcasing some of South Africa’s hottest musical talent.

Fans and tourists are encouraged to join in the street festivities anytime from 16: 00, when it will turn into a pedestrian walkway with 2km of food stands and festive hospitality (好客) areas. Later in the evening Cape Town will up the pace with the most appealing and festive open air party, the Cape Town Carnival Street Party! This Culture Comer: A Glimpse of Cape Town, was contributed by Marilyn Steward. I’m Rich Claymount. Stay tuned and see you next time.

【推荐3】On most Sundays, the sound of hammers(锤子)and other tools hitting stone can be heard in a village in the Chimalhuacan area, on Mexico City’s east side. The sounds come from stone carvers(石雕师)who still work on a skill that has been passed down for generations(世代)—even after the local stone was used up. The village is filled with meter-high religious(宗教的)figures and other beautiful stone objects.

Generations of stone carvers in Chimalhuacan also created much of the stonework found on buildings and in parks in the capital’s downtown.

While carvers in other areas long ago turned to machines, the workers here only use hammers and other special hand tools. Many are self-taught, but some, like Tomás Ugarte, aged 86, learned in the traditional way. This method of rock cutting has been passed down between family members, dating back about five generations.

The rock cutters are generally old. There were about 600 official stone carvers about 10 years ago. Now, there are probably only around 300. The carvers are dying and their children generally do not want to take up the trade.

Still, the stone carvers keep the old traditions alive. Many people in the area use stone tools made by the stone carvers.

Rev. Alberto Sandoval, who has known the stone workers since 1990, described them as “the backbone of the community.” Most of the carvers have work areas at home, which provides them with some money. They sell carvings for prices from $500 to $2,000. But they often do not sell much.

Unlike many craftspeople who want to see their works shown in museums, the carvers here also work for free at repairing the stonework at the 250-year-old local church, Santa Maria de Guadalupe.

Asked if the trade will continue, carver Mario Olivares read a poem written on the church wall: “Your art, your tradition, your culture and the nobility(高贵)of the people keep the spirit of this town alive.”