Enjoy a wiggly (扭动、摇摆) workout (健身) for your brain and your body with hula hooping.

If you thought hula hoops were just a snack, you’re missing out an activity to keep you fit when you have fun. Hula hooping is very easy (once you get the hang of it), enjoyable and excellent for _________ up strength (力量), flexibility (灵活性) and stamina (耐力).

Make sure you get a good hoop that’s the right size for your body. Then find an area with enough _________ to practise. Your back garden or a local park are great but there’s _________ to stop you from hooping indoors if you check with an adult first—you don’t want to knock anything over.

Stand with your _________ slightly apart and one foot in front of _________. Hold the hoop at your waist and give it a good _________, then rock your hips (臀部、屁股) back and forth to start a circle. You might feel a bit silly _________ but the more you push forwards and backwards, the better your spin (旋转) will be. It’s tricky to begin with, but don’t _________. A little bit of practice goes a long way. If you’re a beginner, a _________ hoop is better. This kind of hoops move more slowly so they’re easier __________.

A Delicious Bite of Food History

Do you know the TV series A Bite of China (《舌尖上的中国》) in CCTV? It is about some delicious foods in China. Here is a passage about the history of cheese—another delicious food in the world.

Cheese is enjoyed all over the world, and it likely started with sheep. Cheese is popular on sandwiches, on pizza, and all on its own. Where did this delicious dairy food come from?

Cheese making dates back about 8,000 to 10,000 years. No one knows who made the first cheese, but it is believed that cheese making began when humans started taking milk from sheep. (Cheese is made from milk—mainly the curd 凝乳) Ancient Greeks and Romans made cheese, as did northern Europeans, By the Roman Empire (帝国) (625BCE to its fall in 476 CE), hundreds of cheeses were made across Europe.

A community in Italy came together in 2020 to prepare the world’s largest block of cheese. The round block of Pecorino cheese weighed 1,319 pounds and used more than 1,188 gallons of sheep’s milk. The cheese was cut up into slices that sold for about $5 each.

The oldest known cheese in the world, from Egypt, dates back about 3,200 years. Scientists found cheese in a tomb from the 13^th century BCE. Delicious meals, including cheese, were sometimes found with rich Egyptians.

The US is the world’s second-largest cheese producer (制造者), behind the European Union (a group of 27 nations, mostly in Europe).According to the US dairy industry, there are eight official kinds of cheese: blue, hard, pasta filata, processed cheese, semi-hard, semi-soft, soft and free, and soft-ripened.

Have fun running and cycling when you sign up (报名) for a Duathlon event.

Get your running shoes and get ready to jump on your bike. A duathlon is an exciting sporting event where you take part in a run, then a cycle and then finish with another run. This may sound tiring but it’s a lot of fun and there are duathlon clubs and games for all age ranges and abilities.

Duathlons can be set across any distance (距离) —there is no fixed rules. The youngest age you can join is usually eight. For this age group, a typical game will begin with a 400-metre run, followed by a cycle of 1.5 kilometres (almost a mile) and finally a 200-metre rush.

For older children, the distances may increase to running 1.5 kilometres, cycling 4.5 kilometres (2.8 miles) and finishing with a 500-metre run. Generally, the second running is half the distance of the first.

The action of changing from running to cycling, and getting on and off your bike, is called a “transition”. Your whole duathlon time includes (包括) the time it takes you to do these transitions—so a speedy and quick changeover is important.

Duathlon games take place in safe places such as a park or running track. The cycling race will often be marked out around a track and sometimes on closed public roads if it’s ad bigger game.

Waiting for Rabbits by a Stump

Over 2,000 years ago in the ancient state of Song, there was a hardworking farmer who worked from morning until night. Every day he was out working in the field before any of his neighbors, and he didn’t quit until after everyone else went home. In a good year, he grew the best crops (庄稼) in his village and everyone envied him. But in a year when they were hit with drought or flood, the harvest would not be enough to get through the winter and his family suffered like everyone else. He wished there was a better way to make sure there would be enough food on the table for his family, but he couldn’t think of any bright ideas, so he just kept on working hard.

Then one day a miracle (奇迹、神奇的事) occurred. The farmer was working his field in the hot sun when he heard a loud shout not far away. He saw a couple of hunters running and yelling. The next thing he saw was a frightened rabbit running for its life. A few seconds later, he saw the rabbit dash into a stump. The poor creature broke its neck, cried for a few seconds, then died.

When the farmer got over his shock, a happy thought came to him: “Wow! I got this rabbit just by standing here near the stump. The rabbit will be a real treat for my family, and I can even sell the rabbit fur for a bit of cash. If I can catch one rabbit each day this way, I’ll be rich and I won’t have to work in the hot sun anymore!”

From that day on, the farmer didn’t work in the field any more and sat under a tree near the stump waiting for another rabbit to appear. He waited and waited, until his field was covered with weeds. As far as we know, no rabbit ever dashed itself against that stump again. When word got around, the farmer became a laughingstock throughout the state of Song.

In Chinese culture, the phrase “waiting for rabbits by a stump” has become a colorful way to express the idea that we shouldn’t expect the same miracle to happen twice. Just because we had a stroke of luck, we would be too stupid to sit around and wait for it to repeat itself. Moreover, only a good-for-nothing would expect to get something without working!

The death of Queen Elizabeth II (英国女王伊丽莎白二世) has made many English people feel sad. Some are crying, others have been reminded (提醒) of friends and relatives (亲戚) who have died. Although death can be a frightening word, it’s a natural part of life-and it is important to talk about it.

Grief is a natural emotional response (反应) to the death of a person—or a pet—that you love or feel close to. In some cultures, grief is quiet and private (私人的), while other people may cry out loud. There is no right or wrong way for grief. What seems strange to one person can be natural and common to another. Queen Elizabeth I once said, “Grief is the price we pay for love.”

Losing someone can leave a hole in your life and make you feel sad and bad. The charity Young Minds says everyone experiences grief differently and for different lengths of time. It’s normal to feel emotions like anger, fear, anxiety (焦虑) and sadness. Prince Harry’s mother Diana died when he was 12. In March 2020, he wrote to children who had a parent who died in the pandemic (疫情). He said, “You may feel alone, you may feel sad, you may feel angry and you may feel bad. This feeling will pass. And I will make a promise to you—you will feel better and stronger once you are ready to talk about how it makes you feel.”

Poppy Mardall runs a company (公司) that organises funerals (葬礼).She says it’s important to talk to someone you trust (信任) about your feelings and not hide them away. Don’t be afraid of doing something that makes you smile, like watching a film or meeting up with friends. Even though a loved one has died, says Mardall, your relationship with them is still alive; your memory and feelings for them will stay with you through your whole life. So try writing them a letter, poem or song, or draw a picture of them. “Share your memories with other people,” says Mardall.

Prepare for a test

In your school, tests or quizzes(小测) may be a part of your regular classroom work.     46     If taking a test makes you feel worried, the good news is that there are many easy ways for you to prepare and feel better before an exam or quiz. Here is how to get started.

Studying for a test will be easier if you organize your notes, handouts, and homework ahead of time for each of your classes.     47     You can use a separate folder(文件夹) for each subject. You can keep them at home at school, or in your backpack.

    48     This might mean spending 30 minutes studying for a few afternoons the week before the test. Or maybe you have more time on the weekends and want to plan extra study time then. No matter what you decide, block out the time on your calendar so you remember.

If you have learned a lot of material, ask your teacher what information will be on the test. If your teacher hands out a study guide, use that guide to help you find out what information you need to pay attention to most. Next, decide how you want to review. the material. Besides reviewing your notes, you could write key points on flash cards to test yourself.     49     If there is something you are not clear about, highlight(标亮) that part and ask your teacher for help.

As the day of the test comes closer, be sure to get enough sleep the night before and eat a healthy breakfast on the test day. You don’t want to be distracted(分神) by feeling hungry during the test! When you sit down to take the exam, give yourself a few minutes to review the whole test. You can start by answering the first question, but you can also work on questions in a later section that you find easier to answer. For multiple-choice questions(单选题), cross off answers that you know are incorrect(不正确的).     50     The correct answer may come to you later. Finally, if you finish the test before the time ends, instead of turning your test in right away, go back and review all your answers to check for any mistakes. You can do well!

Moving outside the classroom

Since September, 2022, many schools have increased (增加) the number of PE classes from three a week to five or even more. This is because of China’s new standard (标准) on PE education. The standard asks schools     61     (make) sure that PE classes take up to 10% to 11% of all class time,     62     (three) only to Chinese and math.

So rope jumping becomes one of the most     63     ([’pɒpjulə(r)]) sports in PE classes. Ma Jiajun (right in the photo), 17, from Jilin Jiangcheng Middle School,     64     (set) a new world record for “the most consecutive jump rope triples (连续三摇跳绳) with 701     65     (time) in 2021. His teacher Chen Peng said that his school always     66     (pay) attention to PE.

Ma Jiajun said in     67     interview, “Time is fair. You     68    [spend]) your time on something, and you will get results from it.” He is 1.81 meters tall now and one of the members of China’s national rope jumping team.

Rope jumping is easy and simple. You can jump alone, or jump with     69     (other). But please     70     careful not to hurt someone else.

71. 你收到美国朋友Michael的来信，得知他今年暑假将要来厦门，并专程来龙岩拜访你2天。请你写一封回信，向他介绍龙岩的地理位置，并把在他来龙岩后的一些计划先告知他。必须包括以下信息：

I’m so glad and excited that you are coming to Longyan to visit me this summer.

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Best wishes to you and your family. See you then.

Sincerely,

Fred