Scenic Spots in Pinggu

Jack lived in a small village. He was the leader of a group who often played jokes on the villagers, and believed that causing trouble was the only way to have fun.

One day, Jack and his friends decided to play a prank on Mr. Johnson, an elderly man who lived alone in a small house at the edge of the village. As the sun set, Jack and his friends went into Mr. Johnson’s house quietly and moved the furniture around, laughing to themselves as they imagined the mess they were creating. Satisfied with their work, they left the house and went home to sleep.

The next morning, Jack woke up feeling excited. He couldn’t wait to see the reaction of Mr. Johnson when he discovered the rearranged furniture. As he walked to school, he passed by Mr. Johnson’s house and saw the old man standing outside, looking confused and upset. Jack’s heart sank as he realized his fault. He had never seen Mr. Johnson so upset before. And he knew that he had to make things right.

That afternoon, Jack gathered his friends to go to Mr. Johnson’s house. When they arrived there, Jack knocked on the door and explained their purpose. Mr. Johnson was surprised but grateful for their offer to help. Together, they worked to put the furniture back in place. As they worked, Jack and his friends apologized for their actions and promised to treat others with kindness and respect.

From then on, Jack and his friends changed their behavior. They no longer played pranks on the villagers, and instead, they started to look for ways to help others. They realized that causing trouble might have been fun, but helping others and showing kindness brought them true happiness.

Laughter is a social emotion, so we’re 30 times more likely to laugh if there is somebody else with us than if we’re on our own.

We laugh to show that we agree with what someone says; that we remember the same thing that we’re talking about. People will also use laughter to try and mask other emotions. People will laugh to try and pretend they’re not upset, or embarrassed or in pain. People will use laughter to get other people to do things. If you get someone laughing, they will tell you more about themselves.

Laughter can sometimes feel contagious (有感染力的). You can probably think of occasions when you’ve been watching television or listening to the radio, maybe it’s been broadcast live, and the presenter or presenters start to get the giggles (咯咯的笑). If you chuckle, the contagion is working. And it’s called behaviourally contagious phenomena (现象), which are things you can catch from somebody else just because they’re doing them. You might have noticed this happens with yawning, it happens a lot with laughter.

As you know, there are lots of health benefits from laughing. You are more relaxed when you laugh. So as soon as you start laughing, you get a reduction in adrenaline (肾上腺素). You also get an increased uptake of the body’s naturally circulating endorphin (内啡肽). Now, that is because you do quite a lot of exercise at your ribcage (胸腔) when you laugh. It’s exactly the same as a runner’s high or the good feeling you get after exercising. And interestingly, that’s true of laughter even if you’ve completely pretended to laugh.

Unluckily, laughter can also have a darker side. When we laugh ha-ha-ha, breathing out, we do squeezes with ribcage. These big squeezes, particularly if you’re laughing really hard, are quite stressful for your heart and your lungs and that can mean if you have some sort of problem with your heart or your lungs or your blood vessels, you can put them under more strain. And throughout history, there are examples of people who have died of laughing.

So if you want to get your endorphin going, you can start by laughing out loud.

A café in Toronto refuses to offer Wi-Fi to its customers. Its president, Jimson Biensenstock, explains his purpose is to get customers to talk with one another instead of being buried in their portable devices.

What a brilliant idea! Perhaps Mr. Biensenstock knows what medical science has been increasingly proving: Social interaction is an extremely important contributor to good health and long life.

In a study begun in 1965, the researchers found that people who were disconnected from others were about three times more likely to die during the nine-year study than people with strong social ties. In fact, they found that those with close social ties and unhealthful lifestyles actually lived longer than those with poor social ties but more healthful living habits.

Another study in 1988 showed people who are continually lacking in social contacts are more likely to experience higher levels of stress and inflammation (炎症). These, in turn, can weaken the health of nearly every bodily system, including the brain. Absent social interactions, blood flowing to important organs (重要器官) is likely to be reduced and immune function (免疫功能) may be destroyed. Even how genes are expressed can be affected, damaging the body’s ability to turn off inflammation.

In a 2010 report, sociology researchers at the University of Texas reported similar findings. The Texas researchers also pointed out that social interactions can boost good health through a positive influence on people’s living habits. For example, if none of your friends smoke, you’ll be less likely to smoke.

Lack of social interactions also damages mental health. The emotional support provided by social connection helps to reduce the damaging effects of stress and can help develop “a sense of meaning and purpose in life”, the Texas researchers wrote.

Emma Seppala of the Stanford Center wrote, “People who feel more connected to others have lower levels of anxiety and depression. Moreover, studies show they also have higher self-esteem (自尊), greater empathy for others, are more trusting and cooperative and, as a result, others are more open to trusting and cooperating with them.”

“In other words,” Dr. Seppala explained, “social connection leads to a positive feedback circle of social, emotional and physical well-being.”

For those seeking a health-improving lifestyle, it’s not enough to focus on eating your vegetables and getting regular exercise. Don’t forget to connect.

Have you ever seen shadow plays? The shadow play is one of the oldest puppet performances in China. It was a popular folk drama in ancient China and also the ancestor (祖先) of the films in the world.

Shadow plays were once a popular form of entertainment, and they were also used for religious (宗教) and instructional purposes. Simple to perform, dramas were played out on screens or walls for thousands of years, and the shadow play is still performed in China today.

A simple lamp and a thin screen were all that were needed for a stage. Things like people, animals, furniture, walls and plants were shown on the screen by placing figurines or figures made of cardboard or leather in front of the lamp.

The lamp lighted the screen from behind, and people could move little figurines around for theatrical performances. With added music and sound effects, the plays could be quite entertaining if they were well performed. These were ancient dramas or cartoons, and they were even colorized for added entertainment by using colored translucent (半透明的) figurines. The lamp light cast a colored shadow.

One can imagine that stone-age people sat next to campfires and watched stories played out on rock walls by shadows cast by using their hands or figurines.

It is said that the Mongols in the 13th century liked to watch shadow plays in their camps. They took the entertainment with them, and it became a popular entertainment in the Yuan Empire of the 13th century.

Shadow plays were performed in France when French missionaries (传教士) returned from China in 1767 and put on performances in Paris and Marseilles. It is said that this is how the shadow play was introduced to Europe. The plays were popular in France, and they were called “Chinese Shadows” at first.

Nowadays, performers use plastics, computer controlled lightning and machinery, and modern paint and dyes to produce bright and colorful shadow figures. They can produce images that are controlled by computers, and these can be used for animation and entertainment effects in plays. It is difficult for shadow puppeteers to compete with modern entertainment technologies for an audience, but some of them are using modern materials and adopting technology to help stage interesting entertainment in China.

39. 以体树德、以体增智、以体育美、以体促劳。随着平谷区“阳光·乐跑”活动的开展，学生们展现了朝气蓬勃的精神风貌。

假设你是李华。请你以“我的乐跑”为题，用英语写一篇短文给学校英文网站投稿，谈谈你日常的乐跑，对其作简要描述，说说乐跑给你带来了哪些好处，以及今后打算怎么做。

提示词语：relax, energy, build up, confidence, keep doing

提示问题：·How do you take part in the activity?

·What have you achieved?

·What will you do in the future?

Everyone takes part in the activity of Fun Run.

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