Black Mamba a Legend That Will Never Die

It’s hard to believe Kobe is gone.

The NBA superstar,     1     great talent and win-at-all-costs spirit made him one of the most distinguished athletes in history, was the rare celebrity who didn’t need a last name.

Still youthful at 41, Bryant—who died in a helicopter crash on January 26 in California—looked     2     he could suit up any minute and drop 30 points on a rival(竞争对手)NBA team. It doesn’t seem that long ago that he was scoring 60 points in his final NBA game.

With a higyly decorated career spanning 20 years - all with the Lakers - Bryant is all but     3     (assure) of being a first-ballot inductee(第一候选人)into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, alongside Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, later this year.

Bryant,     4     18-time All-Star, was famous for his astonishing scoring ability and his championship pedigree(总冠军血统). He teamed up with fellow All-Star Shaquille O’Neal     5     (win) three consecutive NBA titles from 2000 to 2002, and later won two more rings, in 2009 and 2010.

Known as the “Black Mamba”, Bryant finished his career with 33,643 points in the regular season, which put him at No. 3 among NBA’s scoring leaders, behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) and Karl Malone (36,928)     6     LeBron James surpassed him just one day before Bryant’s untimely death.

“Kobe was so much more than an athlete. He was a family man, which was     7     we had most in common. Whenever we got together, I would hug his kids and he would embrace     8    .” O’Neal wrote on Twitter.

“Kobe was one of the most extraordinary players in the history of our game with accomplishments that are truly legendary(传奇般的),” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “But he     9     (remember) most for inspiring people around the world to pick up a basketball and compete     10     the very best of their ability.”

7 . Becoming a real runner

I would never use the word “athletic” to describe myself. To me, athletes are people who really enjoy working out. I remember crying in middle school when I had to run a mile during gym class. I huffed and puffed as I jogged. As I grew up, I would go to the gym, but I never enjoyed working out. That, I thought, was for real runners.

In June 2017, my friend sent me an email that would forever change my attitude towards running. He was training for a 200-mile relay (接力赛) and wanted me to be on his team. I would run three legs between four and six miles each over the course of two days. Figuring that I would never again have the chance to work with some top runners, I immediately agreed, and started running outside to prepare.

That first run was hard. I purposefully avoided Central Park in order to stay away from real runners. After a few blocks, I was already winded, and ran the rest of the way home. I called my mom, choked up, to say I had no hope at all of running this relay. But she encouraged me to keep at it, so I didn't quit. I went from running four miles a week to eight within one month before my advanced training began.

I was frightened going into the first training session with the team as everyone else was super “athletic”. We ran for five miles, and I was significantly slower. However, my teammates were so supportive that I felt the runner’s high, which I had never believed existed.

One day, about two weeks into training, my ankle gave out while I was running in Central Park. I was diagnosed with a stress fracture (应力性骨折). The doctor told me to stop running for two months. It took me a while to face the fact that I was out of the race. My doctor told me that he too had once been struck down with a stress fracture, and the following year, he beat his best running time in a half-marathon. That brought me hope.

I made it through the next two months by picturing myself running again. Just yesterday, for the first time since that fateful day, I took my outdoor run with my physical therapist. I mentioned that I might run a half-marathon the next year. Now I wake up excited for the days I get to run. Maybe I am a “real runner” after all.

Adolescents Worldwide Not Sufficiently Physically Active

New WHO-led study says majority of adolescents worldwide are not sufficiently physically active, putting their current and future health at risk.     1     "Urgent policy action to increase physical activity is needed now, particularly to promote and keep up girls' participation in physical activity," says study author Dr Regina Gut-hold, WHO.

The health benefits of a physically active lifestyle during adolescence include improved heart and lungs fitness, bone health and positive effects on weight. There is also growing evidence that physical activity has a positive impact on cognitive development and socializing.     2    .

To achieve these benefits, the WHO recommends for adolescents to do moderate or vigorous physical activity for an hour or more each day. The authors estimated 80 percent of teems do not meet this recommendation by analysing data collected through school-based surveys on physical activity levels.

    3     Urgent scaling up is needed of known effective policies and programmes to increase physical activity in adolescents. Multisectoral action is needed to offer opportunities for young people to be active, involving education, urban planning, road safety and others. The highest levels of society, including national, city and local leaders, should promote the importance of physical activity for the health and well-being of all people, including adolescents.

    4     Strong political will and action can address the fact that four in every five adolescents do not experience the enjoyment and social, physical, and mental health benefits of regular physical activity. Policy makers and stakeholders should be encouraged to act now for the health of this and future young generations.

Boxing is a popular sport that many people seem to be fascinated by . Newspapers , magazines and sports programmes on TV frequently cover boxing matches . Professional boxers earn a lot of money , and successful boxers are treated as big heroes.

It seems to me that people , especially men ,find it appealing because it is an aggressive sport . When they watch a boxing match , they can identify with the winning boxer , and this gives them the feeling of being a winner themselves . It is a fact that many people have feeling of aggression from time to time , but they cannot show their aggression in their everyday   lives .     1    

However , there is a negative side to boxing .     2     Although boxers wear gloves during the fights , and amateur boxers even have to wear helmets , there have frequently been accident in both professional and amateur boxing , sometimes with dramatic consequences . Boxers have suffered from head injuries , and occasionally , fighters have even been killed as a result of being knocked out in the ring.     3     Sometimes even if a boxer has never been knocked out, he might have suffered severe brain damage without knowing it.

    4     I think it would be better if less time was given to aggressive sports on TV, and we welcomed more men and women from non-aggressive sports as our heroes and heroines in our society . I believe that the world is aggressive enough already ! Of course , people like competitive sports , and so do I , but I think that hitting other people in an aggressive way is not something that should be regarded as a sport.

Every year, and more parents complain to their children’s schools about PE. They believe that their children shouldn’t have to participate in physical activity if they don’t want to. Supporters of PE, however, believe that it is a necessary element of all-round schooling and our society’s well-being. They insist PE in schools remains one of the few places by which the youth can be forced to participate in aerobic exercise.

Firstly, they believe that participation in sport promotes health. In fact physical education is a springboard for involvement in sport and physical activities throughout life. Government is, or should be, concerned with the health of its citizens. Encouraging physical activity in the young through compulsory PE fights child overweight and contributes to forming lifelong habits of exercise. This doesn’t have to be through traditional team sports; increasingly schools are able to offer exercise in the form of swimming, gymnastics, dance, etc.

Besides, physical education help to develop character and the mutual respect required to succeed in an adult environment. Playing team sports builds character and encourages students to work with others, as they would be expected to do in most business or sporting environments. Sport teaches children how to win and lose with good grace and builds a strong school spirit through competition with other institutions. It is often the experience of playing on a team together that builds the strongest friendships at school, which endure for years afterwards.

Finally, the pursuit for national sporting achievement begins in school. If schools don’t have compulsory PE, it is much harder to pick out, develop and equip athletes to represent the country on a wider stage. However, it’s much easier to find suitable individuals with a full sports program in every school.