2 . Teenagers have long been told that being active and taking part in various sports is good for their health. But new research suggests that too much sport for teenagers could negatively affect their well-being just as much as too little sport.

Researchers from Switzerland say their study suggests that 14 hours of physical activity a week is best for promoting good health in teenagers. However, they found that more than 14 hours appears to be detrimental to their health. To reach their findings, the researchers surveyed more than 1,245 teenagers aged between 16 and 20 from Switzerland.

All participants were required to answer questions on height and weight, sports practice, sports injuries and well-being. Their well-being was assessed(评估) using the World Health Organization (WHO) Well-Being Index,and the average well-being score for all participants was 17.

The researchers divided sports participation into low (0—3.5 hours a week), average (3.6— 10.5 hours), high (10.6— 17.5 hours), and very high (more than 17.5 hours).The researchers found that participants in the low and very high activity groups were more than twice as likely to have well-being scores below 13, compared with participants in the average group. The researchers found that the highest well-being scores were gotten by participants who carried cut around 14 hours of physical activity a week, but exercising beyond 14 hours resulted in lower well-being scores.

Commenting on their findings, the researchers say physical activity has been connected with positive emotional well-being, reduced sadness, anxiety and stress disorders, and improved self-respect in teenagers.

The researchers suggest that their study stresses the importance for physicians caring for teenagers to check their level of sports practice and ask them about their well-being. Teenagers probably need a supportive and closer follow-up of their health and well-being. The findings can provide information for guideline groups who produce recommendations on sports practice for teenagers.

3 . Most people in their eighties would consider themselves lucky not to have health problems, but this is not the case with Toshisuke Kanazawa. The 82-year-old Japanese bodybuilder is not only in perfect physical condition, but also looks better than a lot of men a quarter his age.

Kanazawa is a living example that you’re never too old to hit the gym and achieve the body you’ve always dreamed of. A champion bodybuilder in his youth, Kanazawa stopped exercising completely after he retired(退休) at age 34, drinking, smoking and eating whatever he liked. It wasn’t until he turned 50 that he wanted to regain the perfect body of his younger years.

Kanazawa’s wife felt sick frequently, and the former bodybuilder remembered that she had never been happier than when he won the national championship. So, to please her, he decided to return to the gym and completely change his diet.

His workout schedule had to change according to his age. In his youth, he would spend up to six hours training in the gym every day, and his body would recover within two days after a particularly intensive workout, but that was not the case anymore. He cut the daily gym time to three hours and started giving his body one week to recover after exercising every muscle group.

Kanazawa’s efforts paid off. In 2016, at the age of 80, Kanazawa defeated many opponents and placed sixth in the world in a match for bodybuilders over 65, and won the admiration of the crowd.

Sport keeps this elderly man healthy, as he has not suffered so much as a cold since he started bodybuilding again at age 50.

“I want to be a super old man in the bodybuilder community,” Kanazawa said, “If I have a goal, I can continue moving forward. I have to work much harder.”

7 . A new study has found that smiling at London bus drivers increases happiness. However, on the Number 24 bus to Hampstead Heath, Londoners are sceptical. “Bus drivers,” says Liz Hands, a passenger, “are generally annoying.”

It might seem improbable that a report on London’s buses could change behaviour. But it has happened before. London’s buses have an underappreciated role in the history of medical science. In the 1940s, a single study of London’s transport workers transformed epidemiology (流行病学), medicine and the way we live now. Every time you go on a run, check your step-count, or take the stairs instead of the lift, you are following a path pioneered by the feet of the workers on London’s buses.

In the late 1940s, doctors were worried. Britain, like many rich countries, was suffering from an “epidemic” of heart disease and no one knew why. Various hypotheses, such as stress, were suggested; but one thing that was not exercising researchers was exercise. The idea that health and exercise were linked “wasn’t the accepted fact that we know today”, says Nick Wareham, a professor of epidemiology at Cambridge University. Some even felt that “too much physical activity was a bad thing for your health”. Miners and farmers who did physical exercise also suffered from various diseases and died young.

At this time a young doctor called Jerry Morris started to suspect that the increasing deaths from heart disease might be linked to occupation. He began studying the medical records of 31,000 London transport workers. His findings were breathtaking: conductors, who spent their time running up and down stairs, had an approximately 30% lower possibility of disease than drivers, who sat down all day. Exercise was keeping people alive.

Morris’s research was eventually published in 1953, just three years after a study by Richard Doll proving the link between smoking and lung cancer. Morris’s work had consequences both big and small. Morris now also took up exercise, handing his jacket to his daughter and just running. “People thought I was bananas.” Slowly, the rest of the world took off its jacket and followed.

8 . My mother turned ninety. I knew I needed to find a senior _______ center. Not for her — for me. If I were at her age, I would want to stay in shape to _______ life, getting a lot of pleasure. Yes, walking in local parks was my _______, but I wasn’t so active as before.

I called a nearby center, “Do you have aerobics (有氧运动) classes _______ for seniors?” “Sure. Come and check us out! We start at 10 am,” the receptionist (接待员) replied and _______. The next morning, I went there. One part of me was _______ that the class was too easy, not doing me any good. The other part feared it was too hard for me to _______.

When I came into the room, a woman _______ me, “Oh, you’re new. Welcome.” Then the music started. The hour-long workout woke up the muscles I didn’t often _______ in daily walks, suiting me fine. I became a member there. My classmates ranged in age from fifty to ninety. Most gave the exercises their own ____________, doing as much or little as they could. ____________ no one kept score. Soon I learned physical well-being wasn’t the only ____________ there. During breaks, people chatted happily. Whenever some people were ____________ we asked around. Were they busy? Were they in hospital? Moreover, we signed cards for those who were ill.

I ____________ to be in good shape now as I’ve hoped. Still, I’m grateful for things more valuable from the class — close friendships and new social ____________.

How are you doing?

Yours,

Li Hua

10 . Marathon is one of the most difficult races in track and field, at a little over 42 kilometers. To be a world-class marathoner, you must run that distance in two and a half hours. But for some, completing a marathon race is a lifelong dream.

Jacqueline’s dream of being a world-class runner began when she was a child in Kenya. She soon realized she had the talent and the willpower to compete. She also knew she would have to train full-time, which meant not being able to work to help support her family. But she was confident that she could bring home prize money.

Jacqueline traveled to China to compete in the Zheng-Kai marathon knowing she had a good shot at winning the race, but more importantly, the $10,000 prize that went with it. She was leading the women’s division when a male runner arrived at the water station. The man had trouble drinking water because a birth defect (缺陷) had left him without hands, and he struggled to drink from a plastic bottle. But any assistance from fans or race officials would result in his disqualification. Jacqueline noticed the man and immediately knew that he needed help. She grabbed a water bottle and helped him get the water his body needed to complete the race.

Runner after runner passed Jacqueline. Her hopes of winning were getting lost in numerous runners ahead of her. With only 4 kilometers left in the race, and certain that the male runner would now finish, Jacqueline picked up her pace and finally finished second.

That day, Jacqueline missed out on first place, but she finished something more important: humanity. She returned home with the smaller prize of second place, but to her family, she brought home something much more valuable to home: the right example.