Have you ever imagined making a robot on your own? Well, now it’s your showtime!

Did you know many adults sit for more than nine hours a day? Whether it’s working at a desk, sitting in a car,     1     lying on the sofa watching TV, we have     2     much more sedentary (惯于久坐不动的) lifestyle than our parents and grandparents did. The question that this raises is: what is it doing to our bodies?

The news isn’t good. If you live a sedentary lifestyle, you have a     3    (high) chance of being overweight, having diabetes or heart disease, and experiencing depression and anxiety. A study carried out in the 1950s     4    (compare) bus drivers with the conductors,     5     walked around the bus selling tickets. It showed that drivers were twice as likely     6    (have) heart attacks than the more active conductors. In fact, prolonged     7    (sit) has been connected with a number of different conditions. If you sit all day, you burn far fewer calories than someone with a more active job.

One possible answer to this problem is for desk workers     8    (use) standing desks, to spend at least part of a day on their feet. Other experts point out that standing all day can also have negative     9    (impact), such as leg or back pain, recommending that if people do want to use standing desks, they should     10    (gradual) increase the amount of standing time. They also point out that walking is a better choice because it burns far more calories than standing.

4 . The Importance of Having Fun While Exercising

Enjoying your workout can be a complete game changer. Be prepared to discover how enjoying exercise can make you healthier and happier.

Make exercise more fun

The Heart Matters magazine gives a few suggestions on how to make exercise more fun, such as asking others to join you and exercising for a specific cause (like a marathon for raising funds for an organization).     1     But why?

Research shows that enjoying your exercise can be important for its long-term effect. When you pay attention to what you choose and want to do, rather than what you have to do, it changes your mind.     2    

Another very real benefit of enjoying your workout is that if you enjoy it, you are more likely to stick to it. Most people would rather do something that brings them pleasure than something boring and unpleasant. So, what do you find enjoyable? What is fun for you?

Different types of exercise

    3     Running is an excellent form of exercise, as is walking. Dance classes can be super fun as well. Playing sports is a form of exercise that shouldn't be forgotten.

Gyms that require a lot of equipment are not always available or possible.     4     Team sports like basketball, tennis or kickball with friends are great for your fitness.

Besides, you can also do other exercises.     5     Those are all excellent forms of exercise.

6 . Most people who ran the marathon last month spent days before resting up and days after recovering. But not Jacky Hunt-Broersma. In total, she ran 104 marathons in 104 days. If it’s confirmed by Guinness World Records, that would be a new world record. And she did it all with one leg and a prosthesis (假肢).

“Someone able-bodied had done it previously. I wanted to see if I could do it on a prosthetic leg and see what would happen,” she said. “I thought it would be a great way to inspire others to push their limits because I truly believe that we’re stronger than what we think. And I’ve been so pleasantly surprised that my body is held up, everything is held up and I’ve made it to 104.”

She actually did not pick up the sport until after she lost the lower part of her left leg in 2001 to a type of cancer called Ewing sarcoma. Runners using a prosthetic leg can’t use a regular one. They need a running blade (刀锋式跑步义肢). Hunt-Broersma has two, but she was only able to run with one because of the swelling she experienced in her left leg that made it impossible to connect to the other blade. But even with the pain that occurred, she has been able to put up with it and continued.

All together, Hunt-Broersma ran over 4, 385 kilometers. During that time she has had a lot of time to think and has learned a few things about herself. “It has taught me how strong one can be and how important absolute determination is. If you’re mentally strong, you can do anything,” she said. “And our bodies are just amazing...This whole journey was impressive and super hard, but it’s told me how strong I can be as a person and how far I can push myself.”

My occupation is an     1     (architecture). I had only swum in open water a few times, and always in gentle lakes, so how rough Lake Windermere appeared on a cold day was not     2     I was prepared for.     3     was acknowledged that the water might feel colder than it had been measured, and that the water was a bit rough. But I, along with 10,000 others, was about to face the challenge. The task might sound     4     (ambition). I said to my family members, “At this time tomorrow I will be swimming in the lake.”

Most of the participants were doing a one-mile race, and 10 races were planned over the weekend. The participants ranged from very old people to very young swimmers. The oldest woman competing was 77, taking part in the two-mile race, alongside a man who last year swam in every one-mile race.

It was the third one-mile race of the day that     5     (chose) by me three days before. There were over 600 participants in my race. After being taken through a preparation area, we felt how cold the water was. “Not too bad” was everyone’s thought! Then we headed out towards the middle of the lake.

I stared at the lake for some time, wondering if I could finish the competition smoothly. Though     6     (warn) that the first 100 meters would be really rough, somewhere near the 750m mark I was still waiting for the calm. It felt more like swimming in the sea than a lake. I tried to focus on my breathing and skill, and just constantly made an effort     7     (swim). Hardly had I approached the 400m-to-go mark when my lower right leg became incredibly painful. I began to feel the entire le g tight and exhausted. No matter how terrible I felt, I didn’t want to stop, so I bent my right knee and just kicked with the left leg. The     8     (consume) of my energy was so high.

My finishing time was 38 minutes 25 seconds but that didn’t matter—the atmosphere was absorbing and everyone felt a sense of achievement, whatever their time was. It was my perseverance that contributed to my finishing the race. The success could boost my     9     (confident). I’m attracted and want to give it another go. If possible, I will sign up for my next open-water swim. Now this is an activity I am willing to engage     10    .

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua