1 . Race walking shares many fitness benefits with running, research shows, while most likely contributing to fewer injuries. It does, however, have its own problem.

Race walkers are conditioned athletes. The longest track and field event at the Summer Olympics is the 50-kilometer race walk, which is about five miles longer than the marathon. But the sport’s rules require that a race walker’s knees stay straight through most of the leg swing and one foot remain in contact (接触) with the ground at all times. It’s this strange form that makes race walking such an attractive activity, however, says Jaclyn Norberg, an assistant professor of exercise science at Salem State University in Salem, Mass.

Like running, race walking is physically demanding, she says, According to most calculations, race walkers moving at a pace of six miles per hour would burn about 800 calories(卡路里) per hour, which is approximately twice as many as they would burn walking, although fewer than running, which would probably burn about 1,000 or more calories per hour.

However, race walking does not pound the body as much as running does, Dr. Norberg says. According to her research, runners hit the ground with as much as four times their body weight per step, while race walkers, who do not leave the ground, create only about 1.4 times their body weight with each step.

As a result, she says, some of the injuries associated with running, such as runner’s knee, are uncommon among race walkers. But the sport’s strange form does place considerable stress on the ankles and hips, so people with a history of such injuries might want to be cautious in adopting the sport. In fact, anyone wishing to try race walking should probably first consult a coach or experienced racer to learn proper technique, she says. It takes some practice.

3 . The Upside to Being Outside

Research shows that being in nature makes people feel good, whether they’re roughing it in the wilderness for days or just hanging out at a local park for a while. One study was conducted in the city of Birmingham, Alabama. Researchers found that most participants’ mood and well-being improved significantly when they spent time in urban parks, even though the average visit was only around half an hour.

    1     For example, scientists in the United Kingdom studied the impact of the “30 Days Wild” campaign. It challenged people to interact with nature for 30 days by enjoying earthy activities like feeding birds and planting flowers. Participants were measurably happier and healthier throughout the challenge…and for months afterwards, too.    2    

How does nature boost people’s happiness? Scientists say that spending time in natural settings reduces stress and anxiety, which benefits mental and physical health. Research shows our brains are more relaxed in natural settings.

To most people, it’s not news that nature can be calming. But multiple studies have found that spending time in nature also has some more surprising benefits, like improving creativity and problem-solving.     3     Another found that exposure to nature helped people score better on tests. That’s more proof that going outside is a smart move!

What accounts for the connection with cognition and creativity? It could be that a good dose of nature acts as a cure to information overload. Everyday life involves a lot of multitasking. Some scientists theorize that spending time in nature enables our brains to rest and recover from mental tiredness.     4    

Naturally, scientific studies don’t cover everything that’s great about the great outdoors.     5     From recreation and exercise to happiness and creativity, there are lots of upsides to getting outside.

I used to be very active in sports and games when I was in primary school. I won the B Division long jump and was a good sprinter (短跑运动员). As a result, I was chosen to represent the school in the long jump and relay events at the District Sports Meet. Before the sports meet, I had put in a lot of hard work and dedication during the training sessions. I woke up early every morning to go for runs and did countless drills to improve my technique. My teammates and I supported and encouraged each other during training, pushing ourselves to do better and achieve our goals.

The meet lasted two days, I had no events scheduled for the first day. So I kept myself busy by watching the others compete. Large tents were provided for the young competitors on one side of the track. Despite being assigned the last tent that was furthest from the track, I made the best of the situation by decorating it with our school colors and creating a supportive atmosphere.

The next day, I was getting ready for my events. The long jump was scheduled for the early afternoon, followed by the 8×50m relay later in the afternoon. I thought I was a pretty good jumper, but as the competition began, I realized I was vastly outclassed. We finished our jumps, and I came in fourth place, just missing out on a medal.

That was disappointing, but I reminded myself that we still had a chance in the 8×50m relay, for which I was assigned to run the fifth leg. The race date arrived. We filed into our assigned spots and prepared for the race. After a tense minute or so, I heard the starter’s gun go off. When the first runners took off, I watched nervously and excitedly as my team runners kept up with the others. As they got closer, I realized we were at least in second place.

My turn arrived and I took the baton (接力棒) cleanly and began my run.

As a result, I left the meet empty-handed.

6 . When I was in my fourth year of teaching，I was also（and am still）a high school track and field coach（田径教练）. One year，I had a student，John，who entered my class when he was a junior. John changed to our school from Greece，and seemed to be interested in sports，so I encouraged him to join our track team. I explained to him that even though he had never taken part in it before，I did believe that he could do well in any event，and that I would be willing to coach him in whichever ones interested him. He accepted the offer，and began to work hard at every practice.

About a month later，I had found out from other sources that John was a first-class tennis player，winning various junior awards in his home country. I went to him asking，“John，I really appreciate that you came out for the track team，but why didn’t you play tennis instead？It seems that would interest you a lot more，since you’re so good at it.”John answered，“Well，I like tennis，but you told me that you believed in me，and that you thought I could do well in track，so I wanted to try it for that reason.”

From then on，I often remember my student’s reply. I told it to a friend and she suggested I write it down to share somewhere with more teachers. No matter how critical（挑剔的）students can be of themselves，I’ve found that a simple“I trust that you can do it！”can go a long way！

7 . For some people, walking or running outdoors is a great way to exercise. What may not be so great is seeing rubbish all over the ground. Well, some people are doing something about it.     1     “Plogging” began in Sweden. The name connects the Swedish word “plocka,” which means to pick up, and the word “jogging,” which means to run slowly.

A Swedish man named Erik Ahlström, started the movement in 2016. He moved to Stockholm from a small community (社区) in northern Sweden. Each day he would ride his bike to work. He became worried about the amount of rubbish and litter he saw each day on his way to work. So, he took matters into his own hands. He began picking up the rubbish.     2    

Today, plogging is an official activity, which is becoming more and more popular. People of all ages are welcome to plog. Exercise while helping your community.     3     It can also build closer social connections in a community. When the street looks bad and it’s dirty, you're going to feel bad about the community. You may even feel less safe because of that. So if we’re all doing our part and picking it up, it’s very easy to help beautify it, and help build those social connection.     4     You get to feel some social duty when you do this.

Along with cleaning up the environment, there may be another reason to choose plogging instead of just jogging. You may get a better workout. One fitness app, Lifesum, records one hour of plogging as burning 288 calories.     5    

As can be seen, cities around the world now hold plogging events. The goal is to spread the idea that littering is not acceptable. People would think twice before dropping a garbage on the ground.

When the modern Olympic Games     1     (start) in 1896 in Athens, Greece, there was no such thing as the Winter Olympics.     2    (player) completed only in the Summer Games. However, there were the Nordic Games. There was a(n)     3    (compete) of winter sports that took place every few years starting in 1901. But the Nordic Games were only to athletes     4    Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

The winter sports were popular, so in 1924 an International Winter Sports Week     5     (hold) in Chamonix, France. About 250 athletes from 16 countries   competed in nine sports   and there were 11 female athletes,     6     competed in figure skating.

Still, the Winter Olympics were under way, adding more sports to the games and     7     (especial) more sports for women. Women got the chance     8    (take) part in skiing, ice hockey(冰球）    9     other sports. Now the Games have such     10    (interest) events as snowboarding and skeleton(俯式冰橇）.