2 . Running is often tiring and a lot of hard work, but nothing beats the feeling you get after finishing a long workout around the track.

But while it’s long been believed that endorphins (内啡肽) —chemicals in the body that cause happiness—are behind the so-called “runner’s high”, a study suggested that there may be more to this phenomenon than we previously knew.

According to a recent study published by a group of scientists from several German universities, a group of chemicals called endocannabinoids (内源性大麻素) may actually be responsible for this familiar great feeling.

To test this theory, the scientists turned to mice. Both mice and humans release high levels of endorphins and endocannabinoids after exercise. After exercising on running wheels, the mice seemed happy and relaxed and displayed no signs of anxiety. But after being given a drug to block their endorphins, the mice’s behavior didn’t seem to change. However, when their endocannabinoids were blocked with a different drug, their runners’ high symptoms seemed to fade.

“The long-held notion of endorphins being responsible for the runner’s high is false. Endorphins are effective pain relievers, but only when it comes to the pain in your body and muscles you feel after working out,” Patrick Lucas Austin wrote on science blog Lifchacker.

Similar studies are yet to be carried out on humans, but it’s already known that exercise is a highly effective way to get rid of stress or anxiety. The UK’s National Health Service even prescribes (开药 方) exercise to patients who are suffering from depression. “Being depressed can leave you feeling low in energy, which might put you off being more active. Regular exercise can improve your mood if you have depression, and its especially useful for people with mild to moderate (中等的) depression,” it wrote on its website.

It seems like nothing can beat that feeling we get after a good workout, even if we don’t fully understand where it comes from. At least if we’re feeling down, we know that all we have to do is to put on our running shoes.

On Saturday night, a five-person team of the Chinese e-sports club, with the full name EDward Gaming,     1     (win) the 2021 League of Legends (LoL) World Championship in Iceland. The team has made very good use of the opportunity     2     (share) Chinese culture with the world. At the beginning of the championship, the members of EDG displayed Tai Chi martial arts, launching a “Chinese hurricane” there.

With the popularity of digital technology, new forms of cultural exchanges have been emerging, of which e-sports are of the     3     (hot). Unlike texts and videos, e-sports are understandable around the world, with the barriers of language     4     (break) down. Also e-sports appeal most to those in     5     (they) early 20s, as shown by the celebrations of college students on Saturday night,     6     in turn makes them a good bridge of communication between Chinese youngsters and their peers around the world. More     7    (important), the e-sports industry is sustainable in spreading Chinese culture, as the large audiences mean huge commercial potential.

As early as 2019, Hainan province announced its plan of building     8     international e-sports center. On Nov 5, the 2022 Asian Games Committee announced it had listed eight e-sports     9     events in the Games. As more Chinese star gaming clubs and teams appear, the industry     10     (expect) to further grow and continue spreading Chinese culture to the world.

5 . It’s 6:15 a.m. on a school day, and Jocelyn Murzycki has two kids and she needs to get out the door in an hour. As the sky begins to _______, Murzycki doesn’t manage a few more minutes of sleep. _______, she’s heading out in the freezing cold on her daily plog —a run to_______ litter.

First, the_______ are: a litter grabber(垃圾夹具) and a reusable shopping bag, one side for landfill(废物填的填埋) and the other for _______. Covering herself up, Murzycki jogs _______ down Main Street, stopping briefly to pick up a plastic cup. She usually needs to stop halfway through her 20-minute run to _______ her bag. Within a few hours the street will look littered again. But she isn’t_______—it just adds fuel to her plogging fire.

The word “plogging” comes from plogga, a _______ of two Swedish words that mean to pick up and to jog. The activity was ________by Erik Ahlstrom. When he moved to Stockholm, he felt________ at the amount of litter in the streets and began gathering friends to clean up the neighborhood while out for runs. Now Mr. Ahlstrom is traveling the world, making the ________ of plogging known to the public. In the U.S., social media and running groups are ________ people to get out and plog: the “plogging” tag (标签) alone has more than 40,000 posts.

Murzycki has been doing this for a few years even before the trend hit the U.S. “It really is super________ if you go out every single day and just pick up litter,” she says. But she’s figured out how to make it fun by jogging with friends and adding the ________ and she adds one push-up(俯卧撑), finding a tiny glass bottle.

Mike’s Lucky Ice Cream

Mike licked(舔)the last of the chocolate ice cream. It was almost time to leave. He jumped into the car with his parents and headed to the swimming pool for the big swim meet(运动会).

When his race began, Mike was confident. He was strong and fast. Mike climbed out of the pool, smiling. He had just won the first place, making him the fastest boy in his age group. He walked towards his parents. “Congratulations, son!” his father said. His mom hugged him.

A week later, it was time for another swim meet. Like before, Mike decided to enjoy his favorite chocolate ice cream before leaving home. Mike remembered that the last time he had won a race, he also ate chocolate ice cream first. Maybe he would win again. Yes, the result was what he had expected.

Gradually, Mike got used to having some chocolate ice cream before every one of the next swim meets. He began to think of it as his lucky charm(吉祥物). His parents didn’t think it a great idea but Mike argued that he needed to eat it to win.

After several months of being the top one of every race he swam, though he wouldn’t admit it, he was also starting to feel a little uncomfortable. All that ice cream was adding a few pounds to him. Practices were getting a little harder for Mike to keep the speeds he was used to getting.

Soon Mike became the last one in his races. The lucky chocolate ice cream lost its magic. Mike didn’t know what to do. He had been certain that it was the ice cream that helped him win.

On the day of his next swim meet, his mother told him it was not a good idea to eat so much ice cream because of its high fat and sugar. Maybe it was time to stop. Mike followed his mother’s advice, unwillingly. He lost the game again.

His father decided to help him.

It was the last meet of the season(赛季), and Mike wasn’t sure what the result would be.