3 . Some educators told us that more years of school could help students get higher scores on intelligence tests. That was a finding of a study of teenage males in some countries. Now, another research shows that physical activity may help students do better in their classes.

The research comes as educators in some countries are reducing time for activities like physical education. They are using the time instead for academic (学术的) subjects like math and reading. The studies included more than 55,000 children, aged 6 to 18.

Amika Singh: “According to the results of our study, we can conclude that being physically active is beneficial to academic performance. There are, first, physiological explanations, like more blood flow, and so more oxygen to the brain. Being physically active means there are more hormones (荷尔蒙) produced like endorphins (内啡肽). And endorphins make your stress level lower and your mood improved, which means you also perform better.”

Also, students taking part in organised sports learn rules and how to follow them. This could improve their classroom behaviour and help them keep their mind on their work.

The study leaves some questions unanswered, however. Ms. Stash says it is not possible to say whether the amount or kind of activity affected the level of academic improvement. This is because of differences among the studies.

The researchers said they found only two high quality studies. They needed more high quality studies to confirm (证实) their findings. They also pointed out that “results for other parts of the world may be quite different”.

Still, the general finding was that physically active kids are more likely to do better in school. MPs Singh says schools should consider that finding before they cut physical education programs. Her paper on “Physical Activity and Performance at School” is published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

5 . Although most games have winners and losers, the goal of sports is not to win every game. The real goals include getting exercises, having fun, and learning important social skills, like sportsmanship.

Good sportsmanship is all about respect. Good sports respect the other players on their team. They respect the players on opposing teams. They respect coaches and they also respect the referees (裁判) or other officials involved in their games.     1     They shout at their teammates and they talk back to coaches or referees.

Kids usually learn sportsmanship — good and bad — from the adults in their lives.     2     If parents and coaches show disrespect to other fans, referees, or each other, kids will likely act the same way on the field.

    3     some of them are very basic and easy to do, like shaking hands with other players before a game. Other examples may take a little more courage, such as acknowledging a great play made by the opposing team.

Learning good sportsmanship is important because it helps you develop an attitude of graciousness (礼貌) and respect that will carry over into all the other areas of your life!     4     Being a good sportsman in the classroom will eventually lead to being a good sportsman in the workplace.

So be a good sportsman in whatever you do!     5     When others see you acting in a way that makes it clear that winning isn’t the most important thing, you can move on to focusing on the important things, like having fun, getting exercise, and improving your skills.

6 . “Being a sports fan is a very psychologically healthy activity,” says Daniel Warm, professor at Murray State University whose research program centers on the psychology of sport fandom(运动迷). Fandom connects us to other like-minded people, which satisfies our human need for belonging, he says.

These relationships are significant: People who identify as sports fans have higher levels of self-esteem, lower levels of loneliness and tend to be more satisfied with their lives compared to those who aren’t interested in sports, Wann says. Fans tend to have more access to social support, help and resources as well. Research suggests that when people have support from their communities, they have better health.

Beyond bonding, fans get to enjoy the psychological benefits of winning, even if they have nothing to do with the players or games.

Of course, teams sometimes lose. Prior to a sporting event, there’s at least a 50-50 chance that you’re going to be disappointed in your outcome.

So, why do people continue to put their faith behind teams that tend to lose? People who feel a strong psychological connection to a team are more likely to root for a team when they’re having a losing season.

“Sports random has nothing to do with the outcome of a game,” Warm says. For example, if a pizza restaurant continually got your order wrong, you’d likely switch to a more reliable parlor(店铺). But because being a fan is so central to people’s identities, people are willing to accept defeat and continue to be loyal to a team.

Being part of a fan community can also help people cope with losses. A 2019 study found that watching a football game with other fans helps to relieve the negative psychological effects of losing. For fans of the losing team, sharing the pain may have protected them from losing self-esteem.

“There are other things that random brings with it above and beyond the ability to enjoy the team’s successes,” Warm says. Watching sports can be a way to relieve stress, or spend time with family, he says.

To that end, some surveys suggest that activities like March Madness pools can reduce productivity. Any sort of fandom can be distracting, but Warm says that talking about sports at work and spending time with people who share a common interest can make people more excited to go to work.

However, if you find you’re consuming so much sports content that your work is suffering, or it’s impacting your interpersonal relationships, then it can be a sign you should tone it down, he adds.

We all know the Olympic Games.     1     do you know the Mud Olympic Games which are sports games in the mud?

Every year, about 400 people from all over Europe meet in a small town in northern Germany     2    (take) part in the Mud Olympics — the     3    (muddy) sports meeting in the world. It is held     4     the beach when the tide (潮水) is out, so it is very muddy. The sports meeting     5    (have) many traditional sports like football, volleyball and bicycle races, as well as some special and new activities     6    (do) in the mud. It raises money for a local charity.

The ads for the sports meeting are     7    (extreme) interesting. One of the     8    (advertisement) says, “If you want to play, just put on the clothes that you don’t mind     9    (get) covered in mud and join us!” Viewers are more than welcome. So if you don’t care about the mud     10     can get you dirty, come and enjoy yourself!

8 . Exercise and I had never had a good relationship due to my fear of sports. From a young age, my dad _______ me into a dozen sports. I didn’t like any of them, _______.

When I entered the University of Regina, my dad _______ telling me “You have to find a way to stay _______.” or “You don’t want to get the Freshman 15, do you?” So I _______ to give swimming a shot, but I _______ managed to go to the pool twice during the fall semester (学期). Worse still, I was _______ to convince myself that’s OK.

The spring semester came. A friend of mine _______ me if I wanted to try Zumba (尊巴) with her. All I knew about Zumba was that it was basically a kind of exercise: dancing to Latin pop songs. It didn’t sound too bad, but I couldn’t be _______.

I went, and that was it. Zumba became my ________ of tea. The instructor would always say, “Don’t worry about the steps. Have fun. Do your own thing.” That removed my ________ of sports. I didn’t have to be ________. I didn’t even have to be good. I just needed to ________ the music and move. Zumba did ________ me from the Freshman 15, and it also did so much more. It let me make ________ with my unpleasant past about physical exercise, and enjoy staying healthy.

Last weekend our school held a sports meeting.    1     (realize) it was our last high school sports meeting, we decided    2    (make) it an unforgettable experience for all of us.

We first attended the opening parade, for    3    our class had made a lot of preparations. To our excitement, our parade performance was    4    great success. After the parade, the games started. My classmates attended various     5    (event) such as running, high jump and long jump. Because    6    the hard training they had done before, their performances were very    7    (impress). On the stand, my classmates applauded and cheered for the athletes, some raising their cameras to capture the exciting moments.    8     (final), the result was announced. It was    9     (amaze) that our class won the second place. Our efforts paid off! Cup in hand, we took a picture together.

I believe this sports meeting will remain a precious memory for all of us    10    time goes by.