1 . Some Winter Activities

Winter activities are underestimated (低估). The days may be shorter, but the list of fun activities isn’t. Don’t let the winter blues take over.     1    

Finding your favourite.     2     Nobody likes cardio (有氧运动) for a long time, but signing up for an adult sports team, or taking a yoga class on the weekend can be a fun way to break up the boredom of going to the gym. Recreational (娱乐的) sports are also a great way to meet new people.

Walking on snow.     3     Walking with snowshoes is friendly to beginners, and suitable for kids and seniors alike. You can buy a set for under $100 or rent some for the afternoon. Take a friend or walk alone to enjoy the peacefulness of the outdoors in winter.

Skiing. Those that love it really love it. Hitting the ski hills is an old wintertime tradition. It gets you outside, boosts your mood, and serves as a core workout. You don’t need the latest gear (设备) to be able to have fun.     4     If you’re feeling tired of too much indoor time, get your heart pumping at a nearby ski hill.

    5     Taking an online class, or picking up an instrument for the first time, can be incredibly rewarding. Expanding your professional skill can do wonders for your future job prospects. It may take a little planning, but consider learning something new this season.

2 . Trainers and parents saw children play sports at a young age and then saw them become professional. Many correlated the training to success. Competitive sports are good for young children because they teach children life skills, provide health benefits, and offer special opportunities.

To begin with, sports teach children life skills. A formal athlete stated, “I played soccer in high school and college and found team sports weren’t just about winning, but also about developing a solid ethic(行为准则), and learning why that’s important.” In short, playing highly competitive sports teaches kids many life skills like teamwork. People will have to use teamwork for the rest of their life, and sports can help them improve that skill. Taking part in sports can help develop a positive attitude towards life, which will help in the long run.

Sports are also good for kids because they provide health benefits. It is healthier for a kid to play a sport competitively than to waste time playing video games all day. Furthermore, a research group of University of California said, “96 percent of the participants(参与者) said they enjoy their sports. They’re all loving life.” That is to say, kids playing highly competitive sports tend to enjoy life instead of doing something else like watching TV.

On the other hand, some people might argue that competitive sports are bad for young children because they are so time-consuming. However, the time spent is not “robbing” kids of their childhood, but offers unique opportunities. Athletes can get success to live their dream life by playing sports. Even though sports are time-consuming, they offer distinctive opportunities.

In conclusion, competitive sports are good for children because they can provide wholesome benefits, create new experiences, and build skills that will last a lifetime.

3 . Olympic Games organizers in France presented the 2024 Olympic torch (火炬) that will light the Summer Games in the country a year from now. In the Olympic torch tradition, many people carry the torch in turn from Greece to the current location of the Games. After it has traveled thousands of kilometers. the torch will light the Olympic cauldron (火炬台) at the Opening Ceremony of the next Olympic Games.

French designer Mathieu Lehanneur created the torch. which is 70 centimeters long and made of lightweight steel. Lehanneur said its shape is inspired by the famous Seine River, which flows through Paris. He said the torch is equal from top to bottom and all around the middle, which stands for equality between athletes. The twisting shape of the torch represents peace.

The torch was made with lightweight steel. Its lower half copies the movement of the Seine, along which the opening ceremony will take place for over 500,000 viewers.

Lehanneur said he wants the torch to represent the kind of event that Paris 2024 hopes to be. “I wanted to move away from the torch appearing as an object of conquest (征服),” Lehanneur said. He also told reporters that designing the torch was much more techn1cal than he thought it would be. “The magic is not the torch itself. but the flame” Lehanneur said.

The torch will be lit up in Olympia, Grecce on April 16, 2024, followed by a nine day torch relay before sailing across the Mediterranean Sea from Athens to Marseille on May 8. It will then pass through several important places , which include Strasbourg , the Pantheon in Paris, the Mont Saint-Michel and multiple French territories.

Tony Estanguet, the Paris 2024 chief, said the torch is “very ,very beautiful”. He also said it is “...very pure, It’s perfectly balanced in the hand.”

5 . Ways to Develop Self-discipline

Five years ago, I was the heaviest I’ve weighed in my life. When I would run, I’d immediately get tired. The worst part is that I had no motivation to get healthier—until I threw my back out.     1     When I went to physical therapy (治疗), the young woman helping me pointed to my stomach and said, “we need to awaken these muscles.” From that point on, I knew I had to change. I had to think about how to develop self-discipline with eating and working out.

    2    But I eventually lost 30 pounds and have maintained a consistent workout schedule for the past five years. Of course, self-discipline is bigger than just physical health. Having discipline helps us grow, makes us reliable, and strengthens our moral framework. Here’s how to develop self-discipline.

Set clear end goals.     3     If we don’t set clear goals, we’ll float around like feathers in the breeze. If you want to be disciplined, set clear and measurable goals. Then display those goals where you’ll see them every day.

Do the small things. We all want big change quickly. It doesn’t happen that way, though. Self-discipline starts by performing small activities consistently. The small things add up to big results.     4     Every small act of faithfulness makes your self-discipline stronger.

Keep record of your progress. It’s pointless to have goals if you aren’t measuring whether or not you are moving toward them. When I don’t track my progress, I stop doing things I need to do and become lazy. It’s easy to lack discipline when you lose focus on where you’re going.    5    

6 . It is Britain’s most brutal running race—268 miles non-stop along the Pennine Way. Jasmin Paris, who is still breastfeeding her daughter, beat 136 other competitors from 15 countries, 125 men included, to win the Montane Spine Race.She broke the men’s record by over 12 hours.

To train for the race, Paris had to get up at 4, when she would head out for runs in the hills around her home while her family were still in bed. She also went on plenty of long hikes with her baby.

She was on the course for 83 hours and 12 minutes, pausing to power nap and eat for only seven hours. She had to carry everything she needed and had to navigate using a map and compass, mostly alone and in the dark. But she was relentless（坚韧的). Almost 20 hours after she had finished, only two men had completed the race, with everyone else either still on the course or retired.

Top British ultra runner and former Spine Race finisher Damian Hall says: “Her performance was extraordinary—one of the great British ultra-running performances.” Olympian Jo Pavey says Paris’s performance was “awesome and inspiring.”

Since finishing, Paris has caught lots of attention, with television appearances and Chelsea Clinton tweeting about her victory. “This has been harder than the race,” she says. “At least then I just had one job to do: keep putting one foot in front of the other.” All she craves now is a good night’s sleep.