1 . The design of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic torch (火炬) was shown on July 25, marking almost a year until the opening ceremony (典礼) of the Paris Olympic Games.

The torch, measuring 70 centimeters and weighing 3.3 pounds, is made with lightweight radiant steel and is known for its champagne color, a color of French white wine.

Mathieu Lehanneur, the designer of the torch said that he drew inspiration from three Paris 2024 symbols-equality, water and   peacefulness. Equality is shown by perfect balance. Peacefulness is shown by the gentleness of the curves. The lower half features a relief pattern that copies the movement of the River Seine, along which the opening ceremony will be held.

It will be the first torch in the history of the Games to be used for both the Olympics and Paralympics. Past designs have shared similarities but are different in shape and color. This is part of the organizing committee’s plan to “build bridges between the Olympic and Paralympic Games”, Paris 2024’s president Tony Estanguet said in a statement.

Equality means putting the same ambition into organising the Paralympic Games as the Olympic Games. Following on from the medals to the mascots, the Olympic and Paralympic Games will share the same torch design.

Equality in the Paris 2024 project is also reflected in the strong promise to equality in the Olympic Games: For the first time in the history of the Games, as many women as men will take part in the competitions. Reflecting this desire for peace, the torch, with its curves and rounded lines, is filled with   gentleness. The design of the torch delivers generosity and unity.

“Such a project is a dream for a designer, because it’s a project that connects something symbolic and technical in one, for a big moment,” Lehanneur said.

2 . London Lions Season Tickets for 2023/2024

Date: Fri., 29 Sept. 2023 — Fri., 24 May 2024

Location: Copper Box Arena, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London

Please Note

Tickets Now Available! Valid (有效的) on all remaining home BBL Championship and Euro Cup games. Your ticket barcode can be downloaded to your phone or printed at home and will be required for scanning at all games. A max of 10 tickets per person and per household applies. Tickets over 10 will be cancelled. Musical or noisy items are not allowed in the courtside or bench seats.

Standard Tickets

Adult Ticket: £15.00

Under 18s Ticket: £8.00 (Proof of age may be required. )

Family Ticket: £38.00 (2×Adult, 2×Child)

Accessible Tickets

Accessible tickets are available to purchase online. Please select the relevant price type. The free companion ticket must be added at the time of booking along with the accessible ticket, and ensure the seats are together. Proof of disability must be provided before the event. Tickets will be cancelled if misuse is suspected or found. By purchasing an accessible ticket, you confirm that you or a member of your party require accessible tickets.

5 . Was there a Chinese soccer team at the Qatar 2022 World Cup? No. But one couldn’t miss Chinese technologies in and around the stadiums in this desert state: “mobile hotels” for having a rest, ponds for drinking water, the photovoltaic (光伏发电的) power stations for charging mobile phones with electricity, etc.

Did we forget something? Yes, even some stadiums were built by Chinese companies, while the gifts you could buy there, too, were made in China.

That was how China had participated in this World Cup and earlier matches, and might do so in the upcoming ones too: by providing products and services to the athletes and audiences. Those all impressed the world deeply with its technology and products.

While “Made in China” had left its stamp on earlier soccer World Cups and other sports events, what made the Qatar World Cup unique was the kinds of China’s technologies. For example, the Stadium 974, which was built by Chinese companies, was a movable “green stadium”. It could collect rainwater for future use and made the waste collected from the stadium into fertilizer (肥料). Besides, China had built an 800 MW photovoltaic station that constantly turns the rich sunshine in the Middle East into electricity for the stadium. “If those technologies had appeared in Russian 2018 World Cup, it would have been a much better one.” added a Russian football lover.

Another reason that had made it possible for Chinese companies to perform well in the World Cup was that China had developed a good economic growth. Although the whole world suffered from economic slowdown and recession because of the COVID-19 and other reasons, Chinese companies had largely continued to function normally.

6 . With the recent discussion about the health benefits of fish oil and other wellness plans, it can make you feel less worried to know that one thing never changes: Exercise is good for your health. Any movement, even walking, brings about a host of cardiovascular(心血管的)effects that can help you live longer, feel better, and not run out of breath when chasing children or small animals.

The question of how much exercise is best, though, is open to discussion. The answer often depends on your goals. For heart health, sessions four to five times weekly might be perfect. For mental health? As The Independent reports, scientists believe there’s a pretty specific prescription(处方): Exercising for 45 minutes three to five times a week.

Researchers at Yale University and the University of Oxford made the study. They examined 1.2 million subjects(实验对象)who filled out the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey at two-year intervals(间隔时间)between 2011 and 2015.

Subjects who didn’t exercise at all had an average of three-and-a-half days per month when they felt mentally unwell — stressed, depressed, or suffering from emotional problems — while those who exercised regularly reported an average of just two days.

The study found that having three to five 45-minute sessions of exercise a week was best for reducing the reported problems of feeling stressed or depressed. Exercising for longer periods — some subjects reported more than 90 minutes in the gym — was connected with a drop-off in mental health benefits. Subjects who spent three hours at a time exercising actually reported an increase in depressive symptoms(症状).

Researchers also found that the kind of exercise undertaken made a difference. While all kinds of exercise helped, people who took part in team sports promoting social communication and gym classes like cycling described greater self-satisfaction with mental health.

Because the study included self-reported outcomes and exercise wasn’t monitored, it’s possible that the subjects could have misread the amount of exercise performed. The study, however, makes a convincing case for a popular opinion: If exercise were a pill, doctors everywhere would be prescribing it.

8 . A lot of teens in high school want to try out for sports.     1     While this may seem like a silly reason, there are lots of other advantages of sports that your child may fail to notice. Here are some reasons that you’ll find comforting.

With TV, movies, computers, and video games becoming more and more popular, it has become so much easier for teens to be by themselves. Kids used to hang out at the mall or drive around town.     2     Getting your teen into a sport gives them a chance to go out and socialize.

One of the biggest problems in our society today is obesity (肥胖症).     3     Joining a team sport will help your teen get out and get some exercise without feeling pressured to lose weight.

You may think “but my teen isn’t good enough to make the school team”.     4     You can always check out the YMCA or other “for-fun” leagues. You could look into more obscure (鲜为人知的) sports that you may not have thought of. If you do a little research, you’re sure to find something your teen will enjoy.

Team sports are a great way for your teen to get out of the house, get moving, make friends, and even get a scholarship (奖学金) to college.     5    

10 . Chinese and US table tennis players play a friendly game in Shanghai this month. Ping-pong, or table tennis, might seem like an ordinary game to play with friends or family. But it holds a special place in China-US relations, as it has helped both countries get along for the last 50 years. This has been called “ping-pong diplomacy (外交)”.

Judy Hoarfrost was just 15 years old when she was sent from the US to China as part of a nine-member table tennis team. The year was 1971, and for the before 20 years, relations between China and the US had been unfriendly.

But as the team toured around China, things started warming up. Hoarfrost even got to meet then-Premier Zhou Enlai. “The most memorable moment was Zhou shaking hands with me and looking into my eyes,” Hoarfrost recalled excitedly. “You have opened a new page in Sino-US relationships,” Zhou told the team.

US president Richard Nixon would make a landmark (里程碑) visit to China in 1972, which also saw Chinese table tennis players make their own visit to the US. Diplomatic relations between the US and China were fully established in 1979.

Players from both countries believed strongly in the idea of “friendship first, competition second”. To this day, many of them remain friends. Hoarfrost thinks we should remember ping-pong diplomacy in order to understand the importance of people-to-people exchanges in establishing bonds, human bonds between peoples.

Seeing tension (紧张) between two of the world’s biggest powers in recent years, Hoarfrost said China and the US should work together. “We have so much in common, and we need to build on what we have in common,” she added.