1 . Open water swimming

I had only swum in open water a few times, and always in gentle lakes, so I wasn’t prepared for how rough Lake Windermere appeared on a cold day. A swimmer told me the water felt colder than it had been measured, and that the water was a bit rough. But I, along with 10,000 others, was about to complete the challenge.

Most of the people taking part were doing a one-mile race, and 10 races were planned over the weekend. There seemed to be a mix of open-water enthusiasts alongside complete beginners—which is precisely the aim of the swims, to get as many people as possible completing their own challenge. The oldest woman competing was 77, taking part in the two-mile race, alongside a man who last year had swum in every one-mile race.

I had chosen the third one-mile race of the day. There were over 600 people in my race. We were taken through an acclimatization area, a children’s paddling pool-sized part of the lake where we moved in to feel how cold the water was. “Not too bad” was everyone’s thought! Then we headed out towards the middle of the lake.

We’d been warned that the first 100 metres would be really rough. However, somewhere near the 750m mark I was still waiting for the calm; it felt more like swimming in the sea than a lake. I tried to focus on my breathing and technique, and just keep going. As I approached the 400m-to-gomark my lower right leg became painful. I recalled overhearing people talking about how they kept swimming through the pain, so I tried. But it didn’t work. I began to feel the entire leg tight and painful. I didn’t want to stop, so I bent my right knee and just kicked with the left leg.

Finally I saw the finishing post, and I just concentrated on getting there—still one-legged. My finishing time was 38 minutes 25 seconds but that didn’t matter—the atmosphere was fantastic and everyone felt a sense of achievement, whatever their time. I’m hooked, and want to give it another go. I’ve already signed up for my next open-water swim.

2 . The Vitality Big Half gets underway this morning. It was first launched last year and saw 11 ,000 take part, with the aim of bringing Londoners together and celebrating the diversity of the capital. A festival is being held at the finish line with music, food and activities throughout the day.

The strong winds this morning unfortunately mean that the scheduled music performances from local talents have had to be cancelled as it's impossible to build the temporary stage structures for the festival. The food will still be available and the event will include cooking classes from MasterChef Steve Kielty, and there will also be running challenges, trampolining（蹦床运动）, craft making and gardening advice.

When the half marathon starts:

The Vitality Big Half will start from 9 am by Tower Bridge, as well as The New Balance Big Relay.

The 2.4-mile Little Half will start at 12: 45 from Southwark Park, while The Vitality Big Mile will start at Greenwich Park from 12: 30.

Greenwich Park will also be where The Vitality Big Festival is held between 9 am and 4 pm today.

What is the route:

The Big Half will be starting at Tower Bridge and runners will then follow a 13.1-mile route that will take them past Shadwell and Limehouse, before circling around Canary Wharf.

Half marathon runners will then follow up the River Thames back towards Wapping and then go over Tower Bridge and head towards Southwark Park.

The route continues along the south side of the River Thames and circles around Rotherhithe before joining the Little Half runners and travelling through Deptford towards the finish line at Cutty Sark.

How to watch the runners:

You can go to various points along the route to watch the runners in person, watch them at home on your TV or watch them online.

3 . Don’t Take the Fun Out of Youth Sports

When I joined a private football league a few years ago, the sport meant everything to me.

My coach said that I had lots of potential, and I became captain of my _________. That was before all the fun was taken out of _________. At first, everyone on the team got _________ playing time. Then the team moved up to the top division after winning all its games, and the _________ started. Some parents, who had paid the coach extra so their daughters could have _________ one-on-one training, got angry when she didn’t give them more playing time in our _________. The coach was _________ . The new coach, however, took all the fun out of the game: all we did during practice was _________. I always wished to God that it would rain so we would not have the _________. Of course, all teams run drills(操练); they are __________. But we ran so much that, afterwards, we had trouble __________. Younger people shouldn’t be doing exercises __________ for 18-year-olds. I was very thin __________ I started football, but as a member of this team I wouldn’t eat much, because I was afraid of being too __________ to run. I feared making mistakes, and the added pressure caused me to make more than my usual __________. Is all this pressure necessary?

I __________ up leaving the football team. Four other girls did the same, and two of them stopped playing football completely. That’s __________, because they had so much potential. They were just burned-out with all the pressure they felt from the coach or their parents. I continued playing football at school and __________ my love for it. I joined a private team coached by my school coach. When I started playing for him, he told me I needed to __________ because I looked nervous. After I __________ down, I played better. When you enjoy something, it’s a lot easier to do it well.

4 . My track and field coach, Mr. Jones, had decided to get the team to take part in the 4×100m race. It would be the first time that we were running in such a race. We needed to work as a team to improve our speed. The most critical moment was the passing of the baton (接力棒) at the right time to the next runner.

Mr. Jones had chosen me to start the race. The next runner would be Susan. In the beginning, whenever we practiced passing the baton, something would go terribly wrong. I would either be going too slowly or she would be taking off too late. We needed to perfect it. At the same time, I had to make sure that I would not go beyond the yellow line.

Finally it was the day of the race. We were confident that the gold medal would be ours. Each of us had improved in our running speed. Our passing of the baton had been perfected during the practices.

My reactions were exact and accurate as I started running. Everything felt the way it should be as I sprinted towards Susan. I held the baton in my sweaty palms, promising myself not to let it go. My long legs moved me as fast as I could go round the corner. As I came closer to my final steps, my heart was beating faster than usual. The cheering by the spectators (观众) got into me and I became nervous. “What if we lose?” I thought to myself. It was then that I saw Susan in the far distance.

I held out the baton and continued running quickly towards Susan. Susan yelled “Slow down, slow down!” However, it was too late. The official held up the red flag. It was then that I realized that I had gone beyond the yellow line.

5 . People think children should play sports. Sports are fun, and children keep healthy while playing with others. However, playing sports can have _______ effects on children. It may produce feelings of poor self-respect or aggressive behavior in some children. According to research on kids and sports, 40,000,000 kids play sports in the US. Of these, 18,000,000 say they have been _______ at or called names while playing sports. This leaves many children with a bad _______ of sports. They think sports are just too aggressive.

Many researchers believe adults, especially parents and coaches, are the main _______ of too much aggression in children's sports. They believe children _______ aggressive adult behavior. This behavior is then further strengthened through both positive and negative feedback. Parents and coaches are powerful teachers because children usually look up to them. Often these adults behave aggressively themselves, sending children the message that _______ is everything. Many parents go to children's sporting events and shout _______ at other players or cheer when their child behaves _______. As well, children are even taught that hurting other players is _______ or are pushed to continue playing even when they are injured. __________, the media makes violence seem exciting. Children watch adult sports games and see violent behavior replayed over and over on television.

As a society, we really need to __________ this problem and do something about it. Parents and coaches in particular should act as better examples for children. They also need to teach children better __________. They should not just cheer when children win or act aggressively. They should teach children to __________ themselves whether they win or not. __________, children should not be allowed to continue to play when they are injured. If adults allow children to play when injured, this gives the message that health is not as __________ as winning.

6 . Why play sports? You might say “to get exercise” and you would be right. To have fun? That's true, too. But there's more.     1     According to the Women's Sports Foundation, girls who play sports get a lot more than just fit.

Girls who play sports do better in school. You might think that athletics will take up all your study time.     2     Exercise improves learning, memory, and concentration, which can give active girls an advantage in the classroom.

Girls who play sports learn teamwork and goal-setting skills.     3     When working with coaches, trainers , and teammates to win games and achieve goals, you're learning how to be successful. Those skills will serve you well at work and in family life.

Sports are good for a girl's health. In addition to being fit and keeping a healthy weight, girls who play sports are also less likely to smoke. And later in life, girls who exercise are less likely to get breast cancer or osteoporosis(骨质疏松症).

Playing sports improves self-confidence.     4     Why? It builds confidence when you know you can practice, improve, and achieve your goals. Sports are also a feel-good activity because they help girls get in shape, keep a healthy weight, and make new friends.

    5     Playing sports can reduce stress and help you feel a little happier. How? The brain chemicals leased during exercise improve a person's mood. Friends are another mood-lifter. And being in a team creates tight bonds between friends. It's good to know your teammates will support you-both on and off the field!

9 . In 1997, a group of twenty British women made history. Working in five teams with four women in each team, they walked to the North Pole. Apart from one experienced female guide, the other women were all ordinary people who had never done anything like this in their lives before. They managed to survive in an environment which had defeated several very experienced men during the same period.

Once on the ice, each woman had to ski along while dragging a sledge (雪橇) weighing over 50 kilos. This would not have been too bad on a smooth surface, but for long stretches (一片地域), the Arctic ice is pushed up into huge piles two or three meters high and the sledges had to be pulled up on side and carefully let down the other so that they didn’t crash. The temperature was always below freezing point and sometimes strong winds made walking while pulling so much weight almost impossible. It was also very difficult to put up their tents when they stopped each night.

In such conditions the women were making good progress if they covered fourteen or fifteen kilometers a day. But there was another problem. Part of the journey was across a frozen sea with moving water underneath the ice and at some points the team would drift (漂流) back more than five kilometers during the night. That meant that after walking in these very terrible conditions for ten hours on one day, they had to spend part of the next day covering the same ground again. Furthermore, each day it would take three hours from waking up to setting off and another three hours every evening to set up the camp and prepare the evening meal.

So, how did they manage to succeed? They realized that they were part of a team. If any one of them didn’t pull her sledge or get her job done, she would endanger the success of the whole expedition (远征探险). Any form of selfishness could result in the efforts of everyone else being completely wasted, so personal feelings had to be put to one side. At the end of their journey, the women agreed that it was mental effort far more than physical fitness that got them to the North Pole.

China Takes Falling Stars Challenge to a New Level

Falling star Challenge, which began in Russia, invites participants     1     (share) their best fake fall and recommend their friends to do the same, and people have been going to make their falls as dramatic as possible. At first, the falling stars Challenge     2    (regard) as a way for the wealthy to show off their possessions. People were lying face-down with luxurious jewelry, expensive items from high-end brands surrounding them.

However, as the challenge spread, it transformed from being a way of showing off to a creative way to show     3     people consider important in their lives. The social media craze soon made     4    (it) way to Weibo, a Chinese social media platform. A major difference with the Chinese version of the Challenge     5    (be) that professionals from different    6    ( industry) participated to show their daily routine. These include a firefighter lying in front of a row of fire trucks and     7     officer at an emergency call center on the ground with documents    8    (throw) in all directions.

While some pictures are intended     9     fun online, Chinese authorities are taking it     10    (serious). Some people who have participated in the trend have received tickets for breaking traffic laws to get the perfect photo.