4 . Watching a young, 21-year-old Jordan Spieth win the US Masters today, I could not help but think of the great qualities he displayed to win the most famous golf event on the calendar against the greatest players in the world.

Jordan Spieth has learned to keep himself in check. There is a great proverb: “A fool shares all his or her feelings while a wise man keeps them in check.” As I watched Spieth playing, I noticed a constant calm around him. Whether he hit the shot he wanted or not, he was the same and kept his emotions steady (稳定的) and strong. He never blamed the crowd, clubs or wind.

He knows which club he is going to drive with on every hole; he knows which side of the fairway (高尔夫球道) to land and exactly where he wants to be standing on every green when he is putting; he has played it through his minds for months. He is the person who makes things happen by planning in advance. Winning is not a fluke (侥幸击中); it’s a by-product of months and years of planning. Nothing happens by chance.

If there is an event that every golfer dreams of winning, it’s the US Masters. So, how would Spieth have felt in 2014 getting so close to winning but coming second? As good as second was, he only wanted to be first. The difference between great shots and poor shots at the Masters is only inches. In that 2014 final round, Spieth was standing on the 8th hole with a 2-shot lead, but through a number of small misses he lost it and never recovered it. However, he never stops learning. As a great person once said, “While you’re green, you’re growing; when you’re brown, you’re dying.” He stays green. He is always reading, learning, and he understands that the greatest teacher of all is failure.

5 . Reading out loud is one of the most useful ways to practice when you are learning a foreign language. If you want to improve your fluency, you should read a lot, and not silently but out loud!

This competition is designed to encourage all the Chinese learners to read Chinese out loud. And we hope to introduce the importance of reading out loud when learning Chinese. Also, we have brilliant prizes for the top three competitors! We look forward to hearing from you reading Chinese stories, poems, tongue twisters, lyrics, etc. We would post the recordings on our official account anonymously (匿名) and ask everyone to vote online for the recordings.

The top six will get the prizes below:

First prize (1 person): 5 hours one-to-one Chinese lesson

Second prize (2 people): 3 hours one-to-one Chinese lesson

Third prize (3 people): one 200 RMB voucher (代金券) for our course

Timeline

Please choose one from the ten materials given to you at the bottom of this web page, from 6 to 10 are lyrics, you can read or sing.

Sign up before 11 p.m., 16th of February.

Record the name: your file with your name and nationality (eg: Mike+US)

Send your recordings to hanlinmandarin@163.com, before 7 p.m., 19th of February.

We will post the anonymous recordings on HLC official account on the 21st of February. Vote online from 21st of February to 25th of February.

The result would be posted on HLC official account on the 26th of February.

If you don’t know Chinese characters, you can copy them and change them into pinyin on the following website https://www.pinyinzi.com/hanzipinyin/.

6 . Kite surfing is a sport that takes place on the surface of the water, on top of boards that are similar in design to wakeboards (尾波滑水板), with the surfer pulled by a kite. The popularity of kite surfing has grown, although it is rather difficult to master. Kite surfing uses the same equipment as kite boarding, but is generally given more to riding on top of waves, rather than on smaller lakes or other calm bodies of water.

Early experiments in kite transportation took place through the 19th century, and at the dawn of the 20th century Samuel Cody crossed the English Channel using kites and a small boat. Kite surfing itself, however, wasn’t really born until the late 1970s. Beginning in that decade, more people became involved in using kites for personal transport and sport. Kite technology itself advanced enormously during the 1970s, with kites becoming much more controllable.

The early kite surfing was rather accidental, but innovators continued to develop the technology to make it easier to control and safer. By the late 1990s, kite surfing was becoming popular off the coast of Maui, France and throughout the world. In 1997, a special kite system was built specifically for kite surfing, which helped kite surfing into the mainstream.

Because of the high speeds and the dangers, it is generally recommended that would-be kite surfers take at least a few basic classes to learn the fundamentals. The main attraction of kite surfing is the potential for amazing tricks. The kite allows the surfer to experience enormous jumps, flying through the air for large distances before hitting the water in a controlled fashion. Like skateboarding, kite surfing makes use of a number of board grabs, with complex tricks possible due to the long period of time the surfer can remain in the air.

7 . Every racehorse has different abilities．Like humans，some are short- distance runners，while others are marathoners． Figuring out which is which and how to pace them can be the difference between failure in the finish and taking the award home．Jockeys （赛马骑师） and trainers have traditionally relied on centuries of experience and data from previous races to plan their races．

Amandine Aftalion，a mathematician in Paris，thought she could add to that．Since 2013，she has been analyzing the performances of world champion runners like Usain Bolt．She has found that short-distance runners tend to win when they start strong and gradually slow down toward the finish line．But in medium-distance races，runners perform better when they start strong，settle down，and finish with a burst of speed．

Her model shows how those winning strategies maximize the energy output of muscles reliant on two different pathways：powerful aerobic（有氧的）ones that require oxygen，which can be in limited supply during a race，and anaerobic ones，which don't need oxygen but build up waste products that lead to tiredness．

Aftalion wondered which strategy would be best for horses．So she and Quentin Mercier，another mathematician， took advantage of a new GPS tracking tool inserted in French racing saddles（马鞍）．

The two studied patterns in many races at the Chantilly racetracks north of Paris and developed a model that accounted for winning strategies for three different races：a short one(1，300 meters)， a medium one (1,900 meters)， and a slightly longer one (2,100 meters)，all with different starting points on the same track．The model takes into account not just different race distances，but also the size or friction from the track surface．

The results might surprise jockeys who hold horses back early for bursts of energy in the last finish．Instead，a strong start leads to a better finish，the team found．“That doesn't mean those jockeys are wrong，though．If the start is too strong，it can be devastating as well，leaving the horse tired by the end，” Aftalion says．

8 . Lacrosse is an outdoor team sport of Native American origin. It’s played with rackets (球拍) called lacrosse sticks, crosses for short, and a rubber ball. The crosses are long sticks with triangular (三角形的) nets on one end used to catch, carry and throw the ball. The crosses are different lengths depending on the position of the team member. There’re short crosses that are about a meter long, and there’re long crosses that are 1.3 to 1.8 meters long. Lacrosse is played on a field that is 100 meters long and 55 meters wide. In addition, there’re goals at either end that are 1.8 meters by 1.8 meters with nets. All players wear helmets.

Teams consist of ten players each: a goalie, three defensive players, three midfielders and three attackmen. The object of the game is to get the ball into the opponents’ (对手的) goal with the crosses. The team with the most goals at the end of the game wins. The goalie guards the goal, and the defensive players stay near the goalie to help protect the area. The midfielders can go anywhere on the field. The attackmen are usually the players who score the goals.

The game starts with a face-off between two players at the center of the field to see which team gets the ball first. Players then use their crosses to pass the ball to team members, trying to get the ball into the opponents’ goal. The opposing team can take the ball by using the end of their crosses to try and knock the ball out of the net of another player’s crosse. Only the goalies can touch the ball with their hands. Players can use their bodies to bump (碰撞) other players to try to get the ball. This is called body checking, and it’s only allowed above the waist (腰) and below the shoulders.

Men and women play lacrosse, but the rules are slightly different for men’s and women’s teams. For example, the women wear less protective clothes and body checking is not allowed. Rules also differ depending on if the team is a youth team, a college team or a professional team.