2 . Although I love watching Olympic diving, I’ve never understood why athletes hurry off to the showers and then proceed to relax in a hot tub (热水浴池) after each dive. They’re already wet. They’re only in the pool for a handful of seconds, so it’s not like they need to get cleaned up. And doesn’t taking a shower serve the same purpose as sitting in a hot tub?

Actually, that’s what Olympic divers usually do between dives as they know very well about the importance of warm-ups and cool-downs. So, what’s the actual reason?

As it turns out, showers and hot tubs are used pretty interchangeably by the swimming pool. However, there is a need for both. First, let’s start with why divers need to take a shower between dives. It has to do with body temperature and keeping their muscles relaxed. As you can imagine, practicing dives in the pool, then having to keep your body warm in a shower, and then jumping off a 10-meter platform and into cold water couldn’t be comfortable for anyone. Going back and forth between these warm and cool temperatures can cause a diver’s muscles to tense or cramp up (痉挛), which can lead to injuries to the muscles. Showers allow an Olympic diver to recover and prevent that.

In that way, showers and hot tubs serve the same purpose. A hot tub is generally used if you have a bit more time between dives and have already stretched. The shower walls on the pool deck can typically provide enough space for more divers at the same time, and they’re especially helpful for athletes who need to stretch or who only have a few minutes between dives. Just like Olympic swimmers depend on thick clothes to keep their muscles warm, Olympic divers rely on these methods to stay loose. If you ask me, it’s not a bad way to pass the time!

Tim and I talked a lot about his problems today, and I’m so glad that I could help my best friend. It also left me thinking about what it really means to be a “good friend”. In my opinion, the following     1    (quality) form the basis of a friendship.

A good friend needs to be     2    (support). I can see that Tim is having trouble     3    (balance) his project and his schoolwork, and I can see that both are important to him. I must respect and support the choices he makes. I should also encourage him to take action to get over these difficulties.

A good friend also needs to be selfless. Tim is someone     4     I should try my best to help, even if it means more work for me. When he’s struggling     5     his schoolwork, I should do all I can     6    (help) him become a more efficient learner. It’ll take up some of my spare time,     7     this friendship is worth my extra time and effort. I’m sure that Tim would do     8     same for me.

To me, a good friend brings out the best in a person. And I think Tim is the one who brings out the best in me. Through our conversation today, I know that our friendship will grow     9    (strong) than ever. I’ll always value these qualities of a good friend and try to measure myself by these standards as our friendship     10    (develop).

4 . Steve was a boy whose parents died when he was a child. With little care, he had been failing since first grade. He was seldom noticed until he met Miss White, a young kind teacher.

“You all did pretty well,” she told the ______ as she went over the test results, “except one boy, and it breaks my heart to tell you this, but...” She hesitated, looking at Steve. “The ______ boy in the seventh grade is failing my class.” Steve ______ his eyes and carefully examined his fingertips.

After that, Steve refused to do his ______. Miss White was very worried and tried to encourage him to study. “Please give yourself a chance!” Miss White tried to ______ Steve, yet Steven didn’t ______.

Then one day, she said, “Steve! Please! I care about you!” ______, Steve got it. Someone cared about him. He spent the whole afternoon thinking about what he should do. When he got home after school, he headed to his bedroom to ______.

On Monday morning, Miss White gave a ______ on the weekend homework. Steve ______ through the test, and was the first to hand in his paper. Miss White looked it over in total ______. The smartest boy in the seventh grade had just ______ his first test.

From that day, Steve began to study hard and after graduating from a famous university, he became a(n) ______ doctor, who treated all patients carefully. His story ______ many young people to change and stick with dreams.

Actually, sometimes care from a teacher can make a ______ to a student’s whole life.

8 . In the live-streaming channel of Yang Weiyun, no singing or dancing is performed nor are products sold. Instead, Yang teaches pinyin, reading and writing, something that has been most ______ to her for the past 50 years. The difference is that her students are mostly adults.

The 73 year old, a (an) ______ educator, had been a Chinese teacher in an elementary school for 30 years and a kindergarten head for another 20 years. When she ______, Yang also wanted to do something meaningful. The rise of short video platforms gave her the idea of ______ her education endeavors through live streaming online so she opened her live streaming account in May, 2021 and offered free pinyin courses ______ for kindergarten pupils about to attend primary schools. However, she ______ learned her viewers include a lot of illiterate adults. As they can’t read or write, most of them develop a sense of ______, being afraid to go to new places, ______ that they couldn’t teach their children or read their boss’s instructions.

“Many illiterate adults didn’t have the chance to go to school when they were ______. They are the ones in ______ need of becoming literate. I wanted to give them a new starting point,” Yang said. Considering that each student has their own demands, she added ______ content to meet their needs and every time she ends her ______ she will do carefully concluding and preparing, trying to ______ what ways the students can learn and remember better.

Up till now she has nearly 300,000 followers on the short video platform Douyin. Zhang Mei is among the students who benefited from Yang’s live-stream lessons. She was born and ______ in the countryside and had never been to school. “Thanks to Granny Yang, I found a job. I’ve learned how to write my name and I can ______ Chinese characters if they are marked with pinyin.”

9 . New research implies that even a small amount of exercise might do help to older people with light memory problems. Patients have long been advised to do physical activity to help keep their brains healthy. But the U.S. government-supported research marks the longest study of whether exercise makes any difference once memory starts to decline.

Researchers found around 300 inactive older adults with memory changes called mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (轻度认知障碍). In the research, the participants were divided into two groups and half of them did aerobic exercises, while the rest did stretching and balance movements that raised their heart rates a little. After a year, testing of mental activity showed neither group had worsened, said lead researcher Laura Baker of Wake Forest School of Medicine. By comparison, similar MCI patients in another long-term study of brain health — but without exercise       experienced cognitive decline over a year.

Maria Carrillo is the Alzheimer’s Association chief scientific officer. She said earlier research has found regular physical activity of any kind may reduce damaging inflammation and increase blood flow to the brain. She added that the new study is especially interesting because the COVID-19 pandemic began halfway through the study. That meant the study participants became socially isolated. Social isolation has long been known to increase people’s risk of memory problems.

It is a difficult time for dementia (痴呆症) research. Doctors are not sure about prescribing (开处方) a high-priced new drug called Aduhelm. The drug is supposed to be the first to slow the progression of dementia but it is not yet clear if it really helps patients. Researchers last month reported another drug that works similarly failed in an important study. There is growing urgency to find whether exercise might offer at least some protection. Baker will lead an even larger study of older adults to see if adding exercise to other steps such as a healthy diet, brain games and social activities may reduce the risk of dementia.

Yours,

Li Hua