1 . There’s no doubt that football is the global sport. Though basketball, tennis, and other sports are popular too, nothing comes close to football. Being played in every country in the world, football provides dozens of superstars. The numbers are greater when compared to any other sport, and this drives the popularity of football up. Have you ever wondered when the sport started and became popular?

Football has its origin (起源) in China and has a history of more than 2,000 years. However, modern football originally appeared in Britain in the 19th century. Folk football matches had been played before in many cities and towns, but never on a professional level.

Football became a winter sport game played in different schools. The rules were carried out by each school, and this made it difficult for players to play an official game with each other. It all changed in 1849 at the University of Cambridge that invented a set of standard rules known as the Cambridge rules of football. From that moment, a new star sport was born.

By the early 20th century, football had spread all across Europe. In 1904, FIFA was set up. There are seven original members, including France, Denmark and Spain, FIFA became the governing body for many associations in Europe.

England’s international success improved the popularity of the sport in the country. The league (联赛) in Britain was set up in 1992. From the 1990s, it became a truly impressive piece of football organization, becoming the world’s top football league in the process.

Football is obviously the most popular sport in the world. It is impossible for any other sport to take its place, especially with leagues spending billions of pounds every year to stay in the focus.

3 . I am often asked how I learned to speak, read and write Chinese. The short answer, in my case, was a combination of good fortune and hard work.

    1    . I have a particularly visual memory — very helpful for characters. Another big part of the good fortune is how early I started Chinese. All students in Australia are required to study a foreign language from Grade 7. The options at my school were Japanese, German, and Chinese. My mother had studied German in school. My sisters were studying Japanese in their primary school.     2    .

The first year was fun, but then our teacher moved to China and the replacement was ill-equipped for the task. The next year my family moved to the US. For the next two years I studied Chinese with a tutor who came to my home. She was my first native Chinese speaking teacher. She had been living in the US for over a decade. We got along well and I have many fond memories of our lessons.     3    

Back in Australia to start Grade 11, my new school was chosen partly because it offered advanced Chinese classes.     4    . I fell in love with China for no real reason. Something about the place just attracted me.

By the time I arrived in Beijing in February 2014, I could already read and write Chinese pretty well.

    5    ! Instead of grasping for ways to translate my English thoughts, I began to understand how to form Chinese thoughts.

6 . Within your family, are you the “boss”, the “peacemaker”, the “baby” or the “king”?     1    

Firstborn — The “Boss”

First-time parents often have very high expectations for their eldest children.     2     Firstborns tend to be natural leaders who respect and trust authority. Many astronauts and engineers are firstborn children.

Middle child — The “Peacemaker”

Typically, parents don’t give middle children as much attention as the firstborn or the youngest.     3     As a result, they are usually determined to achieve success in their own way. They don’t like conflict and will try to avoid it. They are often realistic, independent, patient peacemakers and good communicators.

Youngest child — The “Baby”

By the time the youngest family member is born, most parents have loosened their rules.     4     They often enjoy amusing others and being the center of attention. They are typically fun-loving, creative people who aren’t afraid to question authority or take risks.

Only child — The “King of the Castle”

Life in the family of an only child often revolves around him or her.    5    An only child enjoys learning from adults and is usually very clever for his or her age. Only children are creative and intelligent and can easily communicate with adults. They are typically confident, independent and very successful. What about you? Does the birth order description match your personality?

8 . All dogs can benefit from training throughout their lives. But where to begin the process? Thus, we have consulted some experts on where to start. Here’s what they say.

Identify your training goals

There are two levels of dog training. If you’re interested in skill training, or basic manners, such as teaching your dog to sit, stay and lie down, that’s the field of a dog trainer. If your dog has a behavior problem—anxiety, aggressiveness, fearfulness—then what you need is a dog behavioral consultant.

Be realistic

Your dog may bark at your guests, which might be a kind of dog that has been selected for hundreds of years to defend against people walking in your front door. Since you can’t change a German shepherd’s genetic impulse (基因冲动) to defend its territory, you may need to change your expectations, instead.

Decide how you’d like to train your dog

When it comes to training methods, you have a few options. Group classes are cheaper but less personalized, while board and training facilities are more expensive and riskier. Your choice will depend on your budget and your training goals. If you don’t want to pay a lot of money for dog training, you can choose free or low-cost resources you can find online.

Understand the methods

Generally speaking, many trainers fall into two broad categories: The first is positive reinforcement (强化) trainers, which means giving your dog something good to train. The second is balanced trainers who are willing to make incorporate corrections, which means using positive reinforcement methods.