Welcome to Our Swimming Pool

Yours,

Li Hua

Cuju was an ancient Chinese    1    (compete) game involving kicking a ball through an opening into a net.

As the ancestor of soccer, it first appeared in    2    well known ancient Chinese historical work Zhan Guo Ce (Strategies of the Warring States), which described cuju as a form of     3    (entertain) among the general public.

Later, cuju was    4    (common) played in the army for military training purposes during the Han Dynasty (206 BC—220 AD).

Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, was a cuju fan    5    liked watching and playing cuju.

Emperor Liu Che would establish a cuju field    6    his army went. He used cuju as a way of training soldiers.

The    7    (early) record of women cuju players can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. We can see paintings of females with their hair    8    (tie) back, waving their long sleeves and looking chic (时髦的) while playing cuju.

Up to the Tang Dynasty (618—907), women players prevailed (盛行) at the royal court, as emperors enjoyed watching soccer games. At that time, various skills were widely used in playing cuju, mainly    9    (serve) as amusement.

As a way of national culture protection, cuju    10    (list) in the first batch of China’s intangible cultural heritages in 2006.

4 . I was born in the Netherlands and lived there until I was 30 years old. In the Dutch context, I was emotionally intelligent, and I _______ expected that this could be any different.

When at the University of Michigan, I joined a discussion on _______. I introduced myself in an understated (Dutch) way as “interested in culture and emotion”. The professor, to fit American _______, added that I was one of the world’s experts on culture and emotion. In response, I looked down in _______ and said in a low voice that “expert” was a big word.

I lived in North Carolina and had new friends coming over to dinner. Conversations were lively that evening. When my guests left, they _______ me for dinner. My heart sank, because in the Netherlands, “thanking for dinner” means the relationship is _______.

The Netherlands and the US do not have massively different _______. But emotional interactions between individuals from these different cultures are not _______. The professor meant to make me feel good, but instead made me _______. My friends meant to show gratitude, but they made me think they were distancing themselves from us instead. Where did it go wrong in these interactions?

I now think the answer is that we were interacting with different ________ in mind. In the US, it is important that people feel good about themselves: other people help you ________ and have self-esteem (自尊). You are an expert, and you made the special effort to cook us this delicious dinner. ________, in the Netherlands, it is important to make true ________with other people, and not to pretend you are better than anybody else. The daily dances of emotions are ________: Americans dance to the music of making each other special, while Dutch dance to the music of true connection. And when you ________ them up, people start stepping on each other’s toes.

5 . We all know about the health benefits of swimming. It offers a great workout for the body —it builds endurance, muscle strength, and cardiovascular (心血管的) fitness.    1    ? Well, many people are trying, based on evidence that it is good for us.

Cold-water swimming involves swimming in natural areas including ponds, rivers, and the sea.     2    . And research has found it can have much bigger benefits than that for your body and mind. Besides being good exercise, spending time outdoors and in the water improves wellbeing.

    3    . One man who suffered constant pain after surgery claimed he was cured by taking a plunge in cold open water. And another swimmer, Sandria Simons, told the BBC, “the immersion (浸) of your body in cold, salt water, just feeling like you’re at one with nature if you like, just feels amazing.”

But what are people gaining from this chilly experience? Doctors say getting into cold water causes a stress response, but the more you do it, your reaction to stress is reduced. It’s also thought to have a strong anti-inflammatory (消炎的) effect.     4    . Some experts believe cold-water swimming helps “cross-adaptation”, where one form of stress prepares the body for another. For example, it also helps reduce the stress of exercising at high altitudes.

    5    : approach it with caution, swim with a friend, and maybe start in the summer, when the water temperatures are higher!

6 . A strong hit to the head will normally give you a concussion (脑震荡). Woodpeckers, however, strike their beaks (喙) into trees thousands of times a day and are perfectly fine.

We used to think that a woodpecker’s skull (头骨) worked as a kind of safety helmet which absorbed the shocks. A new study by Sam Van Wassenbergh, a researcher at the University of Antwerp in Belgum, proved that this “common sense” was in fact false.

Van Wassenbergh and his colleagues argued that, if a woodpecker’s head absorbed the force, it would not be able to strike the tree with enough force.

“If the beak absorbed much of its own impact, the unfortunate bird would have to pound even harder,” they said in their paper. In other words, if the theory were true, the woodpecker would have to peck even harder to compensate (弥补) for both the shock-absorbing qualities of the sponge-like bone inside its skull as well as the density (密度) of the wood.

The scientists recorded four different kinds of woodpeckers in zoos as they were pecking. The team used data from their high-speed recordings to build digital models of the woodpeckers. Van Wassenbergh described the woodpeckers’ motion as “a hammer (锤子) hitting wood” since their movement rigid and focused.

The research suggested that woodpeckers don’t have any shock-absorbing device or the ability to reduce the amount of force. Although they are without “helmets”, the team claimed that the woodpeckers’ tiny size and weight protect them.

A woodpecker’s brain is about 700 times smaller than that of a human. “Smaller animals can stand up to higher decelerations (减速). Think about a fly that hits a window and then just flies back again,” Van Wassenbergh said. “So that is why even the hardest hits we observed are not expected to cause any concussion.”

THEORIES OF PECKING

Previous theory 1: The shock is absorbed by a spongy (海绵似的) bone behind the woodpecker’s beak.

Previous theory 2: Woodpeckers have a long tongue that wraps around the skull, which protects the brain.

Previous theory 3: The liquid inside the skull ensures that the brain will not move violently.

New theory: There is no shock-absorbing device in the head. Woodpeckers’ tiny body is able to take the hit.

7 . Have you ever seen a car without a driver? It sounds crazy, but these computer-driven driverless cars will soon be filling roads near you. Tech companies around the world have been designing and testing driverless vehicles and the technology is available already.

So, how do they work? The cars are covered in sensors that can detect other cars and obstacles on the road. Sensors on the wheels also help when parking. Road signs are read by cameras, and satellite navigation systems are used. Finally, a central computer system takes in all the information and processes this to work out when to accelerate, brake and steer. All you have to do is type in the destination.

Sounds like your idea of heaven? Sitting back, looking out of the windows and even watching a film while “driving” will all be possible with this new technology. In addition, computers are generally more efficient drivers than humans, meaning emissions can be reduced. They also drive more safely than people—they don’t get distracted by music or friends, they obey the speed limit and they have quicker reaction times in case of an emergency.

However, there are still many drawbacks of driverless cars. Computers will have difficulties making ethical (道德上的) decisions. If a child ran out into the road, would the computer choose to hit the child or turn aside sharply and potentially hurt the car’s passengers instead? Moreover, I personally find driving fun. I’d miss never being behind the wheel myself. There would also be legal questions. Should children or drunk people, be allowed in a driverless car by themselves? Or would there need to be a responsible adult with a driving licence in the car at all times?

Although being driven around by a machine would perhaps mean that no one needs a driving license, many people would be put out of a job by the popularization of driverless cars. Bus, taxi and train drivers would be made unwanted.

I’m not convinced I’d want a driverless car, but it’s only a matter of time before they’ll become more affordable and commonplace on our roads.

8 . In the August sun, it’s unbearably hot in my car. I’m in Vancouver, approaching the Knight Street Bridge as I try to get home after work. It’s 5:15 pm. Traffic is already slowing down and then it comes to a full stop. I’m stuck even before getting on the bridge.

This has become my normal work commute (上下班往返) routine. Ahead of me is a heavily jammed on-ramp (匝道). I stare at the endless rows of vehicles, depressed.

My initial reaction is always denial. This is not how it looks. The traffic will soon start moving. Seconds pass. Minutes pass. Looking at the rows of cars and trucks glittering (闪光) in the sun, I start counting — 299, 300, 301 — and I give up.

Suddenly I remember I’m one of the 300 helpless drivers. But I stay alert. When the cars do move, I move carefully, making sure not to bump into other vehicles. Finally, I make it onto the bridge. The traffic is still crawling at a snail’s pace. Tired and hungry, I become very anxious.

Just then, I hear a faint sound in the distance. The sound gradually becomes louder, until I can identify it as an emergency vehicle approaching from behind. What do we do? The bridge is packed. There’s no room for us to move.

But I’m wrong. Every single car quickly, yet carefully, moves to the side. Without thinking, I follow suit. The lane remains open for a few seconds during which the ambulance flashes through.

Afterward, every car moves back into formation (队形). We close up the emergency lane, ready to restart our patient wait. Back in my spot, I’m awestruck. I forget my tiredness and hunger. My anxiety is gone. I start reflecting upon what 300 fellow drivers and I just did.

How did we do that? Despite our exhaustion, we collectively decided to help the stranger who needed the time more desperately than we did. We drew on our compassion (同情心) and intelligence, requiring no directives.

Although I may seem alone stuck on the bridge, I’m connected to all the other drivers. Together we could make the impossible possible.