If a traditional sport bores you, it’s time to try something new! Cycling, but outdoors on city roads; surfing, but on the land; playing frisbee, but with a group of people... New sports begin to thrive with great attention     1     (pay) in support of national fitness. Nearly 1,200 young people participated in a study by Houlang Research Institute, more than 93 percent of     2     born after 2000 are interested in urban sports.

Why do young people favor new sports? Apart from keeping fit as a type of exercise, many young people pick them up to socialize,     3     (allow) them to build up their social circles. Players tend to have online group chats announcing their usual activities and     4     (simple) sharing their lives.

“The new sports are also suitable for taking photos and less restricted by venues”, Zou Qingling, the CEO of Lvmama,     5     tourism website in China,     6     (tell) China News Service. People can enjoy new sports from parks to spacious     7     (sidewalk).

The new sports are easier for new players to start,     8     other traditional sports, such as soccer and basketball, which usually require strict and complicated rules. Thus, the new sports are less     9     (compete) but could bring more fun. People have also gained a stronger passion for outdoor activities and healthier lifestyles.

Urban sports have unlocked new lifestyles in China as they reflect     10     (diverse), youth and fun. This new trend is also proof that more people are exposed to and willing to enjoy sports.

2 . I’ve reached the turn-around point of the day’s kayaking (皮划艇) trip. Sweat runs down my cheek as I ______ my fingers through the cool water. I look around. It’s just me, a couple of seagulls, and shining freshwater to the horizon. This, I whisper to myself, is ______.

Solo outings had never ______ my mind before because I always had loyal friends willing to tag along. But three years ago, I moved to Cleveland. Meeting close friends in a new city is ______. And a world wide health crisis made ______ impossible.

In October 2022, I decided to ______ a whole day on a solo hiking trip. I went to Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) to ______ the autumn leaves. Five miles in, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so alive. I was more ______ of my surroundings than I’d ever been while hiking that day. I studied the markings of trees, focused my ears on each forest sound and did something I had almost never spared ______ for: I listened to my own thoughts. Every word in my mind pointed to a newfound ______—solo hiking is my happy place. From then on, I have adjusted myself to any solo activity.

Pride ______ through my body when I first launched my kayak. My chest, ______ tightened by nerves, was bursting with happiness as I finally reached the middle of the river that I’d long ______ standing on shore before.

Adventuring alone has become like medicine for me! It’s also pushed me to go ______ my comfort zone and to meet new people. Through meetups and social media, my adventure friend circle has ______. But at least once per month, I schedule time to hit nature with my favorite trail buddy: me.

Mixing traditional Chinese tea with coffee has     1     (recent) become a new trend for both suppliers of both drinks. They are making every effort     2     (open) the market. Mixing tea and coffee is not a new thing as yuenyeung or yuanyang, which generally consists     3     brewed coffee and black tea with sugar and milk. Yuenyeung     4     (be) a popular refreshment option in Hong Kong over the past few years. Yuenyeung refers to a pair of mandarin ducks, one male and one female. The drink usually combines a harmonious mix of equal parts of coffee and milk tea.

As China’s coffee and tea markets are both developing quickly, the new drinks have become a window through     5     young customers can understand and learn about traditional tea culture,     6     (break) the stereotype (成见) that only the middle-aged and elderly drink tea. Domestic and international coffee brands have expanded in the past couple of years, with new products continuously being     7     (launch) that feature Chinese tea or other Chinese cultural     8     (element).

Lu Yongchen, CEO of Tim Hortons China, says, “We have seen the rise of China’s coffee consumption market     9     personally experienced the continuous improvement of the business environment and the     10     (strength) support from the government for business development.”

5 . Every holiday season, I get nostalgic (怀旧的) and take a trip down Christmas tree lane. I think about how hard my mom worked to make the holidays special. I remember how she said and proudly displayed all of the gifts she received from us. She acted as if her plastic beaded bracelet (手镯) was made of priceless stones. Year after year, whatever we gave her, she would treasure the gifts as though she was the luckiest woman on earth.

Through the years, friends come and go, but my mom is a constant, my true best friend and biggest fan. She’s by my side not only for the good moments cheering me on with pride, but holding my hand and letting me use her shoulder to cry on through the bad. She refuses to give up on me even when I want to. She is always there to encourage me in the midst of life’s challenges and eager to celebrate life’s joys.

So as much as the salt dough ornament (装饰品) pleased her, which is in a noticeable place on her tree every year, I’ve increased its amount now to surprise her at Christmas. I ask myself. What hasn’t she done before? What is something that she would like, but would never, in a million years, buy herself?

Gifts mom will treasure. So for the one who knows you best and still loves you, find a great gift that will show how much you really care and value her support. Select a thoughtful gift based on what brings her the greatest enjoyment.

However, the best gifts, I suppose, cannot be wrapped. Set aside time to spend alone with mom. It can simply be a day together doing what she enjoys most or plan a weekend getaway to a place she has always wanted to see. It will mean more to her than you may ever know. Together you will create lasting memories she will treasure for the rest of her life.

What are your most memorable moments with your mom? For your mom, what would you value most in the holiday season?

6 . Have you heard of these four monuments?

Carhenge. Floralis Genérica. Traffic Light Tree. Hand of the Desert — these are four unusual monuments from around the world you might like to visit.

Carhenge is in Alliance, Nebraska (USA). As the name suggests, it has a lot in common with Stonehenge, the famous stone circle on Salisbury Plain. But while Stonehenge was built with stones, Carhenge was created with cars. The monument was made in 1987 by a local artist Jim Reinders and his family. He used old cars and even an ambulance. At first, the people of Alliance didn’t like it, but they soon changed their minds after it became popular with tourists, who brought lots of money to the town.

Floralis Genérica is a massive statue of a flower. It stands in a pool of water in front of the National Museum of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Eduardo Catalano, a native of Argentina, gave the statue as a gift to the city in 2002. Every morning, the flower opens. Ask anyone who has seen it and they’ll tell you that watching it open is an unforgettable sight. In fact, many people believe it is one of the most beautiful statues in the world.

The Traffic Light Tree is situated at Heron Quay, in one of London’s financial districts. The tree has 75 sets of traffic lights. It was created by French artist, Pierre Vivant, and was installed in 1998. A computer controls the lights, which are turned on and off randomly. The roundabout where the tree is was voted the most popular roundabout in the UK in a recent survey.

The Hand of the Desert is in the Atacama Desert in Chile. The sculpture was designed by the Chilean sculptor Mario Irarrazabal. From a distance, it looks as if there’s a giant in the sand who has stuck his hand out of the ground.

If you’re looking for something new to see, you know where to go!

7 . During World War II, Duchess Nina Douglas-Hamilton played a vital role in looking after animals.

As the war broke out, the government issued orders for the mass killing livestock (家畜) to prevent them from being captured or destroyed by the enemy. Duchess Nina launched a campaign to save as many animals as possible, and soon became known as the “animal heroine” for her efforts.

Duchess Nina worked with local farmers and animal owners to relocate animals to safer areas, such as the Scottish Highlands. She also established a network of volunteers who helped to care for animals during the war. She organized feeding programs, medical care and transportation, ensuring that animals were well looked after even during the most difficult times. The most challenging aspect of her work was the shortage of food during the war. So she established a vegetable garden and used leftovers to create nutritious meals for animals. She also reached out to the public for donations of food and supplies, and was able to secure enough resources to keep animals healthy and fed.

In addition to her work with domestic animals, Duchess Nina was also a strong advocate for wildlife conservation. She established a center for wild animals Scotland, where she provided a safe place for deer, foxes and other animals that were threatened by the war. She also worked with local protection groups to protect natural habitats.

Duchess Nina’s work during World War II was not without its risks. She frequently risked her life to save animals, often driving through perilous areas.

Sadly, some people saw her efforts as a distraction from the war effort. However, she continued to work tirelessly for animals. After the war, Duchess Nina’s work was recognized by the government and she got an important award for her services to animals.

8 . Dogs may have earned the title of our best friends through their interactions with humans, but now researchers say these social skills could, be present shortly after birth rather than being learned.

To better understand the role of biology in dogs’ abilities to communicate with humans, the researchers studied 375 eight-week-old service dogs. They looked at how these dogs performed in a series of tasks designed to measure their communication skills. The puppies were still living with their littermates (同窝出生者) and had not been sent to live with a volunteer puppy raiser, making it unlikely that they had learned about his or her behavior.

In the first task, a person hid a treat beneath one of two overturned cups and pointed to it to see if the puppy could follow the gesture. Since dogs are good at using noses to find things a treat was also taped to the insides of, both cups. In the second task, puppies watched as the researchers placed a yellow, block next to the correct cup, instead of pointing to indicate where the puppy should look for the food.

The third task was designed to observe puppies’ tendency to look at human faces. The researchers spoke to the puppy in a voice people sometimes use when talking to a baby. They then measured how long the puppy fixed a stare on the human.

In the last task, researchers sealed a treat inside a closed container and presented it to the puppy. They then measured how often the puppy looked to the human for help in opening the container.

The study found that while many of the puppies were responsive to humans’ physical and verbal cues, very few looked to humans for help with the unsolvable task. Researchers said, “This suggests that while puppies may be born knowing how to respond to human-initiated communication, the ability to initiate communication on their own may come later.” The next step will be to see if specific genes that may contribute to dogs’ abilities to communicate with humans can be identified.

9 . I’ve never had a great sense of direction. And I often wander into shops and, upon coming back out, can’t remember which way I’ve come from — left or right? Many people are like me, and why do some constantly have no idea where they are?

The hippocampus (海马体) is a region of the brain associated with memory and involved in sense of direction. And a nearby region has also been associated with sense of direction. There are four known types of navigation-related neurons (神经元), found in these regions place cells, grid cells, border cells and head direction cells.

In short, you can think of place cells as an internal cognitive (认知的) map; they identify where you are. Grid cells are like a GPS system in our brain; they tell us about the relationship of this place to other places we’ve been to. Border cells respond to the presence of environmental boundaries at a specific direction and distance from us. Lastly, head direction cells are activated when our head faces a specific direction. These cells will fire electrical impulses when we enter familiar locations, with each group of cells relating to a specific place.

Our reliance on GPS and smartphones may have decreased the ability to use our internal maps. Older adults who regularly used GPS had less activity in their hippocampus, compared with those who did not use GPS. They also performed slightly worse in a cognition test. In contrast, a study involving London taxi drivers found they significantly larger hippocampus than ordinary people.

You can improve your way-finding ability specifically by practicing the skill, according to Aziz, PhD of neurology at Temple University School of Medicine. “The more you get out and go to places, the better,” he says. Physical exercise improves the blood flow to the brain, while mental exercise, such as doing puzzles or learning a new language, stimulates the development of new nerve cells and connections in your brain.