3 . In the Pacific Northwest during winter, 5:15 a.m. might be the dead of night. The alarm goes off and the only light is the red glow from my clock. My body says, “Go back to bed.” But I don’t. I know my running partner will be waiting in the street and I’m not going to stand her up. Then I walk onto the road, complaining about the cold and wishing I were back under my warm covers.

If you’d have asked me a year ago if I could see myself running at 5:15 on a winter morning, I’d have laughed. Morning just wasn’t my thing and running in the morning was something I didn’t even consider. “I prefer to work out in the middle of the morning or in the afternoon,” I’d say to my friends who go to the gym before work.

Then, last fall I reconnected with an old friend. She’d been running in the morning and taken off forty pounds. When I looked in the mirror, I knew I could benefit from the same kind of weight loss. I asked if I could join her. I knew I needed to change something if I was going to get back in shape.

The first two months were especially hard, because we ran twice a week at 5:15 a.m. and I slept till 7:00 the other mornings. But as I’ve adjusted to the routine of running, I’ve discovered great joys that make it even more worthwhile than a little weight loss.

While I haven’t lost forty pounds yet, it’s amazing how much more energy I have and how much stronger I feel. Because of the morning run, the rest of my day is more productive. I wouldn’t say I’ve become a morning person, but I would say morning running is now my thing.

There is a growing interest in rock climbing. Recently, there     1    (be) an improvement in technology and techniques to perform it. The sport is getting more     2    (attract) to many people. Although rock climbing has risks and physical challenges, people still have several reasons to take it up. Some sportsmen feel that rock climbing can never become boring. This is     3    you have different places to go climbing. If you are tired     4    walls at your location, you may visit elsewhere     5    (experience) other challenging walls.   

    6    (obvious), it offers great fun and adventure to people when they go high up on walls. When they push themselves beyond the expected limits, they get     7     sense of achievement. There are many sportsmen     8     also take rock climbing as a physical challenge where they always move up the levels. After     9    (cross) a set level, they move to the next and they can always find a fight to their previously achieved     10    (goal). It all depends on their physical fitness and skills.

7 . Depression（抑郁症）in young adult males, ages 18 or 19, is linked to a 20% greater risk of having a heart attack in middle age, according to a new Swedish study.

The link can be partly explained by poorer stress resilience（抗压能力）and lower physical fitness among teens with mental disorders.

The research included 238,013 men born between 1958 and 1962 who were given examinations in adolescence（青春期）and were then followed into middle age（up to the age of 58 years）. A total of 34,503 men were diagnosed（诊断）with a mental disorder.

The study found that a mental disorder in young adulthond was linked to a higher risk of having heart attack by middle age. Compared to men without a mental illness in young adulthood，the risk of heart attack was 20%higher among men with a diagnosis.

“We already knew that men who were physically fit in adolescence seem less likely to keep fitness in later years if they have low stress resilience,” said study author Dr. Bergh, “Our research has also shown that low stress resilience is also connected with a greater tendency towards bad behavior, such as higher risks of smoking, drinking and other drug use.”

“Better fitness in adolescence is likely to help protect against later heart disease, particularly if people stay fit as they age. Physical activities may also reduce some of the bad effects of stress. Those in poor health could benefit from additional support to encourage exercise and develop plans to deal with stress,” said Bergh.

9 . Becoming a real runner

I would never use the word “athletic” to describe myself. To me, athletes are people who really enjoy working out. I remember crying in middle school when I had to run a mile during gym class. I huffed and puffed as I jogged. As I grew up, I would go to the gym, but I never enjoyed working out. That, I thought, was for real runners.

In June 2017, my friend sent me an email that would forever change my attitude towards running. He was training for a 200-mile relay (接力赛) and wanted me to be on his team. I would run three legs between four and six miles each over the course of two days. Figuring that I would never again have the chance to work with some top runners, I immediately agreed, and started running outside to prepare.

That first run was hard. I purposefully avoided Central Park in order to stay away from real runners. After a few blocks, I was already winded, and ran the rest of the way home. I called my mom, choked up, to say I had no hope at all of running this relay. But she encouraged me to keep at it, so I didn't quit. I went from running four miles a week to eight within one month before my advanced training began.

I was frightened going into the first training session with the team as everyone else was super “athletic”. We ran for five miles, and I was significantly slower. However, my teammates were so supportive that I felt the runner’s high, which I had never believed existed.

One day, about two weeks into training, my ankle gave out while I was running in Central Park. I was diagnosed with a stress fracture (应力性骨折). The doctor told me to stop running for two months. It took me a while to face the fact that I was out of the race. My doctor told me that he too had once been struck down with a stress fracture, and the following year, he beat his best running time in a half-marathon. That brought me hope.

I made it through the next two months by picturing myself running again. Just yesterday, for the first time since that fateful day, I took my outdoor run with my physical therapist. I mentioned that I might run a half-marathon the next year. Now I wake up excited for the days I get to run. Maybe I am a “real runner” after all.