3 . Are you preparing for a big test? If so, you may want to go play some basketball in between hitting the books. Doctors are starting to find more and more information that suggests a connection between exercise and brain development. Judy Cameron, a scientist at Oregon Health and Science University, studies brain development. According to her research, it seems that exercise can make blood vessels (血管), including those in the brain, stronger and more fully developed. Dr. Cameron claims this allows people who exercise to concentrate better. As she says, “while we already know that exercise is good for the heart, exercise can really cause physical changes in the brain.”

The effects of exercise on brain development can even be seen in babies. Babies who do activities that require a lot of movement and physical activity show greater brain development than babies who are less physically active. With babies, even a little movement can show big results. Margaret Barnes, a doctor, also believes in the importance of exercise. She thinks that many learning disabilities that children have in elementary school or high school can be traced back to a lack of movement as babies. “Babies need movement that encourages and excites their five senses. They need to establish a connection between motion and memory. In this way, as they get older, children will begin to connect physical activity with higher learning,” says Margaret.

Older people can develop their brains as well. Columbia University studied a group of seniors who have a short-term memory of up to 40 percent after exercising just three hours a week. The exercise does not have to be very difficult, but it does have to increase the heart rate. Also, just like the motion for babies, exercise for older people should not be too simple. Learning some new skills or actions, such as with yoga or tai-chi, helps to open up memory paths in the brain that may not have been used for a long time. For most people, any type of physical activity that increases the heart rate is helpful. The main goal is to increase the brain’s flow of blood. And your brain can benefit from as little as two to three hours of exercise a week.

Tai chi chuan or Chinese boxing, is     1     ancient and distinctive Chinese form of exercise     2     is popular throughout the world. As exercise, tai chi chuan is designed     3    (provide) relaxation in the process of body­conditioning exercise and is drawn from the principles of taiji, notably with the harmonizing of the yin and yang, respectively the passive and active principles. It employs flowing，rhythmic, deliberate movements, with carefully     4    (appoint) stances (站姿) and positions, but in practice no two masters teach the system     5    (exact) alike. As a mode of attack and defence, tai chi chuan is properly considered a martial art,     6    (resemble) to kungfu. It may be used with or       7     weapons.

Freehand exercise to promote health was practised in China as early as the 3rd century, and, in the 5th century, monks of Shaolin Temple were performing exercises     8    (imitate) the five creatures: bear, bird, deer, monkey, and tiger. The snake was added     9    (late), and, by the early Ming Dynasty, the yin and yang principles     10    (add) to harmonize the whole. An assimilation (同化) of these developments, the art of tai chi chuan was systemized and named in the early Qing Dynasty.

8 . If this time last year you had told me that an exercise bike would save me, I’d have insisted you were wrong. I’d have protested that I’m not an athlete by any stretch. My coordination is lacking, my endurance is spotty (时好时坏的) and my speed is set squarely (干脆地) on tortoise.

In Grade 7, my physical education teacher watched me, eyebrow raised, as I tried to jump up and touch a marker on the wall. “You’re doing pretty well in my class,” he said, “for someone with no ability at all.”

In high school, I wasn’t suitable for a single team. I was bookish and slow, and that self-image (of being better suited to quiet reading and leisurely walks) remained with me for my entire life.

I discovered running in my 20s, and I enjoyed the feeling of quiet accomplishment — without the fear of letting down teammates. I tried yoga and enjoyed strength training classes, but I always prioritized mental pursuits over physical ones.

It was my mental wellness that finally forced me to rethink my fitness. This winter, I found myself bowing under the weight of exhaustion. I knew something had to change. I needed an outlet to release the tension of months of video conferencing, on-and-off solo parenting and virtual school. A run with my daughter wasn’t going to cut it.

I settled on an exercise bike with a big screen and the promise of life-changing results. Since early March, I’ve hardly missed a day on my bike. I’m not the fastest. But I’m finally learning that movement isn’t necessarily about athleticism (运动才能). More than anything, it’s about feeding your mind. It’s the feeling of accomplishment when you finish something hard outside of your comfort zone.

A handful of people will find glory in athleticism. For the rest of us, the reward is more personal: better sleep, improved mood and boosted confidence. I’m not destined (注定的) for the Olympics. But this was never about ability. That’s what I wish my gym teacher had told me.

If only he’d said, “You’re doing really well in my class. Look at your determination.”

10 . Figure skating (花样滑冰) got its name from the designs, or “figures”, that are made on century. Very complicated and elaborate (精美的) patterns invented by the skater were drawn on the ice with the skater’s blades (冰刃). Some designs that were created included rosettes (花结), stars and crosses.     1     .

The only year special figures took place in the Olympics was in 1908. Nikolai Panin of Russia won the event and was Russia’s first Olympic Champion.

Figures were the most important part of the original Olympic figure skating events.     2     For that reason, the general public was not all that excited about watching figure skating at the first Olympics.

In the mid-1930s, Olympic Champion Sonja Henie, increased the popularity of figure skating,     3    . Her beauty and athletic ballet style increased figure skating’s popularity worldwide.

How has figure skating changed since it first started thousands of years ago, and why?

Ice skating began about 4, 000 years ago in Finland.     4    . The first skates were made of flattened bone that was tied to the bottom of the feet. In the 13th century, the Dutch invented steel blades with edges (刃). In the Netherlands, all classes of people skated. James II introduced ice skating to the British noblemen in the late 1600s. Queen Victoria also enjoyed ice skating.

Today, ice skating can actually be done year-round since there are indoor ice arenas all over the world.     5    , even though the majority of ice skaters are children and teens