The Boy Made It!         

A Competitive Sport

    Cheerleading

    Over the years, cheerleading has taken two primary forms: game-time cheerleading and competitive cheerleading. Game-time cheerleaders' main goal is to entertain the crowd and lead them with team cheers, which should not be considered a sport. However, competitive cheerleading is more than a form of entertainment. It is really a competitive sport.

    Competitive cheerleading includes lots of physical activity. The majority of the teams require a certain level of tumbling (翻腾运动) ability. It's a very common thing for gymnasts, so it's easy for them to go into competitive cheerleading. Usually these cheerleaders integrate lots of their gymnastics experience including their jumps, tumbling, and overall energy. They also perform lifts and throws. This is where the “fliers” are thrown in the air, held by “bases” in different positions that require strength and working with other teammates.

    Competitive cheerleading is also an activity that is governed by rules under which a winner can be declared. It is awarded points for technique, creativity and sharpness. Usually the more difficult the action is, the better the score is. That's why cheerleaders are trying to experience great difficulty in their performance.

    Besides, there is also a strict rule of time. The whole performance has to be completed in less than three minutes and fifteen seconds, during which the cheerleaders are required to stay within a certain area. Any performance beyond the limit of time is invalid.

    Another reason for the fact that competitive cheerleading is one of the hardest sports is that it has more reported injuries. According to some research, competitive cheerleading is the number one cause of serious sports injuries to women. Emergency room visits for it are five times the number than for any other sport, partially because cheerleaders don't use protective equipment. Smiling cheerleaders are thrown into the air and move down into the arms of the teammates, which may easily cause injuries. Generally, these injuries affect all areas of the body, including wrists, shoulders, ankles, head, and neck.

    There can be no doubt that competitive cheerleading is a sport with professional skills. Hopefully, it will appear in the Olympics since cheerleaders are just as athletic and physically fit as those involved in the more accepted sports. It should be noted that it is a team sport and even the smallest mistake made by one teammate can bring the score of the entire team down. So without working together to achieve the goal, first place is out of reach.

    China is known for its long history, rich culture, and cute pandas. It's also known for some of the worst air quality in the world. But the Asian country is now using a natural weapon against air pollution – trees.

    In February, China's government announced plans to cover at least 32,400 square miles with forest. That is about the size of Ireland. Some 60,000 soldiers will take charge of the tree-planting program. Most of the trees will be planted in Hebei Province. That is an area surrounding China's capital, Beijing.

    Huang Wei is an environmentalist who works for Greenpeace East Asia. She is optimistic about the plan. “Trees act as a sink to absorb carbon dioxide and other pollutants,” she said. Carbon dioxide is a gas that traps the Earth's heat. It contributes to global warming.

    Why is China's air filled with harmful chemicals? It's because the country relies on coal-fired power plants. When coal is burned, PM2.5 is produced, PM2.5 is a pollutant. It can cause shortness of breath, heart attacks, and even death.

    Just two years ago, pollution levels were so high in Beijing that schools and factories had to close. Huang hopes China's tree-planting plan will reduce the nation's suffering from air pollution.

    The Chinese government is getting help from others in its drive to make the nation greener. Stefano Boeri is an Italian architect and urban planner. He is leading an effort to plant vertical（垂直的）forests in China.

    Boeri's designs have already taken root in the city of Nanjing, China. That's where the Nanjing Green Towers are under construction. The building has two towers. Thousands of trees and hanging plants will grow on the balconies and rooftops.

    Boeri says his goal is to design buildings that help the environment and improve air quality. He also hopes to encourage a new generation of green architects.

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    Whenever we see a button, we are eager to press it because we know something will happen. This is true in most cases, for example on a doorbell and on the "on/off" button on the TV. But some buttons are actually fake, like the "close" button on a lift.

    Many people are in the habit of pressing the "close" button because they don't have the patience to wait for the lift doors to shut. But lifts "close" buttons are a complete scam, at least in the US-the doors will not close any faster no matter how hard you press.

    It started in the 199os when the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in the US, making sure that all lifts stayed open long enough so that people with disabilities could enter. Only US firefighters and repairmen can use the buttons to speed up the door-closing process if they have a code or special keys.

    But to normal lift riders, the buttons aren't completely useless. According to psychologists, fake buttons can actually make you feel better by offering you a sense of control." Perceived（能够感知的）control is very important. It reduces stress and increases well-being," Ellen J. Langer, a psychology professor, said," Having a lack of control is associated with depression."

    Experts have revealed that a lot of buttons that don't do anything exist in our lives for this same purpose. For example, many offices in the US have fake thermostats（温度调节器）because people tend to feel better when they think they can control the temperature in their workspace.

    But psychologists found it interesting that even when people are aware of these little" white lies", they still continue to push fake buttons because as long as the doors eventually close, it is considered to be worth the effort.

   "That habit is here to stay," John Kounios, a psychology professor, said," Even though I have real doubts about the traffic light buttons, I always press them. After all, I've got nothing else to do while waiting.  So why not press the button in the hope that this one will work?"

    Why does night fall but never break and day break but never fall？Why are people who ride motorcycles called bikers and people who ride bikes called cyclists？In what other language do people drive in a parkway and park in a driveway？In what other language do they call the third hand on the clock the second hand？

    Let's face it: English is a crazy language. There is no egg in an eggplant, neither pine nor apple in a pineapple and no ham in a hamburger. Sweet-meats are candy， while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.

    We take English for granted. But when we explore its paradoxes(悖论), we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, public bathrooms have no baths in them.

    And why is it that a writer writes, but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce, and hammers don't ham？If the plural of tooth is teeth, shouldn't the plural of booth be beeth? One goose, two geese - so one moose, two meese?

    How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell the next？

    English was invented by people, not computers, and it shows the creativity of human beings. That's why, when stars are out, they are visible; but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it; but when I wind up this essay, I end it.