阅读下列短文, 从下面每个小题的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项。

A study conducted by the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom suggest that watching cute animals may lead to a reduction in stress and anxiety.

The study examined how watching images and videos of cute animals for 30 minutes affects blood pressure, heart rate(心率) and anxiety. In December 2019, 19 people, including 15 students, joined in the study.

"There were some kittens, there was puppies, there were baby gorillas, there were quokkas —cute creatures found in Western Australia, are often referred to as 'the world's most cheerful animals'." Dr. Andrea Utley, a professor at the University of Leeds told CNN. The study was timed during winter exams, a time when stress is at an especially high level for students, according to Utley.

 The study recorded that the average blood pressure dropped from 136/88 to 115/71, which the study pointed out is "within ideal blood pressure range." Average(平均的) heart rates were lowered to 67.4 bpm, a reduction of 6.5%. Anxiety rates also went down by 35%.

"I was quite pleasantly surprised that during the session, every single measure for every single participant dropped some — heart rate reduced, blood pressure reduced," Utley said. "When they left, they filled the questionnaire(调查问卷) in again and showed that they were feeling less worried."

When questioning the participants, the study found that most preferred video clips over still images, particularly of animals interacting with humans.

A. It is placed perfectly.

B. That's because trust is key to their success.

C. After the tour, we were lucky enough to interview two great riders.

D. It was from May 3rd to May 5th.

E. How do you make the horse jump?

F. What attracted me most was the judge's box.

I was amazed by the 2024 Shanghai Longines Global Champions Tour （上海浪琴环球马术冠军赛）.

After arriving at the equestrian （马术）centre, we first had a guided tour. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}In many sports, the judges' seats are usually placed in a point to help them clearly watch and score the performances. However, in equestrian events, judges often work from a single room, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It can offer the judges a clear view of the competition.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}As we are interested in equestrian sports, we had a lot of questions: How do you keep a good relationship with a horse? {#blank#}4{#/blank#} They patiently answered all of our questions. They said if you treat the horse as a friend and trust it, it will do better in the competitions. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

Time flew and the wonderful journey ended. However, now, every time I think of it, I have a picture in my mind of a young boy racing with his horse, with a line of trust.

The "Great Green Wall of China" project is over forty years old. In this project, people plant trees in Northern China. Why are trees so important to us? Because it is healthy to live around trees. They can keep us healthy, just like doctors. So we call them "doctor trees". 

Trees can clean the air. For people in large cities with air pollution, trees can be very important. Workers are planting trees not just in city parks. They are also planting trees along streets to help clean the air. 

Some scientists think that trees not just help clean the air. They are also good for our health. A study shows that people in hospitals feel better when they can see trees from their rooms. And people with trees near their homes usually exercise more. 

Scientists are also studying the healthy effects （作用） of trees on human minds. One effect of trees is that they make people feel happy and relaxed. When people go through the neighborhood with more trees, they will walk slower and talk more often with each other. 

Of course, another good effect is that "doctor trees" work for free!

Do You Have a Soccer Ball?

Frank Brown

I don't have a soccer ball, but my brother Alan does. We go to the s{#blank#}1{#/blank#} school and we love soccer. We play it at school with our friends. It's r{#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

Gina Smith

Yes, I do. I have two soccer balls, three volleyballs, four basketballs and five baseballs and bats. I love s{#blank#}3{#/blank#}, but I don't play them—I only watch them on TV! 

Wang Wei

No, I don't. Soccer is d{#blank#}4{#/blank#} for me, so I never play it. I like ping-pong. It's easy for me. I have three ping-pong balls and two ping-pong bats. A{#blank#}5{#/blank#} class, I play ping-pong with my classmates.

Perry is one of the Australia's most famous women cricketers(板球运动员). She shares her ideas about having dreams and how to make them come true.

 In Perry's view, a dream has to be realistic(现实的). It has to be something you can actually do. " When I was a little girl, I dreamed of being a musician and giving concerts(音乐会) to people from all over the world. But that's not realistic because I'm not good at it, Perry said.

 It's true that all the little dreams we have can lead to a big one. In the beginning. Perry just wanted to be a cricketer. Then, she kept working hard and tried to dream bigger. Now she has the chance to fight for her country in cricket. " That's hard to imagine when I started out, said Perry.

 As we all know, not everything can happen perfectly. All we have to do is never to give up. As a sports person, Perry may lose a game sometimes. Instead of thinking about something bad, she always tells herself." Be persistent(坚持的). Things will get better soon if you never give up.

 Finally, Perry tells us that confidence(自信心) is what gets you through the hardest times. " While facing problems, don't lose heart. Always have confidence in yourself and believe in yourself. When you believe you can, you really can," she said.

School PE Club is going to have some sports classes for the new term. Let's have a look.