It had coaster brakes and only one gear (齿轮). My two older brothers used it before me. The twenty-inch, black frame showed its age. It was scratched and nicked from years of use, but I didn't care. It was mine now.

My tricycle stood by the front steps of our house—-forgotten. In the front yard. I held the handlebars, swung my right leg over and settled myself onto the seat. My legs weren't long enough for both to touch the ground at the same time. I leaned to one side one foot supported me, I looked around, made sure no one was watching and kicked off My feet reached for the pedals and began to pump.

    After a few wobbly (不稳定的))yards, I fell off, and landed on my shoulder in the grass. I jumped up, brushed myself off, got back on and fell again.

    A week later, I rode in circles around the yard. Always to the left, I didn't wobble or fall. I was steady as I followed the beaten trail ['d created in the grass. I was free and I was flying.

    “Michael!” Mum called. ‘Supper is read!'

     I turned toward the front steps, wobbled and fell to the ground. I didn't know how to go straight or to the right. I'd learned to travel in circles to the left.

A year later, I was bicycling all around the neighbourhood. At twenty years old, I left home and cried. It was a lonely time in my life. Mum wasn't there It was time to learn how to turn again. I married and became a Dad —- I stumbled（跌跌撞撞）. There was someone else to think about new turns to stumble through.

    Each time I fell. I got up, brushed myself off and turned around the obstacle (障碍). Each time I think I'm on a straight road, life throws a turn in front of me. I may fall, but I always climb back on my seat.

    Skateboarding is an action sport which includes riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as an activity for fun, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation. In 2016, it was announced that skateboarding will be represented at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

    There are various theories about the origins of Skateboarding, but it is generally held that the sport began in the 1940s on the west coast of the USA when metal wheels were attached to a narrow wooden board. In the 1950s, plastic replaced metal as the material of choice for the wheels, and the first "Roller Surfboard" become commercially available, which in turn developed into the skateboard that we know today. The sport was a big hit with the younger generation and grew in global popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. Since the late 1990s, skateboarding has become an important part of street culture.

    However, skateboarding has raised heated discussions in areas where the activity, although legal (合法的), has damaged stone works, steps, benches, and parks. Certain cities oppose the building of skate parks in their neighborhoods, for fear of increased crime (犯罪) and drugs in the area. The disagreement between the old image of skateboarding and a newer one is quite obvious: magazines such as Thrasher describe skateboarding as dirty, and still firmly tied to punk (朋克), while other publications, Transworld Skateboarding as an example, paint a more different and controlled picture of skateboarding. As more professional skaters use hip hop, or hard rock music in their videos, many urban youths, hip-hop fans and hard rock fans are also drawn to skateboarding, weakening the sport's punk image. Besides, group spirit influences the members of this community. In presentations of skateboarding, the evidence of crime is absent, and no attempt is made to tie extreme sports to any kind of illegal activity.

    The good news is that efforts have been made to improve recognition of the cultural heritage as well as positive effects of skateboarding in cities. By raising £790,000, the Long Live Southbank initiative managed to stop the destruction of a forty years old spot in London due to urban planning, a rescuing operation whose effect extends beyond skateboarding. The presence of skateboarders on this public space keeps the area under nearly constant watch and drives homeless people away, increasing the feeling of safety in the area. The activity attracts artists such as photographers and film makers, as well as a significant number of tourists, which in turn drives economic activity in the neighborhood.

    The Internet plays a big part in human life. We use it for work and pleasure. We use it to learn a new language. We find advice on it. We use it to connect with family and friends. We use it to stay in touch with events we care about. The list goes on and on.

    As far as the Internet being a part of our lives. - Well, that train has left the station. This expression means there is no going back to an Internet-free life. But can using the Internet too much be bad for our health? It might be, say researchers. A new study finds that heavy Internet use may be connected to high blood pressure (血压) in a young group: teenagers.

    The study results show that teens who spend at least 14 hours a week only may cause high blood pressure, which makes your heart and blood vessels (血管) work too hard. Over time, this extra pressure increases your risk of a heart attack. High blood pressure can also cause heart and other diseases.

    The Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan did the study. 335 young people, from 14 t0 17 years old, took part in it. 134 0f the teens were described as "heavy Internet users". And researchers found that out of these 134 teens, 26 had high blood pressure. The researchers say the study is the first to connect heavy web use with high blood pressure.

    The lead researcher is Andrea CassidyBushrow. She said, "Using the Internet is part of our daily life, but it shouldn't ruin us." Ms. Cassidy-Bushrow adds that it is important for teens to take regular breaks from their computers or smartphones and do some kind of physical activity. She also suggests that parents shouldn't let their children use the Internet for more than two hours a day, five days a week.

    Eudaimonia is an Ancient Greek word, particularly stressed by the philosophers Plato and Aristotle, which deserves far more attention than it has because it corrects the shortfalls (缺失）in one of the most central, but troubling words in our modem language: happiness.

    When we nowadays try to clearly express the purpose of our lives, it is the word “happiness” that we commonly turn to. We tell ourselves and others that the most important principle for our jobs, our relationships and the conduct of our day-to-day lives is the pursuit of happiness. It sounds like an innocent enough idea, but too much reliance on the term means that we frequently unfairly tend to quit or, at least, heavily question a great many challenging but worthwhile situations. The Ancient Greeks did not believe that the purpose of life was to be happy; they proposed that it was to achieve Eudaimonia, a word which has been best translated as “fulfilment”.

    What distinguishes happiness from fulfilment is pain. It is very possible to be fulfilled and—at the same time—under pressure, suffering physically or mentally, overburdened and, quite frequently, in an irritable (易怒的）mood. This is a slight psychological difference that is hard for the word “happiness” to capture, for it's tricky to speak of being happy yet unhappy, or happy yet suffering. However, such a combination is readily accommodated within the respected and noble-sounding idea of Eudaimonia.

    The word encourages us to trust that many of life's most worthwhile projects will sometimes be in conflict with contentment, and yet will be worth pursuing. Properly exploring our professional talents, managing a household, keeping a relationship going, creating a new business venture or engaging in politics… none of these goals are likely to leave us cheerful and grinning on a daily basis. They will, in fact, involve us in all manner of challenges that will deeply exhaust and weaken us, provoke (激怒）and wound us. And yet we will perhaps, at the end of our lives, still feel that the tasks were worth undertaking. Through them, we'll have achieved something deeper and more interesting than happiness.

    With the word Eudaimonia in mind, we can stop imagining that we are aiming for a pain-free existence—and then blaming ourselves unfairly for being in a bad mood. We'll know that we are trying to do something far more important than smile all the time: we're striving to do justice to our full human potential.

    When Warren Buffett, the most successful investor, was asked about the secret to his wealth and success, he revealed that he read every day, 500 pages, to be precise. Unfortunately, if you're already working 9‒5, you might not have the time to read at all, let alone an entire book a day. But what if you could get the benefits of reading without sacrificing all of your free time? You can! With the Blinkist app, you get the key learning in minutes, not hours or days. Our experts transform these books into quick, easy-to-understand insights. Start with the 5 most-read books.

    ⒈Thirteen Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do

    by Amy Morin             12 min reading time             147k reads

    Do you struggle to get over your failures? Getting over these can have a profound influence on your everyday life. Morin shares how her most successful patients overcame these difficulties.

    ⒉How to Stop Worrying and Start Living

    by Dale Carnegie           19 min reading time            238k reads

    Ever wondered why you can't stop worrying about something? By defining the source of your stress, you can get over it once and for all. Carnegie came up with a formula that helps you handle any overthinking situation.

    ⒊How Will You Measure Your Life?

    by Clayton M. Christensen       13 min reading time        137k reads

    Are you making the right trade-offs (权衡) in life? While career achievements can be satisfying, neglecting your family and friends can be bad in the long-run — in ways you can't even imagine.

    ⒋Finding Your Element

    by Ken Robinson               13 min reading time        62.4k reads

    Everyone has a passion. If you don't know what yours is, it just means you haven't discovered it yet. Find out how you can break free of society's strict rules and find your calling in life.

    ⒌Emotional Intelligence

    by Daniel Goleman             16 min reading time        318k reads

    Did you know if your pulse rate rises above 100 bpm, you're deemed too emotional to think rationally? You probably let feelings cloud your judgment more often than you know. Goleman explains how you can avoid letting your emotions rule you and make better decisions in life.

    The Z Hotel is in the heart of London's West End and has comfortable accommodation in a contemporary design.

    All rooms include handcrafted beds, 48-inch Samsung HD TVs with free Sky Sports and Movie channels, and free Wi-Fi. Each room also has under-bed storage for an overnight bag, and wall-mounted hanging space for clothing. The Z Hotel also offers wheelchair accessible rooms.

    Continental breakfast is served in The Z Café every morning, including smoked salmon, fresh bread, fresh fruit salad and bacon rolls. A selection of salads, sandwiches and hot dishes are on offer throughout the day.

    The hotel is a 5-minute walk from Prince of Wales Theatre and Chinatown London, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square. Heathrow Airport can be reached directly from Piccadilly Circus Underground Station.

    This is our guests' favorite part of London, according to independent reviews. This area is also great for shopping, with popular brands nearby: Apple, H&M, Zara, Burberry and Chanel.

    The Z Hotel is rated for the best value in London! Guests are getting more for their money when compared to other hotels in this city. Come and stay with us!

    Most popular facilities:

    luggage storage Heating Free Wi-Fi Air conditioning

    24-hour front desk Daily maid service Parking Lift

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