Did you know that the color of uniforms can influence the performance of an athlete? It may sound strange, but a study suggests this might be true.

Two British scientists studied the results of four sports in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games where the athletes had been given either a red or a blue uniform. They discovered that when there was a big difference in the score, color had no influence on the result. But if it was a close match, the athlete in a red uniform was more likely to win. Then they looked at the uniforms of the soccer teams at the Euro 2004 tournament (锦标赛). Again, teams wearing red won more games.

The two scientists got their idea from earlier studies of wild animals. It had been discovered that when a male shows red on its body, it sends a signal of its power and strength. For example, in many kinds of monkey, the more the male shows off its red scars (伤疤) , the more females it can attract.

Based on this fact, the British scientists thought that the idea might work for humans, too. According to them, when an athlete sees a competitor in a red uniform, he gets a feeling that he couldn’t be stronger than his competitor. And that kind of feeling may have a bad influence on the player’s performance in the actual game.

Although the idea is interesting, most people don’t accept that color signals in the animal world can really be useful to humans in sports. They think that it is unreasonable to develop an idea based on such a small number of examples. Much more research has to be done to prove the influence of uniform colors on the performance of athletes.

Do you want to live a happier, less stressful life? Try laughing for no reason at all. That's how thousands of people start their day at Laughter Clubs around the world and many doctors now think that having a good laugh might be one of the best ways to stay healthy.

The first Laughter Club was started in Mumbai, India, in 1995 by Dr. Madan Kataria. "Young children laugh about 300 times a day. Adults laugh between 7 and 15 times a day," says Dr. Kataria. "Everyone is naturally good at laughing-it's the universal language. We want people to feel happy with their lives." There are now more than 500 Laughter Clubs in India and over l,300 in the world.

Many doctors are also interested in the effects of laughter on our health. According to a 5-year study at the UCLA School of Medicine in California, with laughing there is less stress in the body. Laughter improves our health against illness by about 40%.

So what happens at a Laughter Club? I went along to my nearest club in South London to find out. I was quite nervous at the beginning of the class, to be honest, I wasn't interested in laughing with a group of strangers, and I was worried about looking stupid. Our laughter teacher told us to clap our hands and say “ho ho ho, ha ha ha.” while looking at each other. However, our bodies can't tell the difference between real laughter and unreal laughter, so they still produce the same healthy effects.

Surprisingly, it worked! After ten minutes everybody in the room was laughing for real and some people just couldn't stop! At the end of the class I was surprised by how relaxed-and comfortable I felt. So if you're under stress, then start laughing. You might be very pleased with the results!

A．India

B．America

C．Britain

D．China

A．Surprised.

B．Pleased

C．Nervous.

D．Tired.

A．After ten minutes.	B．After ten hours.
C．After ten seconds.	D．After ten days.

You know that short walk to the shops and back? It’s about 10 minutes each way and you don’t know if you can be glad to make the trip, but that one short walk could save you from an early death, a new research by Cambridge University shows. In fact, as many as one in 10 early deaths could be prevented if everyone managed at least half the recommended level of physical activity.

Risks of diseases such as heart disease, strokes (中风) — which were responsible for 17.9 million deaths per year in 2019 — and various cancers are all reduced with this simple short walk. This easy lifestyle change was also noted in an earlier study in January, 2023, so you really should give it a go.

By carrying out studies among a total of over 30 million participants, the latest Cambridge research found that just 75 minutes of exercise a week can reduce the risk of cancer by 7%. It was also enough to reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular (心血管的) disease by 17%.

Professor James Woodcock from the MRC Epidemiology Unit said, “We know that physical activity, such as walking or cycling, is good for you, especially if you feel it raises your heart rate. But what we’ve found is that there are many benefits to heart health and reducing your risk of cancer even if you can only manage 10 minutes every day.”

It goes without saying that doing the recommended 150 minutes per week is more beneficial than just 75 minutes. Around one in six early deaths would be prevented with the two plus hours of exercise, while 11% of cases of cardiovascular disease and 5% of cases of cancer would be avoided.

So what are you waiting for? Boots were made for walking.