We all know that exercise is good for us, don’t we? 【小题1】 Just thinking about having to run or swim a long way! That can be enough to make some people want to lie down and give up! However, did you know that exercise is not all about doing sport?

【小题2】 Moving our bodies causes our brains to give out some special chemicals that create a good feeling. Just ten minutes of working out can leave us feeling happier. Moreover, regular exercise helps us feel fresher and get to sleep more easily. Finally, if we connect our exercise with a healthy diet, we will look healthier and feel more confident about ourselves. Sounds like a good deal, doesn’t it?

Start small! If exercise hasn’t been part of your life for a long time, there is no point training for a marathon (马拉松): you will soon give up and go back to your old ways! Just walk or ride bikes around the local park for ten minutes every day. 【小题3】

Choose an activity that not only exercises your body, but that you also enjoy. Some people simply go jogging while listening to their favourite music. Others take up activities such as dancing or playing basketball with their friends. Make the experience more enjoyable as you work out. 【小题4】

It doesn’t matter how much we exercise. Doing regular exercise isn’t just about appearance. 【小题5】 Who wouldn’t want that?

The COVID-19 pandemic has made our lives very different. Some of us have had better hygiene(卫生) habits. Others have learned how to cook. And more people have fallen in love with cycling(骑自行车).

Yang Xiaomeng lives 11 km away from her workplace in Beijing. She has been cycling to work for the last three months. "I used to take the subway before the COVID-19 outbreak. But now riding a bike seems to be a safer choice(选择)," she said.

Yang has found that cycling is more relaxing and enjoyable than taking the crowded (拥挤的) subway.

"There's more fresh(新鲜的) air on the road. It's also a good way to stay fit. I'll keep cycling as my new habit," she said.

According to Xinhua, many people turned from public transportation(交通) to cycling during the pandemic. The number of cyclists on Beijing's bike-only lane(车道) from Huilongguan to Shangdi has gone up by 17.6 percent, for example.

In other cities around the world, biking is also becoming more popular. London has closed large parts of the city to cars so that people can cycle safely. New York, Berlin and Montreal have built new, wider bike lanes for people to cycle. These cities believe that if there are safer and more comfortable (舒适的) places for cycling, more people will ride bikes in the future instead of driving. This will make the cities greener and cleaner, and their people happier and healthier.

Every morning, many people in China do Tai Chi. It is popular with women and men. Tai Chi is a kind of good exercise for old people. It is good for the body and mind. It is healthy and relaxing. Tai Chi is from China. It is hundreds of years old. Tai Chi is a “soft (柔软的)” martial art (武术), and that means it is slow and calm (镇静的).

There are also “hard” martial arts. For example, Shaolin Kungfu with a history of over 1, 500 years, is a “hard” martial art. It is fast and dangerous. You have to be healthy and strong (强壮的) enough to do “hard” martial arts.

In Beijing, Master Li is teaching Shaolin Kungfu to thirty young students, and three of them come from Japan. “Shaolin Kungfu is difficult,” said Master Li. “You must practice every move many times.”

Sports like football and basketball are also popular in China. But martial arts like Tai Chi and Kungfu are part of Chinese culture and history.