Coach your favourite sports to poor children in schools. Help these children to get a structured sporting education and see their joy as they pick up new skills. If that's not enough sport for you, you can even get involved in playing with local teams in your evenings and at weekends.
Description
As a volunteer sports coach, you and your group will head to 3 schools each day to coach your chosen sport or a variety of them. Sports coaching volunteering involves not just teaching the kids, but also acting as a good role model. Children are aged about 10–13 and are often new to playing sport in a structured environment. You don't need to be a top player to take part (though any champions are welcome!) — it's your patience and drive that will make the biggest effects.
Which sports to coach?
Sports coaching volunteers can choose to specialize in coaching just one sport, but often we find that it is best to combine several sports for more variety. The freedom to choose between different sports makes the weeks even more diverse. Follow the links to find out more about each sport.
Accommodation
·The accommodation is located in a leafy suburb 10 minutes' drive from the city centre and the seafront.
Sports volunteers share accommodation with childcare and teaching volunteers.
Food
All dietary requirements can be catered for, as long as we know about them in advance. Coaching children in sport will make you hungry — many volunteers choose to supplement (补充) their meals with snacks bought in the local shops, just 10 minutes' walk away. There is a volunteer kitchen where participants can do any cooking they wish outside of mealtimes.
Want to go travelling afterwards?
We can arrange a week-long Garden Route tour after your time on the project. Follow the link to find out more about the Garden Route Tour.
Instead of escaping the summer heat in air-conditioning indoors, Mustafa Furkan Ozgener prefers the sunshine in an experimental seed field of over 200 kinds of melons in Pingluo County, Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Picking melons, weighing them, observing their growth, tasting, recording and taking pictures, the 31-year-old Turkish man runs his tests on up to 50 kinds of melons every day. "I love working in the field. Melons are favored in Turkey in the hot summers and my job here is to choose the best kinds for Turkish customers," he said.
Influenced by his father who used to do business in China, Ozgener majored in Chinese at university and therefore expected a journey to China one day. The young man visited China for the first time as an exchange student in Beijing. Two years later, Ozgener applied for a master's degree in tourism management at China's Sun Yat-sen University. Since then, he's traveled around the country to learn about the colorful Chinese culture and enjoy different dishes. "The more I learn about China, the more I want to stay here," said Ozgener. He worked as a translator in Ningxia after graduation.
The company Ozgener works for now is a scientific and technological enterprise engaged in vegetable planting, production, promotion, import and export. It has bred over 70 new varieties of seeds and exported seeds to 27 countries and regions in Asia and Africa, including the Middle East.
Before the outbreak of COVID-19, Ozgener would spend two months in Hainan and another four months in Ningxia to help foreign clients select seeds. Then he would go back to Turkey. But due to the epidemic (流行病), he has stayed in Ningxia for more than a year, observing and selecting target seeds in the field every day.
"I used to do translation work only, but now I'm also responsible for all the stuff related to the seeds. It's tiring but rewarding, because I can learn a lot. I will continue to pursue my dream here," said Ozgener.
Now, a study proves that gardens are more than just a pretty place. The study, by researchers at Illinois State University, demonstrates that such constructed gardens can have a measurable and positive impact on water quality.
Floating gardens are essentially platforms built and wrapped in coconut husks (椰子壳), and filled in with native plantings. As plants grow, they extend their roots into the water. On the North Branch of the Chicago River, non-profit Urban Rivers and its partners are developing a mile-long floating eco-park called the Wild Mile. The re-development of this former industrial canal is Urban Rivers' important project. As part of the park, floating gardens, attached to shore, are being fixed.
The primary aim of the floating gardens is beautification. But the Illinois State team, from the University's Department of Geology, Geography, and the Environment, saw an ideal setup for a controlled experiment. "We joined it because it's the perfect opportunity to see if there's an influence on water quality," explains lead author Abigail Heath.
The study is novel: previous studies have explored floating gardens' influence on water quality over time, primarily in wastewater treatment ponds, but not over space, in moving water. The project also matches well with Urban Rivers' broader goals. "The city is interested in bettering water quality," says Phil Nicodemus, Urban Rivers' Director of Research. "Happily, Illinois State took part in it later."
Could this small human-made park improve water quality? An average of data collected over the course of the study shows middle but definitive improvement. For example, nitrogen (氮) dropped from 4.69 milligrams per liter in surface water to 4.43 milligrams per liter, a drop of about 1 percent.
"Despite how small this garden was, there was measurable improvement in water quality from upstream to downstream," notes Heath. She and her colleagues see this as a model for how large floating gardens should be to help improve water in similar settings. "Even this tiny garden makes a difference," she says.
Stressed at work and feeling your blood pressure rise? People all over the world are told by their doctors to try for a low-sodium (钠) diet to treat high blood pressure or other diseases, but there's no denying that salt makes food taste good. Fortunately, Japanese researchers at Tokyo's Meiji University and the manufacturer Kirin have developed high-tech chopsticks that enhance salty tastes, potentially helping those who need to reduce sodium in their diets.
These wired-up chopsticks are actually part of a device that the researchers say can enhance the salty flavor of low-sodium foods. And when they were tested on participants for the first time, results showed that the high-tech chopsticks increase perceived (察觉到) saltiness in foods by about 1.5 times.
According to the research team, the basic principle is that the extra salty flavor is perceived due to extremely weak electric currents conveyed directly into the mouth through the tip of one of the chopsticks. Scientists have apparently been using this kind of weak electricity to play with flavors in the lab for years, but these chopsticks in particular are set to adjust the activity of ions (离子) in sodium chloride (table salt), which enhances salty flavor.
And do these chopsticks work as expected? To verify the effect of the new chopsticks, the researchers conducted an experiment on a total of 36 participants aged 40 to 65, all of whom were eating a low-sodium diet. If nothing else, one thing was clear: participants using the chopsticks tasted more salt than they did without. Results show that they even thought that low-sodium food eaten with the high-tech chopsticks tasted saltier than regular food made with an average amount of sodium, and eaten with normal chopsticks.
The chopsticks aren't on store shelves quite yet, but with promising results, people around the world who are unhappily devoted to a low-sodium diet might just be excited for any updates to come!
Neither of us has ever been to a cat cafe although I've heard of cat cafes in Japan. So when we saw The Cat Brothers Cafe near our hotel in Chiang Mai, we knew we had to stop by.
Generally speaking, the biggest complaint about cat cafes is that the cats are uninterested in visitors. Instead, what they prefer to do is spend their time away from the coffee-drinking customers, who were usually cat lovers as well. It is home to roughly 20 cats who were all full of energy. During our visit, we had 4–5 cats hanging around our table at any given time. They seemed to welcome, or at least enjoyed being petted. They were far more friendly than we expected. There are a number of baskets and cat houses spreading around the room. Even the sleeping cats could be made for great photos. So if you are a photographer lover, you will find many surprises here.
The first floor is cat-free. And it is especially perfect if you're looking to get some work done. Some writers and white-collar workers like to choose this floor.
The second floor is where the interaction is. Be prepared for lots of cat-action, especially if you buy the cat food downstairs. When you run out of food, grab one of the many toys laying around and have some fun with the playful cats. If you, or the cats, are tired of playing, just sit back and catch some interesting shots of cute cats and taste some delicious coffee.
A. It only costs 200 JPY.
B. The cat cafe actually has two levels.
C. Luckily, the cats here were super friendly.
D. You can't bring your own food to the cat cafe.
E. So if the cats felt tired, they were able to hide away.
F. It was an appealing and comfortable casual-style cat cafe.
G. If the cats were still energetic, they would continue playing.
The friends of Juliana Palm, a fashion designer, in Rio de Janeiro were opposed to her becoming a Games volunteer. By the time the Games ended, her friends had become supporters.
Juliana came to the Games to 1 creative inspiration for her design work. 2 her experiences after the Rio 2016 Closing Ceremony, Juliana teared up as she recalled her interactions with volunteers and visitors. Working with other volunteers 3 her life. She met a girl from Mexico and 4 some inspiration from her culture.
Juliana was also inspired by Olympic 5, and enjoyed learning about fencing, rugby sevens and other sports less widely practised in Brazil. She was particularly 6 by Brazilian judoka Rafaela Silva who won the gold medal. "It was 7 — first, because she is a woman, and we don't have as many sports for women as for men. She showed the world that it is
8 to do anything if you believe in something," Juliana said.
Juliana was always 9 that Brazil would deliver successful Games, despite the country's 10. "We have difficulties with education and public transportation. But it is not a problem for us because we can 11 them," Juliana said.
Juliana also expressed confidence that Rio de Janeiro would continue to 12 from the Games in the years ahead, mentioning 13 the new bus rapid transit links and the new Metro Line 4. Without the Olympic Games, Line 4 would never have happened. It would 14 many people to travel to or from work. Besides, Porto Maravilha was transformed from just a dangerous place into a 15 and beautiful community.
Sun Zhenchu, an 86-year-old man in 2022, who got his driver's license in about a year, has surprised and inspired netizens in China not only because of his age.
The motivation behind Sun Zhenchu's (take) the driving tests is to care for his wife. Sun's wife didn't go out much after operation. After the policy that people over 70 can apply a driver's license was issued, Sun (immediate) became an elderly trainee at a local driver training school in Zhejiang Province and managed (pass) the four exams, receiving perfect scores on two of them. After getting his license in March, Sun bought an electric vehicle to take his wife shopping for groceries, to the hospital or sightseeing along the Qiantang River.
astonished people most was Sun's career — he was a specialist in nuclear weapons and made great (contribute) to the nation. After graduation in 1964, Sun (select) as one of the researchers to participate in China's first atomic bomb test. After the successful test, he went to Beijing, he continued to conduct research and testing for nuclear weapons for 32 years. He retired in 1995, but he did not stop learning new things.
In a speech he delivered at Zhejiang Gongshang University in late June, he encouraged graduates to keep learning to stand out in a (compete) and challenging society.
It was the Easter holidays, and school was closed for two weeks. For me, the Easter holidays were so boring that it was impossible to find something fun to do. My mom had suggested that I do some studies since the promotion test was coming up. However, I didn't follow my mother's suggestion. Instead, I went outside to seek out my friends to play with. When I had successfully contacted some of my friends, none of them seemed to be much in a playful mood, but one friend Jimmy agreed to play with me. He suggested we go down to the river and just relax there. The river was not far from my home, and we arrived there quickly.
Just relaxing on the river bank with nothing but some waste logs, it wasn't fun for us at first. Clearly what was on our minds was to jump into the river and just take a swim in the clear cool water. So we took off our clothes down to our underwear and walked into the shallow part of the water. The water was truly cool and refreshing and we were starting to have fun then, playing and laughing, as we splashed the cool water onto each other's faces.
Then we started to chase each other around on the river bank and then we ran straight into the river. We were having so much fun that we didn't notice danger was around the corner. Before Jimmy could know it, and before he could do anything to keep his balance, he lost his footing on a tree branch, which was in the shallow part of the water, and slipped, bringing his whole entire body into the deep water. He tried to resurface from the water but found it extremely hard to keep his head above the water.
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I was scared to see him struggling in the water but I knew I must rescue him. …… After a while, Jimmy recovered from panic and thanked my mom and the neighbors. |
