Membership Card
Fighting Fit is a members-only club. When you first join, we give you a computerized card. It has your name, photo and membership number on.
Please have your card with you every time you use the club. The card is for your use only, and there is a small charge to provide a new one if you lose it. Members are permitted to bring guests to use the facilities at the club. A visiting guest fee is charged for each guest.
Fitness Programs
Your Fitness Program includes a meeting with one of our skilled instructors. This will happen two or three weeks after you have joined. The instructor looks at your health, your current needs and the way you live, and organizes a program suitable for you.
Gymnasium
Our gymnasiums are the most modern in the area and have high quality exercise equipment. For safety reasons, you must wear sportswear and trainers while exercising, and please remember to take a small towel too. It is one of our rules that you wipe the equipment after use.
There is no limit to how long you spend in the gymnasiums, but we ask you to respect other members by only spending 20 minutes on each piece of equipment. There are experienced staff helping you in the gymnasiums at any time.
Locker Rooms
We have large male and female locker rooms. Please ensure that your property is kept in your locker at all times. Any belongings which are found in a locker overnight will be removed and taken to Lost Property.
Café
The Café offers free tea, coffee and soft drinks.
Suggestion Box
Members' suggestions are always welcome, and the suggestion box and forms can be found at reception. We try to respond within two days.
Kevin Carroll is one of the world's leading scientists. Besides his work with people, he has designed prosthetics (假肢) for dogs and even a duck. And now he is working on Winter.
Winter, an Atlantic dolphin, is a playful two-year-old. She was found off the coast of Florida, caught in a trap. When she arrived at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, CEO David Yates said her condition was serious.
"The first few days, we really didn't think she'd live at all. 24-hour around-the-clock care was provided by our veterinary (兽医) staff, our animal care staff, and our volunteers who literally watched her every second of the day," Yates said.
Winter survived, but she lost her tail. Without a tail, she can neither swim as fast nor jump as high as a normal dolphin. "She has had to get used to swimming without a tail. We didn't know if she could do that," he said.
Winter's swimming style changed from up and down to side to side. Veterinarians were concerned that this unusual swimming form might change the long-term health of her spine (脊柱). The vets, therefore, began to explore how to design a prosthetic tail for Winter. Carroll called Winter's caretakers after he got word of the need for a prosthetic tail, and he offered his services.
Designing a prosthesis for a dolphin was a trickier process than Carroll expected. He said, "With a person, when we fit a prosthesis, we have one long, firm bone. We don't have to have it moving in every direction. With a dolphin, it needs to move along with her whole spine." Teaching Winter how to use the prosthetic device (设备) also presents a challenge. Carroll will have to help her to learn how to once again swim up and down like a typical dolphin.
"It's going to be powerful seeing her coming out of the water with that tail," Carroll said. "I know she's going to do it. We're really looking forward to that."
Jaguar Land Rover has released new technology designed to constantly monitor drivers and passengers in order to adjust settings to match their mood (情绪). The carmaker has tested a special system which uses a camera to film drivers to monitor their facial expressions.
If the system detects a driver who is stressed, it can automatically turn on calming mood lighting. The car could respond to a driver who was tired by lowering the car's temperature, or by beginning to play a specific playlist of music. The carmaker has also developed headrest cameras to monitor the facial expressions of passengers. If the cameras detect sleepiness, then the car can automatically dim (使变暗) the passenger lighting to help people go to sleep. Jaguar Land Rover said that the system also uses artificial intelligence to learn people's preferences, so that it could automatically adjust a car's settings based on their previous interactions with the car.
Dr Steve Iley, Jaguar Land Rover chief medical officer, said, "As we move towards a self-driving future, the focus for us remains as much on the driver as it ever has."
"By considering the overall behavior of drivers, and using much of what we've learned from the advances in research around personal well-being over the last 10 or 15 years, we can make sure our customers remain comfortable, involved and alert behind the wheel in all driving situations, even motorway journeys."
The system is still being developed and is not yet available in cars, Jaguar Land Rover said.
In 2015, the company released a similar system which monitors drivers to detect signs of sleepiness. The system is now in use in Jaguar cars, and alerts drivers when they become too sleepy.
When we buy something new, we get rid of what's old. That cycle of consumption has made electronics waste the world's fastest-growing solid-waste stream, which is expected to grow as the world upgrades to 5G.
While promising faster speeds and other benefits, 5G will result in a dramatic increase in e-waste. That's good business for ERI, which charges customers to collect their electronics and to securely wipe their data. But less than a quarter of U. S. electronic waste is recycled, the rest ending up as rubbish, posing environmental risks.
Part of the problem concerns regulation (法规). In states without laws banning electronics from the regular trash, electronics often end up in garbage and recycling bins. Even when e-waste rules exist, it's left to consumers to handle their old devices properly. But recycling them can be a pain. Rather than drop a used phone in a bin, lots of people have to take their electronics to a store, which may pay them for it or charge them to get rid of it. Many consumers simply throw their devices into the trash or throw them in a drawer.
One solution is to make electronics last as long as they once did. Yet, technology companies are speeding the pace of being deserted. "It's a strategy by producers to force us into shorter upgrade cycles," said Kyle Wiens, the founder of iFixit, which publishes do-it-yourself repair guides.
Some environmental groups say big companies like Apple and Samsung should pick up the cost of recycling the devices they sell. Lawmakers have passed Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws, which require producers to establish and fund systems to recycle or collect abandoned products.
Some companies are increasing their recycling efforts on their own. For instance, Apple in 2018 introduced Daisy, a smartphone-recycling robot that can take apart 200 iPhones every hour. But that's a drop in the bucket compared with the 50 million tons of e-waste generated globally last year.
Is Society Too Dependent On Technology?
Just think, what would happen if your computer, iPad or laptop crashed today? What if someone took away your phone for some days or perhaps you lost it? If thinking about these incidences makes you stressed, you are not alone.
Most of us cannot go for a minute without looking at our phones and the fear of the battery dying is huge. If you happen to work in offices you may be familiar with this trend. Anyway, it's true. How can work continue if it's hard to send an email to a colleague or customer? This is common in almost all offices.
Those evening games after school are over; watching cartoons on a Sunday or playing with friends are no longer there. Today, most kids remain indoors playing computer games or with a smart phone. Technology has taken all their time.
Society may have gone too far in technology dependence. It has become so huge that doctors have recommended for "technology detox". If not, according to Oxford Dictionary, Technology Detox is a period during which an individual avoids using any electronic devices including computers, smart phones, etc., as a chance to reduce stress and focus on social interaction in the outside world.
Well, the choice remains in our hands. We must agree that society is being carried away by the increased inventions being introduced in our lives today. Meanwhile, we should have the discipline to turn it off when we are supposed to experience life in reality.
A. Perhaps you may have heard of it.
B. We appreciate technology since it has its benefits.
C. If the Internet is down, all the tasks are over for the day.
D. Technology addiction is sure to cause social problems.
E. Today, most people are becoming dependent on technology.
F. Here are some signs that our generation depends too much on technology.
G. Kids used to spend a lot of time with each other or parents playing or just sharing stories.
选项。
Yesterday, a salesman called me by phone, on behalf of a telecommunication company, to sell his phone plans. I was at work and while I usually don't 1 to spend time with those conversations, I 2 myself that I couldn't talk yet and proposed him to call me back one hour later, at 6 pm.
That's what he did. So we 3 15 minutes. He explained to me his different phone plans, which he stated to be better than my 4 one. While listening to him, sometimes I was lost in my thoughts. I gave several "hmm hmm", as a 5 of approbation (赞同) and to 6 to him that I was still there. Sometimes, I felt a bit 7 especially as he had a bit of difficulty in correctly talking in French. But I stayed calm and 8 until the end of the discussion.
At the end of the conversation, he 9 the following to me: "Thank you, Olivier. You are the first person in a long time, with whom I had a(n) 10 conversation. Usually, people 11 at us, insult us, and treat us as thieves. Today, since 10 am, I hadn't had a(n) 12 without an offense. I know you had a long day at work and you could have 13in front of your TV or done something else. Instead, you listened carefully to me. I am 14 and I sincerely thank you. I wanted to tell it to you."
I thanked him for this revelation. I realized how much he could have been the subject of verbal 15, all through his working days. Yet, he was only doing his job. I hope he will have a good weekend.
To many Chinese, playing traditional Chinese musical (instrument)，such as the guzheng or erhu, may seem a bit old-fashioned. But there are musicians who take these instruments and combine them modern sounds.
One of these artists (be) Brad Seippel. He is a 33-year-old music producer from the US city of New Orleans.
Seippel (play) music since he was just 12 years old. But it was not until he was 24 and living in China he learned to play the pipa.
"When I was young, my father encouraged me to play the bass guitar. A bass guitar has four strings，and so (do) the pipa, so for me it was natural," he said.
Seippel's music is (main) electronic and sounds quite modern. But the pipa lets him add unique element to his music.
Chinese musicians are bringing back (tradition) music as well. Nine Treasures is a heavy metal band from Inner Mongolia. They use Mongolian throat-singing (呼麦) and a horsehead fiddle to add a folk flavor to rock songs. I've seen them live many times myself—it is truly a powerful mix.
We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.
Growing up, I wanted to be just like my mom. Kind and caring, she always seemed to make people comfortable in her presence. For years she was a volunteer in our community. I loved going to the local nursing home to help with her until I hit my preteen years. Suddenly, I was too caught up in my adolescent world to worry about helping others.
One particular summer day when I was twelve, Mom came into my room and told me to get up and meet her at the car. I had planned to spend the day at the lake with friends. Why did she have to ruin everything? Eventually, I made my way outside. I imagined the lake water cooling my skin. Annoyed, I climbed into the car and slammed the door shut. I sat in silence, too upset to make a conversation.
"Tasha, would you like to know where we are going?" Mom asked calmly.
"I guess…" I murmured under my breath.
"Sweetheart, we are going to a children's shelter. I have been there before and I think it would benefit you," she explained.
I felt a knot slowly form in my stomach. How was I supposed to help there?
When we reached the shelter, I was rather surprised. It was a large white Victorian home. As we approached the large front porch, wind bells played a calming tune while trees and blossoms welcomed us. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad.
Mom rang the doorbell. The door flew open and we were led to the front room, where all of the children were playing. Toys were spread out across the floor. I noticed a baby whose body was scarred with wounds. The majority of the children had noticeable physical scars (伤疤) such as cuts and burns. What a terrible life they had had before they moved here! My heart sank.
