The health benefits of staying active are already well-known. It can help you manage weight, keep blood sugar levels down and reduce risk factors for heart disease.
Now, a new study suggests that regularly playing sports, especially badminton or tennis, is not only healthy but also reduces your risk of death, at any age, by approximately 50%. This is a big scale population study to explore the health benefits of sports in terms of death rate. The study evaluated responses from 80, 306 adults aged 30 and above in England and Scotland, who were surveyed about their health, lifestyle and exercise patterns.
After adjusting factors such as age, sex, weight, smoking habits, alcohol use, education and other forms of exercise besides the named sports, the researchers compared the risk of death among people who took part in a sport to those who didn’t. The percentage of reduced risk of death was found to be: 47% for racket（球拍）sports, 28% for swimming and 15% for cycling.
In addition to this, the study didn’t find any significant reduction in the risk for sports like running and football. The findings also exposed that over 44% of the participants met the guidelines for the recommended exercise levels to stay fit and healthy, which amounts to 150 minutes of moderate(适度的) physical activity in a week.
Does this mean you stop running or playing football and switch to tennis instead? Every kind of sport and physical activity has different physical, social and mental benefits attached to it. The apparent lack of benefits of running and football could result from several variables that were not taken into account.
Being active helps you feel happier and live longer. So, the most important step is to take part in any kind of sport that you are likely to enjoy and follow in the long term.
1. How is the study conducted?| A．By doing comparative experiments. | B．By analyzing previous data. |
| C．By evaluating survey information. | D．By tracking participants for a long time. |
| A．Ball sports. | B．Racket sports. |
| C．Individual sports. | D．Traditional sports. |
| A．Few people will play football. | B．Tennis will become more popular. |
| C．The result of this study is wrong. | D．The study needs to be further improved. |
| A．Stick to any sport that you like. | B．Play badminton and tennis only. |
| C．Stop running and playing football. | D．Do any sport according to guidelines. |
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【推荐1】When I was in my third year at university, my roommates were American footballers, so I decided to join them. I remember seeing them in front of me wearing pads (防护垫), and thinking they were going to kill me. I got tackled (阻截) so hard that I was frightened. But then I realized it was just physical contact. I’ve been addicted since.
The fundamental aim of the game is to score by running with the ball into, or receiving the ball inside the opposition’s end zone. Every player on the field has a set responsibility. I’m a running back. My job is using my speed, strength and skill to carry the ball and keep running until either I score or I get put down. And it does hurt.
I’ve broken two fingers and hurt my shoulder, but the worst was when I trapped the ligaments (韧带) in the back of my leg. I had to take a year out. But none of that put me off—all I could think was how I was going to come back stronger. Besides training with the team, I now have my gym routine to get fitter, faster and stronger.
Although people think American football is aggressive, there’s much more to it. Every team has its own playbook, outlining everyone’s role in different scenes. My playbook was 73 pages long. Words can’t describe how it feels when it all comes together on the field.
American football has changed my life for the better. I’ve learned time management, how to take responsibility for my action, and how much I treasure being part of a team. Within the four lines of the field, it is physical. Emotions run high. If you’re on the opposing team, you are my enemy. But once the game is done, we’re like a big family.
1. The author’s body parts were hurt EXCEPT________．| A．his arm | B．his shoulder |
| C．his leg | D．his finger |
| A．The author was very delighted when first playing. |
| B．The author has benefited more than suffering from the sport. |
| C．The author began to play at the beginning of his university life. |
| D．Playing American football is very popular among university students. |
| A．Relaxing. | B．Challenging. |
| C．Boring. | D．Rewarding. |
| A．the rules of playing American football |
| B．how painful it is to play the sport |
| C．how the sport has changed the author’s life |
| D．the reason for the author’s playing American football |
【推荐2】Studying and passing your classes can be difficult, and finding effective ways to study may seem impossible.
● Choose an aerobic (有氧的) exercise
There are so many activities you can do for aerobic exercise. You can swim, jump rope, or hike with a heavy backpack.
●
Sit down and list all your commitments, activities, and study hours. Don’t forget to list sleep times, meal times, and time for other things, like showering. Look for places where you can put in exercise. Or you can break up exercises into smaller parts, such as three 10-minute fast walks.
● Focus on consistency (连续性)
Consistent daily workouts are more effective than trying to get 150 minutes of physical activity in on the weekend.
● Make the exercise an enjoyable experience
| A．Make time for your workout. |
| B．Determine an appropriate amount of exercise. |
| C．Exercise is great for relieving stress and reducing anxiety. |
| D．Doing some exercise may be more effective than hitting the coffee shop. |
| E．Stick to spending half an hour exercising after school throughout the week. |
| F．You can also play doubles tennis, go ballroom dancing, or do general gardening. |
| G．Luckily, studies have found strong links between exercise and study effectiveness. |
【推荐3】How To Make Exercise A Habit That Sticks
Maybe you can relate to this: You are determined to get more exercise. And you do—for a while. But a few days or weeks into a new routine, your good intentions fall apart.
There’s no magic number of days it takes to build a new habit, but the key to habits is repetition. So, give it a month, and research suggests that this can help you build a new routine. Moreover, if you can get that repetition going while you have high motivation, you’re much more likely to have a behavior change that lasts.
Make it social.
Let flexibility be your friend.
The people who worked out at the same time every day, they did actually form a more lasting habit around exercising at that time. But here’s the hidden disadvantage:
Set goals—but don’t let them trap you.
Make sure your exercise objective is achievable and ambitious.
| A．But give yourself a free pass or two if you fail to meet it. |
| B．Commit to about four weeks of daily exercise. |
| C．Combine a real pleasure that you look forward to with your workouts. |
| D．That was the only time they ever worked out. |
| E．Losses are about twice as motivating as gains of equal size. |
| F．Research shows that habits—good and bad—spread through our social networks. |
| G．How do you bridge the divide between intention and action? |
【推荐1】Creative Art
Creative art means having the ability or power to create. It is characterized by originality of thought or inventiveness; having or showing imagination creative mind.
Some different types of art are animation, architecture, assemblage, calligraphy, ceramics, graffiti, illuminated manuscript, illustration, mosaic, painting, performance, photography, sculpture, stained glass, tapestry, and video, etc.
The three classical branches of art are painting, sculpture and architecture. Music, theatre, film, dance, and other performing arts, as well as literature and other media such as interactive media, are included in a broader definition of the arts.
Exposure to and experience with the arts allows children to create, design, generate, and compose new ideas, further developing the creative thinking inherent in young children. If navigated intentionally, learning about colour can help children develop vocabulary, complex thinking, and keen observation.
Creative art helps children grow in physical, social, cognitive, and emotional development.
| A．Most children in preschools and kindergartens love being in school. |
| B．Children also practice imagination as they invent new ways to create art. |
| C．What is the role of creativity in art? |
| D．How does art develop creativity? |
| E．There are many ways you can tell if you are creative or not. |
| F．Furthermore, how do you define art? |
【推荐2】Natural silence — the kind when you hear nothing but the sound of nature around you — is becoming increasingly scarce. The rumblings of man-made noise can be heard even in the remote corners of national parks and deep in the Arctic Ocean.
This is having a troubling effect. In humans, noise pollution has been linked to cardiovascular diseases, mental health problems and cognitive impairment in children. In wildlife, it’s disrupting navigation, mating rituals, communication and can cause hearing loss. “We’re losing the ability to listen to nature without noise pollution,” says sound recordist Matt Mikkelsen. He’s part of the non-profit organization Quiet Parks International, which aims to identify and preserve the planet’s last quiet places.
Recently, this took him to Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeastern Minnesota. No cars, motor boats, electricity or telephone lines are allowed in the 1-million-acre area, making it a strong candidate for Quiet Park status. But listening back to the recording, Mikkelsen can hear the low hum of a commercial jet flying far away.
Quiet Parks hasn’t yet decided if Boundary Waters meets its criteria — it’s one of 260 potential sites around the world that the organization is currently exploring. The team will analyze the sound recordings from each location and consider them alongside other data.
In recent years, the world has been getting louder, with cities and towns expanding and an increasing number of beeping cars, whooshing airplanes and cargo ships with blasting horns. But during the pandemic, there has been momentary respite. In 2020, global air travel was down by 60% and road transport decreased by almost half. Scientists in Europe found that noise caused by humans fell by up to 50% after lockdowns were imposed.
“People relished the silence,” says Mikkelsen. “There were no airplanes in the sky and cars weren’t on the street. It was a miraculous thing to be able to hear the world, all of a sudden, free from noise pollution,” he says. Since the start of the pandemic, Quiet Parks says it has experienced a huge surge in interest for quiet places. “I hope that we can take that desire for a world with less noise forward,” says Mikkelsen, “and appreciate the spots we have, where we can go and not experience noise pollution.”
1. What does the underlined word “scarce” probably mean in paragraph 1?| A．Ordinary. | B．Special. |
| C．Rare. | D．Typical. |
| A．Why we’re losing the ability to listen to nature. |
| B．How noise pollution affects humans and wildlife. |
| C．Why noise pollution is linked to certain diseases. |
| D．How should humans deal with noise pollution. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Critical. |
| C．Indifferent. | D．Ambiguous. |
| A．A journal. | B．An autobiography. |
| C．A book review. | D．A science fiction. |
【推荐3】Imagine being face-to-face with a woolly mammoth（猛犸象）. It would be quite a sight. Scientists believe it would tower above 11 feet tall. It would have a sloping back, a long, powerful trunk, and sharp, curved tusks that stretch up to 10 feet. Its thick hair would be up to three feet long. It would weigh six tons—about as heavy as a bus.
You’ve probably never seen a giant furry elephant before. Actually, you definitely haven’t. The species has been extinct for thousands of years.
But a few years from now, you might be able to see a woolly mammoth for yourself. Scientists believe they have the technology to recreate it.
A team of Korean and Russian scientists plan to clone a woolly mammoth. How will they do it?
Several woolly mammoth bodies have already been discovered in Siberia, an icy region in Russia. The scientists plan to take cells from these frozen mammoths. In a laboratory, they’ll use them to create a new cluster（群）of cells called an embryo. The embryo will be placed into the womb of a living female elephant. That elephant will then give birth to a baby woolly mammoth.
The scientists believe the whole process will take five years. Many scientists and animal lovers can’t wait. It will be so exciting to be able to bring a creature that has been extinct for thousands of years back to life. People would travel from around the world for the chance to see a living woolly mammoth. By observing the way the creature looks and acts, scientists might make brand-new discoveries about the history of animal life.
Other experts aren’t so sure about the woolly mammoth project. One big question is what to do with a mammoth. The Earth has changed in the thousands of years since these animals roamed the planet. Where would the creature live and would it be able to survive in today’s climate? Some believe that the money being spent on the experiment could be better spent on other important scientific projects, such as fighting disease.
But the South Korean and Russian scientists are sticking to their plan. They admit they have a big challenge ahead. There is no guarantee that they will succeed, but they’re hopeful.
1. The first paragraph describes the mammoth’s ______.| A．habitat | B．food |
| C．appearance | D．lifespan |
| A．The mammoth. | B．The elephant. |
| C．The trunk. | D．The bus. |
| A．Whether they have enough money for the project. |
| B．Whether the mammoth can adapt to the new environment. |
| C．Whether the mammoth can survive the modern diseases. |
| D．Whether their plan wins support from the public. |
| A．negative | B．disapproving |
| C．optimistic | D．doubtful |
| A．scientists are finding ways to deal with mammoths |
| B．scientists try to find out the history of animal life |
| C．scientists plan to bring the mammoth back to life |
| D．scientists are waiting for the return of the mammoth |
【推荐1】You’d be forgiven for thinking that running after young children each day would leave parents in the best shape of their lives. But a study has found that the mothers and fathers of young children are more unhealthy than their childless peers(同龄人).
Mothers with young children are heavier and eat more calories and fatty foods, and consume more sugary drinks than childless women, scientists said. And both sexes are less active than those in their age group without children.
Parents often choose quick, easily prepared foods that are high in fat and calories(卡路里), and by choosing these foods they may in turn serve them to their children, forming a cycle of unhealthy diet.
Dr.Berge, one of the study authors, said: “This isn’t a study about blame, this is about finding out a very high-risk time period for parents that doctors should be aware of, so they can offer solutions.”
According to the study, mothers ate more fatty foods and drank about seven sugary drinks weekly, equal to about four childless women. They also had an average of 2,360 calories daily, 368 calories more than women without children. With that many calories, women that age would need to be active to avoid gaining weight.
Fathers ate about the same amount of daily calories as childless men and both had an average body-mass index(指数), but fathers got less physical activity—about five hours weekly, compared to almost seven hours among childless men.
The study has several limitations—there’s no data on how many women recently had babies. There’s also no information on the number of single parents, who likely face diet and exercise challenges. Sarah Krieger, an American dietician(营养师) who works with new mothers said some of the mothers may have had postpartum(产后的)depression and suffered unpleasant feelings, which might affect their eating and exercise habits.
1. Which of the following is NOT mentioned about mothers with children?| A．They may lose their jobs after having babies. |
| B．They may feel unhappy after having babies. |
| C．They eat unhealthy foods. |
| D．They are less active. |
| A．parents should pay more attention to their children |
| B．the study has drawn attention of doctors and young parents |
| C．doctors should do something with parents’ high-risk time period |
| D．parents should not be blamed for having an unhealthy lifestyle |
| A．the study was carried out in an unscientific way |
| B．the result of the study is not completely convincing(有说服力的) |
| C．single mothers are surely facing quite different situation |
| D．postpartum depression will help mothers to lead a healthier life |
【推荐2】Tea drinking was common in China for nearly one thousand years before anyone in Europe had ever heard about tea. People in Britain were much slower in finding out what tea was like, mainly because tea was very expensive. It could not be bought in shops and even those people who could afford to have it sent from Holland did so only because it was a fashionable curiosity. Some of them were not sure how to use it. They thought it was a vegetable and tried cooking the leaves. Then they served them mixed with butter and salt. They soon discovered their mistake but many people used to spread the used tea leaves on bread and give them to their children as sandwiches.
Tea remained rare and very expensive in England until the ships of the East India Company began to bring it direct from China early in the seventeenth century. During the next few years so much tea came into the country that the price fell and many people could afford to buy it.
At the same time people on the Continent were becoming more and more fond of tea. Until then tea had been drunk without milk in it, but one day a famous French lady named Madame de Sevigne decided to see what tea tasted like when milk was added. She found it so pleasant that she would never again drink it without milk. Because she was such a great lady that her friends thought they must copy everything she did, they also drank their tea with milk in it. Slowly this habit spread until it reached England and today only very few Britons drink tea without milk.
At first, tea was usually drunk after dinner in the evening. No one ever thought of drinking tea in the afternoon until a duchess (公爵夫人) found that a cup of tea and a piece of cake at three or four o'clock stopped her getting “a sinking feeling” as she called it. She invited her friends to have this new meal with her, and so tea-time was born.
1. Which of the following is true of the introduction of tea into Britain?| A．The Britons got expensive tea from India. |
| B．Tea reached Britain from Holland. |
| C．The Britons were the first people in Europe who drank tea. |
| D．It was not until the 17th century that the Britons had tea. |
| A．In the eighteenth century. | B．In the sixteenth century. |
| C．In the seventeenth century. | D．In the late seventeenth century. |
| A．It tasted like milk. | B．It was good for health. |
| C．It became a popular drink. | D．They tried to copy the way Madame de Sevigne drank tea. |
| A．How tea-time was born in Britain. |
| B．The history of tea drinking in Britain. |
| C．How tea became a popular drink in Britain. |
| D．How the Britons got the habit of drinking afternoon tea. |
【推荐3】A new study focused on birds examines how the movements of rivers in the Amazon have contributed to that area’s exceptional biological diversity. The research team, led by the American Museum of Natural History, found that as small river systems change over time, they spur the evolution of new species. The findings also reveal previously unknown bird species in the Amazon that are only found in small areas next to these dynamic river systems, putting them at high risk of extinction.
The lowland rainforests of the Amazon River basin harbor(藏匿) more diversity than any other ecosystem on the planet. It is also a globally important biome(生物群落)containing about 18 percent of all trees on Earth and carrying more fresh water than the next seven largest river basins combined. Researchers have long wondered and hotly debated how the Amazon’s rich biodiversity arose and accumulated.
“Early evolutionary biologists like Alfred Russel Wallace noticed that many species of primates and birds differ across opposite riverbanks in the Amazon,” said the study’s lead author Lukas Musher.“ Moreover, accumulating geological evidence has suggested that these rivers are highly dynamic, moving around the South American landscape over relatively short time periods, on the order of thousands or tens of thousands of years.”
To investigate how the movement of rivers across the landscape has influenced the accumulation of bird species in the Amazon, the researchers sequenced the genomes(基因组)of six species of Amazonian birds.
Because these rivers move around the landscape at different time scales, their movements can have varying outcomes for bird species: when river rearrangements occur quickly, populations of birds on each side can combine before they’ve had time to differ; when river changes happen slowly, species have a longer time to diverge from one another.
1. What does the underlined word “spur” in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Stimulate. | B．Renew. | C．Pursue. | D．Interrupt. |
| A．What the Amazon’s biodiversity indicates. |
| B．How Amazon bird species are at risk of distinction. |
| C．Whether the Amazon has the richest biodiversity. |
| D．How the Amazon’s biodiversity was formed. |
| A．There are six species of American birds. |
| B．River movement may lead to the Amazon’s biodiversity. |
| C．Most species differ across opposite Amazon riverbanks. |
| D．Rivers move very slowly in South America. |
| A．The location of river movement. | B．The populations of birds. |
| C．The speed of river movement. | D．The amount of the genomes. |
【推荐1】No human has set foot on the Moon since 1972. Now, after more than four decades of inactivity, interest in putting humans back on the Moon is finally heating up again. But who will get there first?
CHINA
On 14 December 2013, China successfully landed its Jade Rabbit rover(探测车)on the Moon. It is now working on its next exploration mission. Named Chang’e 4, the mission is scheduled to touch down in the Aitken Basin near the end of 2018. If successful, it will be the first landing on the Moon’s far side.
RUSSIA
Russia plans a manned Moon landing in 2030. It is currently working on a project whose idea is that the landers will explore the south pole of the Moon, exploring for resources such as minerals and water ice to be used to provide for a human outpost(前哨站).
INDIA
Following the success of its Chandrayaan-1 in 2008, India announced a follow-on mission. Chandrayaan-2 was meant to cooperate with Russia. But when the Russians failed to deliver the promised lander in 2013, India decided to go it alone. Chandrayaan-2 is about to be sent up in 2018.
U. S. A.
In December 2018, NASA plans to send up the Exploration Mission 1, an uncrewed test of their Orion astronaut capsule in which the craft will circle around the Moon before returning to Earth. All being well, a crewed capsule will follow in 2023. Should the mission prove a success, the astronauts will be the first humans to see the far side of the Moon with their own eyes since Apollo 17 in 1972.
1. What will China do in its next space mission?| A．Improve its Jade Rabbit rover. |
| B．Work with other countries. |
| C．Land Chang’e 4 on the Moon. |
| D．Explore the south pole of the Moon. |
| A．It couldn’t find a partner. |
| B．It didn’t get the lander as planned. |
| C．The Russians refused to work with India. |
| D．It planned to launch Chandrayaan-2 in advance. |
| A．Russia. | B．China. | C．India. | D．U. S. A. |
【推荐2】One of Britain' s most outstanding scientists says the growth in the use of electronic tablets and smart phones is causing people to spend so much time indoors that they need to take regular vitamin D supplements to make up for the lack of sunlight they receive naturally.
Geneticist Steve Jones said he himself was a follower to the cause and urged others to follow. “I never thought I would be a person who would take vitamin supplements；I always thought it was absolute nonsense. But now I take vitamin D every day. Today, because I knew the sun wasn't going to shine, I took an extra one,” he said.
Exposure to the sun is the major source of vitamin D. However, people are spending less and less time outdoors in many areas. The problem is particularly serious in Scotland. "The Scots are the whitest people in the world because their entire body systems are crying out for vitamin D," he said, adding that life expectancy in Scotland is two years shorter than in England or Wales. Multiple sclerosis (多发性硬化症), a medical condition which is often seen in northern Europe, is also higher in Scotland than in England.
Vitamin D helps with the absorption of Ca, which helps keep bones strong. And Jones said the fact that rickets (佝偻病) was making a comeback in Britain after nearly 50 years was another sign of how changing behavior patterns were bringing physical harm.
Jones admitted that concerns over the damaging effects on skin of long-time exposure to the sun were reasonable, but said sunlight was healthy and necessary for the human body, and could help in lowering blood pressure. "If you lie on the beach for an hour, you will drop your blood pressure by about 10 points, because it relaxes your blood vessels (血管). So, get out in the sun while we still can," he said.
1. How are people affected by the rise of technology according to the text?| A．They are more sensitive to sunlight |
| B．They take more vitamin D supplements. |
| C．They get less vitamin D than before. |
| D．They become addicted to electronic games. |
| A．Skeptical. | B．Cautious. |
| C．Worried. | D．Supportive. |
| A．Because they are in great need of sunlight. |
| B．Because their blood pressure is very low. |
| C．Because they enjoy a short period of sunshine. |
| D．Because they are easy to get multiple sclerosis. |
| A．Get out and gain more Vitamin D |
| B．Keep away from tablets and phones |
| C．Pay attention to the importance of sunlight |
| D．Take vitamin D supplements to keep healthy |
【推荐3】When I re-entered the full-time work after a decade of running my own business, there was a top thing I was looking forward to: to make friends with the colleagues once again. As a matter of fact, it wasn't until I entered the company that I realized making friends with colleagues wasn’t the first at all. It is developing interpersonal relationships at work that is vital, which can not only help overcome a range of problems at work but also promote productivity and the quality of work output.
Perhaps my expectations of lunches and chatting with friends were the memory of the last time I was in that kind of office environment. However, as I near the end of my fourth decade, I realize work can be fully functional and entirely satisfying without needing to be the best workmates with the people sitting next to you.
In an academic analysis just published in the very influential Journal of Management, researchers have developed the idea of "indifferent relationships", which is a simple term that summarizes the fact that relationships at work can be less close, unimportant and even replaceable.
Indifferent relationships are neither positive nor negative. The limited research conducted so far shows they're especially obvious among those who value independence over cooperation, and harmony over disharmony. Indifference is also the preferred choice among those who are socially lazy and regard maintaining relationships over the long term takes effort.
As mentioned above, indifferent relationships may not always be the most helpful way in solving problems at work. Even so, there are proven benefits on indifferent relationship. One of them is efficiency. Less time chatting and socializing means more time working and producing. Another is self-respect. As human beings, we tend to compare ourselves to each other. Apparently, we look down on acquaintances more than friends. In the process their strengths can raise the sense of self-worth. The third advantage is that the emotional neutrality of indifferent relationships has been found to improve critical thinking, enhance people’s attention to task solving, and make it easier to gain valuable information.
None of those benefits might be as fun as after-work socializing but, hey, I'll take it anyway.
1. What did the author realize when he re-entered the company?| A．Building interpersonal relationships was important. |
| B．Making new friends with workmates was not so easy as he had expected. |
| C．Developing positive interpersonal relationships helped him find his place. |
| D．Working in companies requires more interpersonal skills than self-employment. |
| A．Being in conflict with workmates in the office. |
| B．Spending less time chatting and socializing in the office. |
| C．Having deep and meaningful conversations with colleagues. |
| D．Being the best mates with the people sitting next to you in the office. |
| A．They provide fun at work. |
| B．They improve work efficiency. |
| C．They help control emotions at work. |
| D．They help solve problems during work time. |
| A．Cautious. | B．Doubtful. |
| C．Approving. | D．Indifferent. |
