House work might seem a drag, but researchers have suggested tasks like dusting, sweeping floors and washing the windows might help adults to stay healthy into old age. Writing in the journal BMJ Open, a Singapore-based team of researchers said regular physical activity “improves physical and mental health, and relieves the risks and effects of chronic diseases among older adults”.
The team randomly chose adults from the town of Yishun in Singapore, and asked them to complete cognitive function tests as well as activities to assess their physical capabilities, such as standing up from a chair as quickly as they could. Participants were also quizzed on their levels of physical activity, including the amount of light housework and heavy housework they did, and were assessed for their risk of having a fall based on measures such as knee extension strength. The study involved 249 participants aged 21-64 and 240 participants aged 65- 90. Most of those who reported doing high levels of heavy or light housework were women.
After taking into account factors including age and sex, the team found cognitive scores and attention scores were 8% and 14% higher respectively for older adults doing high amounts of heavy housework— on average 131 minutes a week— compared with low levels, which appeared to amount to none at all. Sit-to-stand times were lower for older adults reporting high amounts of heavy housework compared with low amounts，while they were also assessed as being at lower risk of having a fall.
Dr Shiou-Liang Wee, the co-author of the research, said health messaging on staying active should not just be about recreational physical activities. “Housework is a purposeful activity performed by many older adults. Independent of recreation, commuting and other work-related physical activity, heavy housework is linked to sharper memory and better falls protection in older adults,” he said.
1. What does the team find?| A．Housework is a drag to the aged. |
| B．Health is connected with regular exercise. |
| C．Only doing housework can the aged stay healthy. |
| D．Regular physical activity is dangerous for the aged. |
| A．The research procedure. | B．The research result. |
| C．The research purpose. | D．The research institution. |
| A．Intelligence and age. | B．Education and sex. |
| C．Age and sex. | D．Family and income. |
| A．Commuting is linked to sharper memory. |
| B．Heavy housework equals recreational activity. |
| C．People only need recreational physical activity for health. |
| D．Recreational physical activity shouldn’t replace housework. |
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【推荐1】The secret to living longer could be as simple as picking up your walking pace, according to a new study. Researchers from the University of Sydney found that walking at a brisk(快的) or fast pace was associated with a risk reduction of 24 percent for any cause of death.
This effect was even more obvious in older age group, with fast walkers over the age of 60 reducing their risk of death by a surprising 53 percent. Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis, who led the study, explained, “A fast pace is generally five to six kilometers per hour, but it really depends on a walker’s fitness levels; an alternatives indicator is to walk at a pace that makes you slightly out of breath or sweaty.”
In the study, the researchers looked at the results of 11 surveys from 1994 to 2008, in which participants recorded their walking pace, as well as age, sex and BMI. The analysis showed that walking at an average pace was associated with a 20 percent risk reduction for all-cause mortality(死亡率) compared with walking at a slow pace, while walking at a brisk or fast pace was associated with a risk reduction of 24 percent.
The researchers hope the findings will encourage the development of public health message about the benefits of walking pace. Professor Stamatakis added, “These analyses suggest that increasing walking pace may be a straightforward way for people to improve heart health and risk for premature mortality--- providing a simple message for public health campaigns to promote.
“Especially in situations when walking more isn’t possible due to time pressures or a less walking-friendly environment, walking faster may be a good option to get the heart rate up--- one that most people can easily add to their lives.”
1. Who benefit most from walking fast?| A．Cancer sufferers. | B．The elderly. |
| C．Those who have heart problems. | D．Those who have high BMI. |
| A．His/Her fitness levels. | B．His/Her ages. |
| C．His/Her will. | D．His/Her BMI. |
| A．Most people like doing it. | B．It benefits the heart. |
| C．It reduces cancer mortality. | D．Most people can do it easily. |
| A．Walking is easy exercise for people to do. |
| B．Walking has received little attention until now. |
| C．More and more people are walking fast for health. |
| D．A fast walking pace can benefit people’s health. |
【推荐2】Years ago, I could not stick to exercising until I bought a CD called I Enjoy Exercise. I listened to it every day. I bought the CD because I wanted to run in a race and hopefully win!
I had assured my 10-year-old son Todd that I would run in a race with him. Unfortunately, however, when that race came, his left leg was hurt in a car accident. Without him running with me, although I took part in that race, I didn’t do quite well in it.
While Todd couldn’t run together with me because of his injury (受伤), he never forgot the promise I made for him. He was always asking me whether I would keep my promise when he recovered in the future. So I decided I was going to train and go all out to win the next race. What I needed was motivation (动力). It happened that one of my friends mentioned the CD which he liked very much, saying that he got a lot from the music in it when feeling down. So I bought it and listened to it while exercising every day.
What happened to my thinking was amazing as I listened to it daily. I started to think about the repeated words on the CD — “I enjoy exercise”. Instead of dreading exercise, I was thinking, “I enjoy exercise.”
I found out how important words are that we play in our minds every day. I went from a person who seldom exercised to someone who started to exercise daily. Just think how our lives will improve if we reflect on the uplifting words of the famous works. I have found the positive messages have greatly inspired me and then changed my life.
How did I do in that race, you might be thinking? I actually became the champion in my age group.
1. Why did the author take part in the race by herself?| A．She would like to win the race. |
| B．She had a good talent for running. |
| C．Her son got injured in a car accident. |
| D．Her son was unwilling to run with her. |
| A．By recalling some inspiring stories. |
| B．By listening to the CD while running. |
| C．By getting timely help from her friend. |
| D．By forcing herself into keeping running. |
| A．Fearing. | B．Improving. |
| C．Preferring. | D．Taking. |
| A．It’s important to avoid injury while running. |
| B．The uplifting words make a difference to us. |
| C．Parents should get along well with children. |
| D．We can build up our bodies by regular exercise. |
【推荐3】Like all big cities, Paris has a traffic problem: lots of cars, lots of traffic jams and lots of pollution from exhaust fumes. So the city began a project to improve the situation.
Under the Velib project (‘Velib’ comes from velo liberty, or ‘bicycle freedom’) people can take a bicycle, use it for as long as they want, and then leave it at the same or another bicycle station. The first half-hour on the bike is free, but if you don’t return it after 30 minutes, you have to pay. But it’s only €1 a day or €29 a year! The bicycles are heavy (25kg), and they are all gray and have baskets. There are about 20, 000 of them in the city, and around 1, 450 bicycle stations. So there are a lot more Velib stations than the 298 subway stations!
Paris is not the first city to have a project like this. But not everybody thinks it’s a great idea. One Parisian said, “These bicycles are only for short journeys. If people want to travel across the city, they won’t use a bicycle —they’ll still use their cars.”
A city spokesman said, “The bicycle project won’t solve all our traffic problems, of course. But it might help reduce air pollution. Traffic, together with factory fumes, is a big problem. There aren’t any simple answers to traffic problems and pollution in cities. But unless we do something now, there will be more traffic jams and temperatures will continue to rise, so the problems in our environment will get worse. The bikes might help people to lead a healthier life, too.”
1. What can we learn about the Velib project?| A．Its bikes have no baskets. | B．Its bikes are light and colorful. |
| C．It aims to make traveling easier. | D．It owns more stations than the subway. |
| A．Free. | B．€1. | C．€29. | D．€30. |
| A．The cost is rather high. | B．It’s hard to find a Velib station. |
| C．It’s not suitable for a long journey. | D．The distance between two Velib stations is long. |
| A．position. | B．smoke. | C．quality. | D．loss. |
| A．Worried. | B．Positive. | C．Uncaring. | D．Doubtful. |
【推荐1】Growing up in a city, a vast global survey has found, has a lifelong negative impact on a personas ability to navigate. When looking for a half-remembered restaurant in a poorly-lit side street, it seems a countryman would be a more useful companion.
In the new study, scientists led by Antoine Coutrot at the University of Nantes and Hugo Spiers at University College London describe how they used a data set gathered from players of a computer game called "Sea Hero Quest", which tests way-finding skills by asking players to memorise a map showing the location of checkpoints and then measuring how well players can guide a boat to find them. The game was released in 2016 and all players have since been asked for basic information about themselves, including their age, gender, home country, and whether or not they grew up in a city.
From that database, Dr Spiers and his colleagues examined a subset of 442,000 players from 38 countries. They found that the strongest indicator of a high score was a player's age, older people performed relatively poorly. But the benefit of rural living was strong enough to offset some of that. Data showed that a 70-year-old who grew up in the countryside had the navigational abilities of an average 60-year-old across the data set.
The gap between the navigation skills of rural and city people was the largest in America, and the researchers think they know why. They gave each country a complexity score by analysing how the streets were laid out in its largest cities. And they found that countries dominated by simple layouts of grid-based (基于网格的) cities (most common in America and Argentina) dragged down navigation skills more than growing up in a city based around more complicated networks of streets, such as Prague.
Dr Spiers says that the brain's navigational abilities probably weaken in the less challenging city environment because they are not being used as much. Although cities may appear more complicated, they also feature more clues to help residents find their way, such as numbered streets. As many city people on a visit to the countryside say, one field tends to look much the same as another, so there are fewer external landmarks to help guide the way.
1. What did the players have to do when playing "Sea Hero Quest" ?| A．Draw the right way to checkpoints on a map. |
| B．Find out the right map of checkpoints as fast as possible. |
| C．Choose the proper locations for checkpoints on a map. |
| D．Find checkpoints relying on their mental map. |
| A．Worsen. | B．Display. | C．Confirm. | D．Balance. |
| A．The grid of streets. | B．The clear street signs. |
| C．The complex layout of streets. | D．The similar street views. |
| A．Differences between city streets and country roads. | B．A possible explanation for the findings. |
| C．Effective ways to improve navigational abilities. | D．A practical application of the findings. |
Peter, pictured in the blue jacket that he is forced to abandon in the garden of Mr McGregor when he is caught stealing vegetables, is captured on a special, coloured edition of a 50p coin available from now. The Royal Mint, which described Peter as “the most recognizable of Potter’s creations, and one of the most cherished from children’s literature”, will release uncoloured versions of the coin in change later this year.
Three more of Potter’s characters will also be committed to currency later this year, as part of celebrations marking 150 years since the children’s author’s birth. The images have been created by coin designer Emma Noble, who said it was “amazing to be given the opportunity to work with such famous and treasured literary characters”.
Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit, featuring Peter and his better-behaved siblings (兄弟姐妹) Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail, was the first of her stories to be published, released in 1902 by Frederick Warne & Co. Potter would go on to follow it with a series of much-loved stories which remain popular today, from The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin to The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck.
1. Which character from children’s literature can be found on the UK coin?
| A．Jemima Puddle-Duck |
| B．Squirrel Nutkin |
| C．Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail |
| D．Peter Rabbit |
| A．celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Beatrix Potter |
| B．celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Peter Rabbit |
| C．celebrate the first publication of The Tale of Peter Rabbit |
| D．promote the sales of Beatrix Potter’s works |
| A．Peter Rabbit is one of the most recognized literary characters in UK. |
| B．The Tale of Peter Rabbit mainly features his better-behaved siblings. |
| C．It was Emma Noble who created Peter Rabbit, the famous literary character. |
| D．Uncoloured versions of the Peter Rabbit coin are available now. |
| A．An autobiography | B．A children’s book |
| C．A travel guide | D．A news report |
【推荐3】In the days before the internet, critical thinking was the most important skill that informed citizens could have. But in the digital age, according to Anastasia Kozyreva, a German psychologist, an even more important skill is “critical ignoring.” With such an overabundance of information, we need to first decide what’s worth our attention and time, and what’s not.
The first strategy is self-nudging. This involves avoiding low-quality information so that we have more quality time for ourselves. It also involves the removal of distracting things from the environment around you. Of course, we need to stay informed of world events, so we can’t just ignore the internet altogether. When you do go into social media, Kozyreva recommends setting time limits, which prevents you from losing track of time as you click on one attractive link after another.
The next strategy is lateral (横向的) reading. Its purpose is to improve judgments about the reliability of information, and to protect you from false and misleading information. The strategy involves opening a new web page to find out more about the source of the information. Likewise, it’s also good to check the source of the information in an internet post. Headlines are often cheating. They’re designed to attract attention, not provide information. The main idea of the article may be completely contrary to the implication in the headline. A sensational claim may provide a link with a headline that seems to support it, but a careful reading of the original source shows it doesn’t.
We live in a digital age in which we’re overwhelmed with information, much of it of poor quality. Train our critical ignoring skills and we can get the benefits of the internet while we avoid falling victim to those who try to control our attention.
1. Which of the following saying can best describe “critical ignoring”?| A．Rob Peter to pay Paul. | B．Make something out of nothing. |
| C．Birds of a feather flock together. | D．Separate the sheep from the goats. |
| A．Improving study equipment. | B．Managing our own time well. |
| C．Avoiding access to social media. | D．Staying informed of what happened. |
| A．By focusing solely on headlines. | B．By randomly browsing through posts. |
| C．By seeking out primary information. | D．By consulting authorities for advice. |
| A．To clarify a concept. | B．To illustrate a phenomenon. |
| C．To examine a viewpoint. | D．To make a proposal. |
【推荐1】Michelle Yeoh, a famous name in Chinese cinema, made history on Sunday night by becoming the first Asian woman to win the Academy Award for best actress.
The Malaysian-born actress took home the celebrated award for her extraordinary performance in the multiversal comedy Everything Everywhere All at Once.
The film, where Yeoh plays a struggling laundromat(洗衣店) owner who ends up saving the multiverse(多元宇宙), swept the Oscars with a total of seven awards, including for best picture and best director, making it the biggest winner of the night.
“For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities,” the actress said in her acceptance speech in Los Angeles, to emphasize that one must dream big as dreams do come true.
The actress also used her speech to honor her 84-year-old mother, Janet Yeoh. “I have to dedicate this to my mom and all the moms in the world because they are really the superheroes, and without them none of us would be here tonight,” she said.
After taking off in kung fu cinema in Hong Kong, Yeoh first appeared in Hollywood in the 1997 James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies. She gained international recognition for her role as a swords-woman in Ang Lee’s famous film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which won three Oscars in 2001.
Yeoh has been heavily in demand since her role as a controlling matriarch(女家长) in Crazy Rich Asians(2018). She has become one of the most influential stars of Chinese descent(血统) globally, said Shen Dan, a senior critic of the Beijing International Film Festival.
“Everything Everywhere All at Once seems to be specifically crafted for Yeoh because the movie reflects her decades-long efforts to raise the cultural significance of Asian-themed films worldwide,” Shen added.
1. What can we learn about Yeoh?| A．She worked at a laundromat years ago. |
| B．She is remarkable in the latest comedy movie. |
| C．She rose to fame first in Malaysia film industry. |
| D．She is the first Chinese woman to win an Oscar. |
| A．Inspiring and grateful. | B．Productive and generous. |
| C．Ambitious and creative. | D．Courageous and enthusiastic. |
| A．The recommendation of Ang Lee. |
| B．Her mother’s continuous encouragement. |
| C．Her role in the movie Crazy Rich Asians. |
| D．Her years of accumulated learning experience. |
| A．Art is long and life is short. |
| B．Coming events cast their shadows before. |
| C．Everybody’s business is nobody’s business. |
| D．The flower of dreams will eventually bloom. |
No one promised life would be perfect．If you look for perfection，you’11 never be content．Don’t condition your happiness on meeting every expectation you set for yourself．It is good to be ambitious，but you’11 never be perfect．If you expect otherwise，your life will be filled with disappointments．
Success doesn’t happen overnight．
There is a lesson in every struggle．And once the storm is over，you won’t remember how you made it through or how you managed to survive．But one thing is certain．When you come out of the storm，you won’t be the same person who walked in．That’s what this storm’s all about．Don’t complain about how terrible your life is．If you search for the lesson in your present struggle，you’11 be able to make positive changes that would prevent similar situations in the future．
Without hard times，you wouldn’t appreciate the good ones．Strength does not come from winning．Your struggles develop your strengths．When you go through hardships and decide not to give in，that is strength．It is hard to find much to smile about when you fail，but how else would you improve yourself?If you look at failure as a part of your evolutionary process，you’11 stay positive and pursue your goals for as long as it takes．
1. Which of the following is the best title of this passage?
| A．Every person has to go through hard times |
| B．We can learn a lot from our struggles |
| C．We should accept the fact that life is not perfect |
| D．Things to remember when you are having a bad day |
| A．Success will come quickly． |
| B．Hard work leads to success． |
| C．Success calls for patience． |
| D．Confidence is the first step to success. |
| A．1essons from struggles make us stronger |
| B．all things are difficult before they are easy |
| C．we should forget how we managed to survive |
| D．similar situations in the future will never appear |
| A．Hard times make us lose heart and be short of courage. |
| B．Perseverance in time of hardships develops our strengths． |
| C．Smiles when you fail will not help to improve yourself． |
| D．We should try to avoid failures in the evolutionary process. |
【推荐3】Even for the team of experienced adventurers, exploring each new river part that feeds southern Africa’s Okavango Delta(奥卡万戈三角洲) in the north of Botswana presents unique challenges.
From April to July of 2019, the explorers of National Geographic’s Okavango Wilderness Project continued pushing their way into the unknown zone in the Angolan highlands, the source of the Okavango River, to explore the rivers and lakes that feed the delta, which run throughout Angola, Namibia, and Botswana.
Steve Boyes, an explorer from National Geographic, has been a project leader since 2015, when the team began formally describing the biodiversity(生物多样性) and characteristics of the Angolan highlands’ rivers for the first time. Since 2015, the team has crossed the Cuito and Cuanavale Rivers — two branches of the Okavango River. On the latest trip, they explored the source lakes of these two rivers and then headed westward to the Cubango River — the upper reaches of the Okavango River.
The trip to the source lakes was particularly unique. Although the team had been there before, this was the first time that they would dive under the surface to view a hidden world. These lakes are surrounded by thick layers of peat (泥煤) that have gathered over thousands of years, and have remained mostly undisturbed.
“We found 96 species of fish in the source lakes,” says Adjany Costa, another explorer from National Geographic. She explains this biodiversity has been unexplored until now because the locals never even fish there for food — they believe the lakes and rivers are occupied by a snake-like monster that protects the habitat.
The Cubango River is quite different from the Cuito and the Cuanavale. It is rocky and rough, and unlike the others, it has a well-travelled road to its west, which brings contact with people. Besides learning the biodiversity of the zone, a main focus of the Cubango River exploration was on figuring out how it is influenced by people living nearby. The team hopes the data collected in the exploration will be used to prevent seasonal drying and overuse of the valuable Cubango waters that feed the Okavango system.
Costa, as a native of Angola, is devoted to protecting her country. “Ever since I started working with the project, it has changed my opinion of how I see Angola as a whole,” she said.
1. What can we learn from the passage?| A．The Angolan highlands has been explored for several years. |
| B．Seasonal drying of the Cubango River has been prevented. |
| C．The Cubango River has been polluted by the locals. |
| D．Steve Boyes is the first to explore the Okavango Delta. |
| A．There are 96 species of fish. | B．There is gathered peat. |
| C．Explorers went under the water. | D．These lakes were totally untouched. |
| A．Fish in the lakes be eaten. |
| B．They are trying to protect the lakes. |
| C．The source lakes are rocky and rough. |
| D．They are afraid of the creature in the lakes. |
| A．dangerous | B．influential | C．fruitless | D．difficult |
