【推荐2】Walking is so simple and convenient that it couldn’t possibly count as exercise, right? Wrong. Study after study shows that regular walking can help you lose weight and reduce your risk of heart disease.

The study published in Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice shows that the blood pressure of the overweight men being tested improved and the amount of body fat greatly decreased.

That’s good news, because walking has now become the most popular fitness activity in the United States. Convenient, simple, and gentle on the joints, walking is perhaps the easiest form of exercise to maintain. According to a survey, four out of five women who start a walking program continue to walk, while half of women who attempt other types of aerobic exercise (有氧运动), such as swimming, drop out during the first few months.

Here are some basics for walking exercise.

Walk at a pace that makes you breathe heavily, but still able to talk.

Your goal, first and foremost, is to walk five days a week, 30 minutes a walk. Do that, and you are getting the base-level amount of exercise that research says should maintain your health and vigor (精力).

Walk for as long as you are comfortable the first week, even if it is just to your mailbox and back. Each following week, increase that amount by no more than 10 percent.

Start every walk with five minutes of easy-paced walking, about the same pace at which you do shopping, to get your body warmed up. Then, cool down at the end of each walk with another five minutes of easy-paced walking. This allows your heart rate to gradually speed up and slow down.

1. The survey mentioned in Paragraph 3 shows that ________.

A．80％ of the women surveyed are walking as a means of exercise

B．50％ of the women surveyed want to swim as a means of exercise

C．walking is more easily maintained than other types of aerobic exercise

D．the effect of walking is as good as that of other types of aerobic exercise

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE about walking for exercise?

A．Walking five days a week, 30 minutes altogether, is the goal.

B．Increase at least 10％ of the amount of each previous week.

C．Each walk should start with the pace of doing shopping.

D．Walking as much as you can in the first week is suggested.

3. What is the purpose of the easy-paced walking in every walk?

A．To help reduce your blood pressure.

B．To help reduce your risk of heart disease.

C．To help your body lose fat.

D．To help your heart rate change gradually.

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

A．How to Keep Healthy?

B．Walking for Exercise

C．Different Ways of Exercise

D．Is Walking a Type of Exercise?

【推荐3】New Reasons to Exercise

It’s a cruel reality that exercising is not a reliable way to lose weight and keep it off.     1     Here are the benefits of regular exercise.

    2    

A new study had found that just a short period of exercise can help improve the ability to remember things in the hours that follow. The report says, “Exercising four hours after learning a task can help people remember that task in the long term”

It may keep off depression.

    3     Researchers found that women who exercised regularly reported about 50% fewer depressive signs than women who didn’t exercise as much. And the more the women reported exercising, the less likely they were to have signs of depression.

It can control appetite.(食欲)

Exercise may be the key to controlling your appetite. A study found that people who exercised for 15 minutes after doing mental work ate 100 fewer calories than people who did mental work and then remained seated. Exercise has the ability to increase available fuel sources in the body that may signal to the brain. “    4    I don’t need to fill myself with food,” says study author William H. Neumeirer.

It increases energy.

In a recent report, men who cycled for 20 minutes experienced a 166% increase in self-reported energy levels, compared with a 15% increase when they sat and did nothing for the same amount of time.    5    

A．It improves memory.

B．It has mind-body benefits.

C．Here is the energy source I need.

D．We do the work at the office each day.

E．Working out regularly might prevent depression.

F．But that doesn’t mean you should give up the effort.

G．If you need a reason to work out, energy increase is a worthwhile one.

【推荐1】The idea of changing the world seems very crazy, but there are a number of small everyday things we can do to make the world better.

Alisia Orosco, 10, wanted to show her love and care to the sick kids at University Children’s Hospital in Texas, where her brother had been a patient. She earned money by doing part-time jobs and used it to buy different toys for the children in hospital. Now she visits three hospitals every year with bags of toys.

High school students in a town of Washington made a difference in the lives of some poor children by building a playground at a workers’ camp. They got a lot of help from building supply stores which provided free building materials for the project.

Teens in New Jersey decided to offer their help at the local soup kitchen where people with no homes can get free food. But there wasn’t one. They created a one-day soup kitchen and were able to feed 60 poor people and allowed them to take the rest home. Their efforts got more people to understand the great need of the poor in their community. Because of their efforts and success, a permanent soup kitchen was created with the $10,000 National Award they received from Newman’s Own Inc.

High school students in Las Vegas helped 30 homeless adults prepare resumes(简历) during a job fair they held at the area’s largest homeless shelter. At least nine of the adults later found jobs.

1. From the text we know ________.

A．Alisia’s brother has been ill at University Children’s hospital

B．a permanent soup kitchen for homeless people was created in Texas

C．the students’ good deeds were supported by many people

D．students in Las Vegas helped build a shelter for homeless adults

2. The underline part “the project” in Paragraph 3 refers to the work of ________.

A．opening a convenience store	B．building a playground
C．providing free apartment	D．making a camp

3. Which of the following best describes the main idea of the passage?

A．Teens are the future and hope of a country.

B．Teenagers are doing better than adults to change the world.

C．Social practice helps students make much money.

D．Small things can make a big difference.

【推荐2】A librarian, whose name is Raden Roro Hendarti in Indonesia’s Java island, is lending books to children in exchange for trash they collect in a special way to clean up the environment and get the kids to read more.

Each weekday Raden Roro Hendarti fills up her three-wheeler with books, and then she rides it to Muntang village. There she exchanges books with the children for plastic cups, bass and other waste that she carries back. She told Reuters (路透社) she is helping develop reading in the kids as well as make them aware of the environment. As soon as she shows up, little children, many accompanied by their mothers, surround her “Trash Library” and exchange for the books.

They are all carrying trash bags and Raden’s three-wheeler quickly fills up with them as the books fly out. She’s happy the kids are going to spend less time on online games as a result. “Let us build a culture of reading from young age to reduce the harm of the online world,” Raden said.

She collects about 100 kg of waste each week, which is then sorted out by her colleagues and sent for recycling or sold. She has 6,000 books to lend and wants to take the mobile service to neighbouring areas as well. She hopes that more and more people can do something to help protect the environment.

1. Why is Raden lending books to children in exchange for trash they collect?

A．To collect trash and fight against climate change.

B．To teach children to save the earth by reading books.

C．To protect the environment and help children read more.

D．To introduce her books on protecting the earth to children.

2. Which of the following word can best describe Raden?

A．Curious.

B．Responsible.

C．Hard-working.

D．Positive.

3. From the text we can know that ______.

A．the service is popular only among adults.

B．Raden exchanges books two days a week.

C．Raden may take the service to neighbouring areas.

D．the waste will be sorted out after recycling or sold.

4. What is the best title of this passage?

A．A Great Librarian.	B．Trash for Books.
C．Promotion for Recycling.	D．More Reading, Less Online Games.

【推荐3】My name is Destiny, working at a Psychological Counselling Center. In my teens, there was nothing special about me. My older sister, Antia, is beautiful. My younger brother, Tye, is a genius at the age of 13. He completely skipped the sixth grade. How do I compete with that?

My mom and I were home alone one day. I went into the room where she was watching television and blurted out, “Mom, is there anything special about me?”

She thought about it for a moment and then turned down the volume on the TV. She took a deep breath，took my hand and exhaled (呼气).

“You have the ability to say just the right thing at just the right time.”

“Really! Is that it, words?" I tried to keep my voice steady but I could hear the anger even as I fought to control it.

“It's more than words, Destiny," my mom said. I know my mother meant well but I felt worse than ever. I burst into tears. Why was I even born?

The next day is when my whole life changed. I went to school earlier than before and noticed Darwin sitting across the room which is strange because no one ever notices Darwin.   Suddenly, Darwin stood up and threw away all his books, shouting loudly. I could hear screaming and crying but the sounds seemed distant as I focused my full attention on Darwin six feet in front of me. I felt the words swell up in me. “Darwin," I heard myself say with a calm, steady voice. "I have family and friends with so much talent and potential and I have none. There is nothing special about me." From the corner of my eye, I could see other staring at me in silence. I continued talking. “You are so smart. You can answer questions that the teacher hasn't even asked yet. Do you know that everyone in this class is envious of you?” Hearing my words, he calmed down and gave me a big hug.

Then the teacher came. Learning about what happened the teacher smiled, “That was a great job you did, young lady Superman could not have done a better job than you did here today.” I couldn't believe that she compared me to Superman. Well, I work at Psychological Counselling Center now. There is a cork board over my desk filled with thank-you cards and letters from people who say they owe their lives, careers, or their family's to my words. But to me, they are more than words, they are my super power!

1. Why does the author mention her sister and brother?

A．She wants to show family love.	B．She feels really proud of them.
C．She envies them their superiority.	D．She considers competing with them.

2. What is the author's reaction to her mother's words in Paragraph 6?

A．She could hardly believe her mother.	B．She understood her mother's white lie.
C．She said more words to her mother.	D．She had doubt about her family origin.

3. What do we know about Darwin from the text?

A．He quarreled with his classmates.	B．He became wild for some reason.
C．He failed again in the examination.	D．He lacked great talent and potential.

4. What does the author mean by the last sentence?

A．She was grateful to her teacher.	B．She owed her career to her customers.
C．She understood what her mother had said .	D．She thought she was a lady superman.