The Happiness Effect
Most of us have heard the term “runner’s high”, but what exactly does this mean? Exercise creates chemical responses in the brain, which leads to both temporary and long-term mental health benefits. Here is how it works:
What happens when we are stressed?
Cortisol: This stress hormone (压力荷尔蒙) is linked to mood, motivation and fear. It also alters immune system (免疫系统) responses and suppresses the digestive system (消化系统).
Adrenaline: This stress hormone raises your heart rate, elevates blood pressure, and boosts energy stores.
Hypothalamus: This region of the brain is the body’s natural alarm system which stimulates the production of cortisol and adrenaline.
Hippocampus: Too much cortisol short-circuits (使……中断) cell production in the brain’s hippocampus region, damaging thought organization and memory formation.
Feeling overwhelmed? Hit the gym!
As your heart begins to pound, your brain chemistry reacts almost immediately to get you feeling better both physically and mentally.
Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF): BDNF protects the brain from emotional disorders and repairs damage from stress and depression.
GABA: Exercise lowers stress levels, which triggers the release of this calming neurotransmitter (神经递质). Frequent boosts of GABA build immunity to stress, enhancing your ability to take on life’s challenges.
Endocannabinoids: These natural chemical compounds play a role in processing appetite, pain sensation, mood and memory. They are very closely related to the active ingredients of the cannabis (大麻) plant.
Endorphins: Endorphins naturally get most of the credit for feelings of extreme happiness, but they play only a small part in the exercise-induced rush. These pain fighting peptides increase with as little as 20 minutes of exercise.
1. Which of the following statements is true?A.During a 1000m race, one’s adrenaline level will stay still. |
B.When someone came across a roaring dog, his or her hypothalamus may be simulated. |
C.Cortisol is a hormone that can deal with stress efficiently. |
D.Bad mood will not hurt the hippocampus region any way. |
A.Brain derived neurotropic factor. | B.GABA. |
C.Endocannabinoids. | D.Endorphins. |
A.In a scientific journal. |
B.In an advertisement about medical product. |
C.In a nutritional biochemistry magazine. |
D.In a sport magazine. |
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【推荐1】A study has found that a lifetime of regular exercise and activity can slow down the aging process and a life of movement and exercise may help us live longer and healthier.
For their study, the researchers looked at two groups. The first group was made up of 125 non-professional cyclists between the ages of 55 and 79. This group included 84 healthy men and 41 healthy women. We will call this group the “cyclists”.
Researchers then found 130 people to make up a second group. Within this group, 75 people were aged from 57 to 80. The other 55 were between the ages of 20 to 36. The people in this group were also healthy, but they didn’t exercise regularly. We will call this group the "non-exercisers". Smokers, heavy drinkers of alcohol (酒) and people with other health problems were not included in the study.
Then, researchers gave both groups a series of tests. They tested their muscle mass (肌肉质量) , muscular strength, percentages of body fat and the strength of their immune systems (免疫系统). Then the researchers compared the results of the two groups.
Results showed that the cyclists didn’t experience body changes usually regarded as a normal aging process. For example, they didn’t lose muscle mass or muscular strength. Also, their body fat didn’t increase with age. The researchers also found something they had not expected. The study showed that the immune systems of the cyclists didn’t age either. The researchers advise us all to find an exercise that we like in our lives.
1. How did the researchers carry out the study?A.By listing lots of example. |
B.By reasoning the possible results. |
C.By discussing people’s different habits. |
D.By comparing two groups of subjects (调查对象). |
A.Smokers could also join in the study. |
B.People taking part in the study were all healthy. |
C.The “cyclists” group included 130 professional cyclists. |
D.The “non-exercisers” group were between the ages of 57 and 80. |
A.The non-exercisers put on weight easily. |
B.The cyclists had a normal aging process. |
C.The cyclists’ immune systems changed little. |
D.The non-exercisers’ immune systems were easy to break down. |
A.Healthy People Need More Exercise |
B.Take an Exercise — the More, the Better |
C.A Lifetime of Exercise Slows Down the Aging Process |
D.Cycling Is the Best Way to Slow Down the Aging Process |
【推荐2】The Importance of Getting Kids to Be Active
Everyone knows that kids should be physically active and need to exercise regularly to be physically fit.
How Much Exercise Do Kids Need?
It is recommended that kids should be physically active for at least 60 minutes per day.
Exercise and Calories
Youth Exercise and Fitness
Remember that kids, even teens, don’t usually stick with exercise programs.
A.Fortunately, it doesn’t matter |
B.Regular exercise is good for kids |
C.So they will be able to burn even more calories |
D.That’s why you don’t see many kids in health clubs |
E.Whether they are overweight or at a healthy weight |
F.If your child is very active and is still gaining weight |
G.But that doesn’t have to be 60 minutes of continuous activity |
【推荐3】It can be incredibly difficult to encourage ourselves to go for a run during winter, particularly when it’s wet and windy outside. But new research has found that even a super-quick run could have great health benefits. In fact, it seems that just a 10-minute session will not only make us feel better, but could actually improve brain health, too.
Now, we all know that exercise can improve mental and physical health in many ways. But when it comes to mental well-being, there’s been relatively little research done on the specific benefits of running, compared with other physical activities, such as cycling. So this was something put to the test during a recent study. Researchers from University of Tsukuba in Japan asked participants to run on a treadmill (跑步机) for just 10 minutes. They then had to take a Stroop Color and Word Test which is used to measure reaction time in brain processing. Results showed there was a highest point in self-reported pleasure and an increase in degree of activity of the brain.
In other words, runners were found to have an increase in blood flow in the part of the brain that’s associated with dealing with functions and controlling mood (情绪). Researchers then compared these results to a similar study on cycling, which also showed improved cognition (认知), but no mood improvement. Therefore, it seems various types of exercise can make us feel differently.
The authors noted, “Given exercise is medicine, the effects of drugs differ depending on the type of drug, and different types of exercise such as running and cycling should be observed to have different effects on mental health and brain functions as well.”
So pushing ourselves to get outside for a run really will make us feel better, probably more than other fitness activities. And these findings show that we don’t necessarily need to do a lot of exercise to feel the benefit of it.
1. What did the new research find?A.Running fast benefits all of us. | B.Running is the best exercise. |
C.A short time run can be beneficial. | D.A healthy mind encourages us to run. |
A.People who are doing a research. | B.People who love running. |
C.People who are professional athletes. | D.People who are taking part in an activity. |
A.Blood flow. | B.Cycling. | C.Medicine. | D.Colors. |
A.We should go for a run in winter. | B.Running really benefits us mentally. |
C.We don’t need a lot of exercise. | D.Running on a treadmill is better than running outside. |
【推荐1】A lot of health care are connected with being around trees.
They also do a great deal of good for the environment by reducing air pollution and taking in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
A tree’s ability to take in carbon dioxide is especially useful when the tree.is in cities or towns, where there are too many industrial activities. For the study, the researchers used laser scanning methods to take their own carbon readings of trees from the ground as well as the air.
They determined that Camden had a median carton density (浓度) of around 55 tons of carbon per hectare (t/ha). Greener areas of the borough, like Highgate Cemetery, had a carbon density of 380 t/ha — levels that are typically seen in rainforests.
So what exactly does this mean? Trees could help cool the atmosphere by removing carbon dioxide from the air. However, some climate scientists argue that it’s more complicated (复杂的) than that.
A.We need to protect the ones we already have. |
B.Global warming is happening at a faster rate than ever. |
C.These benefits aren’t just felt in the countryside, either. |
D.For comparison, major cities in the US have a carbon density of 7.7. |
E.They have been known to reduce people’s stress and improve overall mental health. |
F.Then they compared their findings with the data from the UK Environment Agency. |
G.They think the impact of tree-planting activities today may not be seen for many years. |
【推荐2】The increased use of light-emitting diodes (LED) and other forms of lighting are now brightening the night sky at a dramatic rate. Research has revealed that light pollution is now causing the night sky to brighten at a rate of around 10% a year, an increase that threatens to ruin the sight of all but the most brilliant stars in a generation. A child born where 250 stars are visible at night today would only be able to see about 100 by the time they reach 18.
Physicist Christopher Kyba, of the German Centre for Geosciences told the Observer. “A couple of generations ago, people would have regularly encountered this glittering (闪耀) vision of the universe—but what was formerly universal is now extremely rare.” Nevertheless, the introduction of only a modest number of changes to lighting could make a considerable improvement, Kyba argued. These moves would include ensuring outdoor lights are carefully capped, point downwards, have limits placed on their brightness, and are not predominantly blue-white but have red and orange components.
The problem is that light pollution is still not perceived by the public to be a threat. As Professor Oscar Corcho, of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, has put it: “The negative consequences of light pollution are as unknown by the population as those of smoking in the 80s.”
Yet action is now urgently needed. Apart from its astronomical impact, light pollution is harming human health. “When reddish light shines on our bodies, it stimulates mechanisms including those that break down high levels of sugar in the blood. Since the introduction of LEDs, that part of the spectrum (光谱) has been removed from artificial light and it is playing a part in the waves of obesity (肥胖) and rises in diabetes cases we see today,” said Prof Fosbury from University College London (UCL),
UCL researchers are preparing to install additional infrared (红外线) lamps in hospitals and intensive care units (ICU) to see if they have an effect on the recovery of patients who would otherwise be starved of light from this part of the spectrum.
1. What does the author want to show by citing the child’s example?A.More objects in the universe will disappear. |
B.Light pollution is blinding our view of the stars. |
C.People’s perception of the universe is inadequate. |
D.New forms of lighting have made stars unnecessary. |
A.They are practical. | B.They are rarely successful. |
C.They aren’t worth the effort. | D.It takes ages to see the result. |
A.Controlling population growth. |
B.Changing people’s perception. |
C.Exploring the unknown universe. |
D.Banning smoking in public places. |
A.Whether they help patients recover. |
B.Whether they increase obesity risk. |
C.Whether they leave people starving. |
D.Whether they raise blood sugar level. |
【推荐3】We’re all familiar (熟悉的) with songs getting stuck in our head (挥之不去) while we’re awake, but it turns out this can happen during sleep as well. A new study shows that earworms getting into our brains at night could cause problems in getting to sleep and staying asleep.
Neuroscientist Michael Scullin from Baylor University and his coworkers used surveys of 199 people, as well as a sleep lab test involving 50 volunteers, to measure the influence of listening to music before bedtime on sleep.
In the survey part of the study, those who regularly listened to music during the day were more likely to report lasting nighttime earworms, which then had a negative effect on sleep quality through the night. For the lab test, individuals were played instrumental or standard versions (版本) of Shake It Off by Taylor Swift, Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen, and Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey. Tests were used to measure their sleep quality.
Earworms were reported throughout the night by the people surveyed, with those taking longer to fall asleep, spending more time in the light stages of sleep, and waking up more times during the night. Surprisingly, the instrumental versions of the songs caused about twice as many earworms and more sleep problems than the standard ones.
Past studies have connected late-night music listening with better sleep in those with insomnia, perhaps because it can relax the body. The researchers behind the new study suggest that actually it might be worse for our sleep - even after the tunes (歌曲) stop, our brains continue to process them for several hours.
Scullin suggests avoiding listening to music right before bed to limit the chance of catching earworms. Doing some other cognitive (认知的) activity before sleeping, like making a list of jobs for the next day, might also help clear the mind, Scullin says.
1. Which description best explains earworms?A.Worms entering one’s ears. | B.Worms stuck in one’s brain. |
C.Problems caused by sleeplessness. | D.Tunes repeating in one’s mind. |
A.Different music has the same effect on sleep at night. |
B.Our brain stops processing music when we are asleep. |
C.Daytime music listening has a negative effect on sleep. |
D.Late-night music listening contributes to sleep at night. |
A.Unfamiliarity. | B.Annoyance. |
C.Confusion. | D.Sleeplessness. |
A.By working out a schedule for tomorrow. | B.By doing exercise to relax the body. |
C.By listening to music right before bed. | D.By doing nothing to clear the mind. |
【推荐1】Do you know what elements (要素) make people successful? Interviews and investigations indicate that there are several keys to success that successful people share.
First of all, successful people never blame someone or something outside of themselves for their failure. They realize that their future lies in their own hands. They understand that they cannot control some things in life, such as nature, the past and other people. But in the meantime, they are well aware that they can control their own thoughts and actions. They take responsibility for their life and regard this as one of the most empowering things they can do. Perhaps what most separate successful people from others is that they live their life “on purpose” — they are doing what they believe they are put here to do. In their opinion, having a purpose in their life is the most important element that enables them to become fully functioning people. They hold that when they live their life on purpose, their main concern is to do the job right. Because of their commitment (投身;献身), people are willing to do business with them, and it is always found in them.
To live their life on purpose, successful people find a cause they believe in and create a business around it. Besides, they never easily give up. Once they have set up goals in their life, they are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals. Instead of seeing it negatively or depressingly, they use the knowledge to spur (激励) themselves on and go after what they want energetically and passionately.
1. By living life “on purpose”, successful people do the following things except ______.A.stick to their goals all the time | B.concentrate on their jobs |
C.do business with many people | D.control other people’s thoughts |
A.the commitment with successful people | B.the job that successful people do |
C.the main concern of successful people | D.the business successful people do |
A.How Successful People Do Business. | B.How People Live Their Life on Purpose. |
C.How Can People Be Successful? | D.How Can People Do Their Own Things? |
【推荐2】Born in an unknown village in Huarong county, Hunan province, Yi had few opportunities to play instruments when he was young.
At the age of 6, when most performers have already begun studying the piano at music academies, Yi learned the traditional stringed instrument the erhu from a group of people lodging at his home. It was not until much later that he first saw a piano when he visited his cousin’s house in Huarong.
“My family was too poor to buy a piano for me, so I often used to visit my cousin, even though it took about an hour to travel the 20 kilometers to his home over rocky roads just for the opportunity to sit at the keyboard,” Yi said.
Yi first arrived in Shenzhen 19 years ago and worked in factories, on construction sites and in kitchens. He had not played a piano for nearly 30 years.
The public pianos in Huaqiangbei offered him a fresh start. On a hot summer’s day, while taking a break from work at a nearby construction site, Yi and his son passed one of the instruments. Encouraged by his son, Yi decided to give it a try.
He rubbed his hands nervously on his clothes, but the moment he placed his fingers on the keys, he felt more comfortable and his confidence returned. Although his masterly performance at the piano keyboard quickly made him an online sensation in China and overseas, Yi is not the only one to benefit from the pianos in Huaqiangbei.
Inspired by the British artist Luke Jerram, who has placed more than 2,000 street pianos in over 70 cities worldwide since 2008 with the words “Play Me, I’m Yours” printed on their sides, the public piano project in Huaqiangbei was launched by the local government in 2018.
Zhang Chen, deputy director of the Huaqiangbei subdistrict office, said: “Huaqiangbei is located in the commercial district in the center of Shenzhen. We have been trying to provide diverse facilities to bring high-quality public cultural services to the area. We are surprised that the public piano project has attracted so many people to play the instruments, and others to watch them perform.”
1. What do we learn about young Yi from the passage?A.He smoothed the path to piano lessons. |
B.He was fascinated by musical instruments. |
C.He received musical training at the age of 6. |
D.He familiarized himself with erhu at his cousin’. |
A.Awkward. | B.Confident. | C.Amazed. | D.Refreshed. |
A.The artist’s popularity. | B.The project’s origin. |
C.The artist’s creativity. | D.The project’s challenge. |
A.A city culture featuring the piano needs changing. |
B.The street piano project fuels urban development. |
C.Huaqiangbei gets in tune with its cultural ambitions. |
D.Shenzhen takes the lead in promoting cultural prosperity. |
It is the elephant’s great desire for food that makes it a disturber of the environment and an important builder of its habitat. In its continuous search for the 300 pounds of plants it must have every day, it kills small trees and under-bushes, and pulls branches off big trees. This results in numerous open spaces in both deep tropical forests and in the woodlands that cover part of the African savannas. In these open spaces are numerous plants in various stages of growth that attract a variety of other plant-eaters.
Take the rain forests for example. In their natural state, the spreading branches overhead shut out sunlight and prevent the growth of plants on the forest floor. By pulling down trees and eating plants, elephants make open spaces, allowing new plants to grow on the forest floor. In such situations, the forests become suitable for large hoofed plant-eaters to move around and for small plant-eaters to get their food as well.
What worries scientists now is that the African elephant has become an endangered species. If the elephant disappears, scientists say, many other animals will also disappear from vast areas of forest and savanna, greatly changing and worsening the whole ecosystem.
1. What does the underlined phrase “setting the terms” most probably mean?
A.Improving the quality. |
B.Worsening the state. |
C.Fixing the time. |
D.Deciding the conditions. |
A.showing the effect and then explaining the causes |
B.giving examples |
C.pointing out similarities and differences |
D.describing the changes in space order |
A.Forests and savannas as habitats for African elephants. |
B.The eating habit of African elephants. |
C.Disappearance of African elephants. |
D.The effect of African elephants’ search for food. |
A.They are home to many endangered animals. |
B.They result from the destruction of rain forests. |
C.They are attractive to plant-eating animals of different kinds. |
D.They provide food mainly for African elephants. |