Spending time outdoors has long been linked (联系) to better health. Gardening goes beyond just beautifying outdoor spaces—it can have a deep effect on our physical and mental (身心上的) health.
Gardening involves physical activity that works all the main muscle (肌肉) groups, which is helpful for overall health. “Activities such as digging, planting, weeding and harvesting require movement and can help to improve strength,” said Clayton, CEO of an online lawn care company. “Performing these activities regularly can help burn calories, and keep a healthy weight.”
Beyond burning calories and building muscle, lots of studies have shown that gardening can improve the immune system (免疫系统). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that people get at least 150 minutes of exercise each week, and gardening is listed as a suitable activity. Doing garden work for that time each week can reduce the risk of obesity, high blood pressure and heart disease. Additionally, spending time outdoors makes us get close to natural sunlight, which is important for vitamin D synth.
Gardening provides a chance for social connection, too. It can be a shared activity among family members, friends or neighbors, building relationships and a sense of belonging.
Gardening also offers cognitive (认知的) benefits. It excites the senses, improves focus and encourages problem-solving and creativity. It provides a chance to learn about plants, ecosystems and the environment, developing a deeper understanding and appreciation for nature.
1. What is Clayton’s attitude towards gardening?A.Supportive. | B.Doubtful. | C.Unclear | D.Uncaring. |
A.It improves focus. | B.It is a waste of time. |
C.It can keep a body in shape. | D.It helps to reduce the risk of diseases. |
A.It contributes to creativity. | B.It encourages problem-solving. |
C.It builds relationships between people. | D.It improves people’s awareness of safety. |
A.How to Start a Garden | B.Choose a Garden or Not |
C.What Plants Grow Best in a Garden | D.Start Gardening and Get the Health Benefits |
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【推荐1】By the rivers and under trees of rural South Auckland, New Zealand’s newest and most special school is in class. The weather is fine, so the students would go fishing, and then they would cook lunch on a wild fire. What about homework and lectures? No. “We are called a school but we look nothing like any school out there,” says Joey Moncarz, co-founder and head teacher at Deep Green Bush School.
Moncarz used to be a teacher in the traditional schools. After five unhappy years there in New Zealand, he stopped to found Deep Green Bush School, which was kind of inspired by the Sudbury Valley School in the US. Now It has a roll of eight students, and no classroom walls or tests. Most importantly, he considered that traditional schools were not preparing children for the global problems of the future – such as climate change, so Moncarz founded Deep Green Bush School, a completely different kind of education, based on the skills of hunting, gathering and survival.
The more traditional school skills, such as reading, writing and maths, are learned at students’ own pace, after they begin showing an interest in them. Not, says Moncarz, when the teacher orders it is time to learn.
“We don’t have what you’d traditionally consider problem kids,” says Moncarz. “Our parents saw their kids were unhappy and stressed in traditional education and they started questioning: is it normal or right for kids to come home stressed and unhappy?”
Moncarz insists that the school isn’t an “experiment” in education, and is based on two million years of evidence of how parents have raised their kids.
1. Where do students in Deep Green Bush School study?A.In the classroom. | B.At home. | C.In the wild. | D.On the Internet. |
A.To stop his unhappy teaching years. |
B.To compete with the traditional schools. |
C.To research how parents raise their kids. |
D.To prepare children for the future global problems. |
A.After teachers order study time. |
B.After students have interest in them. |
C.As soon as students come into the school. |
D.As soon as students finish learning the basic skills. |
A.All the students in schools are stressed. |
B.Moncarz had fun teaching in traditional schools. |
C.Deep Green Bush School is the first special school. |
D.Some parents may be unsatisfied with traditional schools. |
It is easy to show that intelligence is to some extent something we are born with. The closer the blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be in intelligence. Thus if we take two unrelated people at random(随机地) from population, it is likely that their degrees of intelligence will be completely different. If, on the other hand, we take two identical twins, they will very likely be as intelligent as each other. Relations like brothers and sisters, parents and children, usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends on birth.
Imagine now that we take two identical twins and put them in different environments. We might send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory where the work is boring. We would soon find differences in intelligence developing, and this indicates that environment as well as birth plays a part. This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact with each other, but who are not related at all are likely to have similar degrees of intelligence.
1. Which best describes the writer’s point in Para.1?
A.Intelligence is given at birth. |
B.Intelligence is developed by the environment. |
C.Intelligence is fixed at birth, but is developed by the environment. |
D.Some people are born clever and others born stupid. |
A.close relations usually have similar intelligence |
B.unrelated people are not likely to have similar intelligence |
C.the closer the blood relationship between people, the more different they are likely to be in intelligence |
D.people who live in close contact with each other are not likely to have similar degrees of intelligence |
A.the importance of their intelligence |
B.the effect of environment on intelligence |
C.the importance of their positions |
D.the part that birth plays |
A.On Intelligence |
B.What Intelligence Means |
C.Born with Intelligence |
D.Environment Decides Intelligence |
【推荐3】Music festivals in Europe
Visiting a festival abroad can be a great reason to travel and a way to experience different cultures. These days there is such a number of choices that it’s possible to spend the whole summer watching live music in exciting places. Of course, it’s also a chance to meet people from across the world.
Melt! Festival, Germany
This festival takes place on the site of an open air museum for industrial machinery. There’s also a lake which can be used for swimming when it’s hot. This year’s line-up has over 120 different bands (乐队). Around 90% of the people attending the festival are German providing a perfect chance to practise speaking the language.
Exit Festival, Serbia
Set on the banks of the Danube in an old fortress (城堡), the festival began as a way to show people’s dissatisfaction with the government. These days it’s less political (政治的) but still worries about people who are poor, ill, old, etc and tries to help them. This year’s festival will host many famous bands. From electronic music and dance music to hard rock, there is something for everyone to enjoy.
Open’er Festival, Poland
Held in an airfield near the northern city of Gdansk, each year Open’er has a seriously good selection of bands. This year is no exception, with many famous bands set to play. Not only are there amazing artists, but both Poland and the festival itself also provide very excellent value for money.
Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, Scotland
Set on a Scottish estate (庄园) near Inverness, this year Belladrum will welcome artists from around the world. The most enjoyable part of the weekend is the ceilidh (traditional Scottish dance and party) which is always a lively event. It doesn’t even matter if you’re a beginner because the band teaches you each dance.
1. What is special about Melt! Festival?A.It provides German lessons. | B.It is held by a local museum. |
C.The bands are from 120 countries. | D.Most of the festival goers are German. |
A.For political reasons. | B.For personal reasons. |
C.To help stop a fight. | D.To offer help to the poor. |
A.It falls in summer. |
B.It is a live music festival. |
C.It teaches people Scottish dances. |
D.It invites the most famous bands. |
【推荐1】Ten fitness exercises you can do at home
Walking
An effective walking workout at home will help to strengthen your legs, while getting some low impact aerobic exercise as well. If you don’t have any stairs available, just walk around the house a few times —it may not be very exciting, but it will do the job!
Jumping jacks
These are always fun, as they bring back memories of being a kid! Who hasn’t done jumping jacks for fun as a child? Well, surprise —they are also great cardio exercises, and good for warming up, too.
Push-ups
These are probably not the most favorite exercise of many people, but while they can be hard to do, you can find easier ways to do them. You don’t need to pretend you’re “Rocky”, and do them with one hand: just do what works for you. Do them on your knees, instead of keeping your legs straight. Or, do them by standing up against a wall. You will build up arm strength and work out muscles in your chest area.
Leg lifts
These are great for building up strength and muscles in your legs. If you find it hard to do the exercises with your legs straight, try bending them slightly.
Crunches
It’s the best exercise for building up and strengthening belly muscles. When you’re just getting started, don’t worry about getting your head all the way up. So long as you’re going up until you feel the stretching of the muscles, you will see some benefit.
Jogging in place
Jogging is a great exercise for your heart. You can jog in place at home while watching TV or listening to music. The only equipment you will require is a good pair of shoes, to eliminate any stress to your legs.
Squats
These are wonderful exercises for your legs and bottoms. You can even just try these by sitting and standing up again from a regular chair, if you’re finding them to be too difficult. As long as you’re able to do a few repetitions, you will provide some benefit to your body.
Dancing
Dancing is a wonderful exercise, which is great for your heart. Not only that, but it can lift your spirits as well, and give your overall feeling a boost.
1. Which column does this article belong to if in the newspaper?A.Health. | B.Entertainment. | C.Travel. | D.Advertisement. |
A.Walking. | B.Push-ups. | C.Jumping jacks. | D.Squats. |
A.Walking and Push-up. | B.Leg lifts and Crunches. |
C.Squats and Dancing. | D.Dancing and Jogging in place. |
【推荐2】The fitness movement that began in the late 1960s and early 1970s centered around aerobic exercise (有氧运动). Millions of individuals became engaged in a variety of aerobic activities, and literally thousands of health spas developed around the country to capitalize on this emerging interest in fitness, particularly aerobic dancing for females.
A number of fitness spas existed prior to this aerobic fitness movement, even a national chain with spas in most major cities. However, their focus was not on aerobics, but rather on weight-training programs designed to develop muscular mass, strength, and endurance in their primarily male enthusiasts. These fitness spas did not seem to benefit financially from the aerobic fitness movement to better health, since medical opinion suggested that weight-training programs offered few, if any, health benefits. In recent years, however, weight training has again become increasingly popular for males and for females. Many current programs focus not only on developing muscular strength and endurance but on aerobic fitness as well.
Historically, most physical-fitness tests have usually included measures of muscular strength and endurance, not for health-related reasons, but primarily because such fitness components have been related to performance in athletics. However, in recent years, evidence has shown that training programs designed primarily to improve muscular strength and endurance might also offer some health benefits as well. The American College of Sports Medicine now recommends that weight training be part of a total fitness program for healthy Americans. Increased participation in such training is one of the specific physical activity and fitness objectives of Healthy People 2000: National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives.
1. The word “spas” most probably means “________”.A.sports activities | B.places for physical exercise |
C.recreation centers | D.athletic training programs |
A.the promotion of aerobic exercise |
B.endurance and muscular development |
C.the improvement of women’s figures |
D.better performance in aerobic dancing |
A.Positive. | B.Indifferent. |
C.Negative. | D.Cautious |
A.had become an essential part of people’s life |
B.may well affect the health of the trainees |
C.will attract more people in the days to come |
D.contributes to health improvement as well |