【推荐1】It’s certainly not unusual to see groups of footballers gathering at sports centres around the country, readying to kick a ball around, but look again and you’ll see that many of them are more mature than you first thought. Created as recently as 2011, and mostly played by those aged over 50, walking football is a sport still in its infancy.

For the uninitiated(外行人), it’s football, but maybe not as you know it. The game certainly isn’t as slow as you might imagine. One foot has to remain on the ground at all times, so the ball has to be moved with accuracy, players having to find space to receive the pass. Often players are restricted to three touches of the ball before releasing it as a mechanism to cut down on any running. The rules are further slightly changed to ensure there’s minimal contact between players with no tackling from the side or from behind. 

Andy Fairburn is a regular at the sessions. Now in his early-seventies, Andy finds the game still has plenty to offer him.  

“I’ve been playing football since I was about 16, mainly Sunday League and then playing indoor five-a-side with work teams and then starting here. Getting older, your knees are knackered, your hips start to hurt, and I’ll know when it’s time to stop, but I’ve still got some time left to enjoy it. I am still competitive, though, and old habits die hard. What I’ve enjoyed most is the friendship and meeting new people. We’ve all become friends. We talk about all kinds of things.”

For many who thought football was finished for them as a participation sport due to fitness and age, it’s far from the case. Walking football is a sport played by those who’ve never kicked a ball before through to those skilled enough to play for their country, often on the same pitch. The game may be growing faster than its participants are allowed to move, but it’s never too late to enjoy the thrill of kicking a ball around with like-minded people.

1. What does the underlined word “infancy” mean in the first paragraph?

A．An unusual thing to see.

B．A beginning period of existence.

C．An aging stage of advancement.

D．A mature era of development.

2. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．The playing rules of walking football.

B．The limit of running of walking football.

C．The minimal contact in walking football.

D．The accuracy of the move in walking football.

3. Why does Andy Fairburn like playing walking football in his early-seventies?

A．His body parts start to hurt.

B．He doesn’t know when to stop.

C．His team needs him very much.

D．He makes new friends with others.

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Participants are encouraged to move fast.

B．Walking football is finished for the aged.

C．Participants needn’t be skilled football players.

D．Walking football is designed for skilled players.

【推荐3】In high school, my husband was placed last in both swimming and cross-country running. “At that time, I decided to check out the theater department,” he often jokes. More than a decade later, he’s active — he takes a long daily walk, and spends his workdays moving heavy camera equipment around movie sets — but not athletic. The closest he’s come to running is meeting me at the finish line of a 5K.

According to a new study, his experience is somewhat common. People who have low sports aptitude as children are less likely to be active as adults, according to a new research from the United Kingdom.

The study involved more than 12,000 UK residents that experts have been tracking since 1958. These people filled out forms at ages 33 and 50 about their physical activity habits. Experts from the UCL Institute of Child Health in London compared the midlife survey results to data from the participants’ childhoods to see what early-life factors make someone more or less likely to work out as an adult.

Of all the factors they studied, including things like social status and parental divorce, being bad at sports as a child had the greatest influence on inactivity as an adult. Low sports aptitude increased the likelihood of being inactive by about 50 percent. “To our knowledge, no other study has considered such a wide variety of early-life factors,” the study’s authors write.

The study also found that about 18 percent of people started exercising more between ages 33 and 50. That means if you want to start working out more, it’s never too late to start.

“If you’re new to physical activity, try to find something that you have found interesting,” says fitness manager Anita Golden. He suggests power walking or DVD workouts at home if exercising around other people makes you nervous. Jogging, hiking and bike riding are other good individual activities to try. If you like working out with other people but are worried about your coordination (协调), try group fitness classes that stick to simple moves and basic equipment, like indoor cycling.

“Don’t compare yourself to others — you are your only competition,” Golden stresses.

1. What do we know about the author’s husband?

A．He participated in the study.

B．He hardly excels at sports.

C．He runs with the author.

D．He’s into photography.

2. In what way is the study special?

A．It is the first one on the topic.

B．It has involved a great many people.

C．It has been carried out non-stop for years.

D．It has considered various early-life factors.

3. What is Golden’s suggestion for new exercisers?

A．Work out with fitness instructors.

B．Don’t engage in workouts with others.

C．Take part in an activity that interests you.

D．Don’t wear yourself out when exercising.

4. What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

A．To analyze a phenomenon.

B．To arouse an interest in sport.

C．To expose her man’s weakness.

D．To show the accuracy of the study.

【推荐3】Sleeping with a dim light like a television or nightlight is enough to the raise blood sugar and heart rates of healthy people, according to a new study. Light helps our body maintain an internal clock, but artificial light at night can interrupt the rest and repair that should happen during the sleep. New research suggests that even when our eyes are closed, a small amount of light can disrupt the way our bodies normally keep our blood sugar within a healthy range.

In the study published in Sciences on Monday, scientists asked 20 participants ages 19 to 36 to spend two nights in their lab. On the first night of sleep, the volunteers slept in a very dark room. For their second night of sleep, half of the group snoozed with a small light like the glow of television at night, or streetlights through a window—and half spent their second night in a dark room.

During the trial, all participants were connected to devices that measured different markers of their sleep quality. They were each connected via a special tube, allowing researchers to collect samples without waking the individual. Researchers also recorded participants’ heart rates and brain waves.

When the volunteers awoke in the morning, the team tested their blood sugar and found that participants that slept in rooms with a dim light spent less time in deep sleep. In addition to having slightly worse blood sugar control, the group exposed to dim light had a higher heart rate on average. “By comparison, those that spend two nights in the dark room had little difference in their blood sugar control. They thought they slept well, but your brain knows that the lights are on,” says Zee, “you should clearly pay attention to the light in your bedroom. If you can’t give up your night light, keep it dim and at floor level.”

Earlier work has linked exposure to light during sleep to an increased risk of obesity in women. Zee recommends, “make sure that you start dimming your lights at least an hour or two before you go to bed to prepare your environment for sleep.”

1. What did the underlined word “disrupt” in paragraph 1 mean?

A．bother

B．keep

C．disagree

D．follow

2. How did the researchers draw a conclusion from the study?

A．By analyzing the data from scientific texts.	B．By conducting the experiments.
C．Using questionnaires.	D．By comparing earlier work.

3. What did the study find if the participants slept in dark rooms?

A．The participants would have a higher heart rate.

B．The participants would have higher blood sugar.

C．The participants’ blood sugar control would not change.

D．The participants actually sleep more than average.

4. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A．Sleeping With a Dim Light Can Raise Health Problems

B．How to Sleep Well With a Dim Light

C．Sleep Well, Eat Well, Good Health

D．The Darker, the Lower Blood Sugar