Tai chi, a traditional, slow-moving form of Chinese martial art, is known to increase flexibility and improve balance. Now, new research suggests it’s better than more energetic aerobic exercises (有氧运动) for lowering blood pressure in people with prehypertension (高血压前期). Prehypertension is considered a warning sign that heart disease may be ahead, and it raises the risk of having a heart attack.
The new findings, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, add to a large body of research pointing to health benefits from tai chi.
In the study, researchers in China randomly assigned 342 adults with prehypertension to one of two interventions. The average age of participants was 49. Roughly half the people participated in aerobic exercises, including jogging, climbing stairs, brisk walking and cycling. The other half was trained to practice tai chi. Both groups got hour-long sessions four times a week.
After 12 months, those in the tai chi group saw bigger drops in their blood pressure than those in the aerobic exercise group. What’s more, nearly 22% of the people who practiced tai chi saw their blood pressure fall to within normal range, compared with nearly 16% of people in the aerobic exercise group. And fewer patients in the tai chi group went on to develop hypertension than in the aerobic exercise group.
How does tai chi help lower blood pressure? The practice tends to cause more of a response from the parasympathetic nervous system (副交感神经系统), says Ruth Taylor-Piliae, a professor at the University of Arizona’s College of Nursing, who was not involved in the study. The parasympathetic nervous system is the network of nerves that relaxes your body after periods of stress or danger.
“I think the beauty of tai chi is that you don’t have to have a special gym membership or special clothing,” Taylor-Piliae says. “Once you learn tai chi, you can do it anytime, anyplace, anywhere. And it does kind of provide that calming, relaxing effect.”
1. What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?| A．The result of the research. | B．The process of the research. |
| C．The purpose of the research. | D．The application of the research. |
| A．By giving a definition. | B．By providing examples. |
| C．By making comparisons. | D．By presenting different opinions. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Negative. | D．Unclear. |
| A．Tai chi Helps Relax Nervous People |
| B．Tai chi Helps People Prevent Prehypertension |
| C．Tai chi Plays a Crucial Role in Treating Patients |
| D．Tai chi Reduces Blood Pressure Better than Aerobic Exercise |
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【推荐1】Stephen Hawking, the world respected Oxford physicist, who died at the age of 76, once said he felt “lucky” his motor neurone diseasc (MND) did not prevent him from doing his lifelong research on the origins of the universe. “I have been so lucky that my disease has not been a serious block, indeed it has probably given me more time than most people to search for knowledge.” he once said.
The author of the 1988 bestseller A Brief History of Time was given only a few years to live when he was diagnosed (诊断) with MND as a 22-year-old student in 1964.
MND is the collective name for a group of diseases that affect the nerves (神经) in the brain. The progressive disease kills more than half within two years and about ninety percent within five years of diagnosis. There is no cure for MND and no treatment to halt the progression of the disease at the present time. However, it is possible to live with it for many years.
The disease affects the muscles that produce movements like walking and talking, and damages parts of the nervous system which leads to muscle weakness. MND most commonly happens to people in their 50s and 60s. However, it can affect people of any age, as in Prof Hawking’s case.
Experts believe that Hawking’s rare slow-progressing form of MND and its early onset were likely to be factors in why he was able to live with the disease into his seventies. Leo McCluskey, a medical director, said his excellent care and the variation (变异) of his disease are likely to have prolonged his life. “The common way people die is of breathing failure. And the other thing is swallowing muscles’(吞咽肌) becoming worse. If you don’t have these two things, you could probably not live for a long time — even though you’re getting worse. What’s happened to Hawking is just surprising. He’s certainly an outlier,” he said.
1. What did Hawking think of his disease?| A．It was a challenge to his personal life. |
| B．It made his research more difficult. |
| C．It enabled him to concentrate on his research. |
| D．It led him to do research on the universe. |
| A．It can be cured in some way. | B．It may kill people all of a sudden. |
| C．It usually strikes young people. | D．It has a relatively high death rate. |
| A．Stop. | B．Test. | C．Monitor. | D．Limit. |
| A．his early onset of MND |
| B．good nursing and the variation of his MND |
| C．his rare slow-progressing form of MND |
| D．good condition of his breathing and swallowing muscles |
【推荐2】Flu(流感) can be very dangerous although in most people the illness may last only a week or two. Getting a flu vaccine(疫苗) every year is the best way to prevent getting the flu.
Recognize flu symptoms(症状). Before you can effectively treat the flu, make sure that’s what you actually have.
Get some rest. Sometimes it’s possible to keep working or going to school with a cold, but when you have the flu, it’s important to rest.
Take vitamin C. Vitamin C is essential for health. Studies suggest that a proper amount of vitamin C can help remove cold and flu symptoms. Take 1000mg per hour for the first six hours as soon as symptoms appear. Then take 1000mg three times daily. Do not continue to take too much vitamin C after you feel better.
Though it rarely happens, too much of it may get you poisoned.
| A．Know when to seek emergency medical treatment. |
| B．But if you get the flu, it pays to learn how to treat it. |
| C．Take a few days off to give your body time to recover. |
| D．Orange juice is another good source of natural vitamin C. |
| E．Flu symptoms are similar to cold symptoms, but more severe. |
| F．You can remove the discomfort of fever by using a cool cloth. |
【推荐3】The common cold is the world’s most widespread illness, which is probably why there are more myths (误区) about it than any of the other illnesses.
The most widespread mistake of all is that colds are caused by cold. They are not. They are caused by viruses passing on from person to person. You catch a cold by coming into contact, directly or indirectly, with someone who already has one. If cold causes colds, it would be reasonable to expect the Eskimos to suffer from them forever. But they do not. And in isolated North Pole regions explorers have reported being free from colds until coming into contact again with infected (感染的) people from the outside world by way of packages and mail dropped from airplanes.
At the Common Cold Research Unit in England, volunteers took part in experiments. After taking hot baths, they put on bathing suits, allowed themselves to be doused (浸入) with cold water, and then stood about dripping wet in drafty (通风的) rooms. Some wore wet socks all day while others exercised in the rain until close to exhaustion. Not one of the volunteers came down with a cold unless a cold virus was actually dropped in his nose.
If, then, cold and wet have nothing to do with catching colds, why are they more frequent in the winter? One explanation offered by scientists is that people tend to stay together indoors more in cold weather than at other times, and this makes it easier for cold viruses to be passed on.
No one has yet found a cure for the cold. There are drugs and pain suppressors such as aspirin, but all they do is to ease the symptoms.
1. What does the fact that the Eskimos don’t always suffer colds show?| A．Colds are truly full of myths. |
| B．Colds are more severe than other illnesses. |
| C．The idea that cold leads to colds is not true. |
| D．The Eskimos are stronger in fighting against viruses. |
| A．Being doused with cold water did harm to one’s body. |
| B．Taking hot baths made the volunteers easy to be tired. |
| C．It was viruses not wet and cold that made people catch colds. |
| D．People who would like to exercise in the rain got colds more easily. |
| A．Viruses can go into people’s warm bodies more easily in winter. |
| B．Staying together indoors makes it easier for viruses to spread. |
| C．People are usually weak because of the extreme cold in winter. |
| D．There is great difference between indoor and outdoor temperature. |
| A．The myths about cold treatment. | B．The experiments on common colds. |
| C．The continued spread of common colds. | D．The reason and the way people catch colds. |
【推荐1】Created as recently as 2011, and mainly played by those aged over 50, walking football is growing at great pace in Britain. The game, where players walk rather than run, is designed to help aged people get fit or maintain an active lifestyle no matter what their age and fitness. According to a 2019 survey, there were 1,200 registered clubs and an estimated 40,000 regular participants.
North Ferriby Walking Football Club in East Yorkshire is one such example. “We started in 2015,” explains Mark Leighton, the team’s manager. “The first week we started off, we probably only had four or five players. Now we have 42 registered players taking part over three separate sessions each week.” Mark’s immediate goal is to get the club to 50 registered players across four sessions a week.
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 16. Getting older, your knees start to hurt, and I’ll know when it’s time to stop. I am sill competitive, though, and old habits die hard.”
It goes beyond kicking a football around for players like Andy. “There’s a serious football side if you want to win and a friendship side. I’d rather stick to the latter. It’s brilliant to socialize with people through walking football.”
Walking football is clearly a success story with much to be proud of. However, it’s striking that 87 per cent of clubs reported that less than 10 per cent of players are female. And not all clubs are as fortunate as North Ferriby Walking Football Club, which operates on a pay-as-you-go model and has secure sponsorship to reduce the cost burden.
1. What do we know about walking football?| A．It is becoming popular in and outside Britain. |
| B．It has been played for dozens of years. |
| C．It is aimed at improving elderly people’s welfare. |
| D．It has the same rules as the normal football. |
| A．To introduce a successful walking football club. |
| B．To illustrate the growth of walking football. |
| C．To praise Mark Leighton’s work for the club. |
| D．To suggest the ideal number of players in a club. |
| A．The sport is good for his knees. | B．He doesn’t have to give up his habit. |
| C．Winning games makes him feel good. | D．He can make friends with new people. |
| A．There’s work to be done to promote the game. | B．Most women don’t like playing football. |
| C．Walking football clubs can be profitable. | D．The findings of the 2019 survey are wrong. |
【推荐2】When it comes to making healthy lifestyle changes, which should come first—changing your diet or becoming more physically active?
Previous studies suggested that providing people with too much information about nutrition and physical activity at once tends (趋向)to be discouraging. That has led to the popularity of advising people to make changes gradually, and set smaller goals.
So the scientists divided 200 inactive participants who were 45 or older into four groups. One group was instructed in making diet and fitness changes at the same time; the second group was taught about diet changes first, and then fitness changes four months later; the third group changed their exercise habits first and made changes in their eating habits four months later; and the final, control group was not instructed in either diet or fitness changes but in how to manage their stress.
The researchers followed the groups for a full year. Compared to the control group, the three intervention (干预) groups made healthy changes in their diet. Those who changed their fitness habits first significantly increased the amount of exercise they received daily compared to the other groups after four months. However, at the end of the year, the group that changed both diet and exercise at the same time was the only one that met the nationally recommended targets for both exercise and nutrition levels, while those who worked on improving their nutrition first were unable to meet the recommended levels of fitness after a year. The researchers suspect that changes to diet are easier to make than changes to physical activity.
The findings show, however, that pairing diet and exercise changes may help to overcome some of the barriers people face in adding more physical activity into their lives. If folks change diet and exercise orderly, the scientists say, they may end up placing more importance on the first set of behavior changes and feel less pressured to address the second set.
1. The advice mentioned in the second paragraph seemed ________.| A．popular | B．dangerous |
| C．scientific | D．unsatisfactory |
| A．The first group. |
| B．The second group. |
| C．The third group. |
| D．The control group. |
| A．Changing eating habits first may be reasonable. |
| B．Diet and exercise changes should be made orderly. |
| C．Diet and exercise changes are equally hard to make. |
| D．Diet and exercise should be processed at the same time. |
| A．Changing Your Habits for Better Health |
| B．Ways to Lead a Healthy and Balanced Life |
| C．Making Healthy Lifestyle Changes Really Counts |
| D．Timing Matters in Making Diet and Exercise Changes |
【推荐3】Teenagers’ fitness is now a major concern, to which physical exercise is very important. It reduces stress and improves fitness. Exercise makes your body strong, and helps you to keep the right body weight. Sports scientist Dr.Helen Lopez offers the following advice to teenagers: “Firstly, you need to find out your present level of fitness. Then you can design a programme that will help you become healthier.”
Dr Lopez suggests that there are three levels of fitness that need a change of lifestyle. “Overweight” means that the person gets very little exercise and often has a serious weight problem. “Inactive” means that the person does not join in many physical activities, but is not seriously overweight. “Active” refers to people who take part in sports and other physical activities, but do not have a high fitness level.
According to Dr Lopez, overweight teenagers should keep active to keep healthy. Ride a bike, play volleyball or basketball for a while, and go for a twenty-minute walk each day. All these will help to burn up calories. Inactive teenagers should do similar activities, but add some bending and stretching exercises, such as push-ups and sit-ups, starting with twenty of each a day. “Inactive people can take a little more exercise than overweight people because their bodies are stronger,” said Dr Lopez. The same principle applies to active teenagers.
Dr Lopez suggests one hour a week or more on running and other forms of intensive exercise, together with fifteen minutes a day spent on stretching and bending activities. “These are really important in order to prevent injuries,” Dr Lopez said. Some weight-training and other body-strengthening exercises could also be planned in the programme in order to increase the personˈs strength.
1. What can we learn from the passage?| A．Active people always have a high fitness level. |
| B．Overweight people always take more exercise. |
| C．Inactive teenagers are not seriously overweight. |
| D．Keeping fit means changing teenagers’ lifestyle. |
| A．It can make the teenagers grow taller. |
| B．It can help teenagers become healthier. |
| C．It can help to burn up calories. |
| D．It can increase teenagers’ strength. |
| A．walking | B．stretching and bending |
| C．riding | D．weight-training |
| A．Doing exercises | B．Teenagersˈ fitness |
| C．Different lifestyles | D．Overweight teenagers |
【推荐1】When you’ve finished your studies at school and college, do you feel like a well-earned rest? If you’re about to embark on a course at university, you’ll want to recharge your batteries and have some fun. But how long should you do that for? Now the idea of taking a year off before you move into further education seems to be the thing to do.
A year off—also called a gap year—is not a new concept, but there’s now a focus on making the most of this break from academic life. Long gone are the days of just hanging out on a beach or backpacking round the world. While that is still an option, a gap year is now more about gaining skills that will help you in later life. The BBC’s Smart Consumer podcast spoke to a student called Meg, who said “I just always had in the back of my mind I’d spend a year doing something productive and something that would just be good fun.”
Doing something productive is exactly what students are being encouraged to do because doing more purposeful things like work experience or charity work helps them acquire skills to use when competing for a place at university. It looks good on their CV and ultimately makes them more employable.
While the benefits of taking a gap year are clear to see, some students worry they can’t afford it. Another student, Tom, told the BBC that to him, a gap year was an ‘alien concept’. He said “it would have been far too expensive and it’s not something that I would have been able to rely on my parents or family members for.” But some experts say that it needn’t burn a hole in your pocket; you don’t need to travel far and you can even earn money by doing paid work.
For those who do have the funds, a combination of working, volunteering and travelling is undoubtedly an amazing opportunity. It increases confidence and independence, gives you a chance to learn new crafts, and gives you time to contemplate whether university is right for you.
1. What is the new focus of “taking a gap year”?| A．Hanging out on a beach. |
| B．Backpacking round the world. |
| C．Spending time trying challenges. |
| D．Gaining useful skills for future life. |
| A．To make them capable in later life. |
| B．To get the best result in the competition. |
| C．To enrich the experience of doing voluntary work. |
| D．To gain the sense of achievement during the participation. |
| A．They approve of it. | B．They are against it. |
| C．They are indifferent to it. | D．They think it unworthy. |
| A．You must go to university after taking a gap year. |
| B．A gap year makes sense if you have the fund to take. |
| C．All students can afford a gap year if they prefer to. |
| D．Fund is the most important factor for taking a gap year. |
【推荐2】Adderall is the most popular among the “study drugs” on American campuses. Around 30 per cent of American students have taken “study drugs” at least once, and the higher-ranking the university, the more common it is.
Relatively speaking, prescriptions (处方) come cheap on campus. One Harvard undergraduate had initially turned up to the campus health center with depression. The psychiatrist (精神科医生) gave him a quick questionnaire, decided he had ADHD (多动症) and gave him Adderall, which he now uses almost daily. Another Harvard student, having suffered a spots-related head injury, approached a campus psychiatrist and was prescribed 20 mg of Adderall. Within weeks, he was taking as much as 200 mg a day (ten times the standard dose). He soon dropped out of school. After that, it was drink, hard drugs and yet more Adderall. Having gone through rehab (戒瘾康复), he’s now back at Harvard — five years older than his peers — and determined to get his degree.
One thing you can do after getting a prescription is “sell it to your friends who haven’t been so well trained in the theatre to get themselves a diagnosis”, an Ivy League undergraduate explains. “You make some money and have more fun and everyone benefits.” Many students think Adderall helps them focus, still and finish their work. Demand is always highest around finals, which is why it’s sensible to get orders early.
Psychiatrist Dr. Allen Frances, who helped shape the American Psychiatric Association’s definition of ADHD in the 1990s, says that while Adderall can be helpful in certain circumstances, with many patients,the clinically appropriate thing to tell them is “there’s not a lot wrong with you, just get on with your life”.
1. What can we infer about many campus prescriptions for Adderall?| A．They are powerful. | B．They are illegal. | C．They are standard. | D．They are inappropriate. |
| A．It rids them of mental diseases. | B．It brings them financial benefits. |
| C．It gets them better prepared for exams. | D．It helps them improve their stage performance. |
| A．Evaluate Adderall’s harm. | B．Recognize ADHD’s symptoms. |
| C．Avoid over-prescription of Adderall. | D．Expand patients’ knowledge of Adderall. |
| A．The magic power of Adderall. | B．The trend of taking a “study drug”. |
| C．The widespread ignorance of ADHD. | D．The disadvantage of college health care. |
【推荐3】Cars could soon be communicating with each other using 5G to make drivers aware of upcoming dangers, scientists say. The extremely fast mobile Internet would allow for rapid information transmission and could make drivers aware of black ice, pot holes or other dangers up ahead.
Several car manufacturers (制造商) are already using 5G in their vehicles, including as a tool to help serve in the generation of self-driving vehicles.
Experts at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) believe the high-speed connection will also improve the reliability and capability of automated vehicles to the point where they will be safer than the manual (手动的) cars being driven today. They predict the number of road traffic accidents, which according to the World Health Organization account for more than 1. 3 million deaths and up to 50 million people injured worldwide every year, will drop really as a result.
Dr Dimitrios Liarokapis, a member of the research group, said, “To have a better idea of what the future vehicles will look like, think of having such cars that not only use sensors to scan what’s around them, they can also talk to each other and exchange safety-related information about their surroundings over an area that covers several square miles. With the help of 5G, a vehicle-generated early warning system that reminds drivers is possible within the next few years. Cars that are close enough to the danger area will transmit warning messages to other cars around them using short-range communication technologies, but also to cars further away using 5G, fast and reliably.”
A few manufacturers are already working on connected cars. Of them, Ford told its intention to fit 80 percent of its future vehicles with technology that warns drivers about upcoming road accidents, bad weather and traffic jams.
1. What is the main idea of paragraph 1?| A．How cars can be equipped with 5G. |
| B．Skills of drivers’ avoiding dangers ahead. |
| C．How cars can be controlled by relevant departments. |
| D．Benefits of 5G to traffic safety by sharing information. |
| A．Their engines. | B．Their reliability. |
| C．Their appearance. | D．Their speed. |
| A．To state that people could have avoided traffic accidents if careful. |
| B．To express that traffic accidents happen more frequently. |
| C．To indicate traffic accidents are somewhat under control. |
| D．To show the serious consequences of traffic accidents. |
| A．The future cars can be available within the next several years. |
| B．It is hard for future cars to use sensors to scan what’s around them. |
| C．The future cars will only transmit warning messages to other cars around them. |
| D．The future cars can talk to each other over an area covering about dozens of square miles. |
