【推荐1】Getting Ready for Yoga

Feeling tired? Under too much stress? Well, you may want to try Yoga (瑜珈). It’s what more and more people have been turning to release the trouble of modern life. Practically unheard of in the West until 50 years ago, Yoga has become one of the most popular health trends around the world, including China. If you search for Yoga on line in Chinese, lots of pages are there to see, most of which are main pages of Yoga clubs. In order to keep fit and lose weight, many girls spend more than 1000 yuan taking part in Yoga classes every month.

However, are you really ready for it? There are several things you need to know before you really take it.

First, do not force your body too much. Yoga has many difficult poses. They are beautiful and worth boasting if you could finish them. But if you force yourself to do as exactly as an experienced Yoga teacher does, you may hurt your body, instead of strengthening it. Do you remember you original purpose for playing Yoga? It is self -building, not competing.

Second, do some research about the Yoga class that you are to registering. Yoga is new in China and there are not so many certificated well-trained Yoga teachers. Some not well organized clubs just find someone learn a little Yoga and certificate them. But be aware, a non-eligible teacher might wrongly guide you and you could not benefit from the classes much except that they force you to exercise your body a bit. Considering about the large amount of money you invest in it, it’s worth and reasonable to make sure the teachers in the club are qualified before you join.

Third, it would be better to learn something about nutrition when you practice Yoga. In the very beginning, Yoga was part of the Vedas, bible of the traditional Indian philosophy. So it could be regarded as a kind of lifestyle. When you have decided to care for your body, why not feed it properly? In fact, good clubs have their own nutritionists.

Anyhow, make sure you are ready before you act. The trend may change quickly, but you can benefit from practicing yoga anyway.

1. The underlined word” non-eligible” in the 4^th paragraph most probably means ________.

A．unqualified	B．in experienced
C．unrespectable	D．unpopular

2. Which of the following is the author’s advice?

A．Get some knowledge about Vedas when practicing yoga.

B．What you want to achieve in doing yoga is to compete.

C．Choose whatever yoga club you like.

D．Don’t blindly follow the trends in yoga.

3. The author’s main purpose in writing the article is to ______.

A．tell people ways to relax under too much stress.

B．offer some suggestions to those who want to take yoga classes.

C．explain to people the benefits of taking yoga classes.

D．inform people of what kind of yoga clubs they should turn to.

4. From the advice offered by the author, we can conclude that _______.

A．it is easy for you to accomplish the poses in yoga.

B．research is needed after you register for the yoga class.

C．yoga has something to do with culture.

D．you can rely on all the teachers in yoga clubs.

【推荐2】Race walking (竞走) shares many fitness benefits with running, research shows, while most likely leading to fewer injuries. It does, however, have its own problem.

Race walkers are conditioned athletes. The longest track and field event at the Summer Olympics is the 50-kilometer race walk, which is about five miles longer than the marathon. But the sport’s rules require that a race walker’s knees stay straight through most of the leg swing (摆动) and one foot remain in contact with the ground at all times. It’s this strange form that makes race walking such an attractive activity, however, says Jaclyn Norberg, an assistant professor of exercise science at Salem State University in Salem, Mass.

Like running, race walking is physically demanding, she says. Race walkers moving at a pace of six miles per hour would burn about 800 calories (卡路里) hour, which is almost twice as many as they would burn walking, although fewer than running, which would probably burn about 1,000 or more calories per hour.

However, race walking doesn’t do as much harm to the body as running does, Dr. Norberg says. According to her research, runners hit the ground with as much as four times their body weight per step, while race walkers, who do not leave the ground, create only about 1.4 times their body weight with each step.

As a result, she says, some of the injuries associated with running, such as runner’s knee, are uncommon among race walkers. But the sport’s strange form does place considerable stress on the ankles and hips, so people with a history of such injuries might want to be cautious in adopting the sport. In fact, anyone wishing to try race walking should probably first consult (咨询) a coach or experienced racer to learn proper technique, she says. It takes some practice.

1. Why are race walkers conditioned athletes?

A．They must run long distances.

B．They must compete in the marathon.

C．They have to follow special rules.

D．They are good at swinging their legs.

2. What advantage does race walking have over running?

A．It’s more popular at the Olympics.

B．It’s less challenging physically.

C．It’s more effective in body building.

D．It’s less likely to cause knee injuries.

3. What is Dr. Norberg’s suggestion for someone trying race walking?

A．Getting experts’ opinions.

B．Having a medical checkup.

C．Hiring an experienced coach.

D．Doing regular exercises.

【推荐3】A week ago, “Sports for Life” programme was sent to the parents, requiring them to select a sport that they wanted their child to play. Since then, our staff have received lots of calls from parents asking for more information about it. Here is a memo (备忘录) for your reference when you answer the phones.

Sport 1: Basketball.

We expect that this will be the most popular of the four sports. Therefore, students should be advised to sign up as soon as possible. Students will take a private bus to and from the Kwun Tong Sports Park. To cover the cost of hiring a bus, each student will have to pay $10 each time. There will be four basketball courts with one teacher monitoring each game.

Sport 2: Gym.

We will be using the St. Peter’s Memorial Park. There are two reasons for choosing this park. First, it is not very busy and crowded before 6:00 pm. Second, it has a lot of trees with plenty of shade. Students must bring along two bottles of water to prevent thirst. Three activities — skipping, jogging, and outdoor aerobics (有氧运动) are all free of charge. And there will be a teacher on duty for each of the activities.

Sport 3: Hiking.

Hiking will take place at the Kowloon Peak. The activity will start at 2:30 pm and finish 90 minutes later. Three teachers will accompany the students, and a hiking instructor will accompany each group of 15 hikers. Each instructor will cost $75 per hour. Students are advised to bring plenty of water and sunscreen.

Sport 4: Swimming.

The Kowloon City Aquatic Centre is a 10-minute walk from our school. Four teachers will go to the pool and conduct the students from the poolside. We will only be able to reserve the pool for one hour (2:45 pm to 3:45 pm). Only students skillful at swimming can take up this activity. The pool will have two lifeguards present. Girls must wear a swimming suit. The cost is $10 per visit.

1. Who is the memo intended for?

A．The parents.

B．The students.

C．The workers.

D．The teachers.

2. Why is the gym recommended in the St. Peter’s Memorial Park?

A．It provides free-for-all activities.	B．It offers shelters from the sun.
C．It covers the cost of transport.	D．It remains uncrowded all day.

3. What is a student required to do if taking part in swimming?

A．To pay $10 in all.	B．To arrive at 4:00 pm.
C．To wear a swimming suit.	D．To be good at swimming.

【推荐2】Central Park
Outside among the trees, watch the wildlife—both the human and animal varieties. Call(212) 360-3465 or (212) 360-2726 for daily events and tours.
Central Park stretches from 59th to 110th Sts., and from 5th Ave. to Central Park West.
Empire State Building
This is among the most striking buildings in the city, the nation, even the world. The observation deck (瞭望台) on the 86th floor is open to the general public, offering a wonderful view of the city. On the second floor you'll find the New York Skyride, a simulate helicopter ride over Manhattan.
5th Ave. at 34th St., Midtown: (212) 736-3100
Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum
Five blocks west of Time Square, this museum has hundreds of air, deep-sea and space exhibits. Walk the flight deck of the 900-foot-long aircraft carrier Intrepid, see dozens of old and modern aircraft and ride the Intrepid Navy Flight Simulator.
Pier 86, W. 46th St. and 12th Ave.: (212)245-0072
Madison Square Garden
If it's big, it probably happens at the Garden. Check out sporting events, concerts and much more. Tours are available.
7th Ave., btwn. 31st and 33rd Sts., Midtown: (212)465-6741
1. The New York Skyride is for                            .

A．sightseeing	B．flight training
C．model plane sports	D．city transportation

2. If a visitor is interested in music, he will probably go to                            .

A．Central Park	B．Empire State Building
C．Intrepid Sea-Air-Space museum	D．Madison Square Garden

3. What is the purpose of these texts?

A．To provide information of living in New York.

B．To provide directions of city traffic in New York.

C．To give visitors a guide to New York.

D．To give a brief introduction to the history of New York.

【推荐3】When you are reading something in English, you may often meet with a new word. What's the best way to know it?

You may look it up in an English-Chinese dictionary. It will tell you a lot about the word: the pronunciation, the part of speech ( 词性), the Chinese meaning and also how to use the word. But how can you know where the word is in thousands of English words? How to find it in thousands of English words? How to find it in the dictionary quickly and correctly?

All the English words are arranged in the alphabcrical order ( 按照字母表的顺序 ) in a dictionary. In the dictionary you can first see the words beginning with the letter A, B, C, D... That means, if there are two words "general" and "morning", "general” will be certainly before "morning". Then if there are two words both beginning with the same letter, you may look at the second letter. Then the third, the fourth... For example, "before" is before "begin", "foreigner" is before "forest", etc.

The dictionary will be your good friend. I hope you'll use it as often as possible in your English learning.

1. If there are four words "picture" "pistol" "organ"" and "metal", the words order to be looked up in the dictionary should be ________.

A．metal, organ, picture, pistol

B．organ, metal, pistol, picture

C．picture, metal, pistol, organ

D．pistol, picture, organ, metal

2. An English-Chinese dictionary usually tells you a lot about the word EXCEPT ________.

A．the pronunciation

B．the part of speech

C．the Chinese meaning

D．the letter numbers

3. According to the passage, when you are reading something in English with a new word, the best way to know it is ________.

A．to look up in a computer

B．to look up in a dictionary

C．to call your teacher of English

D．to ask your classmate

4. The title of this passage could probably be ________.

A．The Best Way to Sell a Dictionary

B．The Dictionary is Your Best Friend

C．The Best Way to Look Up a Word in a Dictionary

D．An Important Tool for Your English Study