1 . Race walking shares many fitness benefits with running, research shows, while most likely contributing 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 and one foot remain in contact (接触) 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, According to most calculations, race walkers moving at a pace of six miles per hour would burn about 800 calories(卡路里) per hour, which is approximately 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 does not pound the body as much 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 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 are qualified for the marathon. |
C.They have to follow special rules. |
D.They are good at swinging their legs. |
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. |
A.Getting experts’ opinions. |
B.Having a medical checkup. |
C.Hiring an experienced coach. |
D.Doing regular exercises. |
A.Skeptical. | B.Objective. |
C.Tolerant. | D.Conservative. |
2 . People need to relax and enjoy themselves. One way they can have a good time is to watch a baseball game or another sports event.Even thousands of years ago,groups of people gathered to watch skilled athletes(运动员).
Over 2,000 years ago in Greece,certain days in the year were festival days. These were holidays when people stopped work and enjoyed themselves. They liked to watch athletes take part in races and other games of skill.
The most important festival was held every four years at the town of Olympia. It was held in honour of the Greek god Zeus. For five days,athletes from all parts of the Greek world took part in the Olympic Games. At the Olympic Games,people could watch them box,run,jump and so on. There was a relay race between two teams of men in which a lighted torch(火炬) was passed from runner to runner. The Olympic Games were thought to be so important that cities which were at war with one another had to stop fighting. People were allowed to travel to the games freely. Thousands of people came to Olympia from cities in Greece and from its colonies(殖民地) in Africa,Asia and Italy. They met as friends to cheer their favourite athletes and to enjoy themselves.
1. What happened in Greece over 2,000 years ago?A.People stopped work and enjoyed themselves. |
B.The cities there were often against one another. |
C.People watched baseball games. |
D.People didn't go to any games at all. |
A.They fought. |
B.They just talked to friends. |
C.They cheered for good athletes. |
D.They tried to find friends. |
A.were weak |
B.were strong |
C.couldn't go to other cities freely |
D.could see each other |
A.Greece at War | B.Together for the Games |
C.Stop Fighting | D.Sport |
3 . Spring and summer are the best seasons of the year for lots of activities, especially jogging(慢跑). This kind of running is the choice of many people who live in the city, work in the office and want to keep healthy.
1. Make good preparations before jogging.
2. Do fitting warming-up activities
Every runner, especially the beginners should know that all physical activities without proper warming up can cause a terrible pain and result in harm to muscles. It will probably lead to a final discomfort in your body or even disease.
3.
Every type of sport is special and useful in its own way. While jogging can sometimes bring pain and discomfort, it really offers you greater joy and satisfaction. So don’t step back.
A.Listen to your body signals. |
B.Never give in to difficulties while jogging |
C.However, jogging without preparation will bring great harm. |
D.One of the best ways to prepare is to go to specialized (专门的) shops. |
E.Just go in for jogging, but remember to follow the above rules |
F.Therefore, you should make it a habit to warm up before jogging |
G.Here are some basic rules to make jogging safe, useful and comfortable |
4 . Winter-swimming has become popular in Beijing. Three years ago, few people would go swimming in the city waters. But now there is a Winter-swimming Enthusiasts’ Club(冬泳爱好者协会) and it has more than 2, 000 members. The oldest is 84 years of age and the youngest is only 7. The members are from all ways of life. They may be workers, peasants, soldiers, teachers, students....
Though it is now the coldest part of the season and the water temperature in the city’s lakes is around 0°C, many winter-swimmers still swim in the icy waters, even when it is snowing. They enjoy themselves in the lake, while the people by the side of the lake are wearing heavy clothes.
Why are so many people interested in winter-swimming? Because winter-swimming can be good for one’s health.
Bei Sha is a good example. He is 69 years old, and he once suffered from heart trouble for 26 years. After ten years of winter-swimming he is now in good health. Scientists are now studying the effects of winter-swimming on health.
1. Among the winter-swimmers the oldest man is ________ years older than the youngest one.A.91 | B.84 |
C.77 | D.7 |
A.The members do different jobs at different places. |
B.They come from all parts of Beijing. |
C.They are persons of different ages. |
D.They are men and women, old and young. |
A.more and more people like to swim in winter |
B.it is more interesting than swimming in summer |
C.winter-swimmers are brave men |
D.winter-swimming does a lot of good to one’s health |
A.People in Beijing Like Swimming in Winter |
B.Winter-swimming — A Craze(狂热) in Beijing |
C.People Benefit from Winter-swimming |
D.Winter-swimmers Are Brave Men |
5 . Older women who walk a little over three kilometers each day might live longer than less active women of the same age, a new study suggests.
Many Americans hoping to stay healthy set a daily goal of 10, 000 steps, or about eight kilometers. They often have this goal because they are wearing electronic devices which set that target, note researchers in the United States. Their findings appeared recently in the publication JAMA Internal Medicine.
But it is not clear how much intensity(强度)or speed matter when counting the health benefits of every step, the researchers write. They add that 10,000 steps per day might not be the right goal for everyone.
For the study, researchers observed 17,000 women, all in their early 70s. They asked the women to wear accelerometers for at least four days. Accelerometers are small devices that measure the number of steps and the intensity of movement. The researchers followed up with the women much later, around 4. 3 years later, on average. Since the beginning of the study, 504 women had died. Compared to women who took no more than 2, 718 steps daily, the women who took at least 4,363 steps per day were 41 percent less likely to die.
“Even a modest amount of steps is associated with lower death rates, "said I-Min Lee, the lead writer of a report on the study. "The rate of stepping did not matter in these older women: it was the number of steps that mattered.
The study had a few limitations. For example, the researchers only measured women’s movements once, at the start of the study period. It is possible that the women’s behaviors changed over time. Still, the results are "good news for older adults who may have difficulty walking at faster paces, "said Keith Diaz, a researcher at Columbia University. He was not involved in the study.
“Any walking is better than nothing, " Diaz said by email. "With even small amounts of walking, your risk of death will be sharply reduced "For those who have difficulty walking, other research shows that any form of aerobic activity provides health benefits," he added. "Swimming, bicycling or any form of activity that is continuous in nature will provide health benefits.
1. What conclusion can we come to from the text?A.People who walk about 10,000 steps can live longer. |
B.10,000 steps per day might be the right goal for people. |
C.The more steps one walks per day, the longer life he may live. |
D.The number of steps is important for a long life among older women. |
A.By giving examples. | B.By comparison. |
C.By listing statistics. | D.By explaining reasons. |
A.People who walk fast will get more health benefits. |
B.If people have a habit of walking, the risk of death will be reduced. |
C.People with walking difficulty can not benefit from activities |
D.Activities such as swimming and bicycling are not as beneficial as walking. |
A.A medical journal. | B.A news report. |
C.A magazine about fashion. | D.A traveler brochure. |
6 . A study has found that a lifetime of regular exercise and activity can slow down the aging process (衰老过程). Researchers say that getting older should not necessarily mean becoming more weak or sick. Their research shows that a devotion to a life of movement and exercise may help us live not only longer, but also 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 to 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 and 36. The people in this group were also healthy, but they did not exercise regularly. We will call this group the “non-exercisers”. Smokers, heavy drinkers of alcohol and people with other health issues 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, percentage of body fat and the strength of their immune (免疫的) systems. Then the researchers compared the results of the two groups.
Results showed that the cyclists did not experience body changes usually regarded as a normal aging process. For example, they did not lose muscle mass or muscular strength. Also, their body fat did not increase with age.
The researchers also found something they had not expected. The study showed that the immune systems of the cyclists did not 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 comparing. | B.By discussing. |
C.By imagining. | D.By reasoning. |
A.The cyclists kept a thin body shape. |
B.The non-exercisers gained weight easily. |
C.The cyclists’ muscles remained strong with age. |
D.The non-exercisers usually had health problems. |
A.The cyclists had normal aging process. |
B.The cyclists’ immune systems didn’t age. |
C.The cyclists lost nearly all their fat. |
D.Everyone needed an exercise in their lives. |
A.Healthy People Need More Exercise |
B.Take an Exercise, the Harder, the Better |
C.Cycling Is the Best Way to Prevent Aging |
D.A Lifetime of Exercise Slows Aging Process |
7 . The Olympic Games are well known and always receive the world’s attention, but there has been another little-known Olympic event in the UK for hundreds of years. And it's an event which some say helped start the Olympic movement in this country. The Cotswold Olimpicks take place every year on a Friday in spring. They are held in a village in England known as the Cotswold. It isn’t clear when the first event took place but some say it was as early as 1612.
The Cotswold Olimpicks were the idea of a lawyer called Robert Dover but no one knows exactly why he organized the games. Some people say he wanted to encourage people to support their king and country. Another explanation is that Dover was keen (渴望的) to bring people together, in particular the rich and poor from the local community. Whatever the reason. the yearly games quickly became popular. People competed in familiar activities such as horse-racing, running, jumping, and wrestling; famous people of the time attended it and poets wrote about the celebrations. It is even said that Shakespeare mentioned the Cotswold Olimpicks in The Merry Wives of Windsor, though the play may have been written some time before the first games.
As the Cotswold Olimpicks grew in popularity, a group of people known as the Puritans(清教徒) started to object to them for religious reasons, saying they encouraged bad behaviour. The games came to an end at the start of the English Civil War but in 1660 they were re-introduced. Over time they became more and more popular and there are records of 30, 000 people attending in one year. However, the games also attracted people who were more interested in the celebrations than the sporting events. Finally, they came to an end once again in 1852. However, this was not the end of the Cotswold Olimpicks. They were re-introduced again in 1966 and have since been recognized by the British Olympic Committee. Out of respect to their history, the modern games are watched over by a man dressed as Sir Robert Dover, riding on horseback and accompanied by a representative of King James I. Unlike the real Olympic Games, the Cotswold Olimpicks has only about two hours and they are followed by celebrations in the village.
1. What can we learn about the Cotswold Olimpicks?A.They last as long as the Olympic Games. |
B.They are held in different seasons in different years. |
C.They are closely connected with celebrations. |
D.They are held at the same place as the Olympic Games. |
A.celebrities of the time liked Shakespeare's plays |
B.the Cotswold Olimpicks were well received at the time |
C.the Cotswold Olimpicks were as famous as Shakespeare's plays |
D.poets of the time liked to take part in the Cotswold Olimpicks games |
A.Fewer and fewer people took part in the games. |
B.A religious group were against the games. |
C.It was forbidden by the British Olympic Committee. |
D.People prefer celebrations to the sporting events. |
A.Robert Dover | B.King James I |
C.the British Olympic Committee | D.the English Civil War |
8 . All over the world people enjoy sports. Sports help to keep people healthy and happy, and to live longer.
Some sports or games go back thousands of years, like running or jumping. Chinese wushu, for example, has a very long history. But basketball and volleyball are rather new. Neither one is a hundred years old yet.
People from different countries may not be able to understand each other, but after a game together they often become good friends.
A.And think of people in cold countries. |
B.Sports help to train a person’s character. |
C.Not a few people like sports in the world. |
D.Many people like to watch others play games. |
E.People aren’t inventing new sports or games. |
F.Some sports are so interesting that people everywhere take part in them. |
G.People are inventing new sports or games all the time. |
9 . Before there was the written word, there was the language of dance. Dance expresses love and hate, joy and sorrow, life and death, and everything else in between.
“I adore dancing,” says Lester Bridges, the owner of a dance studio in Iowa. “I can’t imagine doing anything else with my life.” Bridges runs dance classes for all ages. “Teaching dance is wonderful.
So, do we dance in order to make ourselves feel better, calmer, healthier? Andrea Hillier says, “Dance, like the pattern of a beating heart, is life. Even after all these years, I want to get better and better.
A.So why do we dance? |
B.Dance in the U.S. is everywhere. |
C.If you like dancing outdoors, come to America. |
D.My older students say it makes them feel young. |
E.I keep practicing even when I’m extremely tired. |
F.Dancing seems to change their feeling completely. |
G.They stayed up all night long singing and dancing. |
10 . If you are already making the time to exercise, it is good indeed! With such busy lives, it can be hard to try and find the time to work out.
Your productivity is improved. Exercising makes you more awake and ready to handle whatever is ahead of you for the day.
Your metabolism(新陈代谢) gets a head start.
There are a lot of benefits to working out, especially in the mornings. Set your alarm clock an hour early and push yourself to work out! You will feel energized all day long.
A.You will stick to your diet. |
B.Your quality of sleep improves. |
C.You prefer healthy food to fast food. |
D.There is no reason you should exercise in the morning. |
E.You can keep your head clear for 4-10 hours after exercise. |
F.After you exercise, you continue to burn calories throughout the day. |
G.If you are planning to do exercise regularly, or you’re doing it now, then listen up! |