1 . When it comes to being fit and healthy, we’re often reminded to aim to walk 10,000 steps per day. This can annoy many, especially when we’re busy with work and other commitments—and yet where did this number actually come from?
The 10,000 steps a day target seems to have come about from a trade name pedometer sold in 1965 by Yamasa Clock in Japan. The device was called ”Manpo-kei“, which translates to ”10,000 steps meter“. This was a marketing tool for the device and has seemed to have stuck across the world as the daily step target. It’s even included in daily activity targets by popular smartwatches, such as Fitbit.
Research has since investigated the 10,000 steps a day target. But while some research has shown health benefits at 10,000 steps, recent research from Harvard Medical School has shown that, on average, around 4,400 steps a day is enough to significantly lower the risk of death in women. This was when compared to only walking around 2,700 steps daily. The more steps people walked, the lower their risk of dying was, before leveling off at around 7,500 steps a day. No additional benefits were seen with more steps. Although it’s uncertain whether similar results would be seen in men, it’s one example of how moving a little bit more daily can improve health and lower risk of death.
Recent research at the University of Texas has also demonstrated that if you’re walking fewer than 5,000 steps a day, your body is less able to metabolize(新陈代谢)fat the following day. A buildup of fat in the body can also increase a person’s likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes. This is further supported by previous research which shows people who walked less than 4,000 steps a day could not change this decreased fat metabolism.
If you want to increase how many steps you get daily, or simply want to move more, one easy way includes walking to work if possible, or taking part of an online exercise program if you’re working from home. Meeting with friends for a walk—rather than in a cafe or pub—can also be useful.
1. What can we know about the 10,000 steps per day in paragraph 1?| A．It is likely to go out of style quickly. |
| B．It is a rising tendency of mental health. |
| C．It is effective in reducing pressure on work. |
| D．It is an upsetting target to achieve. |
| A．It matters as much as 7,500 steps a day. |
| B．The more steps, the lower risk of death. |
| C．About half that target appears to be beneficial to women. |
| D．A bit more than the target can improve health. |
| A．Problems of less daily walking. |
| B．Recent findings of fat buildup. |
| C．Absence of previous research. |
| D．Possible causes of physical challenges. |
| A．Working at home if possible. |
| B．Treating friends in a cafe or pub. |
| C．Driving to work from home. |
| D．Signing up for online exercise programs. |
China beat South Korea 3-2 from two goals down in the dramatic (戏剧性的) final of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup on Sunday night(Feb. 6) and
3 . Yoga(瑜伽)is a kind of sport. It is very popular around the world now. Everyone young or old, men or women, can do yoga.
There are many reasons why people like yoga. First, yoga can build up your muscles. Your body will become stronger and more flexible. Second, yoga helps you get rid of stress. What's more, yoga can help your mind stay calm. To put it simply, the reason why so many people are falling in love with yoga is that they are discovering how wonderful it is for their mind, body and spirit.
Yoga began in India about 5, 000 years ago. At that time, people wanted to be free, healthy and live a long life. As a result, this kind of exercise was born. The early yoga was part of the religion (宗教). It was usually taught one to one-one teacher and one student. Later, it was accepted by more people.
Yoga is an Indian word that means "to join together". There are three parts of yoga altogether: exercise, breathing and meditation (冥想). In the past, people paid more attention to the spirit. The idea behind the exercise was to join the mind, body and spirit as one.
With the development of the exercise, more and more people are doing yoga as a way of keeping healthy. Among them, office ladies enjoy doing yoga most. Yoga can give them peace, help them feel relaxed and have fewer worries and illnesses.
1. From the passage, we know that yoga is a kind of ________.| A．music | B．sport | C．book | D．food |
| A．The reasons why people like yoga. | B．The places where people do yoga. |
| C．The ways that people develop yoga. | D．The persons who invented yoga. |
| A．To read together. | B．To sing together. |
| C．To join together. | D．To live together. |
| A．Office ladies. | B．Sportswomen. |
| C．Old people. | D．College students. |
4 . Most young people enjoy some forms of physical activity. It may be walking, cycling, or swimming, or in winter, skating or skiing. It may be a game of some forms—football, basketball, hockey, golf or tennis. It may be mountaineering.
Those who have a passion of climbing high and difficult mountains are often looked upon with astonishment. Why are men and women willing to suffer cold and hardship, and to take risks in high mountains? This astonishment is caused, probably, by the difference between mountaineering and other forms of activity to which men give their leisure.
Mountaineering is a sport and not a game. There are no man-made rules, as there are for such games as golf and football. There are, of course, rules of different kinds which would be dangerous to ignore, but it is this freedom from man-made rules that makes mountaineering attractive to many people. Those who climb mountains are free to use their own methods.
If we compare mountaineering with other more familiar sports we might think that one big difference is that mountaineering is not a “team game”. We should be mistaken in this. There are, it is true, no “matches” between “teams” of climbers, but when climbers are on a rock face linked by a rope on which their lives may depend, there is obviously teamwork.
The mountain climber knows that he may have to fight forces that are stronger and more powerful than man. He has to fight the forces of nature. His sport requires high mental and physical qualities.
A mountain climber continues to improve his skills year by year. A skier is probably past his best by the age of thirty. But it is not unusual for men of fifty or sixty to climb the highest mountains in the Alps. They may take more time than younger men, but they perhaps climb with more skills and less waste of effort, and they certainly experience equal enjoyment.
1. What sports are popular among people in winter in the passage?| A．Soccer and golf. | B．Skiing and skating. |
| C．Cycling and hockey. | D．Mountaineering. |
| A．Strong emotion. | B．Good way. | C．Better skill. | D．Good reason. |
| A．Because it has man-made rules. |
| B．Because it is too dangerous for climbers. |
| C．Because it can't bring people joy or leisure. |
| D．Because it is free for climbers to use their own methods. |
| A．Mountaineering is not attractive to people. |
| B．Physical quality is more important than mental one for climbers. |
| C．A mountain climber passes his best by the age of thirty. |
| D．It is possible for an old man of fifty or sixty to climb the Alps. |
| A．Sports in winter | B．Team work in climbing |
| C．Mountaineering | D．A mountain climber |
SYDNEY: As they sat sharing sweets beside a swimming pool in 1999, Shane Gould and Jessicah Schipper were simply getting along well, chatting about sport, life and anything else that came up.
Yet in Sydney next month, they will meet again by the pool, and for a short time the friends will race against each other in the 50-meter butterfly in the Australian championships at Homebu Bay.
Gould, now a 47-year-old mother of four, has announced she will be making a return to elite competition (顶级赛事) to swim the one event, having set a qualifying (合格的) time of 30. 32 seconds in winning gold at last year’s United States Masters championships. Her comeback comes 32 years after she won three golds at the Munich Olympics.
Schipper, now a 17-year-old girl from Brisbane with a bright future of going to Athens for her first Olympics, yesterday recalled (回忆) her time with Gould five years ago. “I was at a national youth camp on the Gold Coast and Shane had come along to talk to us and watch us train.” Schipper explained. “It seemed as if we had long been good friends. I don’t know why. We just started talking and it went from there.”
“She had a lot to share with all of us at that camp. She told us stories about what it was like at big meets like Olympics and what it was like to be on an Australian team. It was really interesting.”
Next time, things will be more serious: “I will still be swimming in the 50m butterfly at the nationals, so there is a chance that I could actually be competing against Shane Gould.” said Schipper, who burst onto the scene at last year’s national championships with second places in the 100 m and 200 butterfly.
1. What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Stories happening in swimming competitions. |
| B．Two women swimmers winning Olympic golds. |
| C．Lessons learned from international swimming championships. |
| D．Friendship and competition between two swimmers. |
| A．talk about sport and life | B．go back to elite competition |
| C．set a qualifying time and win gold | D．take part in the same sports event |
| A．15 | B．17 | C．22 | D．30 |
| A．the Olympics | B．the youth camp |
| C．the friendship | D．the Australian team |
| A．was no longer Gould’s friend | B．had learned a lot from Gould |
| C．was not interested in Gould’s stories | D．would not like to compete against Gould |
