1 . At 81 years old, Jeanne Daprano is still pushing her body to the limit. She’s still running competitive races, breaking world records and taking on new challenges.“The thing I’m learning about aging is that it’s inevitable,” Daprano said.“I’m not going to escape it. There are two ways to go:You can either press on or give up.”
Daprano grew up in Iowa. Then, she moved to California. As a primary school teacher, she began running in order to keep up with her student.“I was known as a running teacher,” she said.“I had my students do fitness before we studied in the morning and then throughout the day.”Then she began running competitively with 5K and 10K road races before moving to the track. She is now the world record holder in the women’s 75-year-old age group 400 meters and 800 meters. “When I get to the final fi nish line, I want this body to be worn out. I’m not doing this to live to be 100. I’m doing this to be the best I can be today.”
After moving to Atlanta about a decade ago, Daprano met fitness trainer David Buer. Ever since, she’s been coming to his gym, where he tailors workouts for Daprano’s specifc needs.“When she came to me, she was pushing 70 years old,”Buer said.“I’ve worked with other individuals of Jeanne’s age, but she came to me with different goals. She had a unique drive and passion—not just a passion for fitness or athletics but for life in general.”
Last February, Daprano took on a new challenge: her first indoor rowing competition. In classic fashion, she broke the world record in the 80-to-84 age group, rowing 2,000 meters in 9:23:7. For those hoping to either start getting in shape or stay in shape for a long time, she offers this advice: Listen to your body. What are you passionate about? How are you going to keep physically fit and mentally fit? Start where you are. Don’t look ahead or compare yourself to somebody else.
1. What does the underlined word“inevitable” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Invisible. | B．Abnormal. | C．Impossible. | D．Unavoidable. |
| A．working at a primary school | B．taking fitness training classes |
| C．volunteering in a 5K road race | D．moving to Atlanta |
| A．She was a qualified teacher. | B．She was an unusual woman. |
| C．She was too old to run a race. | D．She was hard to get along with. |
| A．Run right now. | B．Live and learn. |
| C．Follow your heart. | D．Be a good listener. |
2 . Are you preparing for a big test? If so, you may want to go playing some basketball in between hitting the books. Doctors are starting to find more and more information that suggests a connection between exercise and brain development. Judy Cameron, a scientist at Oregon Health and Science University, studies brain development. According to her research, it seems that exercise can make blood vessels (血管), including those in the brain, stronger and more fully developed. Dr Cameron is sure that this allows people who exercise to think better. As she says, “while we already know that exercise is good for the heart, exercise can actually cause physical changes in the brain.”
The effects of exercise on brain development can even be seen in babies. Babies who do activities that require a lot of movement and physical activity show greater brain development than babies who are less physically active. Even a little movement can show big results. Margaret Barnes, a scientist, also believes in the importance of exercise. She thinks that many learning disabilities that children have in primary school or high school can result from a lack of movement as babies. “Babies need movement that encourages and excites their five senses. They need to set up a connection between motion and memory. In this way, as they get older, children will begin to connect physical activity with higher learning，” says Margaret.
Older people can develop their brains as well. Cornell University studied a group of seniors who have a shortterm memory increase of up to 40 percent after exercising just three hours a week. The exercise does not have to be very difficult, but it does have to increase the heart rate. Also, just like the motion for babies exercise for older people should not be too simple. Learning some new skills or actions, such as with yoga or taichi helps to open up memory paths in the brain that may not have been used for a long time. For most people, any type of physical activity that increases the heart rate is helpful. The main aim is to increase the brain’s flow of blood. And your brain can benefit from as little as two to three hours of exercise a week.
1. What is the connection between exercise and brain development?| A．Exercise helps make our blood vessels. |
| B．Physical exercise helps us think better. |
| C．Exercise prevents us having brain diseases. |
| D．More physical exercises enlarge our brains. |
| A．Whether they are excited or not depends on movements. |
| B．A lack of movement results from their learning disabilities. |
| C．The more frequently they move, the cleverer they become. |
| D．The more activities they do, the greater their brains develop. |
| A．It helps them memorise quicker. |
| B．It decreases the heart rate. |
| C．It includes learning new actions. |
| D．It can be done in groups. |
| A．3 hours per week. | B．4.2 hours per week. |
| C．1 hour per day. | D．40 hours per month. |
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: "First, 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 are not at 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 calories." Inactive teenagers should do similar activities, but add some bending and stretching exercises, such as push-ups and sit-ups, starting with twenty each 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 (强化训练), 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 person's strength.
1. Why is physical exercise important?| A．It can make the teenagers grow taller. |
| B．It can help teenagers become healthier. |
| C．It can help teenagers to lose weight. |
| D．It can change teenagers' lifestyles. |
| A．Active people are always at 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．Walking. | B．Stretching and bending. |
| C．Riding. | D．Weight-training. |
| A．Doing Exercise | B．Teenagers' Fitness |
| C．Different Lifestyles | D．Overweight Teenagers |
