1 . Scientists are now digging into precisely why exercise holds so many benefits for our mental health and memory. The answer, studies say, lies in our brain chemistry.
Each time you work up a sweat, your body releases feel-good happy hormones (荷尔蒙), including endorphins, dopamine and endocannabinoids, the latter being responsible for the so-called runner’s high. Now researchers are also pointing to myokines (肌肉因子) as an important contributor to the mental health benefits of exercise. When our muscles contract, myokines are released into the bloodstream, helping your muscles and organs communicate. They think this communication increases resilience to stress, reduces symptoms of mental suffering and anxiety and has a direct effect on depression.
A 2021 scientific report published in Neuropharmacology showed evidence that myokines boost brain function, like improving memory and mood. “Myokines reduce systemic inflammation (炎症), which is especially beneficial for people with drug-resistant depression whose low mood is linked to high inflammation,” explains Dr Jennifer Heisz, an expert in brain health and associate professor in the department of kinesiology at McMaster University in Canada.
A recent study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine showed that treatment for depression can be much more effective when physical activity is added to the usual care. Participants found benefits after 12 weeks of exercising for 30 to 60 minutes a day. “While exercise is not a replacement for professional mental health treatment, physical activity can complement and enhance the effects of the treatment,” says lead researcher Ben Singh, a research fellow at the University of South Australia.
“It is amazing to consider how moving our bodies can heal our minds,” says Heisz. Whether you’re cycling, walking around your neighbourhood or doing yoga, getting sweaty is good for your body and mind. To get the biggest overall health boost, the key is to zero in on sports and activities you enjoy, so you’ll keep going back to them.
1. How do myokines boost our mental health?A.By bonding muscles with organs. |
B.By slowing down our bloodstream. |
C.By contracting muscles through the body. |
D.By releasing happy hormones in our brain. |
A.Doubtful. | B.Negative. |
C.Uncertain | D.Approving. |
A.Adapt to. | B.Give up. |
C.Focus on. | D.Put off. |
A.By making comparisons. |
B.By presenting research findings. |
C.By offering suggestions. |
D.By conducting some experiments. |
2 . Tai chi, a traditional, slow-moving form of Chinese physical exercise, is known to increase flexibility and improve balance. New research has been conducted to determine whether tai chi has an influence on lowering blood pressure in people with prehypertension (高血压前期).
In the study, Chinese scientists put 342 adults with prehypertension into two groups. The average age of people taking part in the study was 49. About half the participants (参与者) took part in aerobic exercise, including jogging, climbing stairs and cycling. The other half was trained to practice tai chi. Both groups got hour-long exercises four times a week.
Nearly 22% of the people who practiced tai chi saw their blood pressure fall to be normal, compared with nearly 16% of people in the aerobic exercise group. And fewer patients in the tai chi group went on to develop high blood pressure than patients in the aerobic exercise group.
So what is it about tai chi that helps lower blood pressure? “The practice tends to get more of a response from the parasympathetic (副交感的) nervous system, which is the network of nerves that relaxes your body after periods of stress or danger,” says Ruth Taylor-Piliae, a professor at the University of Arizona’s College of Nursing.
“I think the beauty of tai chi is that you don’t have to have a special gym membership, you don’t have to have special clothing,” Taylor-Piliae says. “Once you learn tai chi, you can do it anytime and anyplace. And it does provide a calming and relaxing effect.”
Evidence suggests it can also help protect against cognitive fall and even improve memory. But you have to practice it continually to get the most benefit.
1. What is the function of paragraph 1?A.To offer some examples. | B.To explain a definition. |
C.To introduce the topic. | D.To give people suggestions. |
A.They were divided into two groups. | B.They suffered from heart disease. |
C.They were 49 years old. | D.They got exercises five times a week. |
A.It can make people calm down. |
B.It requires training and specialized equipment. |
C.It has no influence on the parasympathetic nervous system. |
D.It is suitable for individuals with aerobic exercise experience. |
A.A Traditional Sport | B.The Benefits of Aerobic Exercise |
C.Exploring Chinese Physical Exercise | D.Managing Blood Pressure with Tai Chi |
1.比赛的时间和地点;
2.比赛的经历;
3.你的感受。
注意:
1.写作词数应为80左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Cyber Security Knowledge Competition
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________4 . Starting a daily running routine needs determination. Looking back on my old running routine, it wasn’t so much the passion that affected my sticking to a regular schedule — but it was the environment. There had to be no rain pouring down, there had to be not many people on the basketball court and the ambient (周围的) temperature had to be just right. Or maybe I was just making an excuse for myself not to get up at 5 in the morning?
I was quite successful at doing so when I was 15 and when it was summer. When I was overweight, I ate more snacks than the actual full meals in a day, and I hardly got off the sofa. One summer day, I decided that it was time to put a stop to the idea that I was just the fat kid. I didn’t want to put in that box anymore. There was a tipping point (临界点) where inspiration happened, and discipline (自律) just took over from there. I needed to make sure that I ran 10 laps of the park a day — this was the contract (契约) I made with myself that summer. And if I achieved that, I knew I’d be closer to my goal of being just a kid with normal weight.
Ten laps, six days a week — sometimes no breakfast, hardly a bite at dinner, one snack a day—this lasted two months. I’d lost over 30 pounds that summer, which was roughly a quarter of my body weight. Some days, I didn’t have the motivation. But the contract I made with myself kept reminding me — if I’d break it, would I even bother making future self-contracts anymore? There were sleepy days, and there were days when I should have rested my trembling knees, but discipline won over them all.
1. What do we know about the author’s past running routine?A.It was made by the author’s parents. | B.It mainly depended on the environment. |
C.It referred to many people at site. | D.It failed in the end. |
A.The author didn’t live a healthy lifestyle. |
B.Summer is a season for people to be fat. |
C.Good eating habits could make one put on weight. |
D.Getting up late made him a fat kid. |
A.He felt looked down upon when he was fat. |
B.He couldn’t find a right word to describe his size. |
C.He made up his mind to achieve his goal of losing weight. |
D.He was too fat to find the right size of clothes or shoes. |
A.My Running Routine Was Affected by the Environment. |
B.It Was Unpleasant to Be Overweight. |
C.I Made a Contract on Running. |
D.Discipline Helps Achieve My Goal. |
My dad is an enthusiastic (狂热的) runner who
One day, I was late for a bus, tried to run after it and in under a minute was out of breath! This made me realize how unfit I was.
A friend of
1. What was the speaker’s feeling this morning?
A.Excited. | B.Tired. | C.Nervous. |
A.100-meter freestyle. | B.150-meter freestyle. | C.200-meter freestyle. |
A.The result of her competition. |
B.Other swimmers’behaviors. |
C.The judge’s instructions. |
A.47 points. | B.50 points. | C.53 points. |
7 . As China’s first ever full-time Formula One (世界一级方程式锦标赛) driver, Zhou Guanyu makes a living by doing the sort of things many people can only dream about: traveling the world and racing in a fast car.
“I think the only
Zhou has been putting his all into
It was back in Shanghai in 2004 that-at just 5 years old-Zhou
There was a
Zhou is often
A.problem | B.difference | C.difficulty | D.importance |
A.guessing | B.controlling | C.proving | D.declaring |
A.reading | B.playing | C.driving | D.swimming |
A.growing up | B.getting up | C.going up | D.staying up |
A.simple | B.interesting | C.available | D.popular |
A.watched | B.followed | C.researched | D.examined |
A.lose | B.stress | C.develop | D.measure |
A.stayed | B.dealt | C.fought | D.taken |
A.way | B.lack | C.role | D.loss |
A.received | B.imagined | C.composed | D.created |
A.reached | B.chose | C.left | D.forgot |
A.continue | B.discover | C.consider | D.manage |
A.matched | B.compared | C.adapted | D.devoted |
A.career | B.hobby | C.influence | D.result |
A.normally | B.naturally | C.regularly | D.definitely |
8 . Yoga has a well-deserved reputation for helping improve balance and flexibility and for inducing calm and relaxation. But as for weight loss, many people assume other types of exercise will benefit more. While you might not burn as many calories by practicing yoga as you would by running or doing some other high-intensity activities, yoga can still raise your heart rate and help build muscle.
● Reduce stress and reduce pounds. Yoga helps deal with stress.
● Move well and eat well.
●
Yoga is a very reasonable form of exercise, but you have to choose the right type. A 2021 study found no difference in weight loss totals for participants practicing a gentle, restorative yoga versus a more vigorous type of yoga.
A.Make weight loss last. |
B.Learn about cognitive skills. |
C.Studies show that high levels of cortisol can lead to an increase in fat. |
D.Several studies have confirmed that doing yoga does raise cortisol levels. |
E.Yoga helps break old dietary habits and related unconscious patterns of behavior. |
F.Actually, the best yoga is the practice that fits for you — the one you'll commit to. |
G.Here’s more about how yoga is a complete body and mind workout. |
9 . Running is often tiring and a lot of hard work, but nothing beats the feeling you get after finishing a long workout around the track.
But while it’s long been believed that endorphins (内啡肽) —chemicals in the body that cause happiness—are behind the so-called “runner’s high”, a study suggested that there may be more to this phenomenon than we previously knew.
According to a recent study published by a group of scientists from several German universities, a group of chemicals called endocannabinoids (内源性大麻素) may actually be responsible for this familiar great feeling.
To test this theory, the scientists turned to mice. Both mice and humans release high levels of endorphins and endocannabinoids after exercise. After exercising on running wheels, the mice seemed happy and relaxed and displayed no signs of anxiety. But after being given a drug to block their endorphins, the mice’s behavior didn’t seem to change. However, when their endocannabinoids were blocked with a different drug, their runners’ high symptoms seemed to fade.
“The long-held notion of endorphins being responsible for the runner’s high is false. Endorphins are effective pain relievers, but only when it comes to the pain in your body and muscles you feel after working out,” Patrick Lucas Austin wrote on science blog Lifchacker.
Similar studies are yet to be carried out on humans, but it’s already known that exercise is a highly effective way to get rid of stress or anxiety. The UK’s National Health Service even prescribes (开药 方) exercise to patients who are suffering from depression. “Being depressed can leave you feeling low in energy, which might put you off being more active. Regular exercise can improve your mood if you have depression, and its especially useful for people with mild to moderate (中等的) depression,” it wrote on its website.
It seems like nothing can beat that feeling we get after a good workout, even if we don’t fully understand where it comes from. At least if we’re feeling down, we know that all we have to do is to put on our running shoes.
1. What did scientists from German universities recently discover?A.Working out is a highly effective way to treat depression. |
B.The runner’s high could be caused by endocannabinoids. |
C.Endorphins may contribute to one’s high spirits after running. |
D.The level of endorphins and endocannabinoids could affect one’s mood. |
A.To find what reduces the runner’s high symptoms. |
B.To see the specific symptoms of the runner’s high. |
C.To identify what is responsible for the runner’s high. |
D.To test what influences the level of endocannabinoids released. |
A.Effect. | B.Goal. | C.Opinion. | D.Question |
A.They can help ease depression symptoms. |
B.They are the best way to treat depression. |
C.They only work for those with serious depression. |
D.They can help people completely recover from depression. |
It has been reported that
The closing ceremony was held at the Chengdu Open Air Music Park. It is the first time in the world that the closing ceremony of a large international sporting event
China