The American Journal of Epidemiology (流行病学) did a study in 2010 on the correlation (相互联系) between sitting and an individual's physical health. In the study, 53,440 working men and 69,776 working women were surveyed on their time spent sitting. The subjects were all disease free when employed. The researchers identified 11,307 deaths in men and 7,923 deaths in women during the 14-year follow-up.
The findings: Women who reported sitting for more than six hours per day had an approximately 40 higher all-cause death rate than those who reported less than three hours a day, and men had an approximately 20 higher death rate.
Well, now's a fine time to get this information. But why didn't they tell me this years ago? I would have planned on taking a more active job instead of the sedentary (坐着的) job of an editor.
So what can you do if you have to work for a living at a job that requires a lot of sitting? Here are some ideas:
Take frequent breaks. It is recommended that workers vary activities, change their position, and take short breaks every 20 minutes to rest muscles and increase blood circulation. Get a standing desk. Some studies have shown that working from an upright position may be better for health. The serious fitness people can even purchase a treadmill (跑步机) desk. It only goes about one mile per hour. Have a walking meeting. If your group is kind of small, going for a walk while discussing topics is a good alternative.
1. According to the text, the study in 2010 ______.
| A．found men reporting shorter sitting time than women |
| B．surveyed more men than women on their daily sitting time |
| C．identified fewer deaths in men than in women during the 14-year follow-up |
| D．discovered correlation between sitting and physical health in men and in women |
| A．using a standing desk | B．resting one's muscles |
| C．quitting sedentary jobs | D．taking a walk while discussing |
| A．Things being discussed. | B．People being studied. |
| C．Areas of knowledge being learned. | D．Objects being painted. |
| A．Your job could be killing you. |
| B．Working out leads to health risks. |
| C．Long-time sitting is positively associated with health. |
| D．A study on sitting time and physical health was completed. |
2 . In its early history, Chicago had floods frequently, especially in the spring, making the streets so muddy that people, horses, and carts got stuck. An old joke that was popular at the time went something like this: A man is stuck up to his waist in a muddy Chicago street. Asked if he needs help, he replies, "No, thanks. I've got a good horse under me."
The city planner decided to build an underground drainage (排水) system, but there simply wasn't enough difference between the height of the ground level and the water level. The only two options were to lower the Chicago River or raise the city.
An engineer named Ellis Chesbrough convinced me the city that it had no choice but to build the pipes above ground and then cover them with dirt. This raised the level of the city's streets by as much as 12 feet.
This of course created a new problem: dirt practically buried the first floors of every building in Chicago. Building owners were faced with a choice: either change the first floors of their buildings into basements, and the second stories into main floors, or hoist the entire buildings to meet the new street level. Small wood-frame buildings could be lifted fairly easily. But what about large, heavy structures like Tremont Hotel, which was a six-story brick building?
That's where George Pullman came in. He had developed some house-moving skills successfully. To lift a big structure like the Tremont Hotel, Pullman would place thousands of jackscrews (螺旋千斤顶) beneath the building's foundation. One man was assigned to operate each section of roughly 10 jackscrews. At Pullman's signal each man turned his jackscrew the same amount at the same time, thereby raising the building slowly and evenly. Astonishingly, the Tremont Hotel stay open during the entire operation, and many of its guests didn't even notice anything was happening. Some people like to say that every problem has a solution. But in Chicago's early history, every engineering solution seemed to create a new problem. Now that Chicago's waste water was draining efficiently into the Chicago River, the city's next step was to clean the polluted river.
1. The author mentions the joke to show ______.| A．horses were fairly useful in Chicago |
| B．Chicago's streets were extremely muddy |
| C．Chicago was very dangerous in the spring |
| D．the Chicago people were particularly humorous |
| A．decorate | B．change | C．repair | D．lift |
| A．It went on smoothly as intended. |
| B．It interrupted the business of the hotel. |
| C．It involved Pullman turning ten jackscrews. |
| D．It separated the building from its foundation. |
| A．popular life styles and their influences |
| B．environmental disasters and their causes |
| C．engineering problems and their solutions |
| D．successful businessmen and their achievements |
3 . If you’ve ever been on a fishing boat, you’ve probably seen crowds of birds following it, hoping to catch a snack. Now scientists use those birds’ behavior to track illegal fishing boats.
Researchers attached data loggers to the backs of 169 albatrosses (信天翁) in Indian oceans. Weighing only 42 grams, the devices included a GPS, which enabled them to detect the presence and intensity of radar signals emitting from boats. That information was then sent by satellite, so the researchers could track the location of the birds—and thus the radar-emitting boats—in real time.
The scientists then cross-checked that data against the known locations of boats, collected from a system boats use to declare themselves, called the Automatic Identification System (AIS). And noticeable differences appeared frequently.
More than a third of the times the birds “loggers” detected radar signals, and therefore a boat, but no such boat appeared in the official log—meaning that the vehicles had likely switched off their AIS—something that probably happens in illegal fishing operations.
The work suggests birds could be an effective boat-monitoring tool as long as illegal fishing operations don’t target the birds.
Fortunately, such a task would be difficult. Around fishing boats, you can find hundreds of birds at any one time that are flying around. And the birds with loggers are not marked in any way. So it’s not really possible for fishermen to pick out a specific bird.
But what concerns researchers is that albatrosses often get caught by some fishing boats. Though regulations have been established to protect against that happening—with success—illegal boats don’t necessarily obey. So scientists might be underestimating the risk posed to albatross populations.
1. What characteristic of albatrosses do scientists take advantage of in their research?| A．Their feeding patterns. |
| B．Their sense of direction. |
| C．Their greedy behaviors. |
| D．Their habit of following fishing boats. |
| A．To seek more fishes. |
| B．To have it mistaken for another. |
| C．To avoid being detected. |
| D．To save the trouble of declaring itself. |
| A．Identifying birds with loggers. |
| B．Monitoring illegal boats. |
| C．Tracking radar signals automatically. |
| D．Fishing illegally. |
| A．AIS: an Effective System to Locate Boats |
| B．Humans Are Good at Discovering Birds’ Nature |
| C．Data Loggers Help Fishermen Get a Good Harvest |
| D．Scientists Use Birds to Track Illegal Fishing Operations |
4 . Grandparents who help out occasionally with childcare or provide support for others in their community tend to live longer than seniors who do not care for other people, according to a study
from Berlin, Germany.‘Having no contact with grandchildren at all can negatively impact grandparents’ health. This link could be deeply rooted in our evolutionary past when help with childcare was important for the survival of the human species,” said Sonja Hilbrand, one of the researchers. However, having full-time custody of grandchildren may harm their health.
The findings are drawn from data on more than 500 people over age 70 in the Berlin aging Study. The participants completed interviews and medical tests every two years. Overall after considering grandparents age and general state of health, the risk of dying was one-third lower for grandparents who cared for their grandchildren, compared with grandparents who didn’t provide any childcare.
Half of the grandparents who cared for grandchildren were still alive ten years after the initial interview. The same was true for participants who did not have grandchildren but supported their adult children in some way, such as helping with housework. In contrast about half of the participants who did not help others died within five years after the start of the study.
“Caregiving may be thought also as an activity that keeps caregivers physically and mentally active, said Professor Arpino, adding that previous studies suggest that caregiving may improve cognitive functioning, mental and physical health.
Arpino noted, however, that caregiving is not the only activity that can improve health, and too many caring responsibilities can take away benefits from other activities like working, being in social clubs, or volunteering.
“Children should take into account their parents' needs, willingness, and desires and agree with them on the timing and amount of childcare," Arpino suggested.
1. What is the caregiving study based on?| A．Data on elderly people. |
| B．Medical tests on children. |
| C．Human evolutionary history. |
| D．Interviews on local community. |
| A．Researchers | B．Attendants |
| C．Care-givers | D．Specialists |
| A．Childcare is bound to be beneficial to grandparents. |
| B．Grandparenting is meant to become a growing trend. |
| C．Proper amounts of childcare make grandparents live longer. |
| D．More childcare can provide grandparents with more health. |
5 . For the last six years, speed walking has now become part of my daily routine. I am always keen to do it regularly without a break. Even though I am neither a physician nor a specialist in medical science, I am fully aware that exercise, especially speed walking, helps maintain health and lowers the chance of falling ill.
I urge everybody to speed walk on a daily basis, with one day off a week, or at least to do it three times a week. I managed to burn around 17 kg of fat after taking up speed walking. This should also be accompanied with a change in diet. We need to reduce how much we eat and avoid junk food, sweets and carbonate drinks. Reducing the amount of food we eat in the evening by around 80 per cent and increasing how much water we drink are also good practice. Overeating should also be avoided.
I usually walk at a speed of 1 km per 8.5 minutes. It will initially make me tired. However, over time it will become a habit and an addiction.
This type of exercise will help you sleep and give you an appetite. It will make you physically fit and help burn fat and calories. Speed walking makes you healthy and everyone can find time to walk. The problem is that some people do not plan their days and do not, therefore, find time. We can gain health and social benefits from speed walking. It will help change our lifestyles, fight diabetes(糖尿病), and other illnesses.
Arguments such as “I am too old and obese to walk” do not hold water. People of any age who speed walk will see the benefits within a couple of months. Walking outdoors is ideal and it is best done in the company of friends.
1. Which sentence is TRUE according to the passage?| A．Speed walking helps patients recover from illness. |
| B．The author thinks everybody should speed walk every day. |
| C．The author suggests reducing the amount of food we eat by around 80 per cent. |
| D．The author walks at a speed of more than 100 metres per minute. |
| A．speed walking possibly leads to an eating disorder |
| B．many people are too busy to have a fast walk every day |
| C．more calories and fat will result in some serious illness |
| D．speed walking can effectively cure kinds of diseases |
| A．Make sense. | B．Work out. | C．Have a drink. | D．Build up. |
6 . Certain forms of AI are indeed becoming ubiquitous. For example, algorithms (算法) carry out huge volumes of trading on our financial markets, self-driving cars are appearing on city streets, and our smartphones are translating from one language into another. These systems are sometimes faster and more perceptive than we humans are. But so far that is only true for the specific tasks for which the systems have been designed. That is something that some AI developers are now eager to change.
Some of today’s AI pioneers want to move on from today’s world of “weak” or “narrow” AI, to create “strong” or “full” AI, or what is often called artificial general intelligence (AGI). In some respects, today’s powerful computing machines already make our brains look weak. AGI could, its advocates say, work for us around the clock, and drawing on all available data, could suggest solutions to many problems. DM, a company focused on the development of AGI, has an ambition to “solve intelligence”. “If we’re successful,” their mission statement reads, “we believe this will be one of the most important and widely beneficial scientific advances ever made.”
Since the early days of AI, imagination has outpaced what is possible or even probable. In 1965, an imaginative mathematician called Irving Good predicted the eventual creation of an “ultra-intelligent machine…that can far surpass all the intellectual (智力的) activities of any man, however clever.” Good went on to suggest that “the first ultra-intelligent machine” could be “the last invention that man need ever make.”
Fears about the appearance of bad, powerful, man-made intelligent machines have been reinforced (强化) by many works of fiction — Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the Terminator film series, for example. But if AI does eventually prove to be our downfall, it is unlikely to be at the hands of human-shaped forms like these, with recognisably human motivations such as aggression (敌对行为). Instead, I agree with Oxford University philosopher Nick Bostrom, who believes that the heaviest risks from AGI do not come from a decision to turn against mankind but rather from a dogged pursuit of set objectives at the expense of everything else.
The promise and danger of true AGI are great. But all of today’s excited discussion about these possibilities presupposes the fact that we will be able to build these systems. And, having spoken to many of the world’s foremost AI researchers, I believe there is good reason to doubt that we will see AGI any time soon, if ever.
1. What does the underlined word “ubiquitous” in Paragraph I probably mean?| A．Enormous in quantity. | B．Changeable daily. |
| C．Stable in quality. | D．Present everywhere. |
| A．Help to tackle problems. | B．Make brains more active. |
| C．Benefit ambitious people. | D．Set up powerful databases. |
| A．supportive | B．disapproving |
| C．fearful | D．uncertain |
| A．It may be only a dream. |
| B．It will come into being soon. |
| C．It will be controlled by humans. |
| D．It may be more dangerous than ever. |
7 . Though leaders from the International Olympic Committee(IOC)have announced a first-of-its-kind postponement of the Tokyo Summer Olympics because of the corona virus epidemic,people all over the world are still concerned about its preparations.Officials from the Tokyo Olympic Committee say they are sparing no effort and announce the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2021 is going green.The 5,000 medals Japan has made are more special than most.
One novel focus of the Tokyo Olympics is to be"sustainable”－to avoid using too many natural resources,so that the games are easy on the environment.As part of this goal,the organizers decided to make all of the Olympic medals out of metal recycled from old electronics.
Almost all electronics are made with small amounts of"precious metals",like gold and silver.But collecting enough of these metals to make 5,000 medals was a huge challenge.That's because the amount of metal in each device is tiny.It would take about 20,000 cell phones to get just l kilogram of gold.
Beginning in April 2017,the organizers placed collection boxes around the country,and asked people to turn in their old electronic devices.Soon people began to respond to the initiative(倡导），turning in smart phones,digital cameras,handheld games,and laptops.At first,collection went slowly,but soon more and more areas began to take part.By the end,1,621 local governments had helped out with the collection process.
Then came the job of breaking those devices down into smaller pieces.After eing taken apart and sorted, the small electronics were smelted(熔炼）to get all the gold,silver,and bronze elements.This is a tricky job, which calls for careful attention and good skill.It's also dangerous,because some of the metals and other things aren't safe for people to touch or breathe.
By the end of March,2019,the organizers had hit their targets of getting enough metal for the medals. They had collected around 32 kilograms of gold,4,100 kilograms of silver and 2,200 kilograms of bronze.And now all the 5,000 medals are available for the would-be winners.
1. What can we know about the Tokyo Olympics medals?| A．They are hugely valuable. |
| B．They are of high quality. |
| C．They are made from e-waste. |
| D．They are designed uniquely. |
| A．The difficulty of making the medals. |
| B．The initiative to recycle used smart phones. |
| C．The classification of the collected devices. |
| D．The process of collecting old electronics. |
| A．creative | B．demanding | C．well-paid | D．time-consuming |
| A．To advocate sustainable use of resources. |
| B．To promote the spirit of Olympic Games. |
| C．To introduce a new technique to make medals. |
| D．To show the gravity of environmental damage. |
8 . An elephant and a crocodile were once standing beside river. They were disputing which was the better animal.
“Look at my strength,” said the elephant. “I can pull up a tree, roots and all with my trunk”
“Ah! But your skin is not nearly so thick as mine,” replied the crocodile. “No knife or tooth can cut through it.”
Just as they were coming to blows, a lion happened to pass.
“My dear friends!” said the King of all animals, going up to them. “Let me know the cause of your disagreement.”
“Will you kindly tell us which is the better animal?” cried both at once.
“Certainly”, said the lion, pointing across the river. “Do you see the soldiers’ metal hat on that wall?”
“Yes!” replied the beasts.
“Well, then,” continued the lion, “go and get it, and bring it to me, and I shall be able then to decide between you.”
Upon hearing this, off they started. The crocodile, being used to the water, reached the opposite side of the river first, and was soon standing beside the wall.
Here he waited till the elephant came up. The elephant, seeing that the crocodile had no way of reaching their goal, raised his long trunk, and took down the hat quite easily.
They then made their way together back again across the river. The elephant was trying to keep up with the fast-moving crocodile in the water and became careless. When he was forced to turn sharply to avoid a floating tree branch, the elephant dropped the hat and it fell to the river bottom. The crocodile noticed the accident, so down he dived, and brought it up in his huge mouth. They then returned, and the crocodile laid the metal hat at the lion's feet. The King took it up, and turning to the elephant, said: “You, because of your size and trunk, were able to reach the hat on the wall but, having lost it, you were unable to get it back. And you,” said the lion to the crocodile, “although unable to reach the hat, were able to dive for it and save it. You are both wise and able in your own ways. One is no better than the other.”
1. The underlined word "disputing" in Paragraph 1 means____.| A．playing | B．quarrelling | C．complaining | D．deciding |
| A．His big mouth | B．His strong skin | C．His swimming skill | D．His dangerous teeth |
| A．He ordered them to fight. | B．He made a quick decision. |
| C．He suggested a competition | D．He asked them to describe themselves |
| A．The hat got wet in the river. | B．He hit a floating tree |
| C．He was trying to swim too fast | D．He wanted to fight the crocodile |
| A．By working together | B．planning carefully |
| C．By sharing their ideas | D．By listening to the lion |
9 . With around 100 students scheduled to be in that 9:00 am Monday morning lecture, it is no surprise that almost 20 people actually make it to the class and only 10 of them are still awake after the first 15 minutes; it is not even a surprise that most of them are still in their pajama’s(睡衣). Obviously, students are terrible at adjusting their sleep cycles to their daily schedule.
All human beings possess a body clock. Along with other alerting systems, this governs the sleep/wake cycle and is therefore one of the main processes which govern sleep behaviour. Typically, the preferred sleep/wake cycle is delayed in adolescents, which leads to many students not feeling sleepy until much later in the evenings. This typical sleep pattern is usually referred to as the “night owl” schedule of sleep.
This is opposed to the “early bird” schedule, and is a kind of disorder where the individual tends to stay up much past midnight. Such a person has great difficulty in waking up in the mornings. Research suggests that night owls feel most alert and function best in the evenings and at night. Research findings have shown that about 20 percent of people can be classified as “night owls” and only 10 percent can be classified as “early birds” ------ the other 70 percent are in the middle. Although this is clearly not true for all students, for the ones who are true night owls, this gives them an excellent excuse for missing their lectures which unfortunately fall before midday.
1. What does the author stress in Paragraph 1?| A．Many students are absent from class. |
| B．Students are very tired on Monday mornings. |
| C．Students do not adjust their sleep patterns well. |
| D．Students are not well prepared for class on Mondays. |
| A．Most students prefer to get up late in the morning. |
| B．Students don’t sleep well because of alerting systems. |
| C．One’s body clock governs the sleep/wake cycle independently. |
| D．Adolescents’ delayed sleep/wake cycle isn’t the preferred pattern. |
| A．Criticized | B．Grouped | C．Organized | D．Named |
| A．Functions of the body clock. |
| B．The “night owl” phenomenon. |
| C．Human beings’ sleep behaviour. |
| D．The school schedule of “early birds”. |
10 . If you feel like you can’t even consider consuming a candy bar without being shown its caloric content, you’re right. The same thing goes for just about every piece of packaged food, plus every bottled or canned beverage: A Nutrition Facts label shows detailed information on the amounts of fat, sugar, sodium and more found inside.
But while your favorite breakfast cereals, sodas and sandwich fixings are subject to this type of in-your-face requirement, you may have noticed that booze(酒)is typically off the hook, so what gives?
The answer lies in the powers that be. While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the safety of food, including non-alcoholic beverages, it doesn’t govern the alcohol industry. That honor belongs to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), an agency that doesn’t require labeling.
While beer, wine and spirits companies aren’t legally required to print the nutritional information on their products, consumer advocates have been calling for the TTB to change that. And it has, sort of. In 2013, the agency made nutrition labels optional for alcohol. But some health experts don’t feel the move was bold enough.
As John Hopkins, a public health researcher said her work revealed that the average American regularly consumes 400 calories a day from alcohol alone and they should know that.
The reasons behind the differences in label requirements between the FDA and TTB go back to Prohibition. When the ban on the production and distribution of alcohol came to an end, Congress passed the Alcohol Administration Act of 1935, which eventually led to the establishment of the TTB. Its rules around labeling have historically been a bit messy. Substances that people might be sensitive to have to be labeled, but other ingredients do not.
Change is brewing though, at least in the beer industry: Industry leaders, which produce more than 81 percent of the volume of beer sold in the U.S., have agreed to voluntarily display nutrition facts by 2020.
1. What is the function of the example given in the beginning?| A．To stress the importance of the topic. |
| B．To improve readers’ awareness. |
| C．To criticize the wrongdoings of some people. |
| D．To lead to the topic to be discussed. |
| A．Disobeying the related requirements. |
| B．Choosing one’s favorite ones. |
| C．Listing the nutrition labels. |
| D．Changing their routines. |
| A．The companies don’t necessarily do so by rules. |
| B．The companies didn’t know how to do. |
| C．The companies chose to break the rules. |
| D．The management of the companies is too messy. |
| A．All the alcohol drinks will add nutritional labels. |
| B．The majority of beer producers will use nutritional labels. |
| C．The beer industry leaders will remove nutritional labels. |
| D．The messy situation about the regulations will be completely solved. |
