1 . You might want to take this news standing up. A national survey finds that Americans of all ages are spending more time sitting. Sitting too much——especially when watching television, phones or other screens—can be bad for people’s health, research suggests.
In a new study, researchers analyzed previously collected survey data from more than 50,000 American children, teenagers and adults. The surveys, which went from 2001 through 2016, asked people how much time they spent sitting. People reported sitting a lot. For example, close to two-thirds of children and teens said they sat at least two hours a day watching television or videos. The data also showed that computer use outside of school or work has been increasing across all ages.
Lin Yang is a public-health expert at Alberta Health Services in Calgary, Canada. As an author of the new study, she notes that this trend is not unique to the United States. “Other studies out of Europe and Australia have also found increases in sitting time,” she says. “This includes sitting for work or school as well as driving rather than walking or riding a bike.”
In recent years, inactivity has been seen as an important risk to people’s health. The US Department of Health and Human Services updated its Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans last year. It now stresses new research about the dangers of too much sitting. “This new version recommends Americans not only move more, but also sit less,” Yang says.
Though Americans sit a lot due to screen time, they can make use of it to reduce its risk to health. Erin O’Loughlin, an exercise psychologist at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, studies how active video games—sometimes called “exergames”—can help kids move more. That may be good news for Americans. “Sports are great. But you don’t have to play sports if that’s not your thing,” she says. To up your active time, she recommends finding what attracts you. “If you like screen time, try to mix it with physical activity,” she says. “You can do this by playing active video games.”
1. What did researchers do in the new study?| A．They collected worldwide data. | B．They improved participants’ health. |
| C．They did analysis on previous data. | D．They observed people watch videos. |
| A．Sitting in different places. | B．Lack of outdoor exercise. |
| C．The increase in sitting time. | D．The decrease of screen time. |
| A．Combined ones come first. | B．Interest actually matters a lot. |
| C．The easiest one is the best. | D．The more challenging, the better. |
| A．Take Measures to Cut Down Sitting Time |
| B．Stand Instead of Sitting in Front of Screens |
| C．Americans Should Limit Their Screen Time |
| D．Screen Time Brings Health Risk to Americans |
2 . One day,I was taking a nap in my office when I woke up to the sound of a car crash.I sat up and looked out of the window.In the parking lot,a car had just crashed into a fence.The car must have been moving fast,because it was in bad shape.
Then I watched as the driver got out of the car.He wore loose trousers and a crumpled(褶皱的）shirt unbuttoned to show his chest hair.Immediately,I disliked him.
Then,he opened the passenger door,from which a very small child ran out.A kid in the front seat!My dislike for the man increased greatly.
As the child ran around in the parking lot,the man tried to repair the damage.He tried to pull the ruined fence back into place,but it wouldn't move.I looked out of the window,silently cheering.The man tried harder.However,suddenly,the man fell hard onto the ground with one of his shoes landing 10 feet away on the sidewalk.I think I laughed out loudly.That almost brightened my whole morning.He stood up and walked slowly to a nearby apartment.That,I thought,would be the end of it.The man was going to leave the mess behind for someone else to clean up.
However,a few minutes later the man appeared with some tools and for the next hour, I watched out of my window as he stubbornly fixed the fence.Now the fence would be extra secure,stronger than before.That man was actually a hero.My ugly assumptions(设想），I realized,were all about myself.I would never have fixed that fence and run away.
Years later I still look out of my window at the fence almost every day.It makes me wonder what else that man has improved and how I can make myself more like him.
1. In paragraph 2,the author thought of the man as______| A．irresponsible | B．impatient. |
| C．thoughtful | D．loving |
| A．the man's trying to fix the fence |
| B．the man's falling onto the ground |
| C．the man's car crashing into the fence |
| D．the man's kid running around cheerfully |
| A．The man left his shoes on the sidewalk. |
| B．The man protected his child from the car crash. |
| C．The man tried to put the damaged fence in place. |
| D．The man came back to fix and improve the fence. |
| A．No pains,no gains. |
| B．You can never be too careful. |
| C．Don't judge a book by its cover. |
| D．He who makes no mistakes makes nothing. |
3 . I always had the preference to take on more than I should when I was young. At times, I wanted to prove to myself that I could handle it. At other times, my purpose was to please someone and gain recognition for my efforts. Sometimes this led to stress or frustration.
When I was an IT manager after college graduation I was assigned to work with a wealthy customer and be a go-between (中间人)for my company. I took on the assignment happily, thinking that this might be my time to shine. However, the customer’s demands proved to be more than I could do with. And the company chose to stand by the customer and try to meet his unreasonable requirements rather than stick to what we had originally offered in the contract. As you can imagine, this led to a lot of unexpected problems and arguing with some of the staff who refused to do anything outside their scope (范围) of work. I remember walking into my office one morning, opening my laptop and staring at the blank screen for long, thinking to myself: What should I do? That was a difficult time in my life and then I finally had to give up my first job and left that company sadly.
Perhaps, I thought then, I could find the job that didn’t involve dealing with difficult people and difficult situations. But later I realized: Is this possible in our modern world? No, it is impossible. Now, I know, I shouldn’t run away from the challenges I faced in life: I had to learn how to deal with them. I regret not persevering ( 坚 持 ) in my job. We should train ourselves to look at things from a positive point of view, because that is far better than being trapped in the bad circle depression. I’ve come to see that when faced with difficulties, I should not give up, but persevere.
1. Why did the author take the work assigned to him happily?| A．He wanted to please the boss. |
| B．The work was very easy for him to do. |
| C．He failed to find a job many times before. |
| D．He thought it was time to prove his ability. |
| A．Arguing with some of the staff. |
| B．Meeting the customer’s unreasonable requirements. |
| C．Accepting the assignment without hesitation. |
| D．Sticking to what had been originally offered in the contract. |
| A．The depressing job situation. | B．The low payment. |
| C．His lack of ability. | D．A better job waiting for him. |
| A．Running away from challenges. | B．Persevering instead of giving up. |
| C．Refusing to argue with customers. | D．Leaning to take on more than one can. |
4 . The world’s elderly population is increasing. The number of older people ---those age 60 years or older ---is expected to double by 2050 and is growing faster than all younger age groups across the globe. That comes with an increasing need for caregivers which can provide 24-hour care, not only at hospitals or nursing homes, but also at private homes.
Already, caregiving robots are programmed to ask questions a nurse would ask and can keep an eye on patients for falls. These robotic assistants are expected to become increasingly marketable and reach 450,000 by 2045 because of the expected caregiver shortage in the USA.
“Unluckily, the hard structure of present caregiving robots prevents them from a safe human-robot interaction(互动), limiting their assistance to only social interaction and not physical interaction,” said Ramses Martinez, an assistant professor in Purdue’s College of Engineering . “After all, would you leave babies or old people in the hands of a robot?”
Recent advances in material science have enabled the production of soft robots with deformable (可变形的) bodies or the ability to reshape when touched , but today the complex design prevents the use of this technology at home .
However, Martinez and other researchers have developed a new design method which shows promise in enabling the production of soft robots using a 3D printer.
“The soft machines move like humans. Their ability to change their body structure and movement to adapt ( 适应 ) to a wide variety of environments will improve caregiving greatly,” says Martinez .
The researchers are looking for partners to test and bring their technology to market.
1. What does the underlined word “That” in Paragraph 1 refer to?| A．The younger age group |
| B．The group of older people |
| C．The population across the globe |
| D．The growth of the elderly population |
| A．They can’t provide safe physical interaction |
| B．They can’t communicate with patients |
| C．They can’t watch patients for falls |
| D．They can’t provide 24-hour care. |
| A．It requires a special kind of 3D printer. |
| B．It makes the production of soft robots simpler. |
| C．It has been put onto the market. |
| D．It is hard for users to master. |
| A．The robot industry in the future |
| B．Effects of population ageing |
| C．Robots for the elderly created with 3D printers |
| D．The development of caregiving robots |
