1 . Enjoying your workouts can be a complete game changer when it comes to keeping a consistent exercise schedule and avoiding burnout.     1    

Making exercise more fun

The Heart Matters magazine gives a few recommendations on how to make exercise more fun, such as asking others to join you and exercising for a specific cause, like a marathon for raising funds for an organization.     2    . But why?

Research shows that enjoying your exercise can be important for its long-term effectiveness. When you are positively engaged in something you choose to do and want to do as opposed to something you have to do, it changes your mindset. A positive mindset during exercising is absolutely essential.

    3    . You are more likely to stick to it if you enjoy it. Most people would rather make a habit of something that brings them pleasure as opposed to something boring. So, what do you find enjoyable? What is fun for you?

There are so many types of exercise

There are so many types of exercise that people can do.     4    . Running is an excellent form of exercise, as is walking. Dance classes can be super fun as well, and so can sports. Playing sports is a form of exercise that shouldn’t be forgotten.

Thinking outside the box is a must, since gyms and workouts that require lots of equipment aren’t always available or possible, and depending on these to exercise can possibly leave you without a workout at times. Team sports like basketball, tennis or football with friends are great for your fitness.     5    , or choosing other types of exercise like rope jumping, surfing, rock climbing or belly dancing. Those are all excellent forms of exercise, and your mind and body will thank you for years to come.

A．Exercise benefits you a lot more than before

B．In short, making it fun should be a top priority

C．You’d better form the habit of doing exercise daily

D．Thus, exercise doesn’t have to mean going to the gym

E．Another benefit of enjoying your exercise is insisting

F．Don’t think twice before enjoying these sports as a workout

G．Discover how enjoying exercise can make you healthier and happier

2 . How much physical activity do you do in a week? Are you getting enough exercise? Adults who do exercise for just 150 minutes a week can reduce their risk of serious illness by 50%. Regular exercise reduces the risk of early death by 30%.     1     Today, we are much less active than in the past. In fact many adults spend seven hours or more on a chair each day.   

    2     It means that we need to do something extra to burn more calories and use up all our energy. Adults need to do two and a half hours of moderate exercise per week. In addition, you should do exercise to strengthen muscles twice a week.

    3     Team sports such as football, rugby or cricket can be cheap because all the players share the cost of the pitch. Joining a sports club is usually a cheap way of getting exercise and can be very sociable, too.   

Alternatively, if you don't want to spend any money at all, go for a run. The only equipment needed for this is a pair of trainers     4     Go to the park. Try getting a group of friends or family together and have a game of football there.

Although adults should do two and a half hours of exercise a week, you don't have to do it all at one time.     5     If you do ten minutes before work ten minutes during your lunch break and ten minutes after work, five days a week, you've achieved the target! There are many ways of getting fit and we should all recognize the value of doing this, because we will live longer and be more healthy.

A．Divide the time into ten-minute periods!

B．You can do a range of activities to keep fit.

C．Exercise can be expensive, but it doesn't have to be.

D．This lack of regular physical activity is a big concern.

E．It also improves your mood, self-esteem and sleep quality.

F．Besides, booking a court at off- peak times saves money too

G．Similarly, getting off the bus one stop early and walking the extra distance helps.

5 . Perhaps your doctor has recommended you exercise more, or you’ve been out of shape recently.     1    . But how do you find the motivation, time and resources to get fit, particularly if you haven’t exercised for a while?

For some people, hearing bad news from the doctor is often enough motivation to get started.     2    .

However, finding the time and effort to fit exercise into your daily routine is challenging.     3    . And many people such as office workers, vehicle or machine operators have low activity levels at work and don’t feel like exercising after a long day.

One way to overcome these barriers (障碍) might be to attend a group exercise session or join a sports club.     4    , you can encourage a friend to join you or join an exercise group to make it enjoyable. Having a friend to exercise with or teammates to support you gives a sense of commitment so that you have to be there and will be challenged if you fail to show up.

You don’t need to go to a gym with a lot of fancy equipment.     5    . And rather than improving muscle strength with weights at the gym, you can fill milk bottles with water instead.

A．If you find exercise boring

B．When you perform aerobic exercise

C．Maybe you’ve decided that it’s time to lose some weight

D．That’s why it’s important to continue and repeat exercise sessions

E．We know being “time poof” is a common reason for not exercising

F．Many exercises, including push-ups and sit-ups, don’t need special equipment

G．So it’s a good idea to get a health check before starting if you haven’t exercised for years

6 . What to look for when finding the perfect workout partner

There are a ton of benefits to having a great workout partner that pushes you to reach your goals. But it can initially be a little difficult to find the right person to work out with.     1    

● Your best friend might not be your best partner. While you and your friend may get on well outside the gym, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll make great workout partners. One of the best reasons is that there can be a level of competition, which pushes both of you to work harder.     2     It could push your friendship into some awkward places that end up hurting your relationship.

●     3     Common sense tells us that we should work out with someone who’s at a similar place in hitting the same goals! But that isn’t guaranteed to be the best matchup. In fact, you might do better partnering up with someone who’s better than you.     4     For you, working out with someone who’ s faster or stronger could add a level of competition that causes you to push your limits. For your partner, they’ll have someone who’s motivated to keep up, which is great for them, too.

● Get on the same schedule.     5     You could be perfectly in step with someone, but if you’re never able to work out together, there’s no point. That’s why it’s important to take scheduling into account right from the start.

A．Pick a partner who is fitter than you.

B．It’s actually a win-win for both of you.

C．Choose your workout partner in your gym.

D．Here are some tips for finding the perfect workout partner.

E．You wouldn’t be comfortable adding this element to your friendship.

F．You’ll more likely show up for your exercise when working out with a friend.

G．All of this is meaningless if you can’t even find the time to meet up for each other.

7 . About one-third of adults globally have high blood pressure, which increases the risk of having a heart attack or stroke (中风). Physical activity is known to lower blood pressure. However, many people have trouble keeping to exercise plans.

Yoga tends to be more sustainable (可持续的) than other forms of exercise because it is gentle, can be done with others and helps to relax the mind. Several experiments have found that yoga lowers blood pressure. However, these experiments have typically involved several sessions a week, which may not be achievable for many people.

To find out if yoga helps to reduce blood pressure in the real world, some researchers conducted a new study and analysed the electronic health records of 1,355 people aged 18 to 79 who practised yoga at least once a week. They compared each of these people with at least three other individuals. They had similar characteristics in terms of things like age, gender, and body mass index (BMI), but had no mention of practising yoga in their records. On average, the people who practised yoga had systolic blood pressure (收缩压) that was 2.8 mmHg lower and diastolic blood pressure (舒张压) that was 1.5 mmHg lower than those who didn’t.

This blood pressure reduction probably wouldn’t make a huge difference to most people in the study, since they tended to be young and healthy. They already had normal blood pressure. But at a population level, if average blood pressure declined by this much, it would prevent a significant number of heart attacks and strokes. For example, a 2018 study found that a population-wide average systolic blood pressure reduction of 2 mmHg among middle-aged adults in the US would prevent more than 12,000 heart attacks and 7,000 strokes each year.

Based on the new study, we can’t say for sure that yoga lowers blood pressure, because there may be other explanations for the findings. People who do yoga may have lower blood pressure because they tend to have better diets, not because of the yoga itself. And yoga shouldn’t be seen as the replacement for blood pressure lowering medicines. Nevertheless, yoga is likely to assist in lowering blood pressure if it encourages sedentary (久坐的) people to exercise. “The greatest benefit is getting the exercise-shy to do something rather than increasing exercise in someone who does it regularly,” an expert says.

1. Which advantage does yoga have over other kinds of exercise?

A．It is easier for beginners to learn.	B．It is more effective in keeping fit.
C．People are more likely to stick to it.	D．People can find partners more easily.

2. Which of the following can be inferred from the new study?

A．The study took the relevant factors in reality into consideration.

B．All these participants were of the same age and gender.

C．The study analysed different kinds of exercise.

D．The researchers studied the participants’ daily routine.

3. What does the author want to show by the example in paragraph 4?

A．The results are far from satisfactory.

B．Lowering blood pressure is quite easy.

C．Blood pressure reduction is beneficial.

D．Doing yoga once a week is meaningful.

4. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．Other reasons have been found to explain the blood pressure reduction for certain.

B．Encouraging inactive people to do yoga possibly contributes to lowering blood pressure.

C．Having better diets is more important than practising yoga regularly for sedentary people.

D．The benefits of practising yoga are equal to taking blood pressure lowering medicines.

9 . Running is the best way to keep our body fit and healthy. Those who want to burn fat and lose weight can run regularly in the morning.     1     When you run in the gentle morning atmosphere, you will get the psychological benefits along with the physical benefits. Running is more effective and also less time-consuming. Besides, in your busy day, morning is the free time to take some exercise.

    2     Dr. Scott Collier from the State University did a study on some groups of people of 40-60 years old. They walked or ran at 7 am, 1 pm and 7 pm. From this study, he saw that the group of early exercisers experienced 10 percent drop in their blood pressure. So, we see that early morning run benefits us for the long term.

Another benefit of running is the stress relief. Every day running in the morning will help you to keep your mind fresh to start your daily work.     3     It will save you one step ahead to reach your goal. It provides you with a positive mood for a day.

Running is the best way to lose weight. But you should add some other training to build your muscle and burn fat. Some elite athletes (优秀运动员) say that when you wake up in the morning, you should first run for a while.     4    

Most of the busy people do not have enough time to communicate properly with the family and social people.     5     The morning exercise such as running and walking gives us the opportunity to meet our neighbors. We can talk with them in the morning.

A．Then start other physical exercise.

B．Morning exercise lowers blood pressure.

C．So, you can start your day with a cheerful mind.

D．So, try for a few weeks, and you will see your progress.

E．Morning run forces you to wake up early in the morning.

F．We miss many social events for our work or other purposes.

G．We cannot describe the benefits of running in the morning in words.