1 . Around 2 million deaths each year are linked to physical inactivity. And a sedentary (久坐的) lifestyle is one of the leading causes of death in the world.
A new study published in the journal of the American College of Sports Medicine suggests that regular short exercise “snacks” throughout the working day might be enough to mitigate the effects of a sedentary lifestyle.
For the study. 11 participants (参与者) sat for 8-hour sessions. During the sessions, they followed one of four exercise “snacks” — 1 minute of walking after every 30 minutes of sitting, 1 minute after 60 minutes, 5minutes every 30 minutes, and 5minutes every 60 minutes — or a “snack” with no walking.
The researchers found that participants’ blood sugar and blood pressure levels were reduced after 5minutes of walking for every 30 minutes of sitting.
Lead study author Dr Keith Diaz, associate professor of behavioral medicine, said the most exciting part of the new research is that they’ve answered how to prevent the harmful health effects of sedentary sitting.
The researchers also found that all exercise “snacks” resulted in a reduction in participants’ tiredness, and an improvement in mood when compared to no walking at all.
“Beyond improving your physical health,” Dr Diaz said, “having regular walks to break up your sitting will put you in a better mood and help you feel more energetic.”
Dr Diaz added that the next steps for the research include finding more ways to reduce the harmful effects of sitting.
“We hope to find the least amount of movement you have to do to prevent the health harm of sitting.” Dr Diaz said. “The reality is that many adults will find it hard to walk every half hour. So finding a more practical recommendation is still needed.”
1. What does the underlined word “mitigate” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Measure | B．Reduce | C．Decide | D．Manage |
| A．It got published in a journal. |
| B．It used a new research method. |
| C．It proved the harmful effects of sitting too long. |
| D．It found a way to prevent the harm of too much sitting. |
| A．People’s tiredness | B．People’s weight |
| C．People’s blood pressure | D．People’s blood sugar |
| A．The finding is likely to be wrong. | B．The solution may have side effects. |
| C．The solution is not suitable for all. | D．The study hasn’t got much attention. |
2 . When people think about improving their physical fitness, they often neglect (忽视) balance. Good balance is a necessary part of being physically fit and key to living a long life, according to a research. It’s important for everyone, no matter your age.
Older adults are most affected by poor balance. Falls are the leading cause of injury and death for those 65 and older, with nearly 30% in this age group reporting at least one fall in 2018, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But younger adults frequently fall down, too.
Forty-eight percent of young adults reported falling at least once during one 16-week study. The falls most commonly happened during sports activities, with women in the study reporting more falls and fall-related injuries than men.
Falls within the previous two years were reported by 18% of young adults (ages 20 to 45) in another study published in the journal BMC Public Health. That figure (数据) compared with 21% of middle-aged adults (46 to 65) reporting falls and 35% of those over 65. While falls among young adults were often connected with sports, falls by the middle-aged group were typically related to health problems and physical changes.
Many factors (因素) can affect your balance outside of age, such as vision changes, brain injuries, overweight and a general lack of physical fitness. Even if you have no risk factors, simply neglecting to work regularly on your balance will result in increased instability (不稳定性).
“Our body is conditioned to lose what we don’t regularly use and practice, and balance is no different,” said a researcher.
1. What role does a good balance play in our lives?| A．It helps us live a healthy and long life. |
| B．It enables us to build a perfect shape. |
| C．It protects us from getting seriously sick. |
| D．It has the power to make us look young. |
| A．By having a discussion. | B．By giving a list of figures. |
| C．By raising questions. | D．By following the time order. |
| A．When a health problem comes up. | B．When working regularly. |
| C．When a physical change appears. | D．When joining in a sport. |
| A．We are naturally born with balance. |
| B．We should manage our body properly. |
| C．Our body is used to working in its own way. |
| D．We’ll lose our balance if we don’t practise it often. |
