1 . Spending time outdoors has long been linked (联系) to better health. Gardening goes beyond just beautifying outdoor spaces—it can have a deep effect on our physical and mental (身心上的) health.

Gardening involves physical activity that works all the main muscle (肌肉) groups, which is helpful for overall health. “Activities such as digging, planting, weeding and harvesting require movement and can help to improve strength,” said Clayton, CEO of an online lawn care company. “Performing these activities regularly can help burn calories, and keep a healthy weight.”

Beyond burning calories and building muscle, lots of studies have shown that gardening can improve the immune system (免疫系统). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that people get at least 150 minutes of exercise each week, and gardening is listed as a suitable activity. Doing garden work for that time each week can reduce the risk of obesity, high blood pressure and heart disease. Additionally, spending time outdoors makes us get close to natural sunlight, which is important for vitamin D synth.

Gardening provides a chance for social connection, too. It can be a shared activity among family members, friends or neighbors, building relationships and a sense of belonging.

Gardening also offers cognitive (认知的) benefits. It excites the senses, improves focus and encourages problem-solving and creativity. It provides a chance to learn about plants, ecosystems and the environment, developing a deeper understanding and appreciation for nature.

1. What is Clayton’s attitude towards gardening?

A．Supportive.

B．Doubtful.

C．Unclear

D．Uncaring.

2. What does paragraph 3 mainly tell us about gardening?

A．It improves focus.	B．It is a waste of time.
C．It can keep a body in shape.	D．It helps to reduce the risk of diseases.

3. How does gardening affect social connection according to the text?

A．It contributes to creativity.	B．It encourages problem-solving.
C．It builds relationships between people.	D．It improves people’s awareness of safety.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．How to Start a Garden	B．Choose a Garden or Not
C．What Plants Grow Best in a Garden	D．Start Gardening and Get the Health Benefits

2 . Jumping rope is popular but we tend to ignore (忽视) its benefits.     1     A study found that college men who spent 10 minutes jumping rope daily for six weeks improved their cardiovascular (心血管的) fitness just as much as college men who spent thirty minutes jogging for the same time. Here are some benefits of jumping rope.

    2    

Since most of your major muscles are working when you jump rope, the exercise creates a lot of heat in the body. Your body needs to burn more fuel to produce this energy, so it burns lots of calories. It burns more calories than any other exercises, such as jogging, cycling and swimming.

Improves coordination (协调)

Jumping rope requires good coordination, especially as you advance to more skilled moves.     3     It improves coordination by requiring several body parts to communicate in order to complete one movement. The feet must jump in time with the wrists turning in order to create a continuous jumping motion.

Reduces injury risk

With your improved coordination from jumping rope, you’ll be less likely to get hurt either during exercise or in daily activities.     4     As a result, you are more agile (灵活的) and your body awareness is improved greatly. This guarantees fewer injuries.

Improves heart health

Since jumping rope gets your heart pumping, it’s great for your cardiovascular system and heart health. Jumping rope can increase your VO₂ Max (最大摄氧量), the measure of the maximum amount of oxygen a person can breathe during exercise. The higher someone’s VO₂ max, the more cardiovascular endurance (耐受力) they have.

Jumping rope gives us a full-body workout with just one piece of equipment and one move.     5     Jump to some music, or take your rope to a nearby park to enjoy the fun.

A．Burns calories

B．Improves muscles

C．It benefits us not only physically but also mentally.

D．You can quickly swing the rope twice within each jump.

E．It may even be more effective than other forms of exercise.

F．Jumping rope forces you to move your upper and lower body together.

G．So jumping rope helps you stay calm, clear and focused in everything you do.

4 . Risks of Overtraining

Getting in shape and training for an event such as a marathon requires long-lasting and intense physical commitment.    1     But the truth is, sometimes the very acts we do to get healthy can actually push us past our physical limits.

Specifically, overtraining is a set of signs that occur when your body is not able to recover sufficiently before going into your next workout.     2    People tend to ignore them. Over time, the cycle of starting the next training session before allowing recovery causes breakdown of the very parts of the body that you work so hard to build up.

The structures and systems of your body adapt to the demands you have placed on them before the rest time. If your workout slightly goes beyond your current ability, it will adapt toward what you did in a positive way.     3    

Two main factors are necessary in recovery: nutrition. and rest. Good nutrition, including water and protein intake, is extremely important, especially within 40 minutes of your workout.     4    Your body uses the nutrients you have given it during the rest time. especially sleep, to strengthen.

One of the best ways to prevent overtraining is to focus on your morning resting heart rate.     5    Generally, you will detect an increase in your heart rate before the other signs show up. Tracking it in a log can be a great way to monitor your recovery.

A．It's easy to measure and track.

B．Allowing time for recovery is also essential.

C．The problem is that they show up very gradually.

D．Below are the signs and symptoms of overtraining.

E．Listening to your body will assure you of your fitness goals.

F．If far beyond, it'll take longer to adapt and may cause injury.

G．We generally assume regular intense exercise good for our health.

5 . A new study involving nearly 50,000 people from four continents offers new insights into identifying the quantity of daily walking steps that will best improve adults’ health and longevity(长寿), and whether the ideal number of steps differs across people of different ages. The study represents an effort to develop an evidence-based public health message about the benefits of physical activity. The often-repeated 10,000-step-a-day saying grew out of a decades-old marketing activity for a Japanese pedometer(计步器), with no science to back it up.

Led by physical activity professor Amanda Paluch, an international group of scientists conducted an experiment among adults aged 18 and older. They grouped the nearly 50,000 participants into four comparative groups according to average steps per day. The lowest step group averaged 3,500 steps; the second, 5,800; the third, 7,800; and the fourth, 10,900 steps per day. Among the three higher active groups, there was a 40—53% lower risk of death, compared to the lowest step group.

More specifically, for adults 60 and older, the risk of early death leveled off at about 6,000—8,000 steps per day, meaning that more steps than that provided no additional benefit for longevity, while for adults younger than 60, about 8, 000—10,000 steps per day.

“So, what we saw was this continuing reduction in risk as the number of steps increases, until it levels off. Interestingly, the study found no definitive association with walking speed.” Paluch says.

The new study supports and expands findings from another study led by Paluch before, which found that walking at least 7,000 steps a day reduced middle-aged people’s risk of early death. “There’s a lot of evidence suggesting that moving even a little more is beneficial, particularly for those who are doing very little activity.” Paluch says. “More steps per day are better for your health.”

1. Why did the scientists carry out the new study?

A．To know about people’s health condition.

B．To explain the pedometer’s working principles.

C．To determine the best physical activity for people.

D．To provide a scientific guideline on daily walking.

2. What does the underlined phrase “leveled off” in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Turned higher.

B．Became stable.

C．Fell sharply.

D．Changed rapidly.

3. What does the experiment find?

A．The old should walk as much as possible.

B．Young people usually walk more than the old.

C．The most beneficial steps differ by age groups.

D．Walking pace is the key to avoiding early death.

4. What does Paluch advise people doing little activity to do?

A．To walk more steps.	B．To control walking speed.
C．To limit walking distance.	D．To track the number of steps.

6 . Maybe you plan to ring in 2023 with a new resolve to lose weight, exercise more, not sweat the small stuff. And maybe these resolutions sound familiar — maybe just like the ones you made a year ago! So how can you ensure that your determination to get healthier in 2023 sticks?    1    

Dream big. Want to compete in a marathon or triathlon? Lose 50 pounds or just enough to fit into clothes you once loved? With perseverance (毅力), encouragement, and support, you can do it.     2    Many will cheer you on. Some will be happy to help in practical ways, such as by training with you or taking on tasks you normally handle in order to free up your time.

    3    Any time you fail to make a change, consider it a step toward your goal. Why? Because each sincere attempt represents a lesson learned. When you hit a snag (碰钉子), take a moment to think about what did and didn’t work. Maybe you took on too big a challenge?     4    

Give thanks for what you do. Set your sights on finishing that marathon,not on running it. If you compete to complete, you’ll be a winner even if you wind up walking as much as you run. With exercise — and so many other goals we set — you’ll benefit even when doing less than you’d like to do.     5    If your goal for Tuesday is a 30-minute workout at the gym, but you only squeeze (挤出) in 10 minutes, feel grateful for that. It’s enough. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

A．Learn from the failures.

B．Avoid repeating past failures.

C．Any activity is always better than none.

D．An ambitious aim often inspires others to help you.

E．Try the following tips to help you create long-lasting change.

F．Having a solid system can help you stay motivated and accountable.

G．If so, change into a less ambitious challenge, or break the big one into tinier steps.

7 . Are you sitting more than ever?     1     You’re probably sitting while reading this. Sometimes you sit when you are driving or attending a meeting. Other times you sit when you engage yourself in watching a movie or playing computer games. That’s undoubtedly a lot of sitting. The fact is, the amount of time spent sitting has increased over time.     2    

We know sitting too much is bad, and most of us naturally feel a little guilty after a long-time TV watching.     3     A study on nearly 8,000 adults suggests that there’s a direct relationship between the time spent sitting and our risk of early death of any cause. As the total sitting time increases, so does the risk of early death.

“Sit less, move more” is what the Heart Association encourages us to do.     4     It is like telling someone to just ”exercise“ without telling them how. Exercise guidelines are always more practical. For example, the Center for Disease Control recommends adults do exercise for two hours and 30 minutes every week, plus muscle strengthening activities two or more days a week. We need similar guidelines for sitting.

    5     “It would probably be like, for every 30 continuous minutes of sitting, stand up and move or walk for five minutes at a quick pace,” Diaz, the lead researcher said, adding that the study has put us a step closer to the satisfying guidelines. But more researches are needed to confirm their approach.

A．Now it’s time to get up and move around.

B．Take a moment to think about your sitting activities.

C．Health experts also suggest exercising on a daily basis.

D．But this guideline is just too simple and abstract to make a difference.

E．As of today, average adult will spend 56-86% of their daily time sitting.

F．But what exactly goes wrong when we park ourselves for nearly eight hours per day?

G．To make up for the weakness, a research team is working on a more specific guideline.

9 . Whether someone makes you angry, you’re upset with yourself, or you’re just having a bad day, one of the best ways to direct your angry energy is through exercise. That angry energy can build inside of you.     1     If you’re looking to direct your anger through exercise, there are exercises suitable for it.

Running is a very effective technique to calm anxieties. The focus it takes to run and the endorphins your body releases will take your mind off whatever is frustrating you. Be sure to adequately warm up and stretch before you run!     2     You can enhance the benefits by running in an area that is free of distractions like around a lake or through a peaceful part of the city.

A challenging yoga practice is a great way to control your anger to help you get through it. You may be so frustrated that getting started in a yoga practice may seem impossible.     3     You can focus on directing your angry energy into each of the movements. It may also help you to have the support of the group to help you get involved.

    4     Conditioning classes are a great opportunity to focus your angry energy into hitting a heavy punching bag while also burning a lot of calories. These classes are often challenging, so you can use your anger to help you get through the difficulty of the workout. Focus on your breathing, your technique, and harnessing your anger to deliver strong punches.

Cycling is a serious cardiovascular (心血管的) workout and you can use your anger to help you push through the difficulty of it. When you go for a ride outdoors, the extra focus it takes to navigate the outside world can provide a helpful distraction from your frustration.     5    

A．It’s advisable to find a scenic route.

B．Be sure to obey traffic laws and wear a helmet.

C．Boxing is a great way to relieve your frustration.

D．Joining a class can help take the thinking out of it.

E．Watch out for any moving cars while you’re running.

F．Breathe deeply while practicing yoga and your anger will fade.

G．Working it out is an effective way to channel your rage into movement.