1 . Science shows that stretching (拉伸) is essential after exercise. Stretching lengthens and mobilizes the connective tissue around your muscle. What’s more, stretching helps your blood flow and even relieves your stress.
You could feel sick. You won’t be surprised to know that when you exercise, you raise your heart rate for a period of time. While it’s great to get that blood flowing, it’s just as important to get your heart rate back to a normal level after the workout is over.
Your muscles will likely become stiffer and more sore. When you exercise your muscles, it produces lactic acid (乳酸), which is actually what causes your muscles to become sore. When you rest between periods of exercise, your body naturally breaks down that lactic acid. One thing that helps your body get rid of that lactic acid?
| A．You’ll be at risk of injury. |
| B．You guessed it: Stretching. |
| C．You’ll improve your flexibility by stretching. |
| D．It does wonders for both your physical and mental health. |
| E．This is also known in the fitness world as “cooling down”. |
| F．There are harmful side effects if you don’t stretch after exercise. |
| G．That’s why people often feel pain in their “weight bearing” joints like knees and hips. |
2 . Fast walkers may live longer than dawdlers (缓慢的人)— regardless of their weight, a new study suggests.
Researchers at Leicester University analyzed data on 474, 919 people with an average age of 52 in the UK Biobank between 2006 and 2016. They found women who walked briskly had a life expectancy of 86.7 to 87.8 years old, and men who kept up the pace had a life expectancy of 85.2 to 86.8. Slow walkers hadn’t much encouraging prospects (前景): women had a life expectancy of 72.4, and men of 64.8 years old, if they were more leisurely in their movements. According to the paper, published last week, that ratio held true even if the fast walkers were severely overweight. It does not necessarily mean fast walkers will live longer. Experts say it suggests walking speed could be a simple way for doctors to judge their patients’ general health alongside other tests.
It is hardly the first study holding up walking speed as a powerful evidence that appears to improve and determine our health.
In 2011, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a study by Stephanie Studenski, who found the same: walking speed was a reliable predictor of life expectancy.
In 2013, US researchers found walking pace was linked to lower heart disease risk and longer life expectancy. In 2018, a study from the University of Sydney found picking up your walking pace to even an “average speed” could cut your risk of premature death by a fifth.
And Tom Yates, the physical activity professor at Leicester who's behind the latest study, has been publishing findings on this connection for years.
In 2017, he analyzed the same UK Biobank data and found walking speed appeared to affect the risk of dying from heart disease — concluding that the slowest walkers were twice as likely to suffer a heart-related death compared to quick walkers.
1. What does the underlined word “briskly” in paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Casually. | B．Quickly. | C．Actively. | D．Energetically. |
| A．Most fast walkers are overweight. |
| B．Fast walkers have a simple way of living. |
| C．Walking speed can help doctors know about their patients’ general health. |
| D．Doctors will surely have better ways to cure their patients of their illness. |
| A．Walking slowly is bad for people's health. |
| B．Walking speed can predict a person’s life expectancy. |
| C．People won't die early by increasing their walking pace. |
| D．Lower heart disease risk is determined partly by walking pace. |
| A．Fast Walkers May Have a Long Life Expectancy |
| B．Life Expectancy Is Determined by Exercise |
| C．Researchers Try to Improve Life Expectancy |
| D．The Public Doubt Researches on Walking Speed |
| A．Swimming. | B．Basketball. | C．Tennis. |
| A．Go to bed earlier. | B．Study hard in class. | C．Do outdoor activities. |
5 . Do you think you would work out more if you were offered money to do so? Science has shown that money can give people motivation to work out, but perhaps not in the way that you think.
According to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine Journal, the best strategy isn’t offering money; it’s giving someone money, then threatening to take it away.
Researchers gave 281 people the goal of walking 7,000 steps every day over 13 weeks.
To motivate the people who took part to reach the goal, researchers divided them into three groups.
People in the first group received $1,40(9 yuan) each day as long as they finished 7,000 steps, the second group was only able to collect the $1.40 if they had reached 7,000 steps the day before, and the third group was given $42 at the beginning of each month and $1.40 was taken away every time someone failed to meet the goal.
The third group met their daily fitness goals 50 percent more often than the other two groups, showing that people were most motivated to walk by the fear of losing money.
“People are more motivated by losses than gains, and they like immediate gratification.” study author Dr Mitesh Patel, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania in the US, told CNN. “They want to be rewarded today, not next year or far into the future.”
Our brains tend to avoid wanting to lose things more than they try to get the benefits from gaining them, Patel explained. “It makes people think like the money is theirs to lose from day one.”
In addition, in most programs, many participants will drop out quickly and only the motivated will stay involved, Patel said.
“In ours, we were pleasantly surprised that 96 percent stayed.” he added.
The study provides evidence that what matters is not only the money incentive （激励）, but also how you think about them. This is important to how effective they are. The evidence could have a big effect on health promotion programs in the future, according to the study.
“Incentives themselves are not all you need,” Stephanie Pronk, a health and wellness consultant with the Aonplc corporation, told The Wall Street Journal. “It’s really important to change up the incentive design and keep people on their toes.”
1. According to Dr Mitesh Patel, the third group did better than the other two groups mostly because______.| A．they were satisfied with being paid immediately |
| B．they did not want the money they had gained to be taken away |
| C．they were able to get more money than the other two groups |
| D．they were given money at first while the others were not |
| A．prove that their program has been more successful |
| B．show that motivation mattered more in other programs |
| C．stress that they didn’t expert the result |
| D．make a further comparison between these programs |
| A．Incentives are of little importance in the process of getting fit. |
| B．Incentives and ways in which they are given are key to fitness programs. |
| C．People should keep fit actively instead of being motivated by incentives. |
| D．There are many ways to get people to feel motivated to work out more. |
| A．more benefits than losses should be obvious for participants |
| B．direct profits should be given rather than long-term ones |
| C．designers need to consider how people think about incentives |
| D．designers need to work out the right from of motivation |
6 . Every year, countless individuals are impacted by cancer. Our goal is to walk away from cancer as we give strength to those fighting this life-threatening disease. Walk Cancer Away invites everyone to participate in their annual family-friendly walking event and join together to share the strong willpower found inside each of us with those around us. With each step we take, with each story shared, and with each donation made we are one step closer to finding a cure. To date, we have raised over $700,000 for Dr. Nancy Kemeny’s Colorectal Research Fund at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), together with thousands of people supporting this cause over the last 12 years we are committed to.
Walk Cancer Away began as a walk in honour of James N Rentas. Deeply influenced by his loss due to colorectal cancer, the Rentas family came together 12 years ago to help others who are suffering the disease. Dr. Nancy Kemeny at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, who was the doctor treating James N Rentas, mirrors that same goal. Her efforts and that of her team at MSKCC are focused on researching to overcome the disease and find a cure.
Together they have made great advancements over the years and have provided years of life for those facing the disease. With the deepest gratitude we are thankful to all those who support and participate in the event each year, because without you this would not be possible.
Although Walk Cancer Away started just 12 years ago, we are forever honoured to be able to join in this event that so many of us find so close to our hearts. We ask you, your family, and your friends to join in this year’s Walk Cancer Away event.
1. What does Walk Cancer Away intend to do?| A．To contact those suffering from cancer. |
| B．To give strength to cancer patients’ family. |
| C．To help find a way to defeat cancer. |
| D．To share experiences of cancer victims. |
| A．lost his family | B．died of cancer |
| C．did research on cancer | D．founded Walk Cancer Away |
| A．To call on people to join in the activity. | B．To raise money for cancer research. |
| C．To express thanks to all the participants. | D．To introduce the history of walking event. |
7 . Can exercise during childhood protect you against memory loss many decades later? Exercise early in life seems to have lifelong benefits for the brain, in rats at least.
“This is an animal study, but it shows that physical activity at a young age is very important—not just for physical development, but for the whole lifelong track of cognitive（认知的）development during ageing,”says Martin Wojtowicz of the University of Toronto, Canada.“ In humans, it may delay the appearance of Alzheimer's symptoms（阿茨海默氏症）, possibly to the point of preventing them.”
Wojtowicz’s team divided 80 young male rats into two equal groups, and placed running wheels in the cages of one group for a period of six weeks. Around four months later—when the rats had reached middle age—the team taught all the rats to connect an electric shock with being in a specific. When placed in the box, they froze with fear.
Two weeks later, the team tested the rats in three situations: exactly the same box in the same room, the same box with the room arranged differently, and a completely different box in a different room.
The rats without access to a running wheel when they were young now froze the same percentage of times in each of these situations, suggesting they couldn't remember which one was dangerous. But those that had been able to run in their youth froze 40 to 50 percent less in both changed box settings.
"The results suggest the amount of physical activity when we're young, at least for rats, has influence on brain and cognitive health—in the form of better memories—when we're older," says Arthur Kramer of Northeastern University in Boston, who has found that, in humans, exercise promotes the growth of new brain cells.
1. The study shows that_____.| A．physical activity is important for physical health |
| B．using the running wheels is of benefit to the rats’ growth |
| C．physical activity can prevent human’s Alzheimer's symptoms |
| D．the more exercise a rat has when young, the better memory it will possess when older |
| A．By analyzing causes. |
| B．By giving an example. |
| C．By describing the process. |
| D．By showing differences. |
| A．Exercise. | B．Development. |
| C．Benefit. | D．Study. |
| A．Negative. | B．Objective. |
| C．Critical. | D．Doubtful. |
8 . The gym has never been the sort of place I like to be. 1 don't have fond feelings for the smell of sweaty bodies.
A few months ago, I had a medical examination. As suspected: 20 pounds overweight and high blood pressure. The prescription? Exercise. The thought of sweating it out in a gym only made me feel more powerless over my body. I felt bad for myself. And then I got angry -----at my condition and my laziness.
I was raised in New Jersey and spent summers "down the shore." I had always found water to be healing (治愈的).
Three lanes (泳道). Twenty-five meters. Two other swimmers in the water. One was swimming so fast that I thought I accidentally joined a master’s group. The other one was swimming along, carrying tiny water weights. And then there was me. I jumped in and swam a lap.
I will likely never be the fastest person in the pool.
| A．But I won't be the slowest either. |
| B．Swimming offers plenty of benefits. |
| C．But then that anger turned into determination. |
| D．In water, I could be weightless and let myself go. |
| E．There is another big reason I' m not into the gym. |
| F．I tried to hide my exhaustion at the other end of the pool. |
| G．Watching other swimmers pass me has become inspiring. |
9 . Bike riding is a great way to maintain fitness and help the environment. Some love to cycle for the speed, some for the fitness, some for the friendship, some for environmental protection and others for the freedom of the open road.
To maintain social distance to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the two-wheel business, already gaining popularity in recent years, has once again witnessed a boom around the world.
For many people, cycling has also become a symbol of freedom in the pandemic—an opportunity for physical as well as mental release .During lockdowns, people unable to go to their gyms look for other ways to exercise and families try to find ways to keep kids active.
| A．And cycling gives people the chance to exercise and enjoy fresh air. |
| B．US adult leisure bike sales jumped 121 percent in March on a yearly basis. |
| C．The trend also brings other advantages. |
| D．It is spending $43 million on bike lanes and cycling facilities. |
| E．China is also leading the world in the number of bike-sharing schedules. |
| F．People have changed the world on two wheels. |
| G．Increased biking can boost local economy too. |
1.介绍学太极好处；
2.负责联系学习地点和老师。
注意:1.词数100左右；信的开头已经写好。
2.可适当增加细节,以使行文连贯。
Dear Tom,
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Yours,
Li Hua
