1 . Recently, science has been uncovering a link between walking and a lower risk of dementia (痴呆), proving that walking is even good for your brain.     1     Maybe you already love to walk, but you’re getting tired of following your same old route day after day—or maybe you’re new to walking and aren’t sure how to get started. Either way, it’s time to embrace the idea of walking with a purpose.

To get started, sit down with a map and make a plan. Ask yourself, what do you want to get out of walking aside from the health benefits? Do you want to meet other people? See new places? Get out into the wilderness or explore a city?     2    

Making friends and socializing is your goal.     3     Ask your friends where they like to walk and go there, since this will introduce you to new places. Look up your local malls which have groups that come every day, or every weekend, to “walk the mall”. These groups are always happy to include one more walker!

    4     Ask about local hikes that get you out of town and into the wilderness or countryside. Folks who are touring in an RV or car can stop to ask about scenic spots that will get them off the beaten path.

Headed to a new city?     5     Many of our great historic cities offer detailed and well-planned walking tours. You can follow the famous painted red band through Boston’s historic landmarks or walk your way through the sites of Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia.

From the benefits, walking is just plain good for you. Pick up a map and start walking.

2 . For those who can stomach it, working out before breakfast may be more beneficial for health than eating first, according to a study of meal timing and physical activity.

3 . When people look at mountains, they often feel a desire to climb to the top. People realize the great rewards that mountains will give them if they reach the top.     1    . It’s little wonder, therefore, that climbing mountains is such a popular activity.

Casual mountain climbing is an excellent form of exercise. People enjoy the fresh air and natural scenery on these climbs. As they get higher, the views across valley plains and forests get longer.     2     these hikes can be exhausting and even the fittest people will breathe heavier and have to take rests.

At the next level of mountain climbing, people require handrails（扶手）to get up the mountain. The path is very narrow or too steep in some places to walk up.     3    . climbers must be physically fit and maintain good concentration. When climbing q mountain with any danger, climbers should be with at least one other person.

    4    . For example, in a group of three climbers, all should be attached to the same rope. The rope will be needed as a support when there are no rails---or rocks to hold. The best and most experienced climber should go first and must go slow when the others feel uncomfortable.

The top level of mountain climbing is a very serious activity. At this stage, climbers go vertically（垂直地）up a rock face. This is very dangerous and should only be done when the climber has many years of experience. Climbers who climb this way need iron spikes（大钉）to be hammered into splits in the rock wall. At the end of the iron spikes, there are hooks that can be attached to ropes.     5    .

Regular exercise can reduce a woman’s risk of cancer, but the benefits may slip away if she gets too little sleep, U.S. researchers said on Monday. The study involving 5,968 women in Maryland confirmed previous findings that people who do regular physical activity are less likely to develop cancer.

But when the researchers looked at the women ages 18 to 65 who were in the upper half in terms of the amount of physical exercise they got per week, they found that sleep appeared to play an important role in cancer risk.   

Those who slept less than seven hours nightly had a 47 percent higher risk of cancer than those who got more sleep among the physically active women, the researchers reported at a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

“We think it’s quite interesting and intriguing. It’s kind of a first look into this. It isn’t something that has been widely studied,” James McClain of the National Cancer Institute, part of the U.S. government’s National Institutes of Health, said in a telephone interview.

McClain, who led the study, said it is unclear exactly how getting too little sleep may make one more susceptible（易受感染的） to cancer. “Getting adequate sleep has been long associated with health,” McClain said.   

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls sleep loss an under-recognized public health problem, saying Americans are getting less and less slumber. The CDCP said the percentage of adults reporting sleeping six hours or less a night increased from 1985 to 2006.   Sleep experts say chronic sleep loss is associated with obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure,   stroke, cardiovascular disease, depression, cigarette smoking and excessive drinking.

In addition, research had shown that people who get regular exercise have a reduced risk of breast, colon and other types of cancer. Experts think the effects of exercise on the body’s hormone levels, immune function and body weight may play an important role.

6 . Brain fitness has basic rules: variety and curiosity.     1     If you can do the crossword puzzle in your sleep, for example, it's time for you to move on to a new challenge in order to get the best workout for your brain. Curiosity about the world around you, how it works and how you can understand it will keep your brain working fast. Use the ideas below to make your brain smarter.

1. Play Games

Brain fitness programs and games are wonderful ways to challenge your brain.     2     These games depend on logic(逻辑),word skills, math and more. These games are also fun. You'll get benefit more by doing these games a little bit every day.

2. Tell Stories

    3     Practice telling your stories, both new and old, so that they are interesting and fun.

3. Exercise Your Body to Exercise Your Brain

    4    By moving your body, your brain has to learn new muscle(肌肉) skills, judge distance and practice balance. Choose a variety of exercises to challenge your brain.

4. Make Simple Changes

We love our routines(常规). But the more something is “second nature”, the less our brains have to work to do it. Change ways to the grocery store, use your opposite hand to open doors and eat dessert first.     5