1 . Easy Habits That Help You Live Longer
♦ Go for a jog
Among all the things you can do to achieve longevity, one of the most critical is to exercise. Aerobic activity, like running, is important for getting your blood pumping and your heart working. A recent study showed that a one-hour run adds seven hours to your life, up to four hours per week. People who run have a 25 to 40 percent reduced risk of early death, and live about three years longer.
♦Get more sun—but not too much
The “Sunshine vitamin” -vitamin D, that is-has been shown to fight disease, improve bone health, and avoid depression. One study even found it to extend lifespan by 33 percent. But because vitamin D comes from the sun, and our modem lives don't let us spend much time outside, we might not be getting enough. Getting 15 to 30 minutes of sun exposure a day should be enough for vitamin D production.
♦ Eat more plant protein
A recent study from Harvard found that people who ate a diet high in processed meats like ham, were at a higher risk of death—but those who got their protein from plants had a lower risk, especially of heart disease-related deaths. The study said that for every three percent increase in calories from plant protein there was a reduction in risk of death by 10 percent.
♦Eat nuts
Although you may think nuts are unhealthy because they are calorically high, the exact opposite is true—they can actually extend your life. A study from Harvard found that daily nut-eaters were 20 percent less likely to die during the study. Specifically, the rates of death from heart and breathing disease were reduced. Other research has shown walnuts have a huge role in heart health because of the amount of antioxidants (抗氧剂）they contain.
1. How long can you extend your life in a week by running?| A．1 hour. | B．4 hours. |
| C．7 hours. | D．28 hours. |
| A．It lengths life. |
| B．It benefits bone. |
| C．It fights heart diseases. |
| D．It makes breathing system healthy. |
| A．Plant food is better than meat. |
| B．Heart disease causes the most deaths. |
| C．Nuts are unhealthy food. |
| D．Proper diets improve health. |
2 . As the parent of two teenagers who have played multiple sports over the years, I’ve seen the good, the bad, the ugly and the absolutely cruel.
However, when I think about the value of sports and why my kids continue to play sports teach kids lessons to become successful adults. Through sports, kids learn how to work in teams, have to take risks, how to challenge themselves to be better, and how to behave when they lose—and when they win.
Whether kids play soccer, baseball, football, or cheer, they learn they are part of a team where one person depends on another. When my son plays baseball, he’s not the only one who needs to play well; he depends on his defense to make the plays in the field. When my daughter plays tennis, she depends on her partner to cut off the ball at the net and win the point, and the tennis team depends on each person in order to win the overall match. Sports also teach children to trust and respect the decisions of someone who understands how the entire team needs to work in order to succeed.
Sadly, though, youth sports have suffered from the “winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing” attitude. They have become too much of a refection of professional sports. Winning is a happy result, but the lessons from losing are even more important. When my daughter loses tennis match, her coach reminds her that you learn more from losing than from winning. Losing makes you focus on improving your skills and your strategy. We’re going to learn from our mistakes and not repeat them.
I believe that participating in youth sports is much more than building a sound body winning a scholarship to college. Sports are the best way to shape and build more self-motivated and happier children and help them become more self-motivated and happier adults.
1. What is the author’s attitude to youth sports?| A．Critical. | B．Positive. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Unclear. |
| A．What sports the author’s kids take. |
| B．What the author’s kids do in sports. |
| C．How sports benefit the authors kids. |
| D．How the author’s kids continue to play sports. |
| A．Teenagers don’t have to win every time. |
| B．Winning is the only goal for teen players. |
| C．Teenagers should work together to succeed. |
| D．Winning is not the most important in sports. |
| A．Youth Sports Build Better Adults |
| B．Teenagers Suffer from Youth Sports |
| C．Losing Brings More than Winning Does |
| D．Teenagers Perform Better than Adults in Sports |
3 . It’s 5:00 in the morning when the alarm rings in my ears. I roll out of bed and walk blindly through the dark into the bathroom. I turn on the light and put on my glasses. The house is still as I walk downstairs while my husband and three kids sleep peacefully. Usually I go for a long run, but today I choose my favorite exercise DVD. Insanity. Sweat pours down my face and into my eyes. My heart races as I face my body to finish each movement. As I near the end of the exercise, I feel extremely tired, but a smile is on my face. It’s not a smile because the DVD is over, but a smile of success from pushing my body to its extreme limit.
Some people enjoy shopping, smoking , food, work, or even chocolate. But I need exercise to get through each day. Some shake heads when they see me run through the town. Others get hurt when I refuse to try just one bite of their grandmother’s chocolate cake. They raise their eyebrows, surprised by my “no thank you,” or by my choice to have a salad. Over the years , I have learned it’s okay to just say “no.” I shouldn’t feel sorry for refusing food that I don’t want to eat.
So what drives me to roll out of bed at 5:00 a.m.? What gives me the reason to just say no to ice cream? Commitment. A commitment to change my life with a way that reduces daily anxiety, increases self-confidence and energy, extends life and above all improves my body shape. This is the point where a smile appears on my face as I look at myself in the mirror or try on my favorite pair of jeans that now fit just right. It’s through commitment and sweat that I can make a difference within myself inside and out.
1. Why is there a smile on the author’s face in the morning?| A．Because she sees her family sleeping peacefully. | B．Because she finishes her favorite exercise. |
| C．Because she enjoys the interesting DVD. | D．Because she feels a sense of achievement. |
| A．Good health. | B．Firm belief. | C．A strong power. | D．A regular habit. |
| A．She acts in a strange way. | B．She wants to look different from others. |
| C．She aims to develop a good body shape. | D．She has difficulty getting along with others. |
4 . Two new studies suggest that modern running shoes could increase the risk of injuries to runners.
One study involved sixty-eight healthy young women and men who ran at least twenty-four kilometers a week. The runners were observed on a treadmill machine (跑步机). Sometimes they wore running shoes. Other times they ran barefoot.
Researchers from the JKM Technologies Company in Virginia, the University of Virginia and the University of Colorado did the study.
They found that running shoes create more stress that could damage knees, hips and ankle joints than running barefoot. They observed that the effect was even greater than the effect reported earlier for walking in high heels.
The study appeared in the official scientific journal of the American Academy of Physical Medicine.
The other study appeared in the journal Nature. It compared runners in the United States and Kenya. The researchers were from Harvard University in Massachusetts, Moi University in Kenya and the University of Glasgow in Scotland.
They divided the runners into three groups. One group had always run shoeless. Another group had always run with shoes. And the third group had changed to shoeless running.
Runners who wear shoes usually come down heel first. That puts great force on the back of the foot. But the study found that barefoot runners generally land on the front or middle of their foot. That way they ease into their landing and avoid striking their heel.
Harvard’s Daniel Lieberman led the study. He says the way most running shoes are designed may explain why those who wear them land on their heels. The heel of the shoe is bigger and heavier than other parts of the shoe, so it would seem more likely to come down first. Also, the heel generally has thick material under it to soften landings.
But the researchers do not suggest that runners immediately start running barefoot. They say it takes some training. And there can be risks, like running when your feet are too cold to feel if you get injured.
The study was partly supported by Vibram, which makes a kind of footwear that it says is like running barefoot. The findings have gotten a lot of attention. But the researchers say there are many problems in the way the press has reported in their paper. So they have tried to explain their findings on a Harvard Website.
1. What can we learn from the passage?| A．The way that we run by landing on the front or middle of our foot could avoid damaging our heel. |
| B．We should start running barefoot in no time. |
| C．Running in modem running shoes could have more serious effects than running in high heels. |
| D．We won’t be injured if we run barefoot. |
| A．Three. | B．Four. |
| C．Five. | D．Six. |
| A．By practising. | B．By comparing. |
| C．By questioning. | D．By reasoning. |
| A．Walking in high heels could have fewer serious effects than running barefoot. |
| B．Two new discoveries encourage people to run in high heels. |
| C．Running in shoes is partly good to runners. |
| D．Two new studies prove running without shoes is beneficial to runners in most cases. |
5 . Healthy Habits, Healthy Body
Feel tired lately? Has a doctor said he can’t find anything wrong with you? Perhaps he sent you to a hospital, but all the advanced equipment there shows that there is nothing wrong with you.
Then, consider this: you might be in a state of subhealth(亚健康).
Subhealth, also called the third state or gray state, is explained as a borderline state between health and disease.
According to the investigation by the National Health Organization, over 45 percent of subhealthy people are middle-aged or elderly. The percentage is even higher among people who work in management positions as well as students around exam-weeks.
Symptoms include a lack of energy, depression, slow reactions, insomnia(失眠), agitation(兴奋), and poor memory. Other symptoms include shortness of breath, sweating and aching in the waist and legs.
The key to preventing and recovering from subhealth, according to some medical experts, is to form good living habits, alternate work and rest, exercise regularly, and take part in open air activities.
As for meals, people are advised to eat less salt and sugar. They should also eat more fresh vegetables, fruit and fish because they are rich in nutritional elements — vitamins and trace elements that are important to the body.
Nutrition experts point out that it is not good to eat too much at one meal because it may cause unhealthy changes in the digestive tract(消化系统). They also say that a balanced diet is very helpful in avoiding subhealth.
1. According to this passage, which of the following is RIGHT?| A．When you are in a state of subhealth, you should stay home and keep silent. |
| B．When you are in a state of subhealth, you should go to see a doctor and buy some medicine. |
| C．When you are in a state of subhealth, you should have yourself examined in foreign countries. |
| D．When you are in a state of subhealth, you should find out the reasons and relax yourself. |
| A．they have used up their energy |
| B．they have lost their living hopes |
| C．they have more pressure in life and work |
| D．they begin to get older |
| A．work hard | B．sleep more |
| C．form good living habits | D．take more medicine |
| A．we should never eat meat |
| B．we should have a variety of food |
| C．we should eat less than usual |
| D．we should have meals without salt and sugar |
| A．arrange by turns | B．cause to take place |
| C．keep up | D．take up |
6 . Girls should take part in competitive sport to build confidence, the leader of a group of girls’schools will argue this week. Helen Fraser, director of the Girls Day School Trust (GDST), will tell the group that sport can help girls cope with failure.
“All girls and not just the sporty ones should take physical exercise”, Ms Fraser will say. Research that girls are far less active than boys is worrying, she argues. Ms Fraser will tell the group that she backs “sport for all”. “That’s why I love it when our schools have A, B, C and D teams and beyond”, she will say.
The GDST draws on research from the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation which suggests only a quarter of girls in England meet basic levels(水平)of activity each week. One in five girls do no activity at all, twice the proportion (比例)of boys, the research suggests.
Ms Fraser says other research suggests that more than 80% of women business leaders played sports while growing up. She uses the examples of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, once a skater and tennis player, while the head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, was in the French national swimming team. Ms Fraser says Olympic medallists like Jessica Ennis, Katherine Grainger and Nicola Adams are excellent role models for young women but says women’s sport needs more money and more news reports.
Valerie Dunsford, head of Sheffield High School, part of GDST, said it was important to offer a large number of sports to attract different types of girls. “Not everyone wants to be out playing the hockey (曲棍球)”, said Ms Dunsford.
1. Which of the following ideas would Ms Fraser agree with?| A．Those taking part in the sport are always failures. |
| B．More should be done to make girls do sports. |
| C．Girls are less confident than boys. |
| D．Boys are born to be sport lovers. |
| A．1/10. | B．1/4. |
| C．1/5. | D．2/5. |
| A．hard work will pay off. |
| B．it’s not easy to be great. |
| C．sport can help girls to succeed. |
| D．it’s necessary to balance work and sport. |
| A．To explain the key to success. |
| B．To show the importance of sport. |
| C．To introduce more games to girls. |
| D．To encourage more girls to do sports. |
7 . For generations, students were taught to stretch before playing games. Then the practice fell out of favor. Studies seemed to show that such stretching temporarily reduces muscular power, weakens athletic performance and increases the risk of injury. So most fitness experts currently advise against stretches before exercise. But now a new research indicates that they might not be such a bad idea after all.
This month, the journal, Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism (APNM), published a study by four distinguished exercise scientists who analyzed more than 200 studies of how stretching affects the following exercise. In broad terms, they found that stretching can briefly prevent the ability to generate power. So if you reach for your toes and hold that position, tightening your hamstrings (腿筋), you might not then be able to leap as high or start a dash as forcefully as you don’t stretch.
Those undesirable effects were generally found, however, only if each stretch was held for more than 60 seconds and the subject then immediately became fully active, with no further warm-up. “Outside the lab, most people are unlikely to hold a warm-up stretch for longer than about 30 seconds.” Dr. McHugh, the co-author of the study says. The review found few lasting negative impacts from these short stretches, especially if the volunteers followed that stretching with several minutes of jogging or other basic warm-up movements. In fact, these short stretches turned out to have a positive effect.
Do these findings mean that all the athletes should stretch in advance before a match? “Not necessarily,” Dr. McHugh says, “Runners and cyclists don’t have much risk for acute muscle injuries.” Stretching before these activities is unlikely to protect against injury. Runners and cyclists can adequately warm up by jogging or pedaling lightly. But he suggests that people who play basketball and other ball sports should stretch in advance. Those who haven’t stretched since childhood gym class might want to consider consulting an athletic trainer about the best upper and lower body stretches, particularly for the shoulders and hamstrings.
1. Which of the following statements agrees with most fitness experts?| A．Before playing a game you should stretch your legs and arms. |
| B．After attending a match you should stretch your legs and arms. |
| C．It’s harmful to stretch your legs and arms before playing games. |
| D．It doesn’t matter whether you stretch or not before playing games. |
| A．they do stretches after attending a game |
| B．they reach for toes and hold that position |
| C．following a stretch with several minutes’ jogging |
| D．dashing immediately after one 60-second plus stretch |
| A．all athletes should not stretch in advance |
| B．the four scientists published the journal APNM |
| C．it’s unnecessary for a tennis player to do warm-up stretches |
| D．players ought to have done warm-up stretches since childhood |
| A．Concerned. | B．Doubtful. |
| C．Disapproving. | D．Objective. |
The devices are designed to record your physical activity. They are usually worn around the wrist, where they measure a person’s heart rate. The research team looked at two groups of individuals. The first wore a fitness tracker and took part in health counseling (咨询) with experts to consider the best weight-loss plan. The researchers compared this group with people who only got health counseling.
The study found that those only speaking with the health experts lost nearly 6 kilograms, but those using a fitness tracker lost only 3.5 kilograms. John Jakicic, the lead researcher, questioned the use of electronic devices for weight control in place of “effective behavioral counseling for physical activity and diet. ”
The study involved 470 subjects aged between 18 and 35. Some of them were overweight, while others were considered obese (肥胖的). Over three fourths of the subjects were women. All the subjects were told to increase physical activity and start on a low-calorie diet. They had their weight measured once every six months. After six months, researchers divided the group into two parts: one continued with monthly counseling, while members of the other group were given a fitness tracker. Eighteen months later, both groups “showed significant improvements in fitness, physical activity, and diet,” with no major difference between groups. However, when it came to losing weight, the people who only spoke with experts lost nearly twice as much weight.
Jakicic said, “the study’s findings are important because effective long-term treatments are needed to address America’s obesity. ” More information is needed, he added, to learn how to best use these devices to change “physical activity and diet behaviors” in adults who want to lose weight.
1. All the subjects in the study were asked to ________.| A．start on a high-calorie diet | B．wear a fitness tracker |
| C．increase physical activities | D．record their heart rates |
| A．Wearing fitness trackers hardly helps people lose weight. |
| B．Physical activity and diet have no effect on weight loss. |
| C．Handling obesity requires effective long-term treatments. |
| D．There are great differences in fitness between both groups. |
| A．The study went on for about two years. |
| B．More than 120 men took part in the study. |
| C．Health counseling helps lose almost 6 kilograms. |
| D．Wearing a fitness tracker is useful for keeping slim. |
| A．describe how the researchers were conducting the study |
| B．indicate regular counseling for weight control is necessary |
| C．convince readers to wear fitness trackers for weight control |
| D．warn women are more likely to suffer from weight problems |
Everyone has his own way of relaxing. Perhaps the most popular form is to take part in sports. There are team sports, such as basketball and football; There are also individual (个人的) sports, such as swimming and running. Skating and mountain climbing are the most popular recreation for people who like to be outdoor.
Not everyone who enjoys sports likes to take part in them. Many people like watching them on TV or listening to them on the radio. So many people like some forms of indoor recreation, such as watching TV, singing and dancing.
It doesn’t matter whether we like indoor recreation or take part in outdoor sports. It is important for everyone to relax from time to time, and enjoy some forms of recreation.
1. Which is the most popular form of recreation?
| A．Sports. | B．Watching TV. |
| C．Sleeping. | D．Singing and dancing. |
| A．keep healthy and enjoy life | B．make friends |
| C．find a good job | D．make more money |
| A．watching TV | B．singing and dancing |
| C．listening to the radio | D．skating and mountain climbing |
| A．basketball is a kind of team sport |
| B．everyone who enjoys sports should take part in them |
| C．different people have different ways of relaxing |
| D．indoor recreation is not as important as outdoor sports |
“Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” This is an old English saying. Do you know what it means? It means that we must go to bed early at night and get up early in the morning. If we do, we shall be healthy, rich and clever.
Is this true? Perhaps it is. We know the body must have enough sleep. Boys and girls need eight or nine hours’ sleep every day.
Some people go to bed late at night and get up late in the morning. This is a very bad habit. Then you will not think or do your work well. Of course, you can’t be healthy, wealthy or wise.
When we get up early in the morning, we can go out and do morning exercises. Exercise means doing things with the body. Walking, running jumping, swimming, and playing ball games are all exercise. If we don’t exercise, our body will become weak.
Exercise helps the blood (血液) to move around inside our body. Blood takes food to all parts of our body.
Our body also needs air to breathe. Without air, we will die. We must have lots of clean fresh air if we want to be healthy. That is why many people like to go out to do morning exercise.
1. From the passage we know that it is good for our health to ____ .
| A．eat a lot | B．go to bed early | C．get up late | D．go to bed late |
| A．More than ten hours | B．Over eleven hours. |
| C．Less than seven hours. | D．Eight hours or so. |
| A．eat more food | B．sleep more | C．get up late | D．take enough exercise |
| A．Don’t go to bed until twelve o'clock.. |
| B．Take a walk after supper. |
| C．Run in the open air early in the morning. |
| D．Climb hills for half an hour early in the morning. |
| A．Jumping. | B．Swimming. | C．Riding. | D．Running. |
