1 . Race walking shares many fitness benefits with running, research shows, while most likely contributing to fewer injuries. It does, however, have its own problem.
Race walkers are conditioned athletes. The longest track and field event at the Summer Olympics is the 50-kilometer race walk, which is about five miles longer than the marathon. But the sport’s rules require that a race walker’s knees stay straight through most of the leg swing and one foot remain in contact (接触) with the ground at all times. It’s this strange form that makes race walking such an attractive activity, however, says Jaclyn Norberg, an assistant professor of exercise science at Salem State University in Salem, Mass.
Like running, race walking is physically demanding, she says, According to most calculations, race walkers moving at a pace of six miles per hour would burn about 800 calories(卡路里) per hour, which is approximately twice as many as they would burn walking, although fewer than running, which would probably burn about 1,000 or more calories per hour.
However, race walking does not pound the body as much as running does, Dr. Norberg says. According to her research, runners hit the ground with as much as four times their body weight per step, while race walkers, who do not leave the ground, create only about 1.4 times their body weight with each step.
As a result, she says, some of the injuries associated with running, such as runner’s knee, are uncommon among race walkers. But the sport’s strange form does place considerable stress on the ankles and hips, so people with a history of such injuries might want to be cautious in adopting the sport. In fact, anyone wishing to try race walking should probably first consult a coach or experienced racer to learn proper technique, she says. It takes some practice.
1. Why are race walkers conditioned athletes?| A．They must run long distances. |
| B．They are qualified for the marathon. |
| C．They have to follow special rules. |
| D．They are good at swinging their legs. |
| A．It’s more popular at the Olympics. |
| B．It’s less challenging physically. |
| C．It’s more effective in body building. |
| D．It’s less likely to cause knee injuries. |
| A．Getting experts’ opinions. |
| B．Having a medical checkup. |
| C．Hiring an experienced coach. |
| D．Doing regular exercises. |
| A．Skeptical. | B．Objective. |
| C．Tolerant. | D．Conservative. |
2 . 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. |
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 |
