1 . All over the world people enjoy sports. Sports help to keep people healthy and happy, and to live longer.
Some sports or game go back thousands of years, like running or jumping. Chinese Kungfu, for example, has a very long history. But basketball and volleyball are rather new. Neither one is a hundred years old yet.
People from different countries may not be able to understand each other, but after a game together they often become good friends.
| A．And think of people in cold countries. |
| B．Sports help to train a person’s character. |
| C．People aren’t inventing new sports or games. |
| D．Many people like to watch others play games. |
| E．People are inventing new sports or games all the time. |
| F．Some sports are so interesting that people everywhere take part in them. |
| G．Not a few people participate in different sports competitions themselves. |
2 . Three Exercises to Make Breathing Easier
If you lack lung power and feel a little exhausted even after a short jogging, the following exercises can be of great help.
Use Your Diaphragm (横膈膜)
Your diaphragm is the muscle that controls breathing, and because it is located right above your stomach, you can strengthen them together. Lie on your back with your knees bent, keeping one hand on your stomach and the other on your chest. Breathe in deeply, slowly pulling the air into your lungs. Breathe out through your mouth. Try to wait seven seconds before taking in air again.
Imagine You Are Rowing a Boat
This exercise strengthens the upper back muscles and opens your chest cavity (腔), allowing for full lung ability. Sit on the floor with your legs in front of you and knees slightly bent. Put a resistance band around the bottoms of your feet and hold it in front of you in an X shape. Holding an end in each hand, spread your arms, then pull backward until your hands meet your chest. Repeat at least six times three days a week.
Walk for 20 Minutes
Walking doesn’t just get your heart pumping or work your leg muscles—it also builds up the area around your lungs to help them function better. To get the most out of your walk, stand straight, with your head up and your shoulders back, and keep a heel-to-toe pace, allowing your lungs to fully expand. Combine walking with deep breathing to increase your air intake. Work up to walking three or four days a week.
No matter which exercise you pick up, keep this in mind: Chances are that it will take you several months to see the outcome. So keep it up!
1. What should you obey if you are strengthening your diaphragm?| A．You should lie on your stomach with your knees bent. |
| B．You should hold your breath before breathing in again. |
| C．You should do it seven times a week to get a best result. |
| D．You should do it by breathing in merely with your mouth. |
| A．By keeping on rowing a boat regularly. | B．By opening your chest cavity more often. |
| C．By integrating walking with deep breathing. | D．By allowing your lungs to expand to the fullest. |
| A．They all need some extra assistance. | B．They all involve using your both feet. |
| C．They all require you to stand straight. | D．They all call for constantly practicing. |
3 . If you’ve fallen off the exercise wagon (健身车), it can be hard to get back into it even if you know about its advantages.
Step 1: Be gentle with yourself.
You are probably worried that you’re not as fast as you used to be.
Step 2:
Be smart about the frequency and duration (持续时间) of your exercise, especially during your first few weeks back to exercise. Spreading them throughout the week rather than being a weekend warrior (勇士) and gradually increasing your activity levels will help you avoid injury.
Step 3: Make things convenient.
Step 4: Try getting it done first.
Everyone has a different sweat style, whether you prefer dawn exercise or are more of a night owl. By getting the exercise done first, you have less chance to make excuses to leave out the workout later in the day.
| A．Set a realistic plan. |
| B．Don’t worry about that. |
| C．Exercise anytime, anywhere. |
| D．Try your best to reach your previous level. |
| E．There are more people trying to keep healthy. |
| F．Once the exercise is over, you’ll think you’ve already achieved something. |
| G．Here, some experts offer four simple steps you can use to get back into it. |
4 . It’s a long-term question for teachers: how do you get children who hate physical activity to take part in PE lessons? A Northampton primary school believes it has the answer. Designed to make the least active pupils take an interest in their fitness, a program has been introduced at Lings Primary School. And not only have the pupils developed an interest in activities ranging from football to ballroom dancing, according to the school, but their school work has also improved significantly.
The students also turn up on time—Lings now has the best attendance record in the county at 98 percent—and results have improved:86 percent of pupils now achieve the required standard in English and maths tests for 11-year-olds, compared with only 44 percent four years ago.
The turnaround has been achieved by simply making PE fun. Instead of climbing wall bars and running on the spot, the pupils practice exercises such as moving like animals. One routine involves crawling around the floor like a bear and moving around like gorillas. In another the children try to maintain their balance on the boards made of rubber, all of which stretch their muscles and improve their fitness.
Baroness Campbell, who chairs the Youth Sport Trust, which designed the program, said, “We want to show young people that physical activity is fun and a great way to learn skills which will stay with them for life.”
1. How did Lings Primary School get students interested in physical activities?| A．By making the classes full of fun. | B．By improving their school work. |
| C．By increasing students’ attendance. | D．By getting help from some students. |
| A．Running on the spot. | B．Climbing over wall bars. |
| C．Eating like bears. | D．Keeping balance on rubber boards. |
| A．It is popular among active students. | B．It has benefited most students a lot. |
| C．It was designed by Baroness Campbell. | D．It made all students punctual in class. |
5 . The Growing Popularity of Cycling
They say once you learn how to ride a bike, you never forget. Most of us learnt when we were kids, and many still strap (系好) on our helmets, put our feet on the pedals , and shoot off for a ride around the streets. In recent times, cycling has seen a boost in popularity.
First, let’s look at the health benefits. Cycling can improve your cardiovascular (心血管的) health and burm excess body fat. Strengthening your leg muscles in your calves (小腿肚) and thighs (大腿).
Cycling can be a great way to commute (通勤) or get about town.
So, whether people want to cycle for their health, getting about town, their wallet, the environment, or a combination of all of them—
| A．The popularity of cycling is on the rise. |
| B．By cycling, you save money on fuel or train fares. |
| C．Finally, cycling can also be good for the environment. |
| D．Cycling except for transport, also can be used for fitness. |
| E．And cycling’s benefits aren’t just physical, but mental as well. |
| F．What makes it so appealing to people to straddle their bikes once again? |
| G．I feel very relaxed by cycling, but the body was able to quickly reach the amount of exercise! |
6 . On Us TV shows, you may sometimes see rubber balls on people’s desks. These balls are known as “stress relief balls”. People can squeeze them when they feel stressed out. It’s believed that by concentrating on the act of squeezing, they can let go of the negative energy in their bodies.
In fact, the rubber stress relief balls that are so popular today in the US are believed to date back to ancient China.
And today, we have many gadgets (小器具) and toys that are designed to reduce stress in addition to stress relief balls. One example is the popular fidget spinner (指尖陀螺).
| A．This helped them relax as well. |
| B．These gadgets may look like simple toys. |
| C．It keeps your hand busy with an easy task. |
| D．This is the only way to ease away your tension. |
| E．Indeed, stress is a big problem for many people. |
| F．A focused activity helps take your mind off the problems of your day. |
| G．Back in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), soldiers used walnuts to get rid of stress. |
7 . Sports day! These two words can inspire both joy and terror in the hearts of students everywhere. For many, sports day can be a great day of fun and the chance to bag a prize or two.
Today, more and more schools have recognized the importance of exercise.
However, some people feel that it’s important that sport has winners and that learning to lose is just as important as learning how to win.
There are lots of people who agree with the idea—parents in particular! According to a 2017 survey by Families Online, 82% of parents say they prefer “traditional” competitive sports days.
People have different ideas about whether it is the winning or the taking part that counts when it comes to school sports days. So, should School Sports Day be competitive or not? We want to know your ideas.
| A．What’s the point if no one wins? |
| B．Should sport just be about winning? |
| C．Many of them have “non-competitive” sports days. |
| D．Everyone should be celebrated for trying and playing their part. |
| E．Many adults are worried that their kids can get injured when doing sports. |
| F．For others, it might feel like having to take part in something they aren’t good at. |
| G．Many adults feel that children can learn valuable lessons in both winning and losing. |
8 . As we age, even if we’re healthy, the heart just isn’t as efficient in processing oxygen as it used to be. In most people the first signs show up in their 50s or early 60s. And among people who don’t exercise, the changes can start even sooner.
“Think of a rubber band. In the beginning, it is flexible, but put it in a drawer for 20 years and it will become dry and easily broken,” says Dr. Ben Levine, a heart specialist at the University of Texas. That’s what happens to the heart. Fortunately for those in midlife, Levine is finding that even if you haven’t been an enthusiastic exerciser, getting in shape now may help improve your aging heart.
Levine and his research team selected volunteers aged between 45 and 64 who did not exercise much but were otherwise healthy. Participants were randomly divided into two groups. The first group participated in a program of nonaerobic (无氧) exercise—balance training and weight training—three times a week. The second group did high-intensity aerobic exercise under the guidance of a trainer for four or more days a week. After two years, the second group saw remarkable improvements in heart health.
“We took these 50-year-old hearts and turned the clock back to 30-or 35-year-old hearts,” says Levine. “And the reason they got so much stronger and fitter was that their hearts could now fill a lot better and pump (泵送) a lot more blood during exercise.” But the hearts of those who participated in less intense exercise didn’t change, he says.
“The sweet spot in life to start exercising, if you haven’t already, is in late middle age when the heart still has flexibility,” Levine says. “We put healthy 70-year-olds through a yearlong exercise training program, and nothing happened to them at all.”
Dr. Nieca Goldberg, a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association, says Levine’s findings are a great start. But the study was small and needs to be repeated with far larger groups of people to determine exactly which aspects of an exercise routine make the biggest difference.
1. What does Levine want to explain by mentioning the rubber band?| A．The right way of exercising. | B．The causes of a heart attack. |
| C．The difficulty of keeping fit. | D．The aging process of the heart. |
| A．Diet plan. | B．Professional background. |
| C．Exercise type. | D．Previous physical condition. |
| A．Middle-aged hearts get younger with aerobic exercise. |
| B．High-intensity exercise is more suitable for the young. |
| C．It is never too late for people to start taking exercise. |
| D．The more exercise we do, the stronger our hearts get. |
| A．Making use of the findings. | B．Interviewing the study participants. |
| C．Conducting further research. | D．Clarifying the purpose of the study. |
9 . Human bodies were actually designed for walking, a wonderful form of exercise at no cost. It’s kind to our bodies and great for our waistlines.
Probably you already love to walk, but you’re getting bored of tracing the same old route day after day, or maybe you’re new to walking and aren’t sure how to get started.
Call up your friends and schedule walks with them if socializing is your aim.
From the benefits to your heart to your overall happiness, walking is just plain good for you.
| A．This month, pick up a map and start walking. |
| B．Ask your friends where they like to walk and just go there. |
| C．You may as well consider heading to a new city for a change. |
| D．Either way, it’s time to accept the idea of walking with a purpose. |
| E．Recently, science has proved that walking is good for your body shape. |
| F．And best of all, it’s a great way to see new things and meet new people! |
| G．If you’re after walking alone, ask about local hikes that get you away from the crowd. |
10 . Fitness Magazine recently ran an article titled “Five Reasons to Thank Your Workout Partner.” One reason was: “You’ll actually show up if you know someone is waiting for you at the gym, ” while another read: “
So, how do you find a workout partner?
First of all, decide what you want from that person.
You might think about posting what you are looking for on social media, but it probably won’t result in a useful response.
My partner posted her request on the notice board of a local park. Her notice included what kind of training she wanted to do, how many days a week and how many hours she wanted to spend on each session, and her age. It also listed her favorite sports and activities, and provided her phone number.
You and your partner will probably have different skills.
| A．Your first meeting may be a little awkward. |
| B．A workout partner usually needs to live close by. |
| C．You’ll work harder if you train with someone else. |
| D．Do you want to be a better athlete in your favorite sport? |
| E．How can you write a good “seeking training partner” notice? |
| F．Just accept your differences and learn to work with each other. |
| G．Any notice for a training partner should include such information. |
