1 . A recent study by University of Delaware researchers suggests exercise can help kids to learn and remember vocabulary. The article, published in the Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research, details one of the first studies on the effect of exercise on vocabulary learning in children.
Children ages 6 to 12 were taught new words before doing one of three things- swimming , taking part in CrossFit exercises or completing a coloring sheet. The children who swam were 13% more accurate in follow-up tests of the vocabulary words.
It makes sense to the lead researcher, Maddy Pruitt, herself a former college swimmer. “Motor movement helps in learning new words,” she said, explaining that exercise is known to increase levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor(脑衍生神经营养因子).Then why did swimming make a difference while CrossFit did not? Pruitt attributes(归因) it to the amount of energy each exercise demands of the brain. Swimming is an activity the kids could complete without much thought or instruction. It was more automatic, while the CrossFit exercises were new to them. The children needed to learn the moves, which required mental energy.
Pruitt conducted the research as part of her Master s Capstone Project and graduated in 2020. She now works as a speech-language pathologist (病理学家) at a primary school in South Carolina, where she puts her findings into practice.
“My sessions are very rarely at a table,” she said. “I’ll take my kids out to the playground or we’ll take a walk around the school.”
Pruitt’s adviser and coauthor Giovanna Morini is building on the findings in her lab. Morini said most research into exercise examined it from the angle of a healthy lifestyle, not much entering the area of language acquisition.
“We are so excited about this study because it applies to clinicians, caregivers and educators who can put it into practice, Morini said.” It’s simple stuff, nothing out of the ordinary. But it could help boost the outcomes.
1. What were all the children asked to do in the study?| A．Complete vocabulary tests. | B．Teach others new words. |
| C．Identify different colors. | D．Share swimming skills. |
| A．The way of the study. | B．The subject of the study. |
| C．The applications of the findings. | D．The reasons for the study result. |
| A．By setting up clinics with other researchers. |
| B．By training the students to swim regularly. |
| C．By adding physical exercise to her sessions. |
| D．By asking the students to learn complex words. |
| A．Kids Are Supposed to Exercise Before Studying |
| B．Exercise Contributes to Kids’ Vocabulary Growth |
| C．Swimming Does Good to People’s Physical Health |
| D．Research Should Be Done on Language Acquisition |
2 . House work might seem a drag, but researchers have suggested tasks like dusting, sweeping floors and washing the windows might help adults to stay healthy into old age. Writing in the journal BMJ Open, a Singapore-based team of researchers said regular physical activity “improves physical and mental health, and relieves the risks and effects of chronic diseases among older adults”.
The team randomly chose adults from the town of Yishun in Singapore, and asked them to complete cognitive function tests as well as activities to assess their physical capabilities, such as standing up from a chair as quickly as they could. Participants were also quizzed on their levels of physical activity, including the amount of light housework and heavy housework they did, and were assessed for their risk of having a fall based on measures such as knee extension strength. The study involved 249 participants aged 21-64 and 240 participants aged 65- 90. Most of those who reported doing high levels of heavy or light housework were women.
After taking into account factors including age and sex, the team found cognitive scores and attention scores were 8% and 14% higher respectively for older adults doing high amounts of heavy housework— on average 131 minutes a week— compared with low levels, which appeared to amount to none at all. Sit-to-stand times were lower for older adults reporting high amounts of heavy housework compared with low amounts，while they were also assessed as being at lower risk of having a fall.
Dr Shiou-Liang Wee, the co-author of the research, said health messaging on staying active should not just be about recreational physical activities. “Housework is a purposeful activity performed by many older adults. Independent of recreation, commuting and other work-related physical activity, heavy housework is linked to sharper memory and better falls protection in older adults,” he said.
1. What does the team find?| A．Housework is a drag to the aged. |
| B．Health is connected with regular exercise. |
| C．Only doing housework can the aged stay healthy. |
| D．Regular physical activity is dangerous for the aged. |
| A．The research procedure. | B．The research result. |
| C．The research purpose. | D．The research institution. |
| A．Intelligence and age. | B．Education and sex. |
| C．Age and sex. | D．Family and income. |
| A．Commuting is linked to sharper memory. |
| B．Heavy housework equals recreational activity. |
| C．People only need recreational physical activity for health. |
| D．Recreational physical activity shouldn’t replace housework. |
3 . Even light activity such as housework might help to keep the brain young, researchers say, adding to a growing body of evidence that, when it comes to exercise, every little helps.
Writing in the journal Jama Network Open, the international team of researchers report how they came to their findings by studying at least three days of activity-tracker data from 2,354 middle-aged adults from the US, together with the participants' brain scans.
From the latter, the researchers worked out individuals' brain volume, a measure linked to ageing: about 0.2% of the volume of the brain is lost every year after the age of 60. Loss or shrinkage (萎缩) of brain tissue is linked to dementia (痴呆), Spartano noted.
After taking into account factors including sex, smoking status and age, the team found that every extra hour of light physical activity per day was linked to 0.22% greater brain volume, equal to just over a year's less brain ageing. What's more, those who took at least 10,000 steps a day had a 0.35% greater brain volume than those who took, on average, fewer than 5,000 steps a day—equivalent to 1.75 years' less brain ageing.
However, the study has limitations. It used mainly white participants, and cannot prove cause and effect. The authors add that not all time spent sedentary is necessarily "bad" for the brain—particularly if people are engaged in a task that takes a lot of thinking.
Dr James Pickett, head of research at Alzheimer's Society, said, "Don't worry if you're not hill-running, but find something you enjoy and do it regularly, because we know that what's good for the heart is good for the head."
1. What can be inferred from the statistics in Paragraphs 3&4?| A．Loss of brain tissue is linked to disease. |
| B．Light physical activity raises the brain volume. |
| C．Taking 10000 steps per day is best for our brain. |
| D．Light physical activity slows down the brain ageing. |
| A．Sitting. | B．Walking. | C．Sleeping. | D．Working. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Supportive. | C．Objective. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Regular exercise makes you happy. |
| B．The more exercise, the better. |
| C．Doing what you like regularly is beneficial. |
| D．Light physical activities are the best. |
4 . For a long time, sports have been viewed as a way to stay healthy and in shape, but their importance goes much further.
From a social standpoint, sports are a powerful tool that brings people together and creates a sense of community.
As a student, I had very challenging classes and occasionally had to deal with bad homework or midterm grades. I learned that I am not always going to get the results that I want, but no matter what, I have to persevere and not give up.
In addition to that, exercising is a great way to get out of the stressful college life that is all about homework, presentations, and group projects.
The reason most students do not play sports is because they feel lazy about it and don't have the energy for it.
| A．To sum up, playing college sports has some serious benefits. |
| B．In short, playing sports can help students become more energetic. |
| C．They helped me get on very well with my teachers and classmates. |
| D．In fact, playing sports helps students relax and reduce their anxiety. |
| E．Sports gave me a positive attitude where I see falling as a way to learn. |
| F．They develop connections that bond together people from all walks of life. |
| G．However, the belief that the intense exercise will leave you exhausted is wrong. |
5 . Physical education, or PE, isn’t required for all high school students. In some schools, it isn’t offered for some different reasons. But should high school students have physical education? The answer is certainly “yes”.
Today many people don’t do sports. But as is known to all. doing sports is very important for an adult. Teaching teens the importance of a healthy lifestyle and making fitness plans now can help teens put exercise in the first place as an adult.
High school isn’t that easy. Many students are under a lot of stress. Stress can be harmful to a student’s studies and life. Doing sports can help them deal with stress better, helping them live a happier life at school.
The American Heart Association says that 10 million kids and teens suffer from obesity (肥胖). Teens should get 60 minutes of physical activity per day to control their weight and to help their bones get stronger. The increase in activities that don’t get teens to move around, such as computer games, means many teens don’t get their required exercise. PE classes act as a public health measure (措施) to encourage physical activities and help teens have healthy weights.
Not doing sports increases teens’ hazard of developing many diseases. An active lifestyle offers a good way of protection from these health problems. As much as 75 percent of health-care spending goes toward treating medical conditions that can be prevented by lifestyle changes, according to the American College of Sports Medicine.
According to the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition (PCFSN), students who performed five hours of physical activities each week improved their academic (学业的) performance. Students from programs with no physical activity, who used the extra time for classroom study, did not perform better on tests than those who gave up some study time in support of physical education.
1. According to Paragraph 2, what does physical education in high school mean?| A．Making teens attach importance to ęxercise later. |
| B．Removing the stress faced by teens at school. |
| C．Getting teens to encourage adults to exercise. |
| D．Helping teens learn to make good plans |
| A．Happiness. | B．Risk. | C．Safety. | D．Sadness. |
| A．means making students choose between sports and studies |
| B．helps students make good use of all their time |
| C．means students adjust to their studies better |
| D．helps students do better in their studies |
| A．Why high school students should receive physical education. |
| B．Why some schools consider physical education important. |
| C．How schools can help students love doing sports. |
| D．How high school students can live a better life. |
6 . A study has found that when people burn extra calories by working out, the body starts to compensate by reducing the amount of energy spent on functions to stay alive, such as sleeping or digestion. About a quarter of the calories burnt during a workout are then budgeted for later on, meaning that overall the total number of calories burnt is less than expected. For overweight people, it is estimated that about half of calories burnt during periods of higher activity were later compensated for.
Researchers at the University of Roehampton found that the calories the body burns to keep ticking over decrease by 28 per cent during periods when daily exercise levels are consistently high. This means the more we exercise over the long-term, the less calories our bodies bum for the most rudimentary activities. The results show that only 54 per cent of the calories used by exercise or activity among people who have the highest body mass actually translated into calories burnt at the end of the day, due to their bodies reducing the energy spent on the most basic of functions. In contrast,70 percent of calories burnt during activity by those with the lowest body mass translated into more calories burnt at the end of the day.
Professor Lewis Halsey, of the department of life sciences, said: “Around the world, national guidelines tend to recommend a 500—600 calorie deficit through exercising and dieting to lose weight. However, they do not take into account the reduction of calories being burnt in the most basic of human functions as the body compensates for the calories burnt on the exercise as shown in our research, and the variation in this compensation between people with different levels of body fat.”
In this study they found no differences between men and women in the energy lost during activity. But since the research shows overweight people who exercise burn significantly fewer calories on day-to-day functions, there is a need for greater personalisation of exercise plans depending upon body mass.
1. Why are calories burnt by exercise less than expected according to the study?| A．Time spent on exercise is limited. | B．Exercise levels are not high enough. |
| C．People tend to overeat after exercise. | D．They are compensated for by the body. |
| A．By analyzing causes. | B．By raising examples. |
| C．By providing statistics. | D．By explaining concepts. |
| A．They are worth recommending. | B．They are supposed to be revised. |
| C．They neglect gender differences. | D．They take body mass into account. |
| A．Overweight Exercisers Burn Fewer Calories | B．Ways to Keep Fit by Exercising and Dieting |
| C．Sleeping and Digestion Function to Stay Alive | D．Personalized Exercise Plans on Losing Weight |
7 . The benefits of regular exercise are well documented but there’s a new bonus to add to the ever-growing list. New researchers found that middle-aged women who were physically fit could be nearly 90 percent less likely to develop dementia in later life, and as they did, it came on a decade later than less sporty women.
Lead researcher Dr. Helena Horder, of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, said : "These findings are exciting because it’s possible that improving people's cardiovascular （心血管的）fitness in middle age could delay or even prevent them from developing dementia. "
For the study, 191 women with an average age of 50 took a bicycle exercise test until they were exhausted to measure their peak （最大值的） cardiovascular capacity. The average peak workload was measured at 103 watts.
A total of 40 women met the criteria for a high fitness level, or 120 watts or higher. A total of 92 women were in the medium fitness category; and 59 women were in the low fitness category, defined as a peak workload of 80 watts or less, or having their exercise tests stopped because of high blood pressure, chest pain or other cardiovascular problems.
These women were then tested for dementia six times over the following four decades. During that time, 44 of the women developed dementia. Five percent of the highly fit women developed dementia, compared to 25 percent of the women with medium fitness and 32 percent of the women with low fitness.
"However, this study does not show cause and effect between cardiovascular fitness and dementia, it only shows an association. More research is needed to see if improved fitness could have a positive effect on the risk of dementia and also to look at when during a lifetime a high fitness level is most important. " She also admitted that a relatively small number of women were studied, all of whom were form Sweden, so the results might not be applicable to other groups.
1. What is on the ever-growing list mentioned in the first paragraph?| A．Positive effects of doing exercises. |
| B．Exercises suitable for the middle-aged. |
| C．Experimental studies on diseases. |
| D．Advantages of sporty woman over man |
| A．To predict their maximum heart rate. |
| B．To assess their cardiovascular capacity |
| C．To change their habits of working out |
| D．To detect their potential health problems |
| A．It aimed to find a cure for dementia. |
| B．Data collection was a lengthy process. |
| C．Some participants withdrew from it. |
| D．The results were far from satisfactory. |
| A．More Women Are Exercising to Prevent Dementia |
| B．Middle-Aged Women Need to Do More Exercise |
| C．Fit Women Are Less Likely to Develop Dementia |
| D．Biking Improves Women's Cardiovascular Fitness |
8 . Not long after the first fitness magazine was published, a list probably followed soon after, ranking the best fitness equipment. This tradition has continued, with the implied message: use this and exercise will be yours.
And that's part of the problem, says Dr. Lieberman, a professor of Harvard University. There isn't one “best” anything to achieve fitness. Besides, people understand exercise is good for them. Knowledge about exercise still doesn't motivate.
Before you can answer why, it helps to look at history. Before the Industrial Revolution, people fetched water and walked up stairs because they had to. But then technology made life and work easier. Exercise has become something that people have to carve out time for. “It's a fundamental instinct to avoid physical activity when it's neither necessary nor rewarding,” he says.
It would seem like being healthy would qualify as necessary, but a doctor's prescription to exercise “can make it like taking cod liver oil,” Lieberman says. “Sometimes it works, but more often than not, it doesn't. And it's still coming across as an order, and “not having a heart attack in five years is not an immediate reward,” says Dr. Beth Frates, assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.
People might not want to exercise because it's never been enjoyable. Most of us probably have memories of gym class, not being picked for a team, or being in a fitness center that's filled with in-shape people. The majority don't feel excited. They feel that exercise isn't for them, but it can be. Coaching people in an empowering and motivating way can work much better than ordering someone to exercise. It starts with an expanded definition of what counts as exercise, and an injection of what's rarely used to describe exercise, but is certainly allowed: namely, fun.
1. What does the underlined “this” in paragraph 1 refer to?| A．The magazine. | B．The tradition. | C．The equipment. | D．The message. |
| A．It improves life quality. | B．It saves people's time. |
| C．It drives social progress. | D．It makes exercise less likely. |
| A．To attach importance to health. | B．To present a doctor's prescription. |
| C．To explain exercise is considered inessential. | D．To introduce the latest medical application. |
| A．Exercise should be made more joyful. | B．It's more fun to work out with others. |
| C．We may encounter bad workout experiences. | D．Orders work well to motivate people to exercise. |
9 . First it was jogging. Then aerobics (有氧运动). Not too long ago, Americans discovered race walking.
Now Americans are into a new fitness craze. They’re taking up bicycling. Over hills and down mountainsides and across quiet country roads, Americans are busily rolling along.
The number of adults who ride for fitness is around 17 million, an increase of 70 percent over four years ago. Twice as many women as men are coming to the sport. Americans are falling in love with biking because it has speed, the benefits of jogging and beautiful scenery.
Bicycling is a very appropriate sport, which is important to people who injured their knees while jogging or whose joints are aching from aerobics. And biking is a real awakening for people who have been into race walking in the past. Race walking is as dull as watching paint dry.
The most popular kind of bicycle for people who are new to the sport is the mountain bike, which has a fixed frame with wide tires and upright handles.
Mountain bikes also have many gears (齿轮) to make it easier to climb hills. About 5 million Americans ride mountain bikes, compared with 200, 000 who rode them only five years ago.
Costs range from about $130 for a bottom-of-the-line bicycle to more than $2,700 for an expensive bicycle.
Mountain biking has attracted some people who race down the sides of mountains like a bat out of hell. But most riders ride slowly and they rarely venture far from home.
The biking craze has brought an unexpected profit (盈利) to clothing and bicycle accessory (附属品) makers. Last year, bikers paid $630 million for biking clothes and accessories.
Bicycling seems likely to continue its fantastic growth.
1. Why is race walking as dull as watching paint dry?| A．Race walking is a slow-moving sport. |
| B．The number of adults who ride for fitness has grown 70 percent in four years. |
| C．It has speed, the benefits of jogging and beautiful scenery. |
| D．Americans are taking up bicycling. |
| A．People who want to ride like a bat out of hell. |
| B．Bicycle accessory makers. |
| C．Race walkers. |
| D．Twice as many women as men. |
| A．poor | B．modern | C．old | D．cheapest |
| A．Riding a bicycle is one of the most dangerous sports in America. |
| B．Americans are rolling along. |
| C．Bicycling is the latest fitness craze to hit America. |
| D．Most people in America want to own a hand-made bicycle that can cost more than $2,700. |
10 . 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. What advantage does race walking have over running?| 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. |
