1 . No Excuse Workout
Nobody likes a complicated workout program. Too often you find yourself buying highly complex programs which take up hours upon hours of your week.
That stops today.
No Excuse Workout is a new workout DVD that includes2 DVDs each packed with10 short, intense(激烈的) workouts. Every workout is exactly 4 minutes long, broken down into 8 specific sets. Each set lasts for 30 seconds——20 seconds of intense exercise and 10 seconds of rest.
All you have to do is follow along with Ryan as he takes you through these quick, effective, four-minute workouts.
After years of research, scientists have discovered that the key to burning fat and building muscles is not longer workouts. Instead, it’s the right combination of correct exercises——intense bursts with short rests. This is known as “interval training”. For more information, read The Science Behind High Intensity Interval Training.
No Excuse Workout DVD#l:10 Dumbbell(哑铃) Workouts
When you work out with Ryan in the first DVD, you’ll use inexpensive dumbbells in 10 different muscle-building, fat-burning workouts.
No Excuse Workout DVD #2:10 Bodyweight Training Workouts
This DVD is your secret to uncovering the lean, sculpted(雕塑般的) body.
No equipment needed! Most of the workouts are done on the ground.
Pop them in your DVD player and you won’t need one or two hours some people spend every day to get in shape.
Get these DVDs today for just $14.95.
1. What is a selling point of No Excuse Workout?| A．It includes a dumbbell as a gift. |
| B．It saves you lots of time on exercise. |
| C．It urges you to accept a healthy lifestyle. |
| D．It introduces to you some personal trainers. |
| A．40 minutes. | B．45 minutes. | C．60 minutes. | D．80 minutes. |
| A．By providing examples. | B．By using recommendations. |
| C．By giving scientific support. | D．By charging a cheap price. |
2 . Sports day! These two words can inspire both joy and fear in the hearts of students everywhere.
Today, more and more schools have recognized the importance of exercise. Many of them have non-competitive” sports days. They hope that by making sports days less competitive, children of all abilities will be encouraged to take part without fear of losing. Exercise and fitness is important for everyone, no matter how good at sport you are.
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.
People have different ideas about whether it is the winning or the taking part that counts when it comes to school sports days
| A．What’s the point if no one wins? |
| B．Should sport just be about winning? |
| C．For many, sports day can be a great day of fun. |
| D．So, should School Sports Day be competitive or not? |
| E．Everyone should be celebrated for trying and playing their part. |
| F．There are lots of people who agree with the idea—parents in particular! |
| G．Many parents are worried that their kids can get injured when doing sports. |
3 . “Running is so natural—it’s something we’ve been doing for thousands of years, and it’s something very enjoyable.” The words of Tao Geoghegan Hart, a professional (专业的) cyclist. As an ambassador (大使) for The Daily Mile, a movement that calls for one simple thing—15 minutes of daily exercise, where children run, walk, jog or skip one mile—he encourages any form of exercise and movement.
Geoghegan Hart sees schools as key to setting young people up for life with good sporting habits. “When you’re school age, sport can encourage you and take hold of you and change you more than at any other age,” he explains. “Yes, we all go on journeys with sport, but when you look back at those journeys, they start with your childhood.”
One big attraction of taking part in The Daily Mile is that it is a cost-free way in which schools can encourage regular exercise. Geoghegan Hart says he hopes The Daily Mile will encourage children to try and be more active in the future. “Something as simple as The Daily Mile can lead to much more,” he says.
At Cowley Hill Primary School, head teacher Louise Thomas says that they’ve found the movement has had a great positive influence upon the lives of their learners. Charlie Honour, year-5 teacher and PE subject leader at St Peter’s School, says that although the activity takes place out on the field, it has classroom benefits (效益,受益), too. “I find that the children are more willing to complete class work,” says Honour. “I think it is because they know they will soon be outside and getting some fresh air.”
1. What can be learned about The Daily Mile from paragraph 1?| A．It is a sports club. | B．It is a cycling race. |
| C．It is a call for exercise. | D．It is a plan for running tests. |
| A．They are easily encouraged. |
| B．They are more likely to benefit. |
| C．They have more time for sports. |
| D．They have teachers to coach them. |
| A．It’ll attract more schools to it. |
| B．It’ll start more similar projects. |
| C．It’ll get more support from the government. |
| D．It’ll push children to lead a more active life. |
| A．Its influence on students. |
| B．Its influence on teachers. |
| C．Its differences among schools. |
| D．Its differences among players. |
4 . Some people prefer to have a bite to eat before hitting the gym, known as a fed workout. Others would like to wait until after exercising to refuel their bodies, called a fasted workout.
If you want energy and strength for an ideal workout, you need fuel. A fed workout will provide your body with power. Eating before exercise may help you sustain longer sessions and lift heavier weights.
Many fitness enthusiasts are not on board with this idea. They report feeling sick and inactive while trying to exercise after eating. With a fasted workout, you may not get the usual indigestion. Experts for fasted workouts further claim that eating afterwards makes your body use its fat reserves for energy, meaning you will burn more fat.
Deciding when to eat for an ideal workout is a personal choice. Both fasted workouts and fed activities have their benefits and shortcomings.
| A．However, a fasted workout might not work for you. |
| B．How your body will respond is based on your workout intensity. |
| C．These benefits can result in burning more fat and shaping a slimmer body. |
| D．To eat or not to eat, that is the question on many fitness enthusiasts’ minds. |
| E．Think thoroughly and discuss with your fitness instructor before taking a choice. |
| F．Knowing what to eat for an ideal workout is just as important as knowing when to eat. |
| G．A person doing a 30-minute session a day may not have a problem with fasted workouts. |
5 . When you love working out, taking a break from exercise can seem a waste of time — there are training plans to follow and goals to be met. So, what’s the problem? According to new research, excessive training can be damaging to mental well-being.
“The benefits of regular physical activity are well-established, but it’s possible to have too much of a good thing, says Janet, an expert at physical training. But how do you know if you’re doing too much? ”Over-exercising can mean training for too long or too intensely without enough rest for your personal limits,” she says. “Some of us may feel unable to stop.” Indeed, one research shows almost 40 percent of us feel guilty if we miss a workout and less than 59 percent regularly take a rest day. So should you be taking more time out?
By exercising beyond your limits, not only could you injure your body and reduce muscle mass, you could also end up feeling anxious, too. Over-exercising can impact your mood, relationships and ability to function in other areas of your life, warns Janet. “Exercise releases the stress hormone cortisol. For most people, this can help you better manage stress levels. Over-exercising, however, can lead to increased levels of cortisol in the blood stream which can lead to poor sleep, depression and problems with memory and concentration.”
Still not convinced? If you find it hard to put down your trainers, you’re not alone. Up to 10 percent of endurance athletes are affected by overtraining syndrome, with common effects including muscle soreness, persistent fatigue and even mental breakdown, says Professor James. “In addition, over-exercise can stimulate hyper inflammation, which has a severe effect on brain health.” There is a simple solution, however. “It has been shown that exhaustion may be delayed almost indefinitely by frequent and regular short breaks,” assures James.
1. What is Janet’s attitude towards excessive exercising?| A．Favorable. | B．Tolerant. | C．Ambiguous. | D．Disapproving. |
| A．Definitions of over-exercising. |
| B．Effects of excessive exercising. |
| C．Benefits of exercising with friends. |
| D．Approaches to reaching people’s limits. |
| A．Over-exercising can lead to severe stress problems. |
| B．Taking a rest from over-exercising could ease tiredness. |
| C．Brain health can be guaranteed by improving concentration. |
| D．Over-training syndrome is common for those who exercise regularly. |
| A．What is regular exercising? | B．Say no to extreme exercise. |
| C．Take a short break from exercise. | D．How to balance exercise and work? |
6 . Games like Pump It Up are enjoyable because it takes things that make games addictive—points, levels and challenges, for example—and puts them and physical movement together.
Have an objective.
When you’re playing a game, there’s always an objective.
Compete against others.
Research suggests that adding an element of competition to your exercise routine can actually help you work out harder.
Researchers found that collaboration—getting a group to work together toward a common goal—was also an effective way to increase physical activity. So grab a close friend or family member and bring them to the gym with you—there’s a reason why the “gym buddy” exists.
Add an element of novelty.
Some people love video games because there’s a lot of unpredictability and surprise. You can recreate this sense of wonder in your own exercises.
| A．Look for opponents. |
| B．Team up with partners. |
| C．It needs to be both specific and challenging. |
| D．You can participate in a step-tracking challenge. |
| E．Take photos of at least 5 different flowers on your neighborhood walk. |
| F．It helps you focus and motivates you to keep playing until you win the game. |
| G．This powerful combination motivates people to keep on playing and exercising. |
7 . Everyone knows the benefits of exercise: stronger muscles, more energy, weight management.
lf your primary aim is to improve your mood, the bar for what counts as exercise is far lower than itis for weight loss or fitness gains. You can see very large mental benefits with low-intensity exercise.
When any movement can bring benefits, the best activity is one you like to do ---- whether that's swimming, team sports or dancing.
Is it possible to overdo it? The answer is yes. A minority will even develop clinical depression as a result of overtraining. But these bad effects are restricted to serious athletes.
| A．Consistency is the key to mood lifting. |
| B．So the type of workout you do really matters. |
| C．A mood boost is often considered an added bonus. |
| D．You can seek out an activity that makes you feel good. |
| E．For the rest of us, any movement can only be beneficial. |
| F．What's more, moderate exercise can have huge mental benefits. |
| G．It's not like the longer or harder you exercise, the better you feel. |
8 . Here we’ve got three tips to help you start an exercise habit that can stick. It’s a lot easier than you think.
You don’t have to be a marathoner to get meaningful health benefits from exercise. Experts say even daily activities, which include mopping the floor, organizing a room or carrying groceries up the stairs can reduce the risk of diseases like diabetes, heart disease and even some cancers.
So remind yourself that it’s not a choice between hours-long workout or nothing at all. Instead, think of starting an exercise routine like standing up from your chair and sitting back down repeatedly.
Focus on how exercise makes you feel great
There are so many positives that happen when you move. It improves all the tasks that demand focus and creativity. It helps you generate energy. It boosts mood.
Forget long- term benefits like weight loss or better overall health.
Figure out what kind of exercise and workout location makes you feel good
If weightlifting in a crowded gym gives you anxiety, try to get a set of weights for home or follow workout videos on YouTube or ride a bike in the park.
| A．Start small and every movement counts |
| B．They often take much longer time to achieve |
| C．Focus on immediate payoffs like improved mood and energy |
| D．In short, any movement helps to clear fat and sugar out of blood |
| E．Remember, when you have more energy, you’re a happier person |
| F．Keep trying until you find a workout routine that makes you happy |
| G．No matter how modest those goals are, they create this feeling like I can do more |
9 . Over the past decades, experts have done a considerable amount of research to explore different ways to encourage children’s learning. Especially, there has been a common focus on how physical activity, separated from the learning activities, can improve children’s learning. However, there has been less of a focus aimed the potential of integrating physical activity into the learning activities.
The main purpose of the Basket Mathematics study conducted at five Danish primary and elementary schools by researchers from the University of Copenhagen therefore was to develop a learning activity that integrates basketball and mathematics and examine how it might affect children’s motivation for mathematics.
756 children from 40 different classes at Copenhagen area schools participated in the project, where about half of them－once a week for six weeks－had Basketball Mathematics during gym class, while the other half played basketball without mathematics.
“During classes with Basketball Mathematics, the children had to collect numbers and perform calculations associated with various basketball exercises. An example could be counting how many times they could sink a basket from three meters away vs at a one-meter distance, and adding up the numbers. Both the math and basketball elements could be adjusted to suit the children’s levels, as well as being adjusted for whether it was addition, multiplication or some other operations that needed to be practiced,” explains Linn Damsgaard, a leading researcher.
The results showed that children’s motivation for math integrated with basketball was 16% higher compared to classroom math learning. Children also experienced a 14% increase in self-determination compared with classroom teaching. Meanwhile Basketball Mathematics improved their math confidence.
“We are planning to do research to examine whether the Basketball Mathematics model can strengthen performance in mathematics. Once we have the final results, we hope that they will inspire school teachers and principals to prioritize more physical activity and movement in such subjects. Eventually, we hope to succeed in putting these tools into school system and teacher education,” says Associate Professor Jacob Wienecke.
1. What is the purpose of paragraph 1?| A．To show the advantage of the study. | B．To explain the reason for the study. |
| C．To conduct a review of past research. | D．To introduce a way to raise math grades. |
| A．All kids didn’t play basketball. | B．Kids were divided into 40 groups. |
| C．It studied kids’math performance. | D．It tailored activities to different kids. |
| A．More motivation for exercise. | B．More confidence in basketball. |
| C．A gain in desire to learn math. | D．A rise in determination to learn. |
| A．Make math learning easier. | B．Inspire students’ math confidence. |
| C．Build physical activity into teaching. | D．Notice the benefits of physical exercise. |
10 . Bouncier running shoes may be bad
Despite regular changes in running shoes over the years, it is estimated that every year at least a third of runners get muscle or joint injuries caused by repeated striking of the ground. Many sports shoe-makers have begun adding extra material to running shoes, to try to soften the impact on the legs — so-called maximalist footwear.
A new study suggests this is because the extra cushioning alters the spring-like mechanics of the legs of a runner in a way that means their legs experience a greater impact with every step.
Juha-Pekka Kulmala at the University of Helsinki in Finland and his colleagues studied the biomechanics of 12 healthy men aged between 22 and 32 as they ran in two shoes types.
The first wore regular running shoes with 33 millimetres of cushioning under the heel and 22 millimetres under the forefoot, and then highly-cushioned shoes with a heel 43 millimetres thick and a forefoot of 37 millimetres.
The participants ran at two set speeds — 10 and 15 kilometres per hour — along a 30-metre platform that measured how hard their feet hit the ground. They also wore reflective stickers that allowed video cameras to capture their motion for analysis.
Normally when we run, our legs act like springs, with the ankle and knee joints bending, so that the leg as a whole compresses (压缩) as the foot lands, says Kulmala. But because highly cushioned shoes already compress under the feet, our bodies subconsciously respond by no longer bending the leg joints as much. In other words, our legs become stiffer (更僵硬的).
Kade Paterson at the University of Melbourne in Australia says the findings make sense from a biomechanical point of view.
| A．The video suggested this was because the runners bent their knees and ankles less when they wore the maximalist shoes. |
| B．But injury rates haven’t fallen. |
| C．This means running in maximalist shoes may raise the risk of injuries. |
| D．Like many health-related things, we should be somewhere in the middle. |
| E．At both speeds, the runners landed on their feet harder when they wore the maximalist shoes than the regular kind. |
| F．However, he also maintains that long-term research is needed to see if maximalist shoes really lead to more injuries. |
