1 . You may have seen them coming quickly towards you or passing you swiftly. They’re moving steadily, swinging what looks like a ski pole in each hand.
In the early days of Nordic walking, all walkers -- skiers and non-skiers alike- used ski poles. In 1988, an American company began making and selling poles especially for walking.
Although regular walking is healthy, studies have shown that Nordic walking is even healthier.
A.Nordic walking poles are shorter than ski poles. |
B.And there’s none of the danger of falling on skis. |
C.But you aren’t on a ski hill, and there’s no snow in sight. |
D.Nordic walking can be performed by anyone at any time. |
E.Nordic skiers don’t just slide down hills. |
F.Nordic walking is a form of popular sport. |
G.With each step, Nordic walkers push themselves forward with one of their poles. |
2 . Whether you prefer solo dancing or being involved in a more formalized program, dancing offers the obvious plus to your physical health. You're not only moving your body in a rhythmic way and expressing feelings but also burning calories in your body and getting a workout for sure.
In a recent study, researchers compared the effects of walking, stretching and dancing on the wiring and gray matter of the aging brain. The result showed dancing had the significantly positive effect.
In the experiment, after volunteers in their 60s and 70s with healthy brains didn't show signs of cognitive (认知的) disorder, researchers placed them in three groups at will. One group walked, another group stretched and did balance training and the last group learned country dancing. The arrangements of the dancing became progressively more challenging over time. They all did the assigned activity for one hour a day, three times a week. After a period of six months, the volunteers' brains were re-scanned and compared to their brains when they had begun their voluntary work.
Agnieszka Burzynska, the study's lead author who is currently a neuroscientist and director of the BRAiN Lab at Colorado State University, found only one group showed a memory improvement — the country dancers. The participants who learned country dancing now had richer white matter in the part of the brain that processed memory. White matter usually breaks down as a person ages, which may lead to cognitive decline. Dancing, therefore, protected the brain from aging-caused neurodegeneration. So, dancing is not just an aerobic activity good for your physical health. It helps your brain, too!
Country dancing, ballroom dancing, tango and waltz are all done with others. When you take part in these dances, you're involved in a beneficial social activity as well. You are also cognitively motivating your brain as you learn the steps of the dances. Dancing therefore might be one of the best physical activities you can choose for brain health.
1. What's the purpose of paragraph 1?A.To add background material. | B.To introduce the topic of the text. |
C.To raise questions about exercise. | D.To present experimental conditions. |
A.They were grouped at random. | B.They were under cognitive decline. |
C.They were all asked to learn dancing. | D.They were all born in the 1960s and 1970s. |
A.The brain function of volunteers. | B.The cognitive disorder of volunteers. |
C.The relationship between age and dancing. | D.The effect of dancing on the volunteers' brains. |
A.How Dancing Affects People's Lifestyle |
B.Why Dancing Is the Best Social Activity |
C.How Dancing Helps People's Brain Health |
D.Why Country Dancing Is Beneficial to People's Health |
3 . Swimming is an excellent form of exercise for beginners because it is gentle on the body. It does not shake your bones or damage your joints, but swimming is still effective for weight loss. Swimming improves your cardiovascular (心血管的) fitness and flexibility.
If you do not know how to swim, adult lessons are often available at gyms.
You will find that there are also posted rules about using the lanes (泳道) of the pool. This simply means that the pool is divided up so multiple people can use it at the same time. At times, you may share a lane with one or more other swimmers.
A.It can help recover soon |
B.Stay in the slow lane if you're new |
C.Besides, the water helps strengthen your muscles |
D.When this happens, think of it as driving on the highway |
E.If using a pool at a gym, you need follow certain pool rules |
F.This rule helps keep the pool water clean by removing body oils and sweat |
G.Even if you learned to swim as a child, you may want to consider signing up for a class |
4 . Why You Shouldn’t Exercise to Lose Weight
Many of us are starting (or restarting) exercise in hopes of losing unwanted pounds. Aiming to be more active is good. But if the main reason is to lose weight, your New Year’s resolution could be very well backfire.
Perhaps the biggest problem with exercising to drop pounds is that it turns physical activity into punishment—a price we have to pay for a slimmer body. How many times have you heard someone say (or said yourself) “I’ll do extra exercise” after eating too much during the holidays or at a celebratory dinner?
The takeaway is that we see exercise positively and actually do it when we focus on our well-being rather than our weight. For some, the motivation may be an improved mood or less stress. Others may find exercise makes them feel physically and mentally stronger.
A.It kind of made me give up |
B.So by all means, try to exercise regularly in 2022 |
C.While it’s not very helpful for melting away pounds |
D.When exercise fails to meet our weight-loss expectations |
E.The benefits of physical activity are well beyond these aspects |
F.We treat exercise as a form of self-punishment for being “bad” in the past |
G.For starters, exercise, at least the kind most of us do, is typically ineffective for weight loss |
5 . Yoga is an age-old practice that stretches the body and calms the mind. By performing a series of poses, called asanas, Yoga practitioners make themselves more flexible and relaxed. These results in lower blood pressure, a decrease in stress, and healthy muscles.
Let's get started from the most basic pose --- Mountain Pose. Standing barefoot on an anti-slip mat, put your feet side by side so that the basis of your big toes are touching.
A.It can be hard to balance in this way. |
B.Hold that pose and breathe in and out. |
C.Then you can try out Cat to Cow Pose. |
D.Perform these poses every day, if you can. |
E.But beyond its health benefits, yogurt has a lot of fun. |
F.If the stress hurts pull back and lie down slowly on the mat. |
G.Stand comfortably and adjust your feet till they feel good against the mat. |
6 . 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 |
7 . 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. |
8 . If you have watched the amazing Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, chances are that you have fallen in love with some winter sports and you’re already making sure your equipment is ready for them.
But there are still some other things to think about. Skiing and snowboarding are great winter sports that provide a total body workout.
A.Maybe you haven’t bought all the equipment. |
B.And that is when injuries are more likely to occur. |
C.Exercising in the cold decreases your body temperature. |
D.You should take advantage of this opportunity to have a rest. |
E.Probably, you have got your skis tuned and skates sharpened. |
F.All of them are areas that can be trained before the winter season. |
G.However, it can be hard on the body the first time you hit the slopes. |
9 . 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. |
10 . In 1965, three fathers in Washington faced a dilemma familiar to beleaguered (被困扰的) parents in 2021: How to keep their restless children entertained. They threw together wooden paddles, a badminton net and a plastic ball. The sport “pickleball” was born, with its name — according to one legend — originating from a dog named Pickle, which kept running away with the ball.
Today, pickleball, which is a hybrid (混合物) of tennis, badminton and ping-pong, is the fastest-growing sport in America. In the five years to the end of 2019, pickleball participation grew by more than 7%, while Americans’ overall activity level stayed flat, according to the Sport & Fitness Industry Association. And the sport has picked up more swing definitely, thanks to COVID-19 in 2020. Last March, when quarantines (隔离期) went into effect and gyms were closed, portable pickleball nets temporarily sold out. Players set up courts, which are half the size of tennis courts, in driveways.
The 3.5 million Americans who play pickleball are about one-tenth the number who golf and one-fifth the number who play tennis. Yet there are reasons to bet on the sport’s spread. Like many outdoor activities, pickleball is social, but it is easier to learn than tennis and faster and less expensive than golf. Country clubs and recreation centers across the country are changing some of their tennis courts into pickleball courts to meet demand. The more places there are to play, the more players will try the sport.
“Pickleball was seen as a threat in the tennis community,” says Stu Upson of USA Pickleball, the sport’s national governing body, who used to work for the International Tennis Hall of Fame. But now, he insists, it is viewed as an opportunity. Tennis pros are adding pickleball lessons to their list. As more people take up the sport, demand for televised matches and sponsorships will increase. “It’s reasonable that pickleball could become an Olympic sport. But to be recognized by the International Olympic Committee, we need at least 70 countries with pickleball federations (联合会), so it’s not going to be in the next four or eight years,” says Mr. Upson.
1. Why was pickleball invented initially?A.To afford children amusements. | B.To provide special training for dogs. |
C.To reduce parents’ pressure of work. | D.To help children build up their health. |
A.Pickleball has achieved its dominance in sports market in America. |
B.Playing pickleball was the most popular sport in the US during the quarantine. |
C.Americans’ participation in sports except pickleball decreased from 2015 to 2019. |
D.Pickleball began to regain its popularity around the world due to COVID-19. |
A.Its playing skills are easy to master. | B.It’s the first choice for people to socialize. |
C.It can replace other sports during COVID-19. | D.Its courts could easily be altered from tennis courts. |
A.Pickleball is bound to have a place at the Olympics. |
B.Tennis will fade out with the rapid spread of pickleball. |
C.Pickleball remains to be a major threat to tennis community. |
D.It would take great efforts for pickleball to be selected for the Olympics. |
A.Great popularity of pickleball in America. | B.The development of pickleball in America. |
C.The influence of pickleball on pecople’s lives. | D.The threat of pickleball in the tennis community. |