Canadian scientists have found that the more emotional or mental challenges a person faces in a day, the less determined they become to work out physically.
However, the findings should not stop us from keeping fit. Experts believe that willpower (意志力)is like a muscle, and needs to be exercised to help one avoid the temptation (诱惑)spending a night on the couch instead.
Kathleen Martin --Ginis, a professor of kinesiology---the science of movement 一 who led the study, says everyone has a limited amount of willpower, and that it will be reduced by stress. Miss Martin --Ginis, of Canada' s McMaster University, explains, "Cognitive (认知的)tasks, as well as tasks such as regulating (调整)one' s emotions, can reduce one' s capacity to force oneself to exercise."
Her team of scientists performed a so-- called " Stroop" test on volunteers to reach their conclusions. The experiment involved showing participants words associated with colors but printed in different colors, for example, the word " blue " written in red ink . Participants were divided into two groups. One group was asked to name the color of the ink, instead to say the printed word, while the other wasn't Martin ― Ginis says," After we used this cognitive task to use up their self--regulatory capacity, the participants didn't exercise as hard as those who had not performed the task.The more people concentrated on the cognitive task, the more likely they were to skip exercise sessions (活动时间)over the next eight weeks. You only have so much willpower .
However, there are ways to strengthen willpower. The study found the listening to music before going to the gym can help, as well as making a commitment to work out with friends. It also concluded that willpower can be stretched by constantly taking, or forcing oneself to study an extra hour each night.
Martin - Ginis adds, "There are strategies people can use to help revitalize (使恢复活动) themselves after they’ve used up their self-regulation. Willpower is like a muscle: it needs to be used to stay strong.
1.According to the experts, human willpower ____________.      .
A.     can be exercised through muscle movement
B.     can regulate itself to resist temptations
C.     is weakened by stressful cognitive or emotional tasks
D.     is reduced by lack of physical exercise.
2.We learn from Paragraph 4 that the experiment__________..
A.     made use of the Stroop test
B.     asked one group of participants to name the words
C.     required researchers to write the word "blue" in red ink to make it easily recognizable.
D.     showed that those who hadn't performed the task were smarter than those who had
3.Which of the following is in agreement with Miss Martin ― Ginis' idea?
A.     Human's willpower is limited to a certain level
B.     The cognitive tasks could make people ignore exercise
C.     Challenging tasks could make people ignore exercise
D.     Exercise is an important way to strengthen one's willpower.
4.What can we infer from the passage?
A.     Willpower can be challenged to become powerful.
B.     McMaster University is famous for its kinesiology.
C.     Effective ways to resist temptations have been found.
D.     the study has an impact on the science of movement.