Your chair is your enemy. That is the conclusion of several recent studies. Among people who sit in front of the television for more than three hours each day, those who exercise are as fat as those who don’t.
So what’s wrong with sitting? The answer seems to have two parts. The first is that sitting is one of the most passive things you can do. Compared to sitting, standing in one place is hard work. To stand, you have to tense your leg muscles, and engage the muscles of your back and shoulders; while standing, you often shift from leg to leg. All of this burns energy.
You may think you have no choice about how much you sit. But this isn’t true. Suppose you sleep for eight hours each day, and exercise for one. That still leaves 15 hours of activities. Even if you exercise, most of the energy you burn will be burnt during these 15 hours, so weight gain is often the cumulative(累积的) effect of a series of small decisions: Do you take the stairs or the elevator? Do you walk to the corner store, or drive?
But it looks as though there’s a more sinister aspect to sitting. Some evidence suggests that when you spend long periods sitting, your body actually does things that are bad for you.
Lipoprotein lipase(蛋白脂酶) is a molecule that plays a central role in how the body processes fats. Low levels of lipoprotein lipase are associated with a variety of health problems. Studies in rats show that leg muscles only produce this molecule when they are actively being moved. The result is that when you sit, an important part of your metabolism(新陈代谢) slows down. You may also have a higher risk of suffering from diabetes(糖尿病).
Some people have advanced radical solutions to the sitting syndrome(综合症): replace your sit-down desk with a stand-up desk, or watch television in a rocking chair. But whatever you choose, know this. The data is clear; look out for your chair.What would be the best title of this passage?
| A．Become an Athlete to Be Healthy. |
| B．Choose a Better Chair for You. |
| C．How to Speed Up Your Metabolism. |
| D．Stand Up While You Read This. |
Paragraphs 2 and 3 tell us that .
| A．taking too much exercise harms people’s health |
| B．sitting a lot reduces the benefits of taking exercise |
| C．people needn’t depend on exercise to keep healthy |
| D．healthy people are those who sit less and stand more |
Which of the following is the best advice on how to control our weight?
| A．Exercising at least an hour a day. |
| B．Standing as long as possible. |
| C．Using our energy actively in daily life. |
| D．watching TV in a rocking chair. |
The author mentions lipoprotein lipase mainly to .
| A．show that it plays a big part in keeping us healthy |
| B．tell us that it isn’t produced while we are sitting |
| C．suggest that we should take less exercise to be healthy |
| D．prove sitting for long is bad for our body |
One day, a young man was cleaning out his late grandfather’s belongings when he came across a bright red envelope. Written on the front were the words, "To my grandson." Recognizing his grandfather’s handwriting ,the young man opened the envelope. A letter inside read:
Dear Ronny,
Years ago you came to me for help .You said, "Grandpa, how is it that you’ve accomplished so much in your life? You’re still full of energy, and I’m already tired of struggling. How can I get that same enthusiasm that you’ve got?"
I didn’t know what to say to you then. But knowing my days are numbered, I figure that I owe you an answer. So here is what I believe.
I think a lot of it has to do with how a person looks at things. I call it "keeping your eyes wide open."
First ,realize that life is filled with surprises, but many are good ones .If you don’t keep watching for them, you’ll miss half the excitement. Expect to be thrilled once in a while ,and you will be.
When you meet up with challenges, welcome them. They’ll leave you wiser ,stronger, and more capable than you were the day before .when you make a mistake ,be grateful for the things it taught you .Resolve to use that lesson to help you reach your goals.
And always follow the rules. Even the little ones. When you follow the rules, life works. If you think you ever really get by with breaking the rules, you’re only fooling yourself.
It’s also important to decide exactly what you want. Then keep your ming focused on it, and be prepared to receive it.
But be ready to end up in some new places too ,As you grow with the years, you’ll be given bigger shoes to fill. So be ready for endings as well as challenging beginnings.
Sometimes we have to be brave enough to move from the familiar to the unfamiliar .Life isn’t just reaching peaks, Part of it is moving from one peak to the next .If you rest too long in between, you might be tempted to quit .Leave the past in the past .Climb the next mountain and enjoy the view.
Dump things that weigh you down emotionally and spiritually. When an old resentment, belief, or attitude becomes heavy ,lighten your load. Shed those hurtful attitudes that slow you down and drain your energy.
Remember that your choices will create your successes and your failures. So consider all the pathways ahead, and decide which ones to follow. Then believe in yourself, get up, and get going.
And be sure to take breaks once in a while .They’ll give you a renewed commitment to your dreams and a cheerful, healthy perception of the things that matter the most to you .
Most important of all. never give up on yourself. The person that ends up a winner is the once who resolves to win. Give life everything you’ve got, and life will give its best back to you.
Love always,
GrandpaThe underlined part “But knowing my days are numbered” implies that .
| A．his grandpa could count days | B．his grandpa’s cach day was important |
| C．his grandpa knew he was dying | D．his grandpa was eager to tell the young man |
Why did the young man’s grandpa write this letter? Because .
| A．he wanted to recall his whole life |
| B．he wanted to tell his grandson how great he was |
| C．he wanted to explain how to keep energy |
| D．he wanted to show how to succeed |
The young man’s grandpa may agree .
| A．how a person looks at things has nothing to do with one’s future |
| B．we should be thankful for what mistakes teach us |
| C．successful life is just reaching peaks |
| D．It’s not so important to decide exactly what you want |
According to the passage, .
| A．learning to give up is very important | B．we’d better stay in the familiar |
| C．obeying little rules doesn’t matter | D．taking breaks once in a while is good to us |
From babies to body builders, we all have muscles. They grow, they bulge(鼓起), they stretch they stretch and sometimes they even painfully pull. But for all the work they do for us, we are still unable to crown one as "the strongest muscle."
Instead, a few muscles could claim the title, depending on how strength is measured.
If the title goes to the muscle that can exert(产生) the most force, the victor would be the soleus（小腿肚肌）, according to Gray’s Anatomy（解剖学）. Without this muscle, we wouldn’t be able to stand, walk, run or shake our bodies on the dance floor. If the soleus was not continuously pulling, we would always be falling over ourselves (although some of us tend to do that from time to time anyway).
But perhaps the title should go to the muscle that exerts the most pressure. Pressure is different from force — pressure takes into account the area over which a force is exerted. The muscle that takes the prize for delivering the greatest amount of pressure is the masseter, or the jaw muscle, according to the book "Clinical Oral Science" (Reed Educational and Professional Publishing, 1998).
In 1986, Richard Hofmann of Lake City, Fla., achieved a bite strength of 975 pounds (442 kilograms) for two seconds, setting a Guinness Record. Talk about jaw dropping! The jaw is able to clench（咬紧） and chew because of the masseter muscle.
Others may argue the muscles used in childbirth are the most powerful.
When it comes to versatility, perhaps the tongue is the strongest muscle. Its combination of elasticity（伸缩性） and forcefulness gives us the ability to speak, eat and kiss – all things very desirable on a first date. However dexterous（灵巧的） it may be though, its power does not match that of muscles such as the soleus.
If slow and steady wins the race, the heart is certainly a contender for the title. When it contracts, the muscle pumps about 2 ounces (59 milliliters) of blood, and is constantly working over a lifetime. Beating about 40 million times a year, a person’s heart will beat approximately 2.5 billion times by the time of their 70th birthday.According the passage, the underlined word “contender” in the last paragraph is closet in meaning to “ ”.
| A．failure | B．partner | C．muscle | D．competitor |
Which would be t he best title for the passage?
| A．What’s the strongest muscle in the human body? |
| B．who is the strongest person in the world? |
| C．What are the functions of different muscles? |
| D．What are the standards of the strongest muscle? |
According to the passage, .
| A．Without the soleus, we could still stand, walk, run or shake our bodies on the dance floor |
| B．a few muscles could be the winners, according to different measures |
| C．the muscles used in childbirth are the most powerful |
| D．tongue is the strongest muscle for delivering the greatest amount of pressure |
What would be discussed in the following paragraph?
| A．Another possible strongest muscle. | B．the conclusion of the strongest muscle. |
| C．The functions of different muscles. | D．the Guinness record of strongest muscle. |
Cittaslow has discovered China, and it is awarding a little village in Jiangsu the title of "slow city"
The bored teenagers of Gaochun are impatient with the leisurely pace of hometown life．For them there is no nightlife to speak of, no bright lights, no excitement and they cannot wait to grow up and leave for the urban attractions of the big cities．But it is this laid-back lifestyle that has attracted international attention．At least, a quiet village within Gaochun county has come under the spotlight．Yaxi village, population 20,000, is about to be designated China’s first "slow city" by Cittaslow, the sustainable lifestyle movement that first surfaced in Italy 11 years ago．
At home, the residents at Yaxi are unfazed and pretty much unimpressed by the honor．To them, life has been like this for as long as they can remember．Here, growing old gracefully is natural．
Nobody living in this little county had heard of Cittaslow or the words "slow city" before this．
"The first time I heard the term was last July, when the vice-president of Cittaslow, Angelo Vassallo, visited Yaxi village," says Zuo Niansheng, the chief editor of local newspaper Gaochun Today．
"Vassallo was deeply impressed by this village’s natural and cultural resources and said it perfectly fitted the requirements for a slow city," says Zuo．"That was how Yaxi became connected with Cittaslow．
The Slow City must also be committed to protect and maintain the natural environment as well as promote a sustainable way of development ?all of which are the current strategies adopted in Gaochun．"We’ve been doing this for years," adds Zuo．
Cittaslow was founded in Tuscany, Italy in 1999．It was a spin-off from the Slow Food movement which started, also in Italy, in 1986 as a protest against the first McDonald ’ s opening near the Spanish Steps in Rome．The movement championed a return to healthy, nutritious home-grown, home -cooked food．
Slow Food has since expanded globally to more than 130 countries．Its mission has also broadened to include the promotion of sustainable foods and local small businesses, and the localization as opposed to globalization of food production．
Cittaslow is an expansion of the Slow Food movement, and it actively advocates a lifestyle that is sustainable, that will improve quality of life, and will preserve cultural and culinary （烹饪的）heritage．According the passage, Cittaslow is a（n） ____．
| A．organization | B．person | C．lifestyle | D．honor |
What’ s the reaction of the residents at Yaxi to the award according the passage? They feel
| A．very excited． | B．very shocked |
| C．indifferent | D．very happy |
Why is the village Yaxi awarded the title of “slow city”? Because .
| A．it is full of excitement and activities of nightlife |
| B．the residents at Yaxi enjoy a leisure life |
| C．it is very rich and has a lot of attractions |
| D．foreign people like small towns than big cities. |
It can be inferred from the passage that .
| A．young people at Yaxi enjoy their life very much |
| B．China is more and more popular with foreign people |
| C．the first McDonald’s in Europe was opened in Spain |
| D．the lifestyle of “slow city” will be good to environment and people |
Contrary to common belief, social media websites such as Facebook do not weaken personal ties, they strengthen them in unique ways for different age groups, according to a new study．
The rapid spread of Facebook, which has more than 500 million users worldwide, has prompted concerns about its negative effects, but researchers at the University of Texas have reached a different conclusion．
"Our findings suggest that Facebook is not replacing face-to-face interactions between friends, family and colleagues," said S．Craig Watkins, an associate professor of radio, TV and film who headed the research team．
"In fact, we believe there is sufficient evidence that social media afford opportunities for new expressions of friendship, intimacy and community．"
The researchers questioned 900 college students and recent graduates about how and with whom they interact on Facebook．
More than 60 percent of Facebook users said posting status updates was among the most popular activities, followed by 60 percent who wrote comments on their profile and 49 percent who posted messages and comments to friends．
The researchers also found that although about the same number of men and women use Facebook, they do so in different ways．
"There is a noteworthy difference in aims in how to use a tool like Facebook．We found that for women the content tends to be more affectionate, and （they） are especially interested in using it for connection," said Watkins．
"For men, it’s more functional," he added．
Watkins pointed out that, for example, women are more likely to post pictures of social gatherings with friends, while men are more likely to post pictures of hobbies, or post a political or pop-culture related link．What’s the popular viewpoint of ordinary people about the function of social media websites? They think ____．
| A．It is positive to personal ties |
| B．It has negative effects on personal ties |
| C．It makes no difference to personal ties |
| D．It has both good and bad effects to personal ties |
What’s the meaning of the underlined word in the second paragraph?
| A．resulted from | B．had | C．showed | D．produced |
What do Facebook users like to do mostly on Facebook? They like to ____．
| A．create new expressions of friendship ’ |
| B．wrote comments on their profile |
| C．update their personal statuses |
| D．post messages and comments to friends |
According to the study, ____．
| A．Men concentrate more on the functions of Facebook |
| B．Much more men use Facebook than women |
| C．Men and women use a tool like Facebook for the same aim |
| D．Facebook is taking the place of face-to-face interactions between friends |
Three-Dimensional （3D） movies have been becoming more and more popular in recent years．It seems 3D TV sets may be going into family households in the near future．While new digital 3D technology has made the experience more comfortable for many, for some with eye problems, long 3D viewing may result in an aching head, doctors say．
"There are a lot of people walking around with very minor eye problems, which under normal situations, the brain deals with naturally," said Dr Michael Rosenberg, an ophthalmologist （眼科医师） in Chicago．He said in a 3D movie, these people face a completely new sensory experience．"That translates into greater mental effort, making it easier to get a headache," Rosenberg told Reuters．
In normal vision, each eye sees things at a slightly different angle．"When that gets processed in the brain, that creates the perception （感觉） of depth," said Dr Deborah Friedman, an ophthalmologist in New York．The images people see in three dimensions in the movies are not calibrated （校准的） in the same way that their eyes and brain are．"If your eyes are a little off to begin with, then it’s really throwing a whole degree of effort that your brain now needs
to exert （竭尽全力）," he said．
Dr John Hagan, a Kansas City ophthalmologist, said some people who do not have normal depth perception cannot see in 3D at all．He said people with eye muscle problems, in which the eyes are not pointed at the same object, have trouble processing 3D images．
Rock Heineman, a spokesman for RealD, a provider of 3D equipment to theaters, said headaches and nausea were the main reasons 3D technology never took off．
Heineman said older 3D technology used two film projectors（放映机）, one that projected a left-eye image and one that projected a right-eye image．Three-D glasses would allow viewers to see a different image in each eye．
"People often complained of headaches and it was really because the projectors weren’t lined up," Heineman said．
Now his company has developed a new single digital projector, which switches between the left and the right-eye image 144 times a second, to help overcome some of the old problems．
"By going to a single digital projector, those problems were solved," he said．Friedman said he thinks most people will do fine with 3D movies and with 3D TVs, but Rosenberg said people may quickly tire of the novelty （新鲜事物）．"I suspect there will be a lot of people who say it’s sort of neat, but it’s not really comfortable," he said．The text is mainly about ____．
| A．the reasons why people like 3D movies |
| B．how to improve 3D technology |
| C．the development of 3D technology in recent years |
| D．causes of headaches and nausea when people watch 3D movies |
The underlined phrase "took off" could be replaced by "______"．
| A．became popular |
| B．flew in the sky |
| C．left hurriedly |
| D．removed one’s clothes |
This article implies that _____．
| A．people do not like new things like 3D movies |
| B．3D TVs will completely take the place of old TV sets |
| C．3D technology is the most important technology ever |
| D．those with eye muscle problems should not watch 3D movies |
We can learn from what Rosenberg said in the last paragraph that
| A．a single digital projector could solve all the problems with 3D technology |
| B．people will gradually become comfortable with 3D movies and TVs |
| C．the appeal of 3D movies and "TVs may fade |
| D．most people will actually enjoy the 3D experience |
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