Mark Ramirez, a senior executive at AOL, could work in the comfortable leather chair, if he wanted. No, thanks. He prefers to stand most of the day at a desk raised above stomach level.
“I’ve got my knees bent. I feel totally alive,” he said. “It feels more natural to stand.”
In the past few years, standing has become the new sitting for 10 percent of AOL employees at the firm’s Virginia branch. Part of a standing popularity is among accountants, programmers, telemarketers and other office workers across the nation.
GeekDesk, a California firm that sells desks raised by electric motors, says sales will triple this year.
Standers give various reasons for taking to their feet: It makes them feel more focused, prevents drowsiness(困倦睡意), and makes them feel like a general even if they just push paper. (Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfels works standing up. So does novelist Philip Roth.)
But unknown to them, a debate (辩论) is spreading among ergonomics experts（人类工程学家） and public-health researchers about whether all office workers should be encouraged to stand—to save lives.
Doctors point to surprising new research showing higher rates of diabetes, obesity, heart disease and even mortality among people who sit for long stretches. A study earlier this year in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed that among 123,000 adults followed over 14 years, those who sat more than six hours a day were at least 18 percent more likely to die during the time period studied than those who sat less than three hours a day.
“Every rock we turn over when it comes to sitting is astonishing,” said Marc Hamilton, a leading researcher on inactivity physiology at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana. “Sitting is harmful. It’s dangerous. We are on the cusp (尖端) of a major revolution.” He calls sitting “the new smoking”.
Not so fast, other experts say. Standing too much at work will cause more long-term back injuries. Incidences of varicose veins(静脉曲张) among women will increase. The heart will have to pump more.
Hedge, the Cornell professor, isn’t a fan of all this standing. “Making people stand all day is dumb,” he said.
The sensible and most cost-effective strategy（策略）, he said, is to sit in a neutral posture（姿势）, slightly reclined(下弯的), with the keyboard on a tray above the lap. This position promotes positive blood flow. Workers should occasionally walk around, stretch and avoid prolonged periods at the desk. The key, he said, is movement, not standing.
1.Marc Hamilton said “Every rock we turn over when it comes to sitting is astonishing” to show that________.
A. the result of the study about sitting too long is shocking
B. we need to remove many rocks
C. we need to smooth away many difficulties
D. sitting on a rock is necessary
2. The following are the reasons why some experts are against standing too long except .
A. It will cause more long-term back injuries
B. it will raise the burden of heart
C. incidences of varicose veins among women will increase
D. standing too much at work per day is too tiring
3. According to the studies in the passage mentioned, .
A. it is better not to stand more than 6 hours
B. sitting too long can arouse illnesses easily
C. sitting long is specially harmful to adults
D. standing much is better than sitting long
4.Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A. Standing is not better than sitting
B. Standing more does no harm to people
C. Standing will promote the efficiency
D. More office workers take standing against sitting
It's not a new phenomenon, but have you noticed how many nouns are being used as verbs? We all use them, often without noticing what we're doing.
I was arranging to meet someone for dinner last week, and I said “I’ll pencil it in my diary”, and my friend said “You can ink it in”, meaning that it was a firm arrangement not a tentative one!
Many of these new verbs are linked to new technology. An obvious example is the word fax. We all got used to sending and receiving faxes, and then soon started talking about faxing something and promising we'd fax it immediately. Then along came email, and we were soon all emailing each other madly. How did we do without it? I can hardly imagine life without my daily emails.
Email reminds me, of course, of my computer and its software, which has produced another
couple of new verbs. On my computer I can bookmark those pages from the World Wide Web that I think I'll want to look at again, thus saving all the effort of remembering their addresses and calling them up from scratch. I can do the same thing on my PC, but there I don't bookmark; I favorite—coming from “favorite pages”, so the verb is derived from an adjective not a noun.
Now my children bought me a mobile phone, known simply as a mobile and I had to learn yet more new verbs. I can message someone, that is, I can leave a message for them on their phone. Or I can text them, write a few words suggesting when and where to meet, for example. How long will it be before I can mobile them, that is, phone them using my mobile? I haven’t heard that verb yet, but I’m sure I will soon. Perhaps I’ll start using it myself!
1. “I’ll pencil it in my diary” in the second paragraph probably means .
A. it was a firm arrangement
B. it was an uncertain arrangement
C. the arrangement should be written as a diary
D. he prefers a pencil to a pen
2.A website address can be easily found if it has been______.
A. emailed B. messaged C. favorited D. texted
3.Which of the following has not been used as a verb, yet?
A. message B. page C. email D. mobile
4.The best title for this passage is____.
A. New Verbs from Nouns
B. The Development of the English language
C. New Technology and New words
D. Technology and Language.
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to play the character of Ronald McDonald for the McDonald's Corporation.
One day each month，we visited hospitals bringing a little happiness to the children there. But there were two rules placed on me during a visit. First, I could not go anywhere in the hospital without permission. And second, I could not physically touch anyone within the hospital. They did not want me to carry germs(细菌)from one patient to another. Breaking either of these rules, I was told, I could lose my job. One day, as I was heading down a hallway and on my way home, I heard a little voice coming through a halfopened door，“Ronald，Ronald.”
I stepped in and saw a boy，about five years old, lying in his dad's arms, Mom with a nurse on the other side. I knew by the feeling in the room that the situation was grave. I asked his name. He told me it was Billy and that I did a few simple magic tricks for him. As I stepped back to say goodbye, he asked me “Ronald, would you hold me？”
At such a simple request, my heart was screaming, “Yes！”But my mind was screaming louder. “No！You are going to lose your job！”
“Hold me” was such a simple request, and yet I searched for any reasonable excuses that allowed me to leave, but none. It took me a moment to realize that in this situation, losing my job may not be the disaster I feared. Then, I picked up this little boy. He was so weak and so scared. We laughed and cried for 45 minutes. With tears in my eyes, I left them. Less than 48 hours later, I received a phone call from Billy's mom that Billy had passed away. She and her husband simply wanted to thank me for making a difference in their little boy's life.
Billy's mom told me shortly after I left the room. Billy looked at her and said, “Momma, I don't care any more if I see Santa this year because I was held by Ronald McDonald.”
For the record, McDonald's Corporation did find it out, but, given the situation，permitted me to go on with my job. I continued as Ronald for another year before leaving the corporation to share the story of Billy and how important it is to take risks.
1. The underlined word “grave” in Paragraph 3 means “________”.
A. weak B. serious C. interesting D. exciting
2.When Billy asked the author to hold him, at first the author ________.
A. was unwilling to do so B. was glad to do so
C. hesitated to do so D. hurried to do so
3.What lesson did the author draw from his experience?
A. To amuse others is enjoyable. B. To take risks is important.
C. To break rules is necessary. D. To be fired is not fearful.
4. We learn from the story that ________.
A.the author left the corporation because he broke the rules
B.the author left the corporation because he didn't like the rules
C.the boy was quite happy with the experience with the author
D.the boy was quite happy with Santa at Christmas
It was a cold winter. The day my husband fell to his death, it started to snow, just 36 any November day. His 37 , when I found it, was lightly covered with snow. It snowed almost every day for the next four months, while I sat on the couch and watched it 38 . One morning, I walked slowly 39 and was surprised to see a snow remover clearing my driveway and the bent back of a woman clearing my walk. I dropped to my knees and crawled back upstairs, 40 those good people would not see me. I was 41 . My first thought was, how would I ever 42 them? I didn’t have the 43 to brush my hair, 44 clear someone’s walk.
Before Jon’s death, I felt proud that I 45 asked for favors. I identified myself by my competence（能力） and 46 . So who was I if I was no longer capable? How could I 47 myself if I just sat on the couch every day and watched the snow fall?
Learning to receive the love and 48 from others wasn’t easy. Friends cooked for me and I cried. Finally, my friend Kathy said, “Mary, cooking for you isn’t a 49 for me; it makes me feel good to be able to do something for you.”
Over and over, I heard 50 words from the people who supported me during those 51 days. One wise man told me, “You aren’t doing nothing because being fully open to your 52 may be the hardest work you will ever do.”
I am not the person I 53 was, but in many ways I have changed for the 54 . I’ve been surprised to learn that there is incredible freedom coming from 55 one’s worst fear and walking away whole. I believe there is strength, for sure, in accepting a dark period of our life.
1.A. on
B. in
C. like
D. for
2.A. body
B. soul
C. shoe
D. footprint
3. A. sweep up
B. drop off
C. fall down
D. pile up
4.A. upstairs
B. downstairs
C. indoors
D. outdoors
5.A. so
B. yet
C. and
D. for
6.A. delighted
B. disappointed
C. annoyed
D. ashamed
7.A. pay
B. award
C. reward
D. treat
8.A. courage
B. strength
C. spirit
D. power
9.A. stand alone
B. leave alone
C. sit alone
D. let alone
10.A. frequently
B. gradually
C. hardly
D. uncertainly
11.A. intelligence
B. independence
C. excellence
D. qualification
12. A. achieve
B. praise
C. respect
D. promote
13.A. supply
B. support
C. contribution
D. similar
14. A. burden
B. job
C. business
D. sorrow
15. A. sensitive
B. same
C. considerate
D. similar
16. A. blue
B. rainy
C. bright
D. snowy
17.A. despair
B. difficulty
C. pain
D. regret
18.A. still
B. once
C. even
D. never
19.A. worse
B. less
C. more
D. better
20. A. facing
B. noticing
C. managing
D. expressing
Jack got________kick out of going for________walk after dinner when he was young.
A. a; 不填 B. a; a C. 不填; the D. the; a
—My daughter mastered English in less than two years.
—Did she? She________have a gift for languages.
A. can B. would C. should D. must
