Getting active in midlife could be as good for you as starting young when it comes to reducing the risk of an early death, researchers have suggested. But experts say the study also shows that the benefits fade once exercise declines.
“If you maintain an active lifestyle or participate in some sort of exercise from youth to middle age, you can reduce your risk for dying,” said Dr. Pedro Saint-Maurice, the lead author of the research. “If you are not active and you get to your 40s - 50s and you decide to become active, you can still enjoy a lot of those benefits.”
The study was based on data from more than 300,000 Americans aged 50 - 71 who undertook a questionnaire(问卷) in the late-1990s. They were asked to recall the extent of their moderate to vigorous leisure exercise at different stages of their life. Researchers then used national records to track who died in the years up to the end of 2016. After taking into account factors including age, sex, smoking and diet, the team found that those who were exercising into middle age had a lower risk of death than those who had never carried out any leisure exercise. However, when the team looked at different patterns in the way people were active over their life, it found a surprise.
Men and women who started exercising at the age of 40 - 50 reduced their risk of death from any cause by about 35%. The benefit was similar to that seen for people who reached and maintained similar activity from their teens or 20s onwards.
However, the study found that the protective effect of exercise did not last forever. People whose levels of leisure exercise decreased by middle age had no difference in the risk of an early death to those who had always been couch potatoes. “If you have been active and you slowly decrease your exercise participation as you age, you lose a lot of the benefits that we know are associated with exercise,” Saint - Maurice said.
But the study has limitations, including that it is based on individuals recalling how active they were many years before. What’s more, the research looked only at death records, not other aspects of health such as levels of sickness and disease. Nonetheless, he said, the message was positive. “This adds to the growing body of evidence about the importance of physical activity and exercise across he life course, and indicates that it is never too late to start.”
1.Which of the following is TRUE about the study?
A.The study took about two decades to complete.
B.The study involved around 30,000 elderly Americans.
C.Questionnaires and interviews were the sources of data.
D.The participants in the study took regular physical exercise.
2.According to the passage, what does “a surprise” (Para.3) refer to?
A.The earlier you exercise, the greater your health benefits will be.
B.Participating in exercise from youth to middle age benefits one’s health greatly.
C.The benefit of getting active in midlife is similar to that of starting young.
D.The benefits of exercising in midlife will decline once you stop exercising.
3.It can be inferred from the passage that _________.
A.an active lifestyle will not necessarily bring positive health benefits.
B.participants’ memories may affect the reliability of the study result
C.people exercising from their teens can maintain health forever
D.women benefit more from vigorous exercise than men do
4.Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?
A.Exercise has its limitations, studies show
B.Getting active when young, experts suggest
C.Health benefits fade with age, doctors warn
D.Never too old to start, researchers say
The Elementary Science Fair Planning Guide
The most helpful, scientific, kid-friendly science Fair project planner known to kids.
A Model, Display or Collection:
Shows how something works in the real world, but doesn’t really test anything.
Examples of display or collection projects can be: “The Solar System,” “Types of Dinosaurs,” “My Coin Collection.”
Examples of models might be: “How a Tornado Forms” or “How an Electric Motor Works”.
An Experiment:
Lots of information is given, but it also has a project that shows testing being done and the gathering of data.
Examples of experiments can be: “The Effects of Detergent（洗衣粉）on the Growth of Plants” or “Which Paper Towel is more Absorbent”.
You can tell you have an experiment if you are testing something several times and changing a variable（变量）to see what will happen.
Even though you can learn a lot from building a model or display, we recommend that you do an experiment! Why? Well, they are fun, they are more interesting and most of all, they take you through the SCIENTIFIC METHOD, which is the way real scientists investigate in real science labs. Besides that, the scientific method is what the judges are looking for!
1.Which of the following science projects might be recommended by the guide?
A.How swallows build their nests.
B.What the solar system consists of.
C.The three dances bees use to communicate.
D.What structure can hold the most amount of weight.
2.According to the guide, which of the following is TRUE?
A.A model or a display is a great choice for the science fair.
B.A hypothesis goes before a Question in doing an experiment.
C.What tells an experiment from a model is whether to test something.
D.The judges will instruct the scientific method before the science fair.
3.Who will be most interested in reading this guide?
A.Undergraduate students. B.Parents who have young kids.
C.Staff working in the science labs. D.Judges invited to a science fair.
People generally see themselves through achievements. In doing that, they end up caring more about their image than the reality of who they actually are. Rather than their work doing the talking, they end up defining themselves by external markers that they hope will earn them respect.
The problem with this is that it encourages both themselves and other people to judge their worth based on some relatively unimportant measure. For example, one day, their educational diploma may overshadow what they actually learned. Therefore, a better way to know a person, I think, is to ask a different set of questions: What motivates them? What makes them ache? What do they long for?
It’s in this spirit that I want to publicly share my values. They are the compass(罗盘) that guides my life. The kindest and most sincere thing I can do is to see, recognize, and understand another person before I make judgments. From there, I can learn to treat others appropriately, depending on the context, learning from my mistakes with time and experience. It’s just a reminder that life is hard for all of us, while at the same time accepting that it’s important we are all also held accountable for our actions.
I have learned that we are all deeply self-interested. I hope to be self-aware enough to check out of the power and status games. That means I’m not competing with anyone for a shiny object; I’d rather compete with myself. It’s about becoming so uniquely different that it would be an insult for me to measure myself against someone else. I believe if I do the work to be internally free from the pull of the power and status games, then I can add value to others bused on my unique knowledge and experience.
If this resonates with(与...共鸣) you, I invite you to join me on this journey in understanding and relating to this complex world. It’s a wonderful mystery, and I think together we can better define it -- not just personally, but also collectively.
1.According to the article, which of the following is TRUE?
A.The external markers are better ways to know a person.
B.People generally judge others’ worth by what they have achieved.
C.The author is someone who is keen on power games.
D.Learning from mistakes is the first step of treating others kindly.
2.What does the underlined word “overshadow” probably mean?
A.be relatively similar to B.cause something to be stronger than
C.make something less important D.block off light from something
3.What of the following might the author agree with?
A.Life is hard, so we shouldn’t criticize others when they are not responsible.
B.One should overcome self-interest in order to judge others objectively.
C.Everyone is unique, so showing off uniqueness is an insult to others.
D.One should see and understand another person using a real compass.
4.Why does the author write the article?
A.To promote harmonious living.
B.To ask people not to judge others.
C.To call on readers to learn his values.
D.To share his values of understanding the world.
The scent of coffee appears to enhance performance in math
Drinking coffee has benefits. ______ the physical improvement, coffee may reduce our risk of heart disease. Coffee may even help us live longer. Now, research also reveals that the scent（气味）of coffee may help people perform better on the analytical portion of the Graduate Management Aptitude Test, or GMAT, a computer adaptive test ______ by many business schools.
The work, led by famous professor Adriana Madzharov, not only ______ the hidden force of scent and the cognitive（认知）improvement it may provide on analytical tasks, but also expectation that students will perform better on those tasks. Madzharov, with his colleagues, recently published their findings.
“It’s not just that the coffee-like scent helped people perform better on analytical tasks, which was already ______,” says Madzharov. “But they also thought they would do better, and we demonstraded that this expectation was at least partly ______ their improved performance.” ________, smelling a coffee - like scent, which has no caffeine in it, has an effect similar to that of drinking coffee, suggesting a placebo（安慰剂）effect of coffee scent.
Madzharov’s team tested 100 undergraduate business students, divided into two groups, with GMAT algebra questions. One group took the test in the ______ of a coffee - like scent, while a control group took the same test - but in an unscented room. They found that the group in the coffee-smelling room scored significantly higher on the test.
Madzharov’s team wanted to know more. Could the first group’s performance in quick thinking be explained, in part, by an expectation that a coffee scent would increase ______ and consequently improve performance?
The team designed a follow-up survey, conducted among more than 200 new participants, quizzing them on ______ about various scents and their effects on human performance. Participants believed that they would feel more alert and energetic in the presence of a coffee scent, in contrast with a flower scent or no scent; and that ______ to coffee scent would increase their performance on mental tasks. The results suggest that ______ about performance can be explained by beliefs that coffee scent alone makes people more alert and energetic.
Madzharov is now looking to explore whether coffee-like scents can have a(n) ______ placebo effect on other types of performance, such as verbal reasoning. She also says that the finding - that coffee - like scent acts as a placebo for analytical reasoning performance - has many practical ______, including several for business.
“Sense of smelling is one of our most powerful senses,” says Madzharov. “Employers, architects, building developers, retail space managers and others, can use scents to help ______ employees’ or occupants’ experience with their environment. It’s an area of great interest and ______.”
1.A.In contrast to B.Contrary to C.In addition to D.Equivalent to
2.A.acquired B.required C.justified D.inquired
3.A.distributes B.stimulates C.dominates D.highlights
4.A.encouraging B.imposing C.conflicting D.challenging
5.A.characterized by B.called for C.responsible for D.typical of
6.A.In short B.By comparison C.In particular D.After all
7.A.lack B., shift C.withdrawal D.presence
8.A.comprehension B.alertness C.conscience D.context
9.A.evidence B.definition C.symptom D.belief
10.A.adaptation B.commitment C.exposure D.alternative
11.A.implication B.expectation C.indication D.illustration
12.A.similar B.concrete C.modified D.estimated
13.A.simplification B.description C.resignation D.application
14.A.enhance B.evaluate C.exploit D.prospect
15.A.negotiation B.priority C.potential D.strategy
Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper from of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.
Long-term low self-esteem can cause depression
Low self-esteem makes us feel bad about ourselves. But did you know that over time it also can cause the development of serious mental conditions such as depression?
Self-esteem is, very simply, the set of feelings you have about yourself. It’s developed by your experiences, thoughts, feelings, and relationships. 1. self-knowledge, which refers to how much you know about yourself, self-esteem is formed around whether you like yourself or not. Depression is much more than just feeling sad. It drains your energy and makes everyday activities difficult.
Doctors use low self-esteem as one possible symptom 2. they diagnose the mental condition of major depressive disorder. They don’t necessarily care 3. low self-esteem causes the depression or vice versa. However, personality researchers have long wondered about the chicken-and-egg problem of self-esteem and depression. Certainly, if you dislike yourself, you’ll be more likely 4. (depress). On the other hand, if you’re depressed, you’ll be more likely to feel bad about yourself. The only way that 5. (employ) to explore the highly related concepts of self-esteem and depression is through continuous research, 6. people are followed up over time.
A study on depression conducted by University of Basel researchers Julia Sowislo and Ulrich Orth, 7. (contrast) the competing directions of self-esteem to depression vs depression to self-esteem. The findings have revealed that over time low self-esteem is a risk factor for depression, regardless of who is tested and how. The study indicates that low self-esteem causes depression 8. not vice versa.
Therefore, if a person has low self-esteem, there’s a 9. (great) risk of developing depression. This is a very important discovery because it shows that 10. (improve) a person’s self-esteem can make him or her feel better.
假定你是李华，作为一名交换生（an exchange student）刚结束在英国为期一个月的学习。学习期间，你和房东Mr. Wilson 结下了深厚的友谊。请按下列要点给Mr. Wilson发一封邮件表示感谢：
1. 生活上的照顾；2. 学习上的帮助；3. 希望保持联系。
注意：1. 词数100左右；2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；3. 开头语已为你写好。
Mr. Wilson,
Time flies! I’ve been back home.
Best wishes, Li Hua
