If you want to get health or stay healthy, there is one easy activity to add to your life-walking. “Walking is the closest thing we have to a wonder drug,” says Thomas Frieden, who is the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States. The American Heart Association explains the findings on its website — Walking quickly, or briskly, can lower your risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. 1.. Here are the benefits of regular brisk walking.
Improve your mood. Walking helps release natural painkilling chemicals in the body. A study at California State University, Long Beach showed that the more steps people walked during the day,2..
Sharpen your mind. Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco studied 6,000 women aged 65 and over.3..
Keep your joints healthy. The Arthritis Foundation(U.S.) explains on its website that most of the material that makes up our joints has no direct blood supply. Our joints get nutrition from joint fluid that circulates as we move. When you are walking, your joints get this “life-giving fluid”, which means your joints become stronger.
4.. A 2014 study by Stanford University found that walking, indoors or outdoors, improved the ability to think creatively and solve problems.
Best of all, you can easily change where, when and how you walk. 5.. Or you can walk alone. The faster, farther and more often you walk, the greater the benefits will be.
A. Improve your creativity
B. the better their moods were
C. And he is not alone in considering walking great exercise
D. And many studies have found that walking benefits the body and mind in other ways
E. You can walk with your friends, co-workers, family or your dog
F. You may think that simply taking a walk is not enough to make a big difference
G. They found that age-related memory loss was lower for those who walked more
Do astronauts get space sick when they travel from Earth to the International Space Station (ISS)? Yes, astronauts can get space sick travelling to the ISS. It is less likely travelling in the cramped (拥挤的) Russian Soyuz spacecraft used to transport astronauts there now, than the old Space Shuttle that was used until 2011. The ability to move around in the Space Shuttle increased the chance of space sickness happening.
As you probably know, gravity is lower inside the ISS. The low gravity in space allows astronauts to float around, which looks like fun, but it can help cause space sickness.
Recent experiments show that space sickness is related to our inner ear. Two separate parts of the inner ear respond to sudden changes in direction. If you shake or move your head very quickly, you can get dizzy. However, this normally passes very quickly. This normal response is upset under low gravity: your inner ear thinks you are constantly moving. It takes some time to adapt to the new condition of weightlessness. It is made worse if you move your head while your body is still adapting. This is why previous astronauts travelling in the larger Space Shuttle were likely to suffer from space sickness more than the current astronauts travelling in the cramped Soyuz spacecraft. The astronauts were less likely to move their heads around very much in a narrow space.
Space sickness was not talked about in the early space missions (任务).The original Mercury and Gemini spacecraft were, like the current Soyuz, cramped. The astronauts were less likely to get sick, so space sickness no longer became a concern of NASA.
In 1983 the first detailed study was carried out aboard a Space Shuttle flight (STS-7) by astronaut-doctor Norm Thagard. His and all later studies were hampered by the astronauts themselves. None of them wanted admit to being space sick. They were worried that mission control might remove them from space walking opportunities, or even worse, that they might not get included on later space missions.
1.What was the problem with the Space Shuttle?
A.It was too slow.
B.It was too small.
C.It broke down often.
D.It had too much space.
2.How does low gravity hurt astronauts?
A.It fools their inner ear.
B.It causes pain in their head.
C.It stops them shaking their head.
D.It prevents them measuring their weight.
3.Why wasn’t NASA worried about space sickness until later missions?
A.The condition had been kept secret to the public.
B.There were few detailed studies on it.
C.The old spacecraft were better equipped.
D.The astronauts were less likely to get sick.
4.What does the underlined word “hampered” in the last paragraph mean?
A.Changed. B.Improved.
C.Blocked. D.Compared.
There was a time when an event would not begin without a photographer. “I remember the days when event organisers would even delay a show if the photographer was running late,” says Balachandra Raju, a photographer of Sathyam studio, a still surviving photo studio in India’s southern city of Chennai.
Photo studios are facing extinction in the digital age. But as they struggle to continue doing the business, one research project is looking at ways to preserve their legacy (遗产) by digitising archival (档案的) pictures.
The project, funded by the British Library, visited around 100 photo studios across the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu and digitised 10,000 prints. Many of the photos were taken between1880-1980, and they ranged from pictures of families and famous stars to weddings and funerals. “The digital archive will be an asset (有用之物) for those interested in history,” said Zoe E Headley, one of the researchers. Ramesh Kumar, another researcher on the project, called it a “gold mine” for photographers. “The research we’ve done also highlights production techniques used before digital photography arrived in our cities and towns,” he said.
However, the researchers would often find old photos stacked (难叠) on top of one another in the storage room of a studio. “No one had bothered to clean them,” Kumar said, adding that many photos had been damaged due to the hot and wet weather in Tamil Nadu.
The owner of Nallapillai studio in central Tamil Nadu said he spends about 20,000 rupees (￡230; $310) each month to run the studio that was founded by his great grandfather almost 150 years ago. To survive in this digital age has been a struggle. “Many customers don’t book us for special events anymore,” he said, adding that they have all got smartphones to do the job. “I’m not sure if photo studios will exist five years from now,” he said. But this is why, according to Mr Raju, this archival project is so important. “When the researchers spent hours in my studio, I saw them get excited over all of these old photos, and it was like they had given these pictures a second chance,” Raju said.
1.What can be inferred from Paragraph 1?
A.Photographers were lazy.
B.Photography was valued.
C.Expert photographers were few.
D.Event organisers were the most important.
2.How might the project preserve photo studios legacy?
A.Photo studios can attract many visitors.
B.Photographers can have a good working place.
C.Photographers get to learn about old photography techniques.
D.Photo studios have the chance to take pictures of famous stars.
3.What has the researchers found?
A.Some photo studios are doing well.
B.Photo studios are booked for special events.
C.Some photo studios suffer from bad weather.
D.Photo studios give old pictures little protection.
4.What is Raju’s attitude towards the project?
A.Hopeful. B.Anxious
C.Disapproving. D.Opposed.
No matter how much weight she lost or how often she exercised, Lisa Rudes Sandel couldn’t flatten her stomach. And she was fine with that until low-rise jeans came along.
“I couldn’t fit into my regular size six,” recalls Rudes Sandel, who had to go three sizes bigger to find a pair that fit. “They were uncomfortable, and they felt like they would fall down. I wondered, ‘Why isn’t someone making nice jeans for women with a figure like mine?’” Like many entrepreneurs, Rudes Sandel turned her complaint into a business opportunity. The founder of Not Your Daughter’s Jeans (NYDJ) has created a multimillion-dollar business simply by designing jeans for women with womanly bodies.
Since its launch (开业) seven years ago, NYDJ has become the largest manufacturer of women’s jeans under $100 in America. The company ships more than 40,000 pairs per week to 2,000 stores and 20 countries, from Australia to Canada. Not bad for a girl who dreamed of becoming a plastic surgeon- until she took a biology course at UCLA.
With only an idea and very little money, Rudes Sandel and her sister, Leslie, called on the family for help. Even with the family’s connections, NYDJ had growing pains. “Fabric sellers would only give us seven days to pay them,” she says. “We had to pick up small orders ourselves because they wouldn’t drop them off. We had to prove ourselves at every point.” But gradually, they did. They started with old-fashioned word of mouth, then took out newspaper ads, landed the Good Housekeeping Seal, and hired a PR (public relations) firm to really make NYDJ a big-name company. “Today,” says Rudes Sandel, “my biggest problem is I can’t ship fast enough.” That’s a problem any entrepreneur would love to have.
“The truth is,” Rudes Sandel says, “I’ve never forgotten that woman I’ve been aiming for since day one.” She addresses herself jokingly in a note attached to every pair of jeans: “NYDJ cannot be held responsible for any positive consequence that may arise due to your attractive appearance when wearing our jeans. You can thank me later.”
1.Why did Rudes Sandel start NYDJ?
A.It had been her dream since graduation.
B.She wasn’t satisfied with her body shape.
C.The jeans business was quite profitable back then.
D.She couldn’t buy nice and comfortable jeans to wear.
2.What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?
A.The competition NYDJ faced during its start-up stage.
B.The challenges NYDJ met and how they were handled.
C.The methods Rudes Sandel used to advertise her company.
D.Help and support given to Rudes Sandel by her family members.
3.Which of the following can best describe Rudes Sandel?
A.Far-sighted and determined.
B.Honest and responsible.
C.Ambitious and sensitive.
D.Innocent and single-minded.
4.The words Rudes Sandel used to address herself in the last paragraph show _______.
A.a sense of doubt B.a sense of humor
C.a sense of pity D.a sense of care
There are many natural waterfall wonders located across the USA. Here are a few that are definitely worth a visit:
Arethusa Falls | New Hampshire
Located in Crawford Notch State Park in northern New Hampshire, Arethusa Falls takes its name from Greek mythology (神话).Arethusa was a nymph (小仙女) whose name means “the waterer.” That’s pretty appropriate since they fall 140 feet down a cliff (悬崖).
Feather Falls | California
Located near the city of Oroville in the Plumas National Forest, Feather Falls can be seen from the middle arm of Lake Oroville, but the best views can be found on the Feather Falls Scenic Trail. March, May and June are considered to be the best times to hike to the falls since the wildflowers are in bloom, temperatures are cooler and the falls’ water flow is at the highest.
Multnomah Falls | Oregon
Multnomah Falls is the tallest waterfall in the state of Oregon. Located 30 minutes from Portland on the Columbia River Gorge, Multnomah Falls delivers the awe-inspiring sight of a 620-foot waterfall. According to Native American lore (传说), Multnomah Falls was created to win the heart of a young princess who wanted a hidden place to bathe. For a closer view, take the path up to Benson Bridge. The bridge is named after Simon Benson, a Portland businessman who owned the site in the early 1900s before donating the falls to the City of Portland, which later transferred ownership to the Forest Service.
Cumberland Falls | Kentucky
Known as the “Niagara of the South,” these dramatic falls feature a 125-foot wide curtain of water. The falls are located in Cumberland Falls State Resort Park in southern Kentucky and are home to a natural phenomenon not found anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere: a colorful moonbow can be seen on the nights of a full moon as well as on several nights before and after.
1.Which of the following can be seen from Lake Oroville?
A.Feather Falls. B.Arethusa Falls.
C.Multnomah Falls. D.Cumberland Falls.
2.What do we know about Multnomah Falls?
A.It is the tallest waterfall in the USA.
B.It was once owned by a businessman.
C.It is managed by the City of Portland now.
D.It was originally created for people to bathe.
3.Where can visitors see a moonbow?
A.In Oregon. B.In Kentucky.
C.In California. D.In New Hampshire.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.What classes can visitors take in Bali according to the speaker?
A.Diving. B.Swimming. C.Fishing.
2.Why do some scientists come to Bali?
A.To study volcanoes.
B.To study the sea creatures.
C.To study traditional artworks.
3.What do most people of Bali do?
A.Work in tourism.
B.Do agricultural work.
C.Make special clothes.
4.What does the speaker think is good to do during Chinese New Year?
A.Drink traditional coffee.
B.Do some shopping.
C.Visit Buddhist temples.
