Question

Running on Empty

For almost a century, scientists have assumed, tiredness—or exhaustion—in athletes originates(起源于) in the muscles. Precise explanations have varied, but all have been based on the “Limitations Theory”. In other words, muscles tire because they hit a physical limit: they either run out of fuel or oxygen or they drown in harmful by-products(副产品).

In the past few years, however, Timothy Noakes from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, has examined this standard theory. Tiredness, he argues, is caused not by signals springing from overtaxed muscles, but is an emotional response which begins in the brain. The fundamental nature of his new theory is that the brain paces the muscles to keep them well back from the edge of exhaustion. When the brain decides it’s time to quit, it creates unbearable muscle tiredness. This “Central Governor” theory remains controversial, but it does explain many puzzling aspects of athletic performance.

A recent discovery that Noakes calls the “lactic acid paradox” made him start researching this area seriously. Lactic acid is a by-product of exercise, and the increase of it is often mentioned as a cause of tiredness. But when research subjects exercise in certain conditions created artificially, they become tired even though lactic acid levels remain low. Nor has the oxygen content of their blood fallen too low for them to keep going. Obviously, something else was making them tire before they hit either of these physiological limits.

Noakes conducted an experiment with seven cyclists. It has long been known that during exercise, the body never uses 100% of the available muscle fibres(纤维). The amount used varies, but in some tasks such as this cycling test the body calls on about 30%. His team found that as tiredness set in, the electrical activity in cyclist’s legs declined—even when they were making a great effort to cycle as fast as they could.

To Noakes, this was strong evidence that the old theory was wrong. “The cyclists may have felt completely exhausted,” he says, “but their bodies actually had considerable reserves that they could theoretically tap by using a greater amount of the resting fibres.” This, he believes, is the proof that the brain is regulating the pace of the workout to hold the cyclists well back from the point of extreme tiredness.

1.Which of the following is supported by “the Limitations Theory”?

A.Tiredness is caused by signals from brain.

B.Athletes feel tired when they use up all their energy.

C.The body uses 100% of the muscle fibres in exercise.

D.Athletes become tired though lactic acid levels remain low.

2.Noakes has found out that ___________.

A.muscle fibres control athletes’ movements

B.Lactic acid levels remain high in cycling test

C.mental processes control the symptoms of tiredness

D.different exercises use different amount of muscle fibres

3.It is likely that both theories accept that ___________.

A.lactic acid is produced in muscles during exercise

B.the oxygen content in blood may rise after sports

C.tiredness is a harmful by-product of exercise

D.the energy in human bodies can be balanced

4.What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?

A.The description of a new test.

B.The explanation of the theory.

C.The puzzling evidence of a study.

D.The whole process of the research.

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.A

4.C

【解析】

这是一篇议论文。文章主要讲述了关于运动的极限理论。该理论认为人们之所以感到疲惫是因为肌肉达到了极限，而疲劳是由大脑控制的。

1.细节理解题。根据文章第一段的In other words, muscles tire because they hit a physical limit: they either run out of fuel or oxygen or they drown in harmful by-products(副产品)可知极限理论认为人们会感到疲倦时因为到达了肌肉的极限。B. Athletes feel tired when they use up all their energy.（运动员感到疲惫是因为他们用完了自己的能量）符合以上说法，故选B项。

2.细节理解题。根据文章第二段的Tiredness, he argues, is caused not by signals springing from overtaxed muscles, but is an emotional response which begins in the brain.可知Timothy Noakes认为是人的大脑控制了肌肉是否感到疲倦。C. mental processes control the symptoms of tiredness（精神过程控制疲倦的症状）符合以上说法，故选C项。

3.推理判断题。根据文章第二段的The fundamental nature of his new theory is that the brain paces the muscles to keep them well back from the edge of exhaustion. When the brain decides it’s time to quit, it creates unbearable muscle tiredness.和第三段的Lactic acid is a by-product of exercise, and the increase of it is often mentioned as a cause of tiredness.可推测连个理论都认为lactic acid是运动时产生的。A. lactic acid is produced in muscles during exercise（运动时肌肉离会产生lactic acid）符合以上推测，故选A项。

4.主旨大意题。根据本段的Lactic acid is a by-product of exercise, and the increase of it is often mentioned as a cause of tiredness. But when research subjects exercise in certain conditions created artificially, they become tired even though lactic acid levels remain low.可知lactic acid paradox理论认为人们在运动的时候lactic的升高会使人疲倦，但令人费解的是当lactic还很低的时候人们也会感到疲劳。C. The puzzling evidence of a study.（一个研究令人费解的证据）可以作为本段主旨，故选C项。