Keeping a busy social life among lots of friends may keep people thinner than spending hours doing some exercises, according to scientists. They say that socializing and meeting with friends help increase levels of brown fat in the body which burns calories to produce heat.
Living in an exciting social environment was found to reduce fat in mice's belly by half over four weeks, even if they ate more. US researchers say that social excitement aids weight loss by turning white fat into brown. White fat stores calories and makes us fatter, while brown burns energy to produce heat. Turning white fat into brown is extremely difficult, normally requiring long-term stay in cold conditions or exciting part of the body's nervous system.
However, scientists from Ohio State University now think that having a busy social life is an even more effective way of changing white fat into brown. The team came up with their theory by studying the effects of various living environments on mice. Those, who lived alongside a greater number of mice, had more space and toys to excite themselves and then lost far more weight over the course of the study than their “couch potato" fellows.
Study author, Dr Matthew During, whose team’s findings appear in the journal Cell Metabolism, said, “I'm still amazed at the degree of fat loss that occurs.” explaining how new technology had threatened face-to-face socializing, he added, “It's not just a sedentary(久坐的) lifestyle and high calorie foods, but an increasing lack of social activities.” Co-author Dr Lei Cao said,“Loneliness is a potential factor for cancer and death; it's equal to cigarette smoking to a certain extent. Social activities are very vital.”What information can we get from the first two paragraphs?
| A.Brown fat stores calories and makes us fatter. |
| B.It doesn’t take long to turn white fat into brown. |
| C.Social excitement helps gain more weight. |
| D.Brown fat can burn energy to produce heat. |
Which of the following statement does the text support?
| A.Levels of brown fat can be increased by socializing. |
| B.The mice lacking social life lose more weight. |
| C.The research findings haven’t been published so far. |
| D.Dr Matthew During wasn’t convinced of the result. |
We can conclude from the text that_______.
| A.the fat in mice’s belly was reduced because of the relaxing environment |
| B.a sedentary lifestyle and high calories foods influence people’s social life |
| C.surfing the Internet may influence people’s face-to-face communication |
| D.cancer and death are mainly caused for lack of social life |
What’s the main idea of the text?
| A.Brown fat is beneficial to people’s health. |
| B.Socializing is unnecessarily important in people’s daily life. |
| C.White fat can be changed into brown fat. |
| D.Socializing contributes to people’s losing weight. |
There was once a professor of medicine, who was very strict with the students. Whenever he took the chair on the exam committee(担任考试委员会主席), the students would be in fear, because he was seldom pleased with the answers they gave. A student would be lucky enough if he or she could receive a good mark from him. At the end of the term, the students of medicine would take their exam again. Now a student entered the exam room and got seated before the committee. This student was a little nervous as he knew it would not be so easy to get through the exam at all.
The professor began to ask. The student was required to describe a certain illness, his description of which turned out to be OK.
Then the professor asked about the cure (药剂) for illness, and the student, too, answered just as right.
“Good,” said the professor, “and how much will you give the patient?”
“A full spoon”, answered the student.
“Now you may go out and wait for what you can get.” said the professor. At the same time, the committee discussed carefully the answers the student had given. Suddenly the student noticed that there was something wrong with his last answer. “A full spoon is too much,” he thought to himself. Anxiously he opened the door of the room and cried, “Mr Professor, I’ve made a mistake! A full spoon is too much for a patient. He can take only five drops.”
“I’m sorry, sir.” said the professor coldly, “But it’s too late. Your patient has died.”The students were afraid of the professor because_________.
| A.they often angered and disappointed him |
| B.he often misunderstood them and give them bad markers |
| C.their answers often astonished him |
| D.their answers seldom satisfied him |
Before he left the room the student was almost sure that ______.
| A.his last answer was satisfying |
| B.he had passed the exam, and the only thing was to wait for the mark |
| C.he had made a mistake |
| D.he had not done well in the exam |
Which of the following is Not true?
| A.The patient will be in danger if he’s taken as much as a full spoon. |
| B.The doctor will be in trouble if he’s given the patient a full spoon. |
| C.Since one spoon is less than five drops, the patient will be all right soon if he takes only one full spoon at a time. |
| D.If the patient wants to remain safe, he should take no more than five drops at a time. |
Cafe Hub
Next to the Castle lies The Hub, home of the Edinburgh International Festival and one of the most talked about spots in town. Our cafe is open every day for mouth-watering lunches, snacks and fine dining. Come in and enjoy the atmosphere of The Hub or watch the world go by from our beautiful terrace(阳台).
The Hub, Castlehill, Royal Mile, Edinburgh.
Open every day from 9: 30 a.m. till late.
Tel: 0131173 2067 www. thehub-edinburgh.com
Farm World
Enjoy being “A Farmer for a Day”. Join in delivering and feeding our spring babies—bottle feeding sessions twice daily. Fun for all family. Horse Rides, BMX Bikes Cross Country Course. Tractor Ride through 600 acres, New Adventure Playground, Nature Trails. Full details on website.
Open: May—October Wednesdays to Saturdays and daily during school holidays 11 a.m. —5 p.m.
Tel: 01797 260256/260321 www.farmworldrye.co.uk
Enter the Europe-wide student competition!
Are you curious, creative and energetic? Are you interested in the news media? Are you between 12 and 9 years of age? Then Join Multimedia 2010 is for you!
Your challenge will be to build a team and develop a multimedia presentation in English-based on one of three different topics. You can register(登记报名) between May 1 and June 15 and will have to turn in your entry before September 15.
The rewards are wonderful:£150,000 in prize for schools and teams and the chance to attend a European student camp, which means new experiences and an opportunity to make friends throughout Europe!
For further information and registration forms, go to:www.siemens. com/join.multimedia.You can visit Farm World ________.
| A.on Monday in May |
| B.any day in October |
| C.at 2 p.m. during the summer holidays |
| D.at 10:30 a.m. during school holidays |
From the advertisements above, we can learn that ________.
| A.Cafe Hub is a popular place in the local area |
| B.families can enjoy Horse Rides on New Adventure Playground |
| C.Farm World provides lunches, snacks and fine dining |
| D.the Europe-wide student competition will be held on June 15 |
You’ll have to register first if you want ________ .
| A.to enjoy delicious food |
| B.to try Tractor Ride through 600 acres |
| C.to enter the Europe-wide student competition |
| D.to watch the world go by from the beautiful terrace |
According to the passage, there will be ____ rewards for the Europe-wide student competition.
| A.one | B.two | C.three | D.four |
One hot night last July, when our new baby wouldn’t or couldn’t sleep, I tried everything I could think of ---a warm bottle, songs gentle rocking. Nothing would settle him. Guessing that I had a long night ahead of me, I brought a portable TV into his room, figuring that watching the late movie was as good a way as any to kill of the hours till dawn. To my surprise, as soon as the TV lit up, the baby quieted right down, his little eyes focused brightly on the tube. Not to waste an opportunity for sleep, I then tiptoed out of the room, leaving him to watch the actors celebrate John Bellushi's forty-fifth birthday.
My wife and I heard none of the baby that night, and the next morning when I went into his room, I found him still watching TV himself.
I found in my baby's behavior a symbol of the new generation. My wife and I had given him some books to examine, but he merely spit upon them. When we read to him, he did not feel comfortable. And so it is in the schools. We find that our students don't read and they look down upon reading and scold those of us who teach it. All they want to do is watch TV. After this experience with the baby, however, I have reached a conclusion: “Let them watch it!” If television is that much more attractive to children than books, why should we fight about it? Let them watch it all they want!Why did the author bring a TV set into his son's room?
| A.To make his son keep quiet. |
| B.To spend the night by watching TV programs. |
| C.In order not to let his son feel lonely. |
| D.To make his son go to sleep as soon as possible. |
The baby's reaction to the TV program was _______ .
| A.unexpected | B.encouraging |
| C.exciting | D.nervous |
From this passage we know that the author is .
| A.a doctor | B.a reporter |
| C.an editor | D.a teacher |
Everyone needs friends. We all like to feel close to someone. It is nice to have a friend to talk, to laugh, and to do things with. Surely, there are times when we need to be alone. We don't always want people around. But we would feel lonely if we never had a friend.
No two people are the same. Sometimes friends don't get along well. That doesn't mean they no longer like each other. Most of the time they will go on being friends. Sometimes friends move away. Then we feel very sad. We miss them very much. But we can call them and write to them. It could be that we would never see them again. And we can make new friends. It is surprising to find out how much we like new people when we get to know them.
Families sometimes name their children after a close friend. Many places are named after men and women who have been friendly to people in a town. Some libraries are named this way. So are some schools. We think of these people when we go to these places. When we have friends, we will be very happy. Being happy helps us stay well. Or it could be just knowing that someone cares. If someone cares about us, we take better care of ourselves.If we have no friends we feel _____.
| A.alone | B.lonely | C.happy | D.well |
We need to be alone, with no others around us.
| A.sometimes | B.always | C.never | D.no longer |
Sometimes friends don't get along well, that means .
| A.they don’t miss each other |
| B.they don’t call each other |
| C.they no longer like each other |
| D.they have differences at times |
Some places, libraries, or schools are men or women, because they were friendly or did good deed to people or the places.
| A.friendly to | B.close to |
| C.named after | D.thinking of |
The main idea of this passage is _____.
| A.that people are all friends |
| B.that people need friends |
| C.how to get to know friends |
| D.how to name a place |
Find a quiet location. Keep a routine. Focus on one subject at a time. It all seems like sound advice for students who need to hit the books, but recent studies indicate the conventional wisdom is all wrong.
Here's a list of tips from Carey, a sc ientist, for getting the most out of your study time:
Test yourself:Doing practice quizzes can help you retrieve information on test day. “Tests have a very bad reputation as a measurement tool,” Carey says. But psychologists have found self-tests slow down the forgetting of material you've studied. “If you study something once, and then you test yourself on it,” Carey says, “you do better than if you study it twice over.”
Move around: Changing up where you study can help you retain more information. “If you move around and study the same material in several places,” he says, “you may be forming…multiple associations for the same material, the same words and so on. So it's better organized in your brain, and you can pull it out easier.”
Mix it up:Think about a football player who does strength training, speed training and drills. Carey says alternating between different facets of a subject in a single sitting can “leave a deeper impression on the brain”. For example, when studying French, do some verbs, some speaking and some reading. Spending your time in deep concentration on just verbs, say, isn't as effective.
Space it out:Information learned in a hurry is lost just as fast. Carey lik es cramming your brain to speed-packing a cheap suitcase—it all falls out. So if you really want to learn, space out shorter, hour-long study sessions. “There's no doubt you can cram your way through an exam,” Carey says. The problem is that it's so easy to forget what you just crammed—and once it's gone, Carey says, “It's gone. You're not getting it back.”
Of course, nothing can replace the power of motivation and discipline. But Carey says the overall message is encouraging:“Studying can sort of be incorporated into a more varied life, much more easily than we thought.”According to the text, the best way to learn is ________.
| A.to learn one's subject at a time in a quiet place |
| B.to be strongly motivated to learn something |
| C.to mix up everything that you will learn |
| D.to do self-tests after you learn immediately |
Why are you advised to move around while learning?
| A.Because it can make your brain focus on learning. |
| B.Because you can save time by missing the same words. |
| C.Because you can connect materials with different things. |
| D.Because it keeps your brain in a completely resting state. |
How did the writer develop the fifth paragraph?
| A.By telling an interesting story. |
| B.By presenting in the time order. |
| C.By analyzing causes and effects. |
| D.By making a comparison. |
It can be inferred from what Carey said in the third paragraph that ________.
| A.tests used to be treated as a tool to judge learners |
| B.tests would slow down your study |
| C.tests were the best way to learn new information |
| D.tests do good to you more than learning itself |