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Sit Up Straight: Tips for Improving Your Terrible Posture
The more time we spend sitting in front of our computers, the worse our posture gets. Modern technology is turning us into literally twisted creatures.
In addition to being detrimental to how your body functions, bad posture isn’t cute. It causes you to jut(突出) your hips forward, slump your shoulders, and even breathe inefficiently, according to Pat Davidson, a trainer with a PhD in Exercise Physiology who is the Director of Training Methodology and Continuing Education Coordinator at Peak Performance in NYC.
Davidson explained that bad posture compromises your diaphragm(隔离), the big muscle right below the ribs that helps you take deep breaths. So instead, you start using other muscles, like your shoulders, to help you breathe. It turns out that people with lousy posture don’t walk correctly, and they count on their lower back muscles to help propel themselves forward.
Here are a few quick fixes recommended for correcting your slump:
• If you sit at a desk all day, don’t perch on the edge of your chair at work trying to sit up straight. The best thing you can do is keep your hips against the back of the chair and use it for support—that’s what it’s there for.
• Get up frequently and walk around.
• If you carry a heavy shoulder bag, make sure to carry it on both your right and left shoulder, switching off as each gets tired. Even better: wear a cross-body bag so that the weight’s more evenly distributed.
• Work out your core muscles. You can try backwards jump-roping. If the rope hits you, you have the wrong posture. Hula hooping is also a good choice.
• Focus on the upper back and shoulder muscles. One of her favorite exercises is having clients stand up against a wall, with your hips touching the wall. Put a tennis ball between your shoulder blades and try to squeeze the ball. Boating is also excellent for improving posture, since it causes you to pull your shoulders up and back.According to the passage, a bad posture can_____.
a. stop us from taking deep breathes
b. functionally change our body
c. hurt our diaphragm
d. make our walking posture incorrect
| A．bcd | B．acd | C．abc | D．abcd |
What does the underlined word “detrimental” in the second paragraph probably mean?
| A．harmful | B．helpful |
| C．meaningless | D．vital |
Which of the following tips is true for a good sitting posture?
| A．Sitting on the edge of the chair. |
| B．Using the back of the chair to support your back. |
| C．Sitting up straight at a desk all day. |
| D．Keep your back against the chair. |
We may find the above introduction _____.
| A．in a travel booklet | B．in a fiction story |
| C．in a health magazine | D．in s science journal |
Everyone has got two personalities—the one that is shown to the world and the other that is secret and real. You don’t show your secret personality when you’re awake because you can control your behavior, but when you’re asleep, your sleeping position shows the real you. In a normal night, of course, people frequently change their position. The important position is the one that you go to sleep in.
If you go to sleep on your back, you’re a very open person. You normally trust people and you are easily influenced by fashion or new ideas. You don’t like to upset people, so you never express your real feelings. You’re quite shy and you aren’t very confident.
If you sleep on your stomach, you are a rather secretive(不坦率的) person. You worry a lot and you’re always easily upset. You’re very stubborn(顽固的), but you aren’t very ambitious. You’re usually live for today not for tomorrow. This means that you enjoy having a good time.
If you sleep curled up (卷曲), you are probably a very nervous person. You have a low opinion of yourself and so you’re often defensive. You’re shy and you don’t normally like meeting people. You prefer to be on your own. You’re easily hurt.
If you sleep on your side, you have usually got a well-balanced personality. You know your strengths and weaknesses. You’re usually careful. You have a confident personality. You sometimes feel anxious, but you don’t often get depressed. You always say what you think even if it annoys people.According to the writer, you naturally show your secret and real personality.
| A．only in a normal night |
| B．only when you go to sleep |
| C．only when you refuse to show yourself to the word |
| D．only when you change sleeping position |
Which is NOT mentioned in the second paragraph about a person’s personality?
| A．He or she is always open with others. |
| B．He or she always likes new ideas earlier than others. |
| C．He or she is always easily upset. |
| D．He or she tends to believe in others. |
Point out which sentence is used to show the personality of a person who is used to sleeping on his or her stomach?
| A．He or she is careful not to offend others. |
| B．He or she doesn’t want to stick to his or her opinion. |
| C．He or she can’t be successful in any business. |
| D．He or she likes to bring others happiness. |
Which of the following may be the reason for you not to make friends with a person who sleeps curled up?
| A．He or she would rather be alone than communicate with you. |
| B．He or she is rarely ready to help you. |
| C．He or she prefers staying at home to going out. |
| D．He or she wouldn’t like to get help from you. |
It appears that the writer tends to think highly of the person who sleeps on one side because.
| A．he or she always shows sympathy for people |
| B．he or she is confident, but not stubborn |
| C．he or she has more strengths than weaknesses |
| D．he or she often considers annoying people |
Education is not an end, but a means to an end. In other words, we do not educate children only for the purpose of educating them. Our purpose is to fit them for life.
In some modern countries it has for some time been fashionable to think that by free education for all, whether rich or poor, clever or stupid, one can solve all the problems of society and build a perfect nation. But we can already see that free education for all is not enough: we find in such countries a far larger number of people with university degrees than there are jobs for them to fill. Because of their degree, they refuse to do what they think “low” work; and in fact, work with hands is thought to be dirty and shameful in such countries. But we have only to think a moment to understand that the work of a completely uneducated farmer is far more important than that of a professor; we can live without education, but we die if we have no food. If no one cleaned our streets and took the rubbish away from our houses, we would get terrible diseases in our towns.
In fact, when we say that all of us must be educated to fit us for life, it means that we are educated in such a way that, firstly, each of us can do whatever work suited to his brains and ability, and secondly, that we realize that all jobs are necessary to society, and that it is very bad to be ashamed of one’s work. Only such a type of education can be considered valuable to society.The writer of this passage thinks that ________.
| A．free education can solve all of the world’s problems |
| B．free education for all probably leads to a perfect world |
| C．free education won’t help to solve social problems at all |
| D．not all the social problems can be solved by free education |
The writer wants to tell us that ___________.
| A．our society needs all kinds of jobs |
| B．our society needs free education for all |
| C．a farmer is more important than a professor |
| D．people with university degrees earn more money |
According to the passage, ____________.
| A．work with hands is dirty and shameful |
| B．work with hands is low work |
| C．work with hands is the most important |
| D．we can’t regard work with hands as low work |
The purpose of education is ___________.
| A．to choose a system of education |
| B．to let everyone receive education |
| C．to prepare children for their future life |
| D．to prepare children for well-paid jobs |
As the mobile phones so widely appear in our daily life, someone said it would be cool if you didn’t have a mobile phone nowadays. It might be true to some extent, but as for an adult, a mobile means contact. It connects your work, relatives, friends, etc. It should do great deeds for us.
Months ago, my uncle gave his dear son a phone, because my nephew’s school is far from his home. He can only come back once a term, and the phones haven’t been so expensive yet. However, someone has criticized （批评） the young people for playing on mobiles, but not using. They are fond of sending messages, taking pictures and so on. They buy expensive, high level and fashion types for showing. They play on the mobiles day in and day out ….. Holy cow!
So, what happens to youngsters around you? Do they have a phone? What do they use it for? Do you think it’s necessary for teenagers who are still in school to have a phone?
POSTER 1:
In my view, mobile phones are only a tool for communication purpose, just like any other tools which have the potential (潜力) to be misused. In my opinion, I can see young people using it for security reason, emergency purpose, etc. If the parents can afford to pay big phone bills for their kids, well, that’s their business, like the old saying goes, “live and let live.”
--- Mary Smith
POSTER 2:
From psychological (心理学的) point of view, teenagers are more likely to be relaxed or pleasure-oriented. They would like to make something different. Buying brands that are considered “COOL” is important to them. They want others to like and admire themselves, and sometimes, even exaggerate(夸大)their own personality to show off. This can be seen as a kind of psychology during this certain range of age.
--- Dick Gates
Currently, people should tend to be more sociable, and age should not be seen as a barrier for teenagers to own their phones. They also need to set trends on the social circuit (社交圈). But here parents should play an important role in controlling their children about how to use the phones more properly. We can learn from the first sentence of the passage that ________.
| A．people admire those who don’t have mobile phones |
| B．people don’t like to have mobile phones nowadays |
| C．mobile phones are too popular among people now |
| D．mobile phones are not as useful as before |
Why are some teenagers criticized according to the second paragraph?
| A．They use mobile phones for playing instead of using. |
| B．They don’t use mobile phones for their study. |
| C．They play “Holy Cow” games in mobile phones. |
| D．They buy expensive, fashionable mobile phones. |
By saying “live and let live”, Mary Smith means that _________.
| A．teenagers shouldn’t use mobile phones |
| B．parents should buy mobile phones for their children |
| C．teenagers can use mobile phones if their parents don’t mind |
| D．teenagers should use mobile phones for communication |
What is Dick Gates’ attitude towards whether teenagers should use mobile phones?
| A．Supportive. | B．Objective. （客观的） |
| C．Negative. （消极的） | D．Uninterested. |
Do other countries’ students also have so much homework? What do they usually do in their free time? You may feel curious about them.
On April 8, a report came out on the lives of high school students in China, Japan, South Korea and the US. It surveyed around 6,200 students from the four countries last year. You will find the answers to many of your questions in this report.
Who studies hardest?
Chinese students spend the most time studying. Nearly half of Chinese students spend more than two hours on their homework every day. That’s much more than students of the US (26.4%), Japan (8.2%) and South Korea (5.2%).
Who sleeps most often in class?
Japanese students fall asleep in class most often. About 45% of them said they sometimes doze off in class. In South Korea, it’s 32%; in the US, 21%; and 5% in China. South Korean students don’t like taking notes. About 70% said they write down what the teacher says in class, many fewer than in Japan (93%), China (90%) and the US (89%).
Who is the most distracted (分心的)?
American students are the most active in class, but also the most distracted: 64.2% said they chat with friends in class; 46.9% said they eat snacks in class; and 38.9% said they send e-mails or read unrelated books in class.
What do they do after school?
In their spare time, most Chinese students study or surf the Internet. Most American students hang out with their friends. Most Japanese students do physical exercise. Most Korean students watch TV. The report is about ___________.
| A．the countries | B．the subjects |
| C．the students’ lives | D．the high schools |
What country isn’t mentioned in the report?
| A．The US | B．South Korea | C．Japan | D．India |
_____of the Chinese students spend more than two hours on their homework.
| A．26.4% | B．8.2% | C．5.2% | D．48.6% |
The phrase doze off means _____.
| A．be half asleep. | B．get up | C．eat snacks | D．send emails |
Proudly reading my words, I glanced around the room, only to find my classmates with big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes. Confused, I glanced toward my stone-faced teacher. Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had worked on, hoping to hide myself. “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”
Quickly, I flashed back to the day Miss Lancelot gave me the task. This was the first real task I received in my new school. It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington. Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country, I had never heard of that name before. As I searched for the name of this fellow, it became obvious that there were two people with the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led army across America. I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant. I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice: flip (掷) a coin. Heads—the commander, and tails—the peanuts guy. Ah! Tails, my report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.Weeks later, standing before this unfriendly mass, I was totally lost. Oh well, I lowered the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong. As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American Revolution.” The whole world became quiet! How could I know that she meant that George Washington?
Obviously, my grade was terrible. Heartbroken but fearless, I decided to turn this around. I talked to Miss Lancelot, but she insisted: No re-dos; no new grade. I felt that the punishment was not justified, and I believed I deserved a second chance. At last, I worked very hard for the rest of the school year.
Ten months later, that chance came as I found myself sitting in the headmaster’s office with my grandfather, now having a completely different conversation. I smiled and flashed back to the embarrassing moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster informed me of my chance to skip the sixth grade. Justice is sweet! What did the author’s classmates think about his report?
| A．Complex. | B．Funny. | C．Boring. | D．Puzzling. |
Why was the author confused about the task?
| A．He was unfamiliar with American history. |
| B．He followed the advice and flipped a coin. |
| C．He forgot his teacher’s instruction. |
| D．He didn’t know why the teacher gave such a task. |
In the end, the author turned things around _______.
| A．by redoing his task |
| B．through his own efforts |
| C．with the help of his grandfather |
| D．under the guidance of his headmaster |