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.”

1.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.

2.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.

3.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

4.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.

 

Growing up, I remember my father as a silent, serious man not the sort of person around whom one could laugh. As a teenager arriving in America, knowing nothing, I wanted a father who could explain the human journey. In college, when friends called home for advice, 1 would sink into deep depression for what I did not have.

Today. at twenty-seven, I have come to rediscover them in ways that my teenage mind would not allow — as adults and as friends with their own faults and weaknesses.

One night after my move back home, I overheard my father on the telephone. There was some trouble. Later, Dad shared the problem with me. Apparently my legal training had earned me some privileges in his eyes. I talked through the problem with Dad. analyzing the purposes of the people involved and offering several negotiation strategies. He listened patiently before finally admitting, “I can’t think like that. I am a simple man.”

Dad is a brilliant scientist who can deconstruct (解构) the building blocks of nature. Yet human nature is a mystery to him. That night I realized that he was simply not skilled at dealing with people, much less the trouble of a conflicted teenager. It’s not in his nature to understand human desires.

And so, there it was — it was no one’s fault that my father held no interest in human lives while 1 placed great importance in them. We are at times born more sensitive, wide-eyed, and dreamy than our parents and become more curious and idealistic than them. Dad perhaps never expected me for a child. And I, who knew Dad as an intelligent man, had never understood that his intelligence did not cover all of my feelings.

It has saved me years of questioning and confusion. I now see my parents as people who have other relationships than just Father and Mother. I now overlook their many faults and weaknesses, which once annoyed me.

I now know my parents as friends: people who ask me for advice; people who need my support and understanding. And I’ve come to see my past clearly.

1.What was the author’s impression of her father when she was a teenager?

A. Friendly but irresponsible.

B. Intelligent but severe.

C. Cold and aggressive.

D. Caring and communicative.

2.Why did the author feel depressed when her friends called home?

A. She did not have a phone to a1l home.

B. Her father did not care about her human journey.

C. Her father was too busy to answer her phone.

D. Her father couldn’t give her appropriate advice.

3.After the author overheard her father on the telephone.

A. he blamed her for impoliteness

B. he rediscovered human nature

C. he consulted with her about his problem

D. he changed his attitude towards the author

4.The author realized that ______.

A. her father had too many faults and weaknesses

B. her father was not as intelligent as she had thought

C. her father was not good at interpersonal relationships

D. her father placed too much importance in social activities

5.Which of the following is the best title of this passage?

A. My Parents as Friends

B. My Parents as Advisors

C. My Father — a Serious Man

D. My Father — an Intelligent Scientist

 

Surfing: It’s Not Just for Boys Anymore

If you asked high school girls to name their favorite sports, most would probably say basketball or volleyball. I happen to be one of the few girls who would   36 : surfing. But isn’t that a boy thing? Some people   37 . Most certainly not.

I started surfing about five years ago and fell in love with the sport on the  38  first day. Riding that first   39  was the best feeling I had ever experienced.

When I try to   40  surfing with other things, I find it very difficult because, in my   41 , there’s nothing like it. It involves body,   42 , and soul. There’s sand between my toes and cool, salt water all   43  us. The feeling I get when I’m surfing across that   44 , becoming one with the   45 , is like I’m weightless.

The one thing I can   46  from surfing and not any other sport is endless challenge. You can never be the “best surfer” because the ocean   47  an uncountable variety of waves that nobody can ever master. The variations of surfing styles are wonderful. Some surfers are free and lowing; others are very aggressive (活跃有力的) and   48 . All of these things attract me to surfing and make it   49  from any other sport.

I’ve   50  to tell every girl I know to do something that people don’t think girls can do. It’s part of being human to advance to new   51 , so shouldn’t it be expected that girls should step up and start   52  the limits of things boys and men used to dominate (主宰)?

There’re women   53  side by side with the President of our country, so why not side by side with the boys   54  the football team or out in the water surfing? Give girls a chance to   55  , and they will.

1.                A.tell            B.give            C.answer   D.realize

 

2.                A.Believe         B.understand      C.reply D.wonder

 

3.                A.very           B.just            C.rightly    D.only

 

4.                A.storm          B.wave           C.sail  D.boat

 

5.                A.bring          B.connect        C.tie   D.compare

 

6.                A.work           B.study           C.holiday   D.life

 

7.                A.effort          B.mind           C.health    D.time

 

8.                A.along          B.around         C.above    D.by

 

9.                A.water          B.beach          C.board    D.lake

 

10.               A.sky            B.ocean          C.earth D.world

 

11.               A.take           B.make          C.get   D.keep

 

12.               A.offers          B.includes        C.catches   D.collects

 

13.               A.great          B.sharp          C.hard  D.calm

 

14.               A.known         B.right           C.far   D.different

 

15.               A.chosen         B.learned        C.tried  D.promised

 

16.               A.points          B.levels          C.steps D.parts

 

17.               A.reaching        B.accepting       C.pushing   D.setting

 

18.               A.sitting          B.walking         C.working   D.fighting

 

19.               A.of             B.from           C.on   D.with

 

20.               A.think          B.feel           C.perform   D.succeed

 

 

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