Question

When I walk through the streets, I pass strange rooms where people are doing strange things. Some are biking madly. Others are holding metal bars to keep them from dropping down. Still others are jumping around while someone is shouting at them. It looks like something out of Dante’s Inferno (但丁《神曲》中的《地狱篇》). But what is the most amazing is that people pay for these sufferings!

The strange rooms are gyms. It is reported that some 41 million Americans are gym members. 12% of the memberships are born in January, as they are determined to knock off (使减少) the holiday fat. Maybe it is good to exercise in the gym. However, should they know they can keep in good shape, spending little money, would they still agree with its necessity?

At the age of 23, I joined a gym. I lifted weights twice a week in Muscle’s Gym. I paid as little as $200 per year. You can’t find such gyms in every city any more. Too often, the gym is fancy (花哨的) with lots of equipment. If you ask how much it costs to join it, the person at the front desk often won’t tell you straight. Instead, he’ll let you meet with a fitness consultant (健身顾问), who will provide you with a great number of reasons and suggestions, such as losing weight and getting healthier, just in order to put pressure on you to spend much money joining the gym and becoming a member there.

Working out with the help of equipment at home has problems, too. In the early 2000’s, I bought a spinning bike at a cost of $700 for home use. I tried a few times only to find that it brought me a neck problem.

Now I’m back to my old way. I do Yoga（瑜伽）every morning and evening. Total cost: $60 for an exercise mat (垫子) . I’m enjoying fitness.

1.The strange rooms are places where people _________.

A. do strange things B. suffer from great pains

C. play Dante’s Inferno D. take physical exercise

2.In the author’s opinion, joining a gym nowadays is __________.

A. exciting B. inexpensive C. unnecessary D. helpful

3.The author wrote something about Muscle’s Gym to __________.

A. tell us he was fat when he was young

B. suggest a new way of losing weight

C. provide us with an example of gyms

D. compare it with the gyms of today

4.From the text we can infer that _________.

A. many Americans put on weight after Christmas and New Year’s Day

B. the author and his family had spent a lot of money exercising in gyms

C. 12% of the American people are members of gyms

D. spinning bikes are good equipment for exercise

Answer 1