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 socialising and meeting with friends help increase levels of brown fat in the body which burns calories(卡路里)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 socialising, 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. 1.

    What information can we get from the first two paragraphs?

    1. A.
      Brown fat stores calories and makes us fatter.
    2. B.
      It doesn't take long to turn white fat into brown.
    3. C.
      Social excitement helps gain more weight.
    4. D.
      Brown fat can burn energy to produce heat.
  2. 2.

    Which of the following statement does the text support?

    1. A.
      Levels of brown fat can be increased by socialising.
    2. B.
      The mice lacking social life lose more weight.
    3. C.
      The research findings haven't been published so far.
    4. D.
      Dr Matthew During wasn't convinced of the result.
  3. 3.

    We can conclude from the text that _______.

    1. A.
      the fat in mice's belly was reduced because of the relaxing environment
    2. B.
      a sedentary lifestyle and high calories foods influence people's social life
    3. C.
      surfing the Internet may influence people's face-to-face communication
    4. D.
      cancer and death are mainly caused for lack of social life
  4. 4.

    What’s the main idea of the text?

    1. A.
      Brown fat is beneficial to people's health.
    2. B.
      Socialising is unnecessarily important in people's daily life.
    3. C.
      White fat can be changed into brown fat.
    4. D.
      Socialising contributes to people's losing weight.

About 21,000 young people in 17 American states do not go to classes in school buildings. Instead, they receive their school education by working at home on computers. The Center for Education Reform says the United States has 67 public “cyberschools,” and that is about twice as many as two years ago.
The money for students to go to a cyberschool comes from the governments of the states where they live. Some educators say cyberschools receive money that should support traditional public schools. They also say it is difficult to know if students are learning well.
Other educators praise this new form of education for letting students work at their own speed. These people say cyberschools help students who were unhappy or unsuccessful in traditional schools. They say learning at home by computer ends long bus rides for children who live far from school.
Whatever the judgment of cyberschools, they are getting more and more popular. For example, a new cybershool called Common-wealth Connections Academy will take in students this fall. It will serve children in the state of Pennsylvania from ages five through thirteen.
Children get free equipment for their online education. This includes a computer, a printer, books and technical(技术的) services. Parents and students talk with teachers by telephone or by sending emails through their computer when necessary.
Students at cyberschools usually do not know one another. But 56 such students who finished studies at Western Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School recently met for the first time. They were guests honor at their graduation.

  1. 1.

    What do we know from the text about students of a cyberschool?

    1. A.
      They have to take long bus rides to school.
    2. B.
      They study at home rather than in classrooms.
    3. C.
      They receive money from traditional public schools.
    4. D.
      They do well in traditional school program.
  2. 2.

    What is a problem with cyberschools?

    1. A.
      Their equipment costs a lot of money.
    2. B.
      They get little support from the state government.
    3. C.
      It is hard to know students’ progress in learning.
    4. D.
      The students find it hard to make friends.
  3. 3.

    Cyberschools are getting popular because ________.

    1. A.
      they are less expensive for students
    2. B.
      their students can work at their own speed
    3. C.
      their graduates are more successful in society
    4. D.
      they serve students in a wider age range(范围)
  4. 4.

    We can infer that the author of the text is ________.

    1. A.
      unprejudiced(无偏见的) in his description(描述) of cyberschools
    2. B.
      excited about the future of cyberschools
    3. C.
      doubtful about the quality of cyberschools
    4. D.
      disappointed at the development of cyberschools
  5. 5.

    According to the text, which of the following statements is true?

    1. A.
      About 67% of the students in the USA go to cyberschools nowadays.
    2. B.
      Cyberschools will take the place of traditional schools in the future.
    3. C.
      Cyberschools are the most popular form of education now in the US
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