One of the most widely accepted, commonly repeated assumptions (假设) in our culture is that if you exercise, you will lose weight. I exercise all the time, but I still have gut fat that hangs over my belt when I sit. Why isn’t all the exercise getting rid of it?
It’s a question many of us could ask. More than 45 million Americans now belong to a health club, up from 23 million in 1993. We spend some $19 billion a year on gym memberships. Of course, some people join and never go. Still, as one major study — the Minnesota Heart Survey — found, more of us at least say we exercise regularly.
And yet obesity (肥胖) figures have risen sharply in the same period: a third of Americans are obese, and another third count as overweight by the Federal Government’s definition. Yes, it’s entirely possible that those of us who regularly go to the gym would weigh even more if we exercised less. But like many other people, I get hungry after I exercise, so I often eat more on the days I work out than on the days I don’t. Could exercise actually be keeping me from losing weight?
The popular belief that exercise is essential for weight control is actually fairly new. As recently as the 1960s, doctors routinely advised against too much exercise, particularly for older adults who could injure themselves. Today doctors encourage even their oldest patients to exercise, which is sound advice for many reasons: People who regularly exercise are at significantly lower risk for all manner of diseases — those of the heart in particular. They less often develop cancer and many other illnesses. But the past few years of obesity research show that the role of exercise in weight loss has been wildly over-evaluated.
“In general, for weight loss, exercise is pretty useless,” says Eric Ravussin, exercise researcher at Louisiana State University. Many recent studies have found that exercise isn’t as important in helping people lose weight as you hear so regularly in gym advertisements or on shows like The Biggest Loser — or, for that matter, from magazines like this one.
The basic problem is that while it’s true that exercise burns calories and that you must burn calories to lose weight, exercise has another effect: it can make one hungry. That causes us to eat more, which in turn can negate (使无效) the weight-loss benefits we just gained. Exercise, in other words, isn’t necessarily helping us lose weight. It may even be making it harder.
【小题1】 From the passage we learn that ____.

A．has long been believed to be good for older adults

B．is not properly advertised as an effective way to lose weight

C．was first recognized as an effective way to lose weight in the 1960s

D．is less effective in preventing heart disease than what doctors believe

One of the most widely accepted, commonly repeated assumptions (假设) in our culture is that if you exercise, you will lose weight. I exercise all the time, but I still have got fat that hangs over my belt when I sit. Why isn’t all the exercise getting rid of it?
It’s a question many of us could ask. More than 45 million Americans now belong to a health club, up from 23 million in 1993. We spend some $19 billion a year on gym memberships. Of course, some people join and never go. Still, as one major study — the Minnesota Heart Survey — found, more of us at least say we exercise regularly.
And yet obesity (肥胖) figures have risen sharply in the same period: a third of Americans are obese, and another third count as overweight by the Federal Government’s definition. Yes, it’s entirely possible that those of us who regularly go to the gym would weigh even more if we exercised less. But like many other people, I get hungry after I exercise, so I often eat more on the days I work out than on the days I don’t. Could exercise actually be keeping me from losing weight?
The popular belief that exercise is essential for weight control is actually fairly new. As recently as the 1960s, doctors routinely advised against too much exercise, particularly for older adults who could injure themselves. Today doctors encourage even their oldest patients to exercise, which is sound advice for many reasons: People who regularly exercise are at significantly lower risk for all manner of diseases — those of the heart in particular. They less often develop cancer and many other illnesses. But the past few years of obesity research show that the role of exercise in weight loss has been wildly over-evaluated.
“In general, for weight loss, exercise is pretty useless,” says Eric Ravussin, exercise researcher at Louisiana State University. Many recent studies have found that exercise isn’t as important in helping people lose weight as you hear so regularly in gym advertisements or on shows like The Biggest Loser — or from magazines like this one.
【小题1】 From the passage we learn that ____.

A．Overweight Is Not Good for Your Health

B．Exercise Won’t Make You Thin

C．Gym Is Part of American Lifestyle

D．Obesity Is a Social Problem in America

To many basketball fans in Taiwan, the William Jones Cup or the Basketball Association may be their sweetest memory. But if you ask them, “What’s the hottest basketball event now?” There is the only answer: HBL, the High School Basketball League.
Founded in 1988, the HBLwas at first just a high school basketball tournament. After the Taipei School Sport Federation took charge in 1996 and renamed it HBL, everything changed. The Federation decided to co-operated with Nike, the well-known sportswear manufacturer, and use its experience in marketing to promote the game.
The HBL started with 129 teams; today there are more than 250. no longer just of interest to the players, it’s now Taiwan’s biggest basketball event. Fellow students, alumni (男毕业生，男校友), and sports fans all over Taiwan cheer for their favorite teams. At last year’s finals, Taipei and Kaohsiung mayors came to cheer for their teams.
The HBL starts in September with qualifying and preliminary(预备的，初步的) rounds and continues through April of the following year, when the finals are held. Broadcasting the games on television has helped make the HBL a wildly popular event. It’s become the place to spot young basketball talent. Today’s HBL players are tomorrow’s professionals.
Recent HBL tournaments have been very competitive, with no one school taking the advantage. This wide-open quality of the tournament makes it more exciting. Everyone wants to see how this year’s games will come out. HBL fever just keeps getting hotter.
【小题1】What is the hottest event in the eyes of most basketball fans in Taiwan?

To many basketball fans in Taiwan, the William Jones Cup or the Basketball Association may be their sweetest memory. But if you ask them, “What’s the hottest basketball event now?” There is the only answer: HBL, the High School Basketball League.

Founded in 1988, the HBLwas at first just a high school basketball tournament. After the Taipei School Sport Federation took charge in 1996 and renamed it HBL, everything changed. The Federation decided to co-operated with Nike, the well-known sportswear manufacturer, and use its experience in marketing to promote the game.

The HBL started with 129 teams; today there are more than 250. no longer just of interest to the players, it’s now Taiwan’s biggest basketball event. Fellow students, alumni (男毕业生，男校友), and sports fans all over Taiwan cheer for their favorite teams. At last year’s finals, Taipei and Kaohsiung mayors came to cheer for their teams.

The HBL starts in September with qualifying and preliminary(预备的，初步的) rounds and continues through April of the following year, when the finals are held. Broadcasting the games on television has helped make the HBL a wildly popular event. It’s become the place to spot young basketball talent. Today’s HBL players are tomorrow’s professionals.

Recent HBL tournaments have been very competitive, with no one school taking the advantage. This wide-open quality of the tournament makes it more exciting. Everyone wants to see how this year’s games will come out. HBL fever just keeps getting hotter.

1.What is the hottest event in the eyes of most basketball fans in Taiwan?

2.What was it that helped to make the High School Basketball League wildly popular to the public?

3.Why does the writer say“Recent HBL tournaments have been very competitive”?

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

5.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

Popular music in America is what every student likes. Students carry small radios with earphones and listen to music before class, after class, and at lunch. Students with cars buy large speakers and play the music loudly as they drive on the street.
Adult drivers listen to music on the car radio as they drive to work. They also listen to the news about sports, the weather, and the life of American people. Most of the radio programmes are music.
Pop or popular music singers make much money. They make a CD or tape which radio stations use in many places. Once the popular singer is heard all over the country, young people buy his or her tape. Some of the money from these tapes goes to the singer. Wherever the singer goes, all the young people want to meet him or her.   Now the singer has become a national star.
There are other kinds of music that are important to Americans. One is called folk (民间) music. It tells stories about the common life of Americans. Another is called western or country music. This was started by cowboys (牛仔) who would sing at night to the cows they were watching. Today, any music about country life and the love between a country boy and his girl is called western or country music.
【小题1】Which of the following is talked in this passages?