When movie star Scarlett Johansson was photographed naming in Los Angeles recently, she attracted a lot of attention; for the 27-year-old actress was wearing Vibram FiveFingers, so called because they look more like gloves than shoes, with a space for each toe.
Strange though they may look, these so-called barefoot shoes, which reproduce the effect of barefoot running but with less pain, are just one brand in a range of minimalist footwear. These super-thin sports shoes are causing a stir in the world of running and fitness. Why? Because some experts believe they could make you a better, more efficient runner and that traditional trainers could be doing you more harm than good.
"Wearing a shoe that has lots of cushioning and support affects the way your body naturally moves and studies suggest that this carries a higher risk of injury," explains Matt Wallden, an athlete performance expert. "But with barefoot shoes, the foot can actually feel the firmness and shape of the ground, which allows your body to respond effectively.'"
But before you rush out to invest in minimalist footwear, be careful. These kinds of shoes are not meant for everyone, or at least not straight away.
"Ordinary sports shoes with support are good for beginners whose bodies are not used to the impact of running," explains Patrick Davoren, former Olympic athlete. "If you are not in great condition, then running in minimalist footwear may cause injuries and will turn a lot of people off exercise and running.
If you are currently injured, and figures show that in any given year 65% of all runners are, it can be tempting to try anything that promises to get you back on the road, trail, or beach. But barefoot running is not a method of treating injury nor is it a magical way of suddenly turning you into a great athlete.
Even if you're used to running, when you start using minimalist shoes you should build up your distance gradually. Start_off'by doing just 10% of what you'd normally run and increase the distance by no more than 10% every week. And a word of warning - you may never have soft feet again
【小题1】The Vibram FiveFingers are shoes ______.

Psychology（心理学）tells us that many people hate to take risks. But it is good for us to take risks, especially (尤其)when the risk is to achieve a desired result. In that way, we become stronger and braver.
Our human nature should be to take risks, but some people just sit and wish they didn’t have the fear（恐惧）to move on. This is because of one or two failures in their lives. Please step out and don’t let the past hold you back from living life to the fullest. Move forward and move on!
In studying the psychology of taking risks, we find that human nature provides(提供) us with the desire (渴望)to experiment and take chances.
Risk taking is a great benefit（好处）that allowed our ancestors(祖先) to become stronger and stronger day by day. By taking risks they fought off enemies and discovered new territories（领土）. This attitude has become a part of our modern culture. Riding a roller coaster is a common risk taking activity that even the average person seems to enjoy although they have the understanding that it is dangerous. This psychological and biological (生物学上的) connection （联系）creates an interesting connection between what is unsafe and what humans enjoy.
Getting in a car each day is a risk. Getting out of bed is a risk. There is such thing as perfect safety. We need to take risks so that we can complete (finish) many things. Astronauts take risks when they get inside a rocket; however, the things they achieve are great. Businessmen take a risk when they buy parts of a company. However, without doing that, they could not make more money.
We need to take risks so that we can gain something. It is impossible to move forward in life, earn money, enjoy a relationship, play a sport, or do anything else without taking a risk. It is all part of the game. It’s one of the most important parts of life.
【小题1】Some people don’t want to take risks, mainly （主要）because ___________.

We’ve reached a strange—some would say unusual—point. While fighting world hunger continues to be the matter of vital importance according to a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO), more people now die from being overweight, or say, from being extremely fat, than from being underweight. It’s the good life that’s more likely to kill us these days.

Worse, nearly l8 million children under the age of five around the world are estimated to be overweight. What’s going on?

We really don’t have many excuses for our weight problems. The dangers of the problem have been drilled into us by public-health campaigns since 2001 and the message is getting through—up to a point.

     In the 1970s, Finland, for example, had the highest rate of heart disease in the world and being overweight was its main cause. Not any more. A public-health campaign has greatly reduced the number of heart disease deaths by 80 per cent over the past three decades.

     Maybe that explains why the percentage of people in Finland taking diet pills doubled between 2001 and 2005, and doctors even offer surgery of removing fat inside and change the shape of the body. That has become a sort of fashion. No wonder it ranks as the world’s most body-conscious country.

     We know what we should be doing to lose weight—but actually doing it is another matter. By far the most popular excuse is not taking enough exercise. More than half of us admit we lack willpower.

     Others blame good food. They say: it’s just too inviting and it makes them overeat. Still others lay the blame on the Americans, complaining that pounds have piled on thanks to eating too much American-style fast food.

     Some also blame their parents—their genes. But unfortunately, the parents are wronged because they’re normal in shape, or rather slim.

     It’s a similar story around the world, although people are relatively unlikely to have tried to lose weight. Parents are eager to see their kids shape up. Do as I say—not as I do.

1.What is the “strange” point mentioned in the first sentence?

A. Starvation is taking more people’s lives in the world.

B. WHO report shows people’s unawareness of food safety.

C. The good life is a greater risk than the bad life.

D. Overweight issue remains unresolved despite WHO’s efforts.

2.Why does the author think that people have no excuse for being overweight?

A. They have been made fully aware of its dangers.

B. A lot of effective diet pills are available.

C. Body image has nothing to do with good food.

D. There are too many overweight people in the world.

3.The example of Finland is used to illustrate (说明)_________.

A. the cause of heart disease

B. the effectiveness of a campaign

C. the fashion of body shaping

D. the history of a body-conscious country

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

A. Overweight or Underweight?       B. WHO in a Dilemma

C. No Longer Dying of Hunger        D. Actions or Excuses?

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D和E）中选出最佳选项。
Sitting too much is now listed with smoking and junk food as a bad habit that increases your risk of heart disease.
New Australian research shows that half-an-hour in the gym will not make up for the waist-expanding damage caused by spending the rest of the day sitting.
But the good news is that doing chores in the house or gently walking around the office while on the phone might be enough to keep you fit.
The study joins the growing body of evidence suggesting too much sitting might undo the benefits of exercise.
The study measured the intensity of physical activities in 168 subjects over seven days. It found that, regardless of how much exercise they did or their total sitting time, those who took more breaks from sitting had lower risk of thick waists and lower levels of blood lipids(脂肪).
“Higher levels of blood lipids have been linked to a heightened risk of heart disease,” principal researcher Genevieve Healy of the University of Queensland said. “What the study shows is that there are benefits in just getting up regularly and interrupting your sitting time.”
Researchers behind the Stand Up Australia project have written to the Rudd Government requesting $3.5 million for a two-year study into the impact of long sitting time on health and productivity of workers. The study would also develop and test strategies for reducing sitting time on the job.
The latest study builds on work that is shifting the health promotion focus from purposeful exercise, such as running, to lower intensity activities throughout the day.
The Australian research has been hacked up by US studies.
“To hold a body that weighs 77 kilograms upright takes a fair amount of energy from muscles,” said Professor Marc Hamilton from the University of Missouri. “There is a large amount of energy associated with standing every day that cannot easily be replaced by 30 to 60 minutes in the gym.”
56. What’s the aim of the Stand Up Australia project?
A. To study the factors influencing productivity of workers.
B. To study the reasons for the longer sitting time at work.
C. To develop and test strategies for reducing sitting time in the office.
D. To develop and test strategies for reducing working time.
57. The purpose of the last paragraph is to       .
A. provide a scientific basis for the benefits of standing up
B. Compare the effect of standing with exercising in the gym
C. report the new research findings of professor Marc Hamilton
D. figure out the amount of energy associated with daily standing
58. What’s the best title for the text?
A. Exercise in the Gym Is Out.
B. Your Office Chair Is Killing You.
C. A Cause of Heart Disease.
D. Good News for Workers.

Directions: Read the following passage．Complete the diagram by using the information from the passage．Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer．

       A migraine headache（偏头疼） can cause disabling pain．People may not feel back to normal for hours or even for days．

       Migraine headaches are most common among young adults and middle-aged people．In the United States, about eighteen percent of women and six percent of men report having migraines．

       People who suffer from migraines can find that different "triggers" in different people may get a headache started．Stress can act as a trigger．

       Many migraine sufferers say hot weather and low barometric pressure（气压） can act as triggers, but researchers say they did not have much scientific evidence of that-until now．

       In a new study, a team examined the medical records of seven thousand hospital patients．The patients had visited the emergency room at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, because of a headache．More than two thousand of them had been found to have a migraine．

       The team then compared those records to weather conditions in the twenty-four hours before the hospital visits．For every increase of five degrees Celsius in air temperature, the patients had a seven and one-half percent higher risk of migraine．Decreases in barometric pressure two to three days before the visit also appeared to cause headaches．

       A separate study has found that age, gender and where a person has extra body fat may affect the risk of migraine．It found that overweight people between the ages of twenty and fifty-five may have a higher risk．On average, those who were larger around the middle were more likely to have migraines than those of the same age with smaller waistlines（腰围）．

       Experts suggest that losing weight in the stomach area may help younger people who experience migraines, especially women．Doing exercises regularly is also helpful to reducing migraine headaches．

Title:

●        ．

● Not feel back to normal for hours or even days．

People suffering from it Young adults and

_______    Hot weather→ every increase of five degrees Celsius: seven and one-half percent higher risk of migraine

                         → decreases two to three days before the visit appeared to cause headaches

       A separate study              and where a person has extra body fat→ overweight people between twenty and fifty-five have a higher risk

     ● Lose weight in the stomach area．

●        ．