Reading and Optional Choices 閱讀七選五

根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，從短文后的選項(xiàng)中選出能填入空白處的最佳選項(xiàng)。選項(xiàng)中有兩項(xiàng)為多余選項(xiàng)。

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Cold weather during winter months may keep many people from leaving home and running in the open air. However， a new study shows that the drop in temperature is a good reason to run.

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Many people say running in winter can be difficult. One reason is the low temperature.?? 2?? Yet many runners might find it easier than running in hot weather. That could be because lower temperatures reduce stress on the body. When you run in cold weather， your heart rate and the body's dehydration （脫水） levels are lower than in warmer conditions.??? 3

This information comes from John Brewer， who is a professor of applied sports science at St Mary's University. For this study， he and other researchers put a group of people into a special room. The researchers then recreated summer and winter weather conditions in the room.?? 4?? Brewer says he and his team recorded biological measurements of the runners.

He says that the most important thing for people who run in cold conditions is to wear the right clothing. Wear gloves on your hands.??? 5??? And especially， wear more than one layer of clothing to keep sweat away from your skin.

A. The other reason is the bitter winds.

B. We have good reasons to run in winter.

C. Wear shoes that will keep you from falling.

D. Don't be nervous when you run in cold weather.

E. The body needs less water on a cold day than in warm weather.

F. In fact， running in cold weather helps improve one's performance.

G. The test subjects were asked to run 10，000 meters under both conditions each.

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Paris with My Grandmother

Stood by her stove， watching her cook， I'd asked Nan if she had any regrets. She'd surprised me by saying instantly， “I always wish I'd gone to Paris.” It was as if the fact that she'd not gone there with Granddad meant she would never go.??? 1

As this day approached， I became increasingly anxious. Besides worries about something going wrong or an emergency of some sort， I was concerned about how it would be for just the two of us to be together for 60 hours straight. Although we often talked with an ease and enthusiasm that delighted us both， our conversations didn't always catch light.??? 2

3?? And so we did， walking from the Louvre's courtyards to Notre Dame . I was constantly aware of overexerting （疲勞過度） Nan. Despite my frequent inquiries throughout the trip， Nan always said that she was happy to keep going.

We spent the afternoon wandering the streets and leisurely taking coffee. After dinner， we walked until a lamplit square brought us to a stop. We ordered drinks and sat chatting， watching the night's crowd stroll by.??? 4??? In them I felt， at last， Granddad's absence move about us.

Seated with our drinks， Nan said finally， “Your Granddad would have loved Paris.”??? 5

So there in Paris， I sat quietly before a stream of images of my young grandfather， and learned how， half a century before， my Nan had been transformed by love.

A. Paris is a city you must walk in.

B. But how could we travel together？

C. The silences were long and comfortable.

D. The Paris in her imagination came to life.

E. That was what made me decide to take her.

F. Then she led the conversation further backwards.

G. And when had we ever spent longer than a few hours alone？

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Top 3 Self-Discipline Techniques

Self-discipline is the key to leading a healthier， happier and more successful life.??? 1??? We have shared some self-discipline techniques below. Follow these self-discipline techniques to start living a better life.

Start small.

The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step， as the proverb goes.??? 2??? Instead， stamina （耐力） is built up by doing a little more than the previous day's target. The same goes for discipline. Start by trying to carry out self-discipline techniques little by little every day for big results. Increase your goals over time.

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Staying self-disciplined requires motivation. It can be hard to stay motivated if you feel like you haven't made any progress so far. Tracking progress makes you aware of how much you've done and encourages you to keep going.

Exercise your willpower.

4??? Some days， sticking to the task is going to be difficult but by reminding yourself of the end in mind and how much the goal means to you， you will be able to ignore temporary temptations for long-term gain.

The above-mentioned self-discipline techniques have been proven to be extremely effective.5??? And it is the key to living a happy and fulfilling life.

A. Measure your goals.

B. Build a support system.

C. However， it is easier said than done.

D. Willpower and self-discipline go hand in hand.

E. Self-discipline is linked to effective time management.

F. Self-discipline is a feature found in many successful people.

G. You don't train for a marathon by running 10 kilometers on the first day.

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Can you remember what you ate yesterday？ If asked， most people will be able to give a vague description of their main meals： breakfast， lunch， dinner. But can you be sure you've noted every snack bar in your car， or every handful of nuts at your desk？??? 1

The Office for National Statistics has confirmed that people are considerably under-reporting what they ate by 50%.

2??? We can point to at least three potential causes. One is the rise in obesity （肥胖） levels itself. Under-reporting rates are much higher for obese people， because they simply consume more food.

Another cause is that the proportion of people who are trying to slim down has been increasing over time.??? 3??? It may be driven partly by self-deception （自我欺騙） or “wishful thinking”.

4??? Both are in terms of how often they happen and how much they contribute to our overall energy intake. Again， there is evidence that food consumed out of the home is one of the most poorly recorded categories in surveys.

So， what's the message conveyed？ If people do not know how much they are eating， it can be really hard for them to stick to a diet.??? 5?? Therefore， we can ensure what people eat won't have much impact on their waistlines. If this works， it won't matter if they can't remember what they ate yesterday.

A. Why is this happening？

B. What will come about next？

C. People are eating more than the national statistics claim.

D. Most people will feel that they've missed something out.

E. We should be looking for new ways to handle this problem.

F. The final one is an increase in snacking and eating out recently.

G. Those who want to lose weight are more likely to under-report their eating.

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Put on a New Set of Glasses for a New View

Today I visited San Francisco's modern art museum. I was there to see a new exhibit about spaceflight.??? 1?? I like to “visit” this particular painting every time I go to the museum not only because it evokes （喚起） strong feelings， but because I always find something new.

There's real pleasure to be found in revisiting a museum， replaying a game or rewatching a movie. Some of that enjoyment comes from the feeling of familiarity， of course.??? 2??? There's always plenty more to see， hear， taste， smell， feel， or understand the second or third times around. But how do you discover the exciting new thing in the familiar？

One way is approaching whatever task is at hand by searching for the things that you didn't see in the first time around. First， recognize that everything is always changing.??? 3??? Second， remove judgment from the experience， if possible， and just observe what's new.

4?? That could mean removing sugar， coffee， a certain kind of media from your life for a specified time. Once the break is over， that same thing will have more of its former interest or excitement.??? 5??? So it's true that novelty is fun， but given enough of a break in between， repeated experiences regain that initial excitement.

A. Repeated experiences like this are valuable.

B. Visiting a new country brings fresh experience.

C. Coffee will never taste better if you quit it for a month.

D. But the piece of art that made me cry was a familiar one.

E. But it also comes from noticing new things in what is so familiar.

F. So the second experience is never exactly the same as the first one.

G. Another way is changing your routine and taking a break of some kind.

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Curling （冰壺運(yùn)動(dòng)） is a winter sport， played on ice. Therefore， it's most popular in northern countries like Canada. Curling is played in the USA by about 15，000 people.??? 1??? Scottish winters were long and there were few forms of entertainment. So people began making a sport out of sliding heavy stones on the frozen lakes. The game spread， and in the 1700s curling clubs formed. Then Scottish soldiers brought it to North America.

2??? Men， women， and children often compete on the same team， if they can slide a forty-pound stone down the ice. Both teams slide their stones toward the same goal. After all 16 stones have been cast， the team whose stone has slid closest to the goal gets one point.

3??? The ice is so smooth and the stone is so heavy that even the smallest misjudgment in a throw can make the stone slide much too far or stop too suddenly.??? 4??? Water helps the stone slide， but it can also change the stone's path.

In curling， a broom is part of each player's equipment. A good curler must know how much force to use. The player must know the exact conditions of the ice on the court.??? 5??? That may explain why the International Olympic Committee decided to make curling an Olympic sport in 1998.

A. Players compete on the court.

B. Curling is played by teams of four people.

C. Then the play begins in the other direction.

D. In other words， a good curler must be a fine athlete.

E. The rules are easy to learn， but playing the game is hard.

F. The melting of the ice makes things tough for the curlers.

G. Curling probably began in Scotland in the 1500s or earlier.

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Be a Green Guest

When people take a vacation， they often take vacation from responsibility， too. Our behavior at hotels is one of the biggest problems.??? 1??? . They offer programs and facilities that save water and energy. That's a good start， but there is a lot more you can do to cut down the amount of waste produced wherever.

·??? 2?? .

In America alone， there are about 50，000 hotels. Now think if hotel management leaves out two small bottles for each hotel room every day， that's a huge amount of little plastic bottles that may not even get recycled. And what about all of that shampoo when you don't finish the bottle？ A better way is to bring your own shampoo from home.

·Turn off the lights.

You do it when you're at home， right？ Do it at the hotel， too. Studies have shown that， in hotels， the majority of energy spent through lighting comes from the bathroom light being left on for more than one hour！??? 3??? ， remember to hit the switch！

·Don't have your sheets or towels washed every day.

Washing a set of bed sheets and a pair of bathroom towels requires about 12—16 gallons of water. See if there is a policy for requesting that your towels and sheets get washed weekly. In some hotels， it's as simple as hanging towels back up on a hook.??? 4??? .

These tips are also useful for trips to a friend's or relative's house.??? 5??? . They will also save your hosts a lot of money.

A. Think about bathroom facilities

B. Just say “no” to hotel shampoos

C. When you're using the bathroom

D. After you're done with your business

E. They will save plastic， water， and electricity

F. More and more hotels are becoming eco-friendly

G. In others， you may ask the front desk for a personal request

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Flamenco， a type of dance， is very popular in southern Spain.??? 1??? Sometimes a woman dances alone and sometimes she dances with a man. The woman always wears a long， colorful dress. She moves her arms and hands slowly but her feet move in fast， difficult steps. The man often wears black.??? 2

Cossack dances are from Russia and Ukraine.??? 3??? Dancers have to be very fit because they jump very high and kick their legs up and down . They often jump over swords . The movements are similar to traditional Cossack activities， for example， sword fighting and getting on and off horses.

4?? But today it is an important part of celebrations in the Caribbean. Young people have to dance under a pole. The pole is often on fire and the dancer mustn't touch it！ After a successful “l(fā)imbo”， they put the pole lower and do it again.

Mask dances are important for the Dogon people in Mali. Each village makes different masks. They are often huge and colorful. There are masks of people， monsters or local animals like crocodiles and monkeys. Dancers of this kind are always men.??? 5??? Today， the Dogon people also perform the dances for tourists.

A. Limbo dancing is first from west Africa.

B. Let me introduce some kinds of dances to you.

C. They are very energetic—some are more like gymnastics than dancing！

D. The dancers can dance under a pole just twenty centimeters off the ground！

E. Both dancers click their shoes on the floor when they dance around each other.

F. It begins with guitar music and clapping and then dancers join the performance.

G. And they dance to the sound of drums for hours after the death of a person in the village.

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Social relationships can make a positive influence on the choices people make about their health and the support others provide can help people successfully face challenges.??? 1??? To strengthen a relationship， both parties need to put time and effort into developing it and making it stronger.

Make the effort to be involved.

Without active involvement， personal relationships can stop. If you don't make the effort to communicate， relate to one another， and be an active presence in each other's lives， you could potentially lose the connection and understanding you once had.??? 2

Take responsibility for yourself.

In healthy and strong relationships， each person takes responsibility for personal feelings and needs. It means that instead of expecting that the other person will make you happy or feel loved， you learn to do this for yourself.??? 3?? Blaming is a major source of discord （不和諧） in relationships.

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It's important to make your partner or family members happy， but you shouldn't be doing so at the expense of your own wants and needs. Don't be afraid to develop your own interests.

View your relationship as a journey.

All relationships are works in progress.??? 5??? It's valuable to think of a relationship as a journey that moves forward. If a relationship is truly important to you， you should never give it up under no circumstances.

A. Set healthy boundaries.

B. Sacrifice yourself for the better of others.

C. Call， talk and see each other on a regular basis.

D. Join your friends if they invite you to do what you like.

E. Don't blame someone else for things that are upsetting you.

F. There's nothing you can do to suddenly create a strong relationship.

G. These benefits make it important to pay attention to the relationships you have with others.

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The negative thoughts inside your head can hold you back from making new friends， connecting with colleagues or sharing your brilliant ideas in meetings. For some people， these negative thoughts become too powerful and require professional attention .??? 1??? The following are some tips to quiet your inner critic.

Label the voice. The voice does not define you. Just identify it as an independent entity （實(shí)體） and give it a name. Call it your unreliable speaker， your negative Nelly or your passive Bob.?? 2

Slow your breathing to calm your thoughts. Negative thinking can do a lot on your central nervous system， causing you to react physically.??? 3??? Whatever your response―shaky hands， trembling voice， sweaty brow—a slow breathing in and a slower breathing out will help comfort the central nervous system.

4?? It's just a thought， and it's just not that important—it's irrational after all！??? 5?? You don't realize you're empowering those thoughts， getting into a tug of war （拔河比賽） with them. You can choose to accept its presence in the moment and trust that it will pass.

All in all， don't let that voice in your head tell you what to do.

A. Don't waste energy fighting it.

B. Trust that the thought will pass.

C. For others， these negative thoughts will pass very soon.

D. Have you ever tried to calm your central nervous system？

E. Naming the voice almost turns it into someone else talking.

F. Have you ever started getting negative thoughts and suddenly felt physically bad too？

G. For the majority， simple ways can stop them discouraging you from connecting with others.

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