According to a recent report, about 15% of the people in the UK are members of gyms. But are they more likely to be fit?

A study found that gym members were 14 times more active than people who didn’t belong to any health club. Gym members did six hours more exercise a week, and this activity did make them fitter than non-gym members. They also spent less time sitting down every day than non-gym members. The results were the same for men and women.

The study included 405 people between the ages of 30 and 64, and the main characteristics of those who were gym members were the same as those who were not. ''But gym members did more training than non-gym members, '' said the lead author, Elizabeth Schroeder of the University of Illinois.

While it might seem clear that gym members exercising more are healthier than non-members, Schroeder says this has not been directly shown before. However, the study is only designed to show a tie between gym membership and more exercise. It may be that active people like to join gyms. In the study, people who exercised as much as gym members were also in good health.

You can get the same benefits wherever you exercise. This study shows a gym membership can make you do more exercise, but other research shows that exercising outside has other help. Outdoor activities can make you feel happy about life—especially if you run through a forest.

Outdoor exercise is also more enjoyable than going to the gym. The first five minutes of outdoor exercise is especially helpful in making people feel good. But Schroeder says that a gym may also encourage greater exercise because it can be social and fun.

【小题1】What did the new study find out?

A．Gym members had healthier eating habits.

B．There were fewer women gym members than men.

C．Gym members did at least eight hours of exercise a week.

D．Gym members were more active than non-gym members.

【小题2】In the study, researchers studied ____________________.

A．some sports lovers

B．405 gym members

C．people from different age groups

D．30 gym members and 64 non-gym members

【小题3】Which of the following will Elizabeth Schroeder agree with?

A．Women should do more gym exercise.

B．We should be careful with outdoor training.

C．Outdoor exercise is better than gym exercise.

D．It is easier to keep exercising if you go to the gym.

   Cellphones, tablets, and computers are keeping children and teenagers awake at night-even when they' re not in use, according to new research. A study published on Monday in JAMA Pediatrics says that media devices are causing kids to sleep less and reducing the quality of sleep that they get. This leads to trouble of staying awake the next day.

Researchers analyzed hundreds of studies of children and teens aged 6-19. The scientists found a strong and consistent association between the use of technology at bedtime and poor sleeping. The reason is not just that kids are staying up too late with their devices. Using a computer can overstimulate the mind and emotions, the researchers say. A smartphone or tablet also gives off a light that affects the body's natural timing. These factors contribute to poor quality sleep. And many kids could be at risk. According to the study,72% of all children and 89% of adolescents have at least one device in their sleep environment. Most of these devices are used near bedtime.

"The harmful association between screen-based devices and kids' sleep is a major public health concern," the study concludes. In their conclusion, the researchers urge parents to understand the damaging influence of device use before sleep.

【小题1】What do the researchers disagree with?

A．Children even in dreams can be influenced by media devices.

B．Most adolescents like to play media devices before sleep.

C．Using media devices on bed makes kids sleep difficultly.

D．Using media devices can not excite the mind and emotions.

【小题2】How does a smartphone affect a child's sleep?

A．By making noises.

B．By giving off a light.

C．By attracting a kid's attention.

D．By sending out electronic waves.

【小题3】What can we learn from the second paragraph?

A．Media devices anytime put kids in danger.

B．Adolescents are more easily affected than children by phones.

C．Using technology at bedtime causes poor sleeping.

D．Media devices affect kid's performance at school.

【小题4】Whom does this article most probably writes to？

A．Scientists.	B．Parents.
C．Children.	D．Producers.

   It is a hot summer day， and you feel thirsty. A friend gives you a glass of cold lemonade. How do you feel when you see the glass? Will you describe your feeling as happiness or as pleasure? I believe you will say it is a feeling of pleasure. There is a connection between these two kinds of feelings，and sometimes one causes the other， but they are not the same. Pleasure is more dependent on the five senses while happiness is independent of them.

When you are happy，unpleasant events usually do not disturb you. When you are unhappy，you feel as if everything is against you. You may compensate for it by eating chocolate and sweets because this gives you pleasure，yet you still stay unhappy. A person may smoke cigarettes because it gives him pleasure，yet this does not make him happier，especially if he knows the fact that it is not good for his health.

The physical world is always in a changing state. At each moment a new thing is being created，changed， transformed and then destroyed. This is the normal state of things and no one can change it. If we stay still in a certain state， we are sure to experience unhappiness sooner or later. On the other hand，if we adapt to the environment，nothing can influence our moods. Then outer events have nothing to do with our inner joy of mind.

The room of the mind is filled with worry or fear. If you are free of thinking about them，the room will be empty，and then you will see what is happening and experience it. When your mind stays quiet，you will see that happiness comes from the inside.

【小题1】What does the underlined phrase “compensate for”in Paragraph 2 most probably mean?

A．Making a suitable payment.

B．Dealing with.

C．Providing with a balancing effect.

D．Solving the problems.

【小题2】According to the passage，in which of the following situations can you feel happy?

A．A friend gives you a glass of cold lemonade when you feel thirsty.

B．You eat chocolate and sweets when you feel as if everything is against you.

C．Smoke cigarettes even though you know the fact that it is not good for your health.

D．You are free from worry or fear when your mind stays quiet.

【小题3】We can learn from the passage________.

A．happiness is more dependent on the five senses

B．pleasure sometimes arouses happiness

C．you feel happy when nothing around you stays still in a certain state

D．you feel unhappy because you have to adapt to the environment

【小题4】Which can be the best title for the passage?

A．Pleasure Leads to Happiness

B．Happiness Changes Us

C．Happiness Is Within Us

D．Stay a Quiet Mind

   For some people,music is no fun at all. About four percent of the population is what scientists call “amusic.” People who are amusic are born without the ability to recognize or reproduce musical notes(音调). Amusic people often cannot tell the difference between two songs. Amusics can only hear the difference between two notes if they are very far apart on the musical scale.

As a result, songs sound like noise to an amusic. Many amusics compare the sound of music to pieces of metal hitting each other. Life can be hard for amusics. Their inability to enjoy music sets them apart from others. It can be difficult for other people to identify with their condition. In fact, most people cannot begin to grasp what it feels like to be amusic. Just going to a restaurant or a shopping mall can be uncomfortable or even painful. That is why many amusics intentionally stay away from places where there is music. However, this can result in withdrawal and social isolation. “I used to hate parties,” says Margaret,a seventy-year-old woman who only recently discovered that she was amusic. By studying people like Margaret, scientists are finally learning how to identify this unusual condition.

Scientists say that the brains of amusics are different from the brains of people who can appreciate music. The difference is complex, and it doesn't involve defective hearing. Amusics can understand other nonmusical sounds well. They also have no problems understanding ordinary speech. Scientists compare amusics to people who just can't see. certain colors.

Many amusics are happy when their condition is finally diagnosed(诊断). For years, Margaret felt embarrassed about her problem with music. Now she knows that she is not alone. There is a name for her condition. That makes it easier for her to explain. “When people invite me to a concert, I just say,” No thanks, I'm amusic,'“says Margaret. “I just wish I had learned to say that when I was seventeen and not seventy.”

【小题1】Which of the following is true of amusic?

A．Listening to music is far from enjoyable for them.

B．They love places where they are likely to hear music.

C．They can easily tell two different songs apart.

D．Their situation is well understood by musicians.

【小题2】According to Paragraph 3, a person with “defective hearing” is probably one who ___________.

A．dislikes listening to speeches

B．can hear anything nonmusical

C．has a hearing problem

D．lacks a complex hearing system

【小题3】In the last paragraph, Margaret expressed her wish that __________.

A．her problem with music had been diagnosed earlier

B．she were seventeen years old rather than seventy

C．her problem could be easily explained

D．she were able to meet other amusics

【小题4】What is the passage mainly concerned with?

A．Amusics' strange behaviours.

B．Some people's inability to enjoy music.

C．Musical talent and brain structure.

D．Identification and treatment of amusics.

   A new study says that the faces on Lego minifigures have become less happy and more often mad or sad. The study was designed to find out if the Lego characters have become grumpier over the years.

Christoph Bartneck works at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. He loves Lego and even worked for the company in the 1990s. He worked with another researcher on the project. They looked at all of the 6,000 figures made between 1975 and 2010. They made a note of each figure’s facial expression: happy, grumpy, afraid, surprised or satL They discovered that while in 1980, all of the figures were described as “smiley”, and that by 1990, only about 80 per cent of them had been “smiley” . And by 2010, just 50 per cent of the figures had had a smile on their little plastic faces.

The researchers are wondering how the increasingly sad, angry and unhappy faces on the Lego figures will affect the children who play with them. “Children’s toys can have an important influence on children,” said Bartneck on the university’s website. While Lego hasn’t issued an official response to the study, Bartneck said he thought the reason why Lego was producing angrier-faced characters was that children wanted them. He said it was likely that people wanted Lego characters to have different expressions, rather than just being sunny all the time. He said most of the unhappy faces were on characters based on a specific theme such as Harry Potter or pirates (海盗).

Bartneck will present his findings at the International Conference on Human-Agent Interaction in Sapporo.

【小题1】What does the underlined word “grumpier” probably mean?

A．Happier.	B．Angrier.
C．Smarter.	D．Prettier.

【小题2】It can be learned that since 1980 ________.

A．Bartneck has been studying Lego figures

B．the quality of Lego figures has gone from bad to worse

C．more and more Lego figures have lost their smiles

D．Lego figures’ facial expressions have become less rich

【小题3】What can we learn about Bartneck?

A．He likes to design different Lego figures.

B．He is a professor who studies facial expressions.

C．He wants to know the influence of unhappy figures on children.

D．He writes to the government to explain why children love angry Lego figures.

【小题4】The text mainly tells the readers ________ .

A．the history of the development of Lego figures

B．Lego characters are getting angrier

C．how Bartneck carried out his study

D．the angrier expressions on Lego figures do great harm to children