Last week a study of one hundred ninety-nine countries confirmed what many people may have already noticed. People around the world are getting fatter. The study found that obesity has almost doubled since 1980. Majid Ezzati, who led the research team, says the results show that obesity, high blood pressure and high blood pressure are no longer just found in wealthy nations. These are now worldwide problems. The study appeared shows that in 2008, almost ten percent of men were obese. That was up from about five percent in 1980. That same year, almost eight percent of women were obese. By 2008, the rate of obesity among women was almost fourteen percent. Obesity is commonly measured by body mass index , or BMI. This is a measure of a person's weight in relation to height. A person with a BMI of twenty-five to twenty-nine is considered overweight. The World Health Organization defines obesity as a body mass index of thirty or more. Pacific island nations have an average BMI of around thirty-five -- the highest in the world. But the study found that the United States had the single highest average among wealthy countries. Men and women had an average BMI of over twenty-eight. New Zealand was next. Japan had the lowest, at about twenty-two for women and twenty-four for men. The report had some good news, however, about high blood pressure. The percentage of people with this major cause of heart attacks and strokes has fallen since 1980. Dr. Ezzati credits improved testing and treatment in wealthy countries. He says a decrease in the use of salt and unhealthful fats probably also helped. In the United States, new guidelines urge Americans to reduce salt, sugar and fatty meats and to eat more fish and whole grains. People are being urged to choose water over sugared drinks and to eat more fruits and vegetables. But whatever they eat, Americans are being urged to follow new advice from the government: eat less. According to the World Health Organization, a person is considered obese if he / she has a BMI of over _ . A) twenty-five B) twenty-nine C) twenty-two D) thirty
D
A new Australian research indicates that children with a stutter do not suffer disadvantages at school, More than ten percent of children have a stutter by the age of four but they score just as high as other children on tests designed to judge their language, thinking skills and character. Professor Reilly's team studied over 1600 children from Melbourne, Australia. Their mothers had been filling out regular questionnaires since their babies were eight months old and the children were judged by a range of language and behaviour tests when they reached the age of four. Reilly and her colleagues asked the parents to call the study group if their children started showing signs of stuttering. Diagnoses were confirmed by a researcher, who then visited the homes of children with a stutter every month to check on their progress. By the age of four, 181 of the children studied had been diagnosed with a stutter. Follow-up visits to the 181 children who were judged after diagnoses showed just nine no longer had a stutter one year later. Stuttering children scored 5. 5 points higher than that of their non-stuttering children on language tests and 2. 6 points higher on the test of non-verbal intelligence. The researchers said it was possible that stuttering could improve language skills, or that stuttering could result from very fast language development among some children. The research suggests parents of children who stutter are usually advised to wait a year before looking for treatment --which can be expensive -- to see if the stutter goes away by itself, unless the children become very unhappy or stop talking. According to Reilly, parents should make a telephone to the study members when _ . A) they wanted to turn in the questionnaires B) their children were rude to other people C) they wanted to seek some practical advice D) their children had a symptom of stuttering
D
Q: Your chair is your enemy. That is the conclusion of several recent studies. Among people who sit in front of the television for more than three hours each day, those who exercise are as fat as those who don't. So what's wrong with sitting? The answer seems to have two parts. The first is that sitting is one of the most passive things you can do. Compared to sitting, standing in one place is hard work. To stand, you have to tense your leg muscles, and engage the muscles of your back and shoulders; while standing, you often shift from leg to leg. All of this burns energy. You may think you have no choice about how much you sit. But this isn't true. Suppose you sleep for eight hours each day, and exercise for one. That still leaves 15 hours of activities. Even if you exercise, most of the energy you burn will be burnt during these 15 hours, so weight gain is often the cumulative effect of a series of small decisions: Do you take the stairs or the elevator? Do you walk to the corner store, or drive? But it looks as though there's a more sinister aspect to sitting. Some evidence suggests that when you spend long periods sitting, your body actually does things that are bad for you. Lipoprotein lipase is a molecule that plays a central role in how the body processes fats. Low levels of lipoprotein lipase are associated with a variety of health problems. Studies in rats show that leg muscles only produce this molecule when they are actively being moved. The result is that when you sit, an important part of your metabolism slows down. You may also have a higher risk of suffering from diabetes . Some people have advanced radical solutions to the sitting syndrome : replace your sit-down desk with a stand-up desk, or watch television in a rocking chair. But whatever you choose, know this. The data is clear; look out for your chair. Which of the following is the best advice on how to control our weight? A) Exercising at least an hour a day. B) Standing as long as possible. C) Using our energy actively in daily life. D) watching TV in a rocking chair.
A: C
(Question)
Mother Teresa, whose name was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, was born on August 26th, 1910 in Skopje, Macedonia. She always wrote her birthday as 27th of August because it was the day of her baptism , which was always more important to her than her birthday. For her work with the poor around the world, she received the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize. In 1928, she accepted a religious order and took the name Teresa. The order immediately sent her to India. A few years later, she began teaching in Calcutta. In 1948 the Catholic Church agreed her request and let her enter the convent and she began to work for the poor people. She became an Indian citizen in the following year. In 1950, she set up a religious organization in Calcutta. The organization provided food for the poor people and then she set up hospitals, schools, youth centers, and homes for the sick and the dying poor. It now has branches in 50 Indian cities and 30 other countries. Besides the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize, Mother Teresa has received other awards for her work with the poor people. On September 5th, 1997, Mother Teresa passed away, but she will continue to inspire people all over the world through her lasting present of love and faith. Mother Teresa often reminded the world that she was a nun , not a social worker, and that prayer and communication with God were at the deepest heart of her every action. The author writes this text mainly to_. A) Encourage us to learn from Mother Teresa B) tell us Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize C) give us some information about Mother Teresa D) prove that a woman can also do great work for the poor
(Answer)
C