Mark Ramirez, a senior executive at AOL, could work in the comfortable leather chair, if he wanted. No, thanks. He prefers to stand most of the day at a desk raised above stomach level. "I've got my knees bent. I feel totally alive," he said. "It feels more natural to stand." In the past few years, standing has become the new sitting for 10 percent of AOL employees at the firm's Virginia branch. Part of a standing popularity is among accountants, programmers, telemarketers and other office workers across the nation. GeekDesk, a California firm that sells desks raised by electric motors, says sales will triple this year. Standers give various reasons for taking to their feet: It makes them feel more focused, prevents drowsiness , and makes them feel like a general even if they just push paper. (Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfels works standing up. So does novelist Philip Roth.) But unknown to them, a debate is spreading among ergonomics experts and public-health researchers about whether all office workers should be encouraged to stand--to save lives. Doctors point to surprising new research showing higher rates of diabetes, obesity, heart disease and even mortality among people who sit for long stretches. A study earlier this year in theAmerican Journal of Epidemiologyshowed that among 123,000 adults followed over 14 years, those who sat more than six hours a day were at least 18 percent more likely to die during the time period studied than those who sat less than three hours a day. "Every rock we turn over when it comes to sitting is astonishing," said Marc Hamilton, a leading researcher on inactivity physiology at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana. "Sitting is harmful. It's dangerous. We are on the cusp of a major revolution." He calls sitting "the new smoking". Not so fast, other experts say. Standing too much at work will cause more long-term back injuries. Incidences of varicose veins among women will increase. The heart will have to pump more. Hedge, the Cornell... According to the studies in the passage mentioned, _ . A) it is better not to stand more than 6 hours B) sitting too long can arouse illnesses easily C) sitting long is specially harmful to adults D) standing much is better than sitting long
B
When you travel in South America, you'd better pay attention to the following three kinds of dangerous South American animals. Piranhas Although only a small number of piranhas are considered to be dangerous to humans, the red-bellied piranha is definitely one of those. Evidence has shown that a large group of piranhas can absolutely eat a herd of large animals crossing the river, leaving only bones. This fish lives in the freshwater streams of South America, and they can smell the blood from far away and launch attacks swiftly. It is said that they are only dangerous to humans if the water volumes are less and lower. Anacondas This South American monster of a creature often appears in the films or your nightmares!They have weighed over 230 kilograms. It is often considered to be the biggest snake in the world. You certainly don't want to get caught alone with this snake due to its method of attacking and killing its victim. It is indeed a remarkably different brand of snake type as it regularly coils around all over its target, increasing the pressure until eventually its victim dies. Its jaws are powered by large muscles that produce enough power for its over 100 sharp teeth to pass through the thick skin of an crocodile. They don't have poison. Sometimes they prefer to camouflage themselves so they look like their surroundings and swiftly draw back when humans are near. Golden Poisonous Frogs The golden poison frog might be the most-deadly of the South American animal, which is protected by means of poison. This very small frog, less than 55 mm in length, packs enough punch to take down a pair of African bull elephants. This apparently harmless frog has always been known to have killed people who have touched it directly. It's also been noted that chicken and dogs have died by contacting things on which a golden poison frog had wandered! In intense colors, they normally look attractive to their targets. How does an anaconda kill its victim according to the passage? A) It often uses its poison to kill its victim. B) It often uses its strength to kill its victim. C) It kills its victim mainly using its powerful teeth. D) It kills its victim with the help of other snakes.
B
(Question)
When the Farnsworth family moved to their new farm in 1919, eleven-year-old Philo was surprised to find it wired for electricity. This unusual circumstance contributed to his fate -- to become an important inventor of the twentieth century. By thirteen, Farnsworth had become a self-taught electrical engineer. He was able to fix the farm's generator when none of the adults could. In 1922, he read an article about a new idea of John Baird, a Scottish scientist, who had been working with the cathode ray tube for the transmission of electronic pictures and wanted to attempt it himself. Farnsworth studied everything he could find on the subject. Although many older engineers with money backers were already developing television, Farnsworth made a bold decision -- he was going to perfect a working model of it before anybody else. In college, Farnsworth continued his research with cathode ray and vacuum tubes, but the death of his father, the only money maker in the family, forced him to give up this research and find a job. His first job was for George Everson, with whom Farnsworth discussed his dream of television. While acknowledging the achievements of those who came before, Farnsworth thought that he could get closer. Everson agreed to risk $6,000 for the research. Backers came in 1927 to see the first American television, one year after Baird's. They were astonished to see the image of a single white line resolve itself on the screen before them, and agreed that this new invention was worth putting money into. In 1930, Farnsworth won a patent for his all-electronic TV. By the time he died, he had earned over 300 American and foreign patents for electronic and mechanical devices. When Farnsworth was at a young age, he _ A) had to drop out of school to help on the family farm B) was sent to school to study electrical engineering C) wanted to be the first person to invent the television D) had shown a surprising ability in the electrical field
(Answer)
D