Personalized Exercise

As the start of every year, many of us promise ourselves that a certain number of times a week we will go to the gym or attend an exercise class. But finally many of us just struggle to fit exercise into our lives, or start off well and then give up. Why do we have a good plan at the beginning and fail to achieve it in the end? How can we deal with the problem?   (1)  

It is important to determine your motivation first. Are you mainly interested in de-stressing or in getting fitter? If your goal is relaxation, then ask yourself if you want to do it energetically.   (2)   If you have a calmer style, you can do something quite different. You could choose solitary exercise, such as walking the dog or doing some gardening.   (3)   There are quite a lot of them, such as walking group, running groups, dance classes, etc. On your own, you could go horse riding or swimming, or just download fitness exercise programs and do it at home.

  (4)   If you have free time at the weekend, you could book some time with a personal trainer, who can come to your house, or you could meet him at the gym. If your life is not as regular, you could choose the next couple of minutes you have to try an exercise DVD, or put your running shoes on and run for any length of time.

As you see, everything counts when you are doing exercise. Whatever your lifestyle is, you will be able to have something that suits you.   (5)   Just sit down with a cup of tea, read this article again, and have a think about your options. Then finish the tea, get up, get going, and don’t stop.

During a research experiment a marine（海洋）biologist placed a shark into a large holding tank and then released several small fish into the tank. ___(1)____ 

The marine biologist then inserted a strong piece of clear fiberglass（玻璃纤维）into the tank, creating two separate parts. She then put the shark on one side of the fiberglass and a new set of small fish on the other.

Again, the shark quickly attacked. This time, however, the shark hit the fiberglass divider and bounced off. ____(2)___Meanwhile, the small fish swam around unharmed in the second part. Eventually, about an hour into the experiment, the shark gave up.

   This experiment was repeated several dozen times over the next few weeks. ____(3)___ Eventually the shark got tired of hitting the fiberglass divider and simply stopped attacking altogether.

The marine biologist then removed the fiberglass divider, but the shark didn’t attack.____(4)___So, they swam wherever they wished, free from harm.

   Like the shark in the story, many of us, after experiencing setbacks and failures, emotionally give up and stop trying. ___(5)____ In other words, we continue to see a barrier in our heads, even when no ‘real’ barrier exists between where we are and where we want to go.

Summer is a time to look forward to because there is no school to get you down.  (1)  You just need to stay active, occupied, and have an open mind.

●Read if you feel bored.

Subscribe to a magazine or comic if you don't like books. Reading doesn't have to be boring. Choose whatever age-appropriate book that interests you and start reading.  (2)  In your backyard or on your balcony, on your bed, or out by the lake. Reading doesn't have to be boring.

●Get caught up on schoolwork.

Not all of us are straight "A" students. Take this time to go to the library and review material for the next year in advance.  (3)  No need to rush or stress out. It's just important not to forget anything you learned in the past year over the summer.

●Travel.

If you usually go on vacation in the summer, start packing now! Can't afford to travel far? No problem!   (4)  

Go on a road trip with your friends and family. Find out what's on the other side of that lake. Be creative!

●  (5)  

If summers are hot where you live, you can go to the beach with your family or friends. Also, some water parks have great discounts at times during the summer. But be careful, if there's a heat wave outside, you'd better stay out of the sun, or even go indoors.

What is your favourite colour? Do you like yellow, orange, red?  (1)  . Do you prefer greys and blues? Then you are probably quiet, shy, and you would rather follow than lead. You tend to be pessimist. At least, this is what psychologists tell us, and they should know this, because they have been seriously studying the meaning of colour preference, as well as the effect that colours have on human beings.  (2)  . If you happen to love brown, you did so, as soon as you opened your eyes, or at least as soon as you could see clearly.  (3)  . A yellow room makes most people feel more cheerful and more relaxed than a dark green one; and a red dress brings warmth and cheer to the saddest winter day.   (4)  . A black bridge over the Thames River, near London, used to be the scene of more suicides(自杀) than any other bridge in the area---until it was repainted green. The number of suicide attempts immediately fell sharply. Perhaps it would have fallen even more if the bridge had been done in pink or baby blue.

  (5)  . It is an established fact that factory workers work better, harder, and have fewer accidents when their machines are painted orange rather than black or grey.

Most of us may have the same feeling: we have a lot of work to do but a momentary feeling of laziness.   (1)   This is either because we lack the inspiration or are not encouraged enough to start working.

      (2)   It often leads to the worsening of one’s relationship at work and affects work performance, which can result into job loss and extra stress. How to overcome laziness? Here are some tips for overcoming it.

Simple things first. An effective trick that helps you fight laziness effectively is to start with the simple things first.   (3)  

    Make a to-do list.   (4)   A to-do list can help us to realize that it often looks like more work than it actually is. When you create your to-do list, make sure to arrange the tasks from the easiest one to the more difficult one.

    Remove distractions. Distractions are often the source for our laziness. We are often attracted by the distractions (TV, internet, etc.) as we perform our tasks.   (5)   Make sure that once you have started with one of your tasks, you will not get distracted from it by any means.

Remember, every time you manage to overcome laziness, reward yourself.

Self-talk helps us all

Talking to yourself may seem a little shameful. If you’ve ever been overheard criticizing yourself for a foolish mistake or practicing a speech, you’ll know the social problems it can cause.  (1)   Talking to ourselves, whether out loud or silently in our heads, is valuable. Far from being a sign of madness, self-talk allows us to plan what we are going to do, manage our activities and control our emotions.

Psychologists call self-talk private speech-language that is spoken out loud but directed at yourself. We do a lot of it when we are young. As children, we use private speech to control our actions in the same way that we use public speech to control the behavior of others.   (2)   

Psychological experiments have shown that this so-called inner speech can improve our performance in tasks like telling what other people are thinking. One recent study suggests that self-talk is the most effective when we talk to ourselves in the second person: as “you” rather than “I” .

We keep the private speech we use as children inside—but we never truly put away the out-loud version.   (3)   You’re sure to see an athlete shouting at himself or herself.

  (4)   Hearing different points of view means our thoughts can end up in different places, leading to a solution to a problem, just like a regular dialogue, and might turn out to be one of the keys to human creativity.

Both kinds of self-talk-silent and out loud-seem to bring many different benefits to our thinking.  (5)  

Everybody gets stressed from time to time.　(1)　Some ways of dealing with stress—like screaming or hitting someone—don’t solve much. But other ways, like talking to someone you trust, can lead you to solving your problem or at least feeling better. Try taking these four steps the next time you are stressed:

(1) Get support. When you need help, reach out to the people who care about you. Talk to a trusted adult, such as a parent or other relatives. 　  (1)  　They might have had similar problems, such as dealing with a test, or the death of a beloved pet.

(2) Don’t take it out on yourself. Sometimes when kids are stressed and upset they take it out on themselves. Oh, dear, that’s not a good idea. Remember that there are always people to help you. Don’t take it out on yourself.　  (2)  　

(3) Try to solve the problem. After you’re calm and you have support from adults and friends, it’s time to get down to business.　  (3)  　 Even if you can’t solve it all, you can solve a piece of it.

(4) Be positive. Most stress is temporary. Remember stress does go away, especially when you figure out the problem and start working on solving it.

These steps aren’t magic, but they do work. And if you can stay positive as you make your way through a tough time, you’ll help yourself feel better even faster　  (4)  　

 根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。选项中有两项为多余选项。

   When it comes to rumors and gossip, everyone can be fair game. ____  (1)  ____ And then suddenly, it can possibly be your turn to be the target. So, how can you deal with it in a way that won't make the situation worse?

Try to understand where it's coming from, and why

   If you can, figure out who started the rumor. Is the rumor meant to hurt you, or is it just a case of misinformation? Is someone trying to get back at you for something? __  (2)  ____ Therefore, you can have a better understanding of how to deal with it.

   ___  (3)  ___

   Identify someone who didn't start the rumor and get him or her on your side. Ask this person to stick up for you, and tell others in the group that the rumor is not true, end most importantly, very hurtful. Lower the chances that it will happen again

   First, be careful with your secrets. Second, use the buddy system. It helps to have a best friend who you can trust to be on your side and watch your back when you need. ___  (4)  ____ Lastly, do onto others as you would have them do onto you. ___  (5)  ____ When you keep your gossip to yourself, it is not easy for you to be a prime target for somebody seeking to get even.

It was wrong of you to ______________ all your friends who helped you when you were in trouble.