Question

We desire to believe that we can get fit without effort. We invent chocolate-chip cookie diets to make us thin while eating fat. We wish to get fit from doing nothing. We wish to lie in bed, think about going to the gym and then, get the body of a Greek god.

A new study from Brian Clark at Ohio University shows that sitting still, while just thinking about exercise, might make us stronger. Clark and his colleagues asked 29 volunteers and wrapped their wrists in surgical casts for a whole month. During this month, half of the volunteers thought about exercising their immobilized (使不動(dòng))wrists. For 11 minutes a day, 5 days a week, they sat completely still and focused their entire mental effort on pretending to flex their muscles. When the casts were removed, the volunteers that did mental exercises had wrist muscles that were two times stronger than those who had done nothing at all.

The idea behind the research is not a new concept-just a concept that’s often neglected in the field of neuroscience(神經(jīng)科學(xué)): our bodies and our brains develop together. Even though we treat our mind and bodies as two separate things(brain vs brawn; mind vs matter), they are finally and closely connected.

Indeed, even before Brian Clark published his study, other researchers had explained links between the brain and the muscles. Ten years ago, Guang Yue at the Cleveland Clinic reported that imaginary exercise increases the strength of finger muscles by up to 35%. Just five years ago, Kai Miller at the University of Washington, showed that imaginary exercise activates the same brain areas that are activated during real exercise. Brain Clark's research adds to this body of knowledge and provides believable facts about the role of neuromuscular(神經(jīng)肌肉的) pathways in strength training.

1.What's the purpose of chocolate-chip cookie diets?

A.To keep strong. B.To grow thinner. C.To keep fat. D.To have muscles

2.The experiment proves that .

A.wrapping their wrists may be quick B.showing their muscles needs efforts

C.sitting still might make us stronger D.thinking about exercise is so useful

3.Which of the following concepts is often neglected according to the passage?

A.Our mind and bodies are two separate things B.Our bodies and brains develop together

C.Our mind has a close relation to bodies D.Our mind has little effect on our brains

4.What's the best title for the passage?

A.How to grow stronger without lifting weights. B.How to carry out a muscle exercise program.

C.How to prevent muscle from growing thinner. D.How to provide pathways in strength training,

Answer 1