节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-01-01
难易度:Medium
关键字:resolution, eliminate, moderate, strengthen, immune system, diabetes
We're discussing New Year's resolutions today, Resolutions Worth Keeping.
And some doctors do suggest getting exercise, get moving.
We want to eliminate bad habits from our lives and create some good ones.
Well, let's continue to see what else doctors suggest in the next part of our
reading.
(Music).
Resolutions Worth Keeping.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 30 minutes of
moderate exercise five days a week.
Plan regular times for activities like walking, swimming, biking or playing
sports.
And don't hesitate to make small changes - even taking the stairs instead of the
elevator makes a huge difference.
Sleep at least seven hours each night.
Sleep isn't a waste of time; it lowers blood pressure, reduces stress and
strengthens your immune system.
And lack of sleep increases your risk of memory problems, headaches, heart
disease, diabetes and obesity.
Well, those are some big problems that were listed at the end of our reading for
today.
But the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are on our side.
They recommend 30 minutes of moderate exercise five days a week.
Moderate exercise.
What kind of exercise is that?
Well, "moderate" exercise is not doing too much and also not doing too little,
finding a good balance.
"Exercising in moderation" is another way that we would say this.
Carolyn, what other things should we do in moderation?
Well, that's a really great phrase.
Also, it means to not do too much or too little of something but just enough.
And my grandmother said to do everything in moderation, including drinking
coffee.
She drank one cup of coffee each morning and lived to be 104 years old.
Wow! She lived to be 104 drinking one cup of coffee every day?
I want that kind of coffee.
Friends, you can do things in moderation - not too much, not too little.
Maybe you like to play video games.
Maybe you play video games for many hours every day.
You know it's not good for you.
You could do it in moderation.
Video games aren't bad.
Computer games aren't bad.
Actually, they could be good for you, just do it in moderation.
M-O-D-E-R-A-T-I-O-N, in moderation.
And doctors suggest we should have moderate exercise five days a week.
We continue: Plan regular times for activities like walking, swimming, biking or
playing sports.
Sports like what?
Well, we mentioned basketball before.
What's another sport that you could play, Nathanael?
Well, I think one that's popular in Asia is badminton.
You see a lot of people outside playing badminton.
And it's a nice game.
It doesn't always have to be too energetic, but it's a good way to get a little
bit of exercise.
I think it is too.
And team sports can be a fun way to get exercise.
You're not alone; you're doing it with other people.
Let's continue.
We find: Don't hesitate to make small changes.
Don't hesitate.
That means don't stop and pause to think about it.
You should just go ahead and do it.
Make small changes - even taking the stairs instead of the elevator makes a huge
difference.
And we see that phrase, make a difference.
If something is "making a difference," that means your life will be different
after you do it.
What could make a difference in your life?
Carolyn, what makes a difference?
Well, I think that smiling can really make a difference in the way people think
about you.
If you smile a lot, then people will feel comfortable and feel good around you.
And they'll smile, too.
I think so too, Carolyn.
Smiling is contagious.
Attitudes can be contagious.
Nathanael, what else makes a difference?
I think what you believe in makes a big difference about how you live your life
and your attitude towards other people.
What do you believe in?
Think about that, and it will change your life.
That's right.
It does make a difference.
And we see another word here, huge.
Taking the stairs instead of the elevator can make a "huge" difference in the
way that you feel at the end of the day.
Well, I think we're going to spend some time with Steve and Ken right now in
something new called the Information Cloud.
Let's go join them.
Hey, guys.
Hey.
Hi, teachers.
Hello, teachers.
Our lesson today mentions taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
Now I know what an elevator is.
But there's another device called an escalator.
How are they different?
Well, Ken, both "elevate" and "escalate" mean to move upward.
So they have that in common.
But an escalator is a moving staircase.
You'll often see escalators in department stores and metro stations.
So an escalator is open-air whereas an elevator is enclosed?
That's right.
Now there's another device that looks like an escalator, but instead of moving
up and down, it moves flat along the ground.
Do you know what that's called?
Yes. It's called a moving sidewalk or moving walkway.
You often see moving sidewalks in airports.
If you have a lot of heavy luggage and a far distance to walk, then those moving
sidewalks could save you a lot of energy.
Or if you're in a hurry to get to a gate, you can use it to accelerate your
pace.
So is the moving sidewalk a recent invention, Steve?
Well, actually Ken, the first moving sidewalks were introduced at Chicago's 1893
Columbian Exposition, where they transported over 31,000 passengers per hour.
1893? Wow! That's over a century old.
Yep. It's almost as old as the elevator.
The first electric elevator was built in 1880.
Interesting.
(Chinese).
Thank you, gentlemen.
Yes, friends, remember the difference between elevators, escalators and things
like moving sidewalks.
Well, let's continue.
We see our next tip is sleep at least seven hours each night.
The sentence begins with "Sleep isn't a waste of time." But Nathanael, why would
we need to say that sleep isn't a waste of time?
I think sometimes people think that sleeping doesn't let you get some things
done.
You can't get work done when you're sleeping, but it does give you a lot of
energy for the next day when you need to do your work again.
So it's not a waste of time.
Of course it's not a waste of time.
It lowers blood pressure, reduces stress and strengthens your immune system.
Well, right here we see this word "reduce." And you saw another word earlier in
today's lesson - relieve.
Well, how are these words different?
You can reduce something by making it less.
Relieving something makes it easier to handle.
So you reduce blood pressure or lower your blood pressure.
And you relieve something like stress.
You can relieve stress.
And we see a key word here as well.
We see the word "strengthen." Carolyn, can you tell us about this word
"strengthen"?
Sure.
The word "strengthen" means to make something stronger, more powerful.
So if you strengthen your immune system, then you make your body stronger, and
you're better able to fight disease.
That's right.
And you should strengthen things by sleeping, by exercising.
You can strengthen your muscles by going to the gym.
Let's continue on.
We find a lack of sleep increases your risk of memory problems, headaches, heart
disease, diabetes and obesity.
These are horrible problems I hope that none of you have.
But we want to try to stay away from these things and avoid them.
But let's not avoid learning more about how we can improve our health every day.
We can learn something else right now with Michelle in the Language Lab.
(Chinese).
OK. Let's get back to teachers.
Well, today we've discussed two different ways that you can make New Year's
resolutions for your health.
You could get moving and have moderate exercise.
Or you could get more sleep to strengthen your immune system.
Nathanael, which do you think would be more likely for you to do?
Well, you know, there are some busy weeks where it seems like it would be
difficult to get a half an hour of exercise every day.
But usually, I think 30 minutes can be found every day to give to exercise.
Oh, great.
So you would go for moderate exercise in your schedule.
What about you, Gabe?
Would you go for exercise or sleep?
Well, the thing is I want sleep more, but I think it's probably more possible
for me to fit in 30 minutes of exercise every day.
And that actually might help me to sleep better.
Well, I would certainly like to get some more sleep to make my immune system
stronger.
So I would probably go to bed a little bit earlier each night.
What about you?
Which one would you like to choose?
Well, we also have a few more suggestions that doctors have for New Year's
resolutions.
And we hope that you will join us again on Studio Classroom to learnmore about
those. Goodbye.