Vocabulary 1.

dramatically

exercises

reasonable

slightly

fitness

careless

harmful

inactive

irregular

Vocabulary 2.

avoid

artificial

man-made
 reject

guidelines

created

edible

nutrition

emits

ultimately

Reading passage 1.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
1. Too much sudden exercise may result in physical injury and the feeling that exercise is
not doing you any good.
2. Given time, physical damage can be repaired, but the psychological damage lasts much
longer.
3. Sudden over-exercise should not be seen as a solution to the effects of over-eating.
4. Mike Rayner believes that not enough people make preparation before beginning a
fitness programme.
5. Small splits in the bone caused by exercise are very painful
6. The people who visit Mike Rayner with hairline breaks find that recuperation can take
a longer time.
7. According to Chief Medical officer, the right type of exercise should make people feel
rather breathless
8. If exercise is not done in a methodical and steady way, the amount of bad cholesterol
in your body can rise.

When exercise is bad for you

By Thea Jourdan
It is a pattern that is repeated every year. Overeating during festive periods is
followed by a nationwide fitness drive. Now, in the run-up to the holidays, health
experts are warning people to avoid the trap of over-exercising, which can swiftly
lead to injury and disillusionment.
‘Over-exercising can damage muscles and bones, and knock people’s
confidence,’says Linda Bishop-Bailey, director of operations at the Institute of Sport
and Recreation Management. ‘Although muscle strains will usually heal in a matter
of weeks, the psychological effects won’t. Binge eating is seen as the norm over
the festive period, but bingeing in the gym is not the solution.’
The institute has launched a campaign to encourage people who visit a gym or
sports centre to follow a structured exercise programme designed by a qualified
fitness professional. However, Mike Rayner, a sports physiotherapist at London’s
PhysiCo centre, is not convinced everyone will follow the good advice. He is
gearing up for the inevitable rush in January.
‘The New Year is always the busiest time of the year for physiotherapists,’ he says.
‘People who have not exercised all year suddenly think they can run five times a
week without giving their body time to adjust. They are far more likely to injure
themselves because they jump in at the deep end without adequate preparation.’
One of the most common injuries he sees is stress fractures, which are extremely
painful hairline breaks. ‘Bones need to be strengthened gradually over time,’ he
says. ‘Bones that are too weak to take the strain of repetitive exercise can split in
as little as two or three weeks. And when patients come to me, they are usually
looking at a long period of recuperation. Many of them give up the idea of
exercising altogether.’ In other words, exercise is good for you, but a steady,
methodical approach is required.
The Chief Medical Officer recently issued guidelines that people should aim to do
moderate exercise for 30 consecutive minutes five times a week. Moderate
exercise, which leaves you slightly breathless but not in discomfort, includes brisk
walking, cycling and even gardening.
There is another good reason for regular fitness sessions. Sporadic exercise of any
type might increase levels of bad cholesterol, according to researchers at the
Emory University School of Medicine in Georgia. Regular exercise protects the
body by increasing the number of cholesterol-fighting molecules. In a study, short
bursts of activity either had no effect on cholesterol or made it rise.

Reading passage 2. Choose the best heading for each paragraph.

 List of headings
i. Achieving optimum brain power
ii. What’s good and what’s best (A)
iii. Why you are in control of your own brain (D)
iv. Reasons why fruit and vegetables are the healthiest option (C)
v. Why slower is better? (B)
vi. Everyone is different (G)
vii. Not all amino acids are good for you (E)
viii. Foods that energise the brain, and food that slow it down (F)
ix. Getting the right combination
A. i.
B. v
C. ii.
D. Ix.
E. iii.
F. viii
G. vi
Brain foods
A ‘Brain foods’ are those foods which improve brain function. A diet rich in complex
omega-3 acids, for example can help keep the blood vessels of the brain clear of
blockages and allow nerve cells to function at a high level. Eggs and oily fish like
salmon are both rich sources of omega-3 acids, and are considered to be excellent
brain foods. Vegetarians and vegans can find their sources elsewhere: some nuts,
seeds and leafy green vegetables such as spinach are high in simpler omega-3
acids known as alpha-linolenic acids, or ALAs, and are a healthy substitute for the
acids found in fish and eggs.
B The best brain foods are complex carbohydrates. The molecules in these are
long, so it takes longer for the intestines to break them down into the simple sugars
the body can use. Because of this, they provide a source of steady energy rather
than a surge followed by a plunge. The rate at which sugar from a food enters brain
cells and other cells is measured by the ‘glycemic index’ (GI). Foods with a high
glycemic index start the roller coaster of ‘sugar highs’ and ‘sugar lows’. Foods with
a low glycemic index keep blood sugar levels at a more steady level, helping the
body to avoid highs and lows.
C Fruits such as grapefruit, apples, cherries, oranges, and grapes have a low
glycemic index. Whole fruit ranks lower than juices, because fibre in the fruit slows
the absorption of fruit sugar. In the cereals and grains group, oatmeal and bran are
best. Spaghetti and rice have a relatively low GI, whereas corn flakes, sugarcoated cereals,
and white bread have much higher GIs. Vegetables and legumes,
including soybeans, kidney beans, chick peas, and lentils are great brain foods,
since they have the lowest glycemic index of any food. Potatoes and, perhaps
surprisingly, carrots have a much higher GI. Finally, dairy products have low
glycemic indexes; higher than legumes, but lower than fruits.
D How you prepare and eat your food also affects the way the body and brain uses
it. Eating sugary food after a meal of legumes, for example, may slow the
absorption of the sugar and prevent the ‘sugar blues’. Fats can also slow sugar
absorption, so ice cream without sugary fruit will have a lower glycemic index than
low fat yogurt with sugary fruit. It should also be noted that over-cooking some
starches can be similar to pre-digesting them, thus causing them to feed their
sugars into the blood too quickly.
E Proteins affect brain performance because they provide amino acids, from which
neurotransmitters are made. Neurotransmitters carry signals from one brain cell to
another. Therefore, the better you feed these messengers, the more efficiently they
deliver the goods. The amino acids tryptophan and tyrosine are the substances
from which neurotransmitters are made. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid and
it must be obtained from the diet. Tyrosine is not an essential amino acid because
the body can make it if need be.
F Some high protein, low carbohydrate, high tyrosine foods that are likely to rev up
the brain are seafood, meat, eggs, soy, and dairy. High carbohydrate, low protein, high
tryptophan foods that are likely to calm the brain include: pastries and
desserts, chocolate, nuts and seeds, and legumes.
G It is very difficult to compile a list of good and bad brain foods. People do not
always respond in the same way to differing ratios of protein to carbohydrates in
meals, and there are also subtle sensitivities to foods that vary from person to
person. Experimentation is called for, and it is up to the individual to find the
combination that works best for them.