1) He wouldn't have become so strong;... a)... I wouldn't be worried now.
2)They would have come... b)... I would have gone to the library.
3) If they had been ready the day before... c)... we wouldn't have come so early.
4) If I hadn't needed the book... d)... unless he had done sports.
5) If they had had a city map... e)... they wouldn't have been lost.
6) If you had warned us... f)... if Jane had invited them.
7) He wouldn't know much... g)... unless you had agreed with us.
8) We wouldn't have wasted so much time... h)... unless he had read much.
9) If you had sent me a telegram... i)... they would have taken their exam.
10) We had never done this... j) if you have bought everything beforehand.
Correct the errors, if necessary.
11) If I knew her well I will visit her.
12) If I were you I would have visited Jane yesterday.
13) If I have a computer I would learn Computer Studies.
14) If the weather would be nice tomorrow we'll go on excursion.
15) You did not miss the plane if you had taken a taxi.
16) I wish you have a car.
17) I wish things were different in the past.
18) I wish the weather were warmer.
19) I wish I did not decide to work in New York.
20) I wish I did not go to bed early yesterday.
II. HOME PEADING
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CAN VITAMINS HELP?
For a long time, the only voices endorsing nutritional supplements belonged to the people who sold them. In the opposite camp stood the guardians of the nation's well-being, including the Surgeon General, the National Research Council, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Their position remains that a balanced diet provides all the nutrients needed for good health.
In recent years, however, some scientists have jumped ship. They point to mounting evidence that certain vitamins and other nutrients may offer protection against cancer, cataracts, Parkinson's disease, and other disorders. They speculate that extra doses of those nutrients may slow the aging process. And, while few go so far as to make public recommendations, they freely admit that popping pills has become part of their own daily routine.
The pills they take are antioxidantsfor the most part, vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene, a substance partially converted to vitamin A in the body. (Vitamin A itself does not have antioxidant activity.) Antioxidants are thought to be protective largely because they can inactivate free radicals, destructive molecules that can damage cells.
Those who take antioxidants to slow the aging process admit they're on somewhat shaky ground. "It1 s banking on an aging mechanism that hasn't been proven," says biologist David Harrison of The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine. Nonetheless, like several scientists we contacted, he takes a supplement regimen that includes vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, and a multiple-vitamin tablet "I'm not sure it does any good, but I'm certainly not sure that it doesn't"
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The case for antioxidants as an anti-aging remedy is still speculative. Attempts to use them to extend lifespan in animals have been largely unsuccessful. But several converging lines of evidence suggest antioxidants may help stave off diseases of aging.
Free-radical damage has been implicated by some studies in diseases such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, cataracts, and cardiovascular disease. High levels of antioxidantsmeasured both in the diet and in the bloodhave been associated with lower rates of these illnesses. "Whether we look at animal or cell culture studies, at population comparisons or intervention trials, we see the same relationship between antioxidants and protection from disease," says Dr. Jeffrey Blumberg, associate director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University.
Moreover, he notes, it appears that the higher the antioxidant level, the lower the risk of disease, and vice-versa. In some studies of diet and cancer, for instance, people with the lowest intake of beta-carotene had up to seven times the lung-cancer risk of those with the highest intake. In other reports, people with the diets richest in vitamin C were at the lowest risk for cancer of the stomach, oral cavity, and esophagus. And in a large study of 16 European populations, there was a strong correlation between high blood levels of vitamin E and a lower risk of death from coronary disease.
The next step is to give volunteers antioxidants in experimental programs and see whether their rates of disease are lower than average. Many such trials, including a dozen sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, are now attempting to provide that link.
The Physicians Health Study, a major ongoing project administered by Harvard Medical School, recently turned up an unexpected, hopeful finding about beta-carotene and heart diseasea finding the researchers stumbled on while testing beta-carotene as a cancer preventive. The investigators gave beta-carotene to half of the 22,000 physicians in the study. After six years, the researchers found that in a subgroup of 333 men who had signs of coronary disease before entering the study, those receiving beta-carotene experienced half as many cardiovascular "events" such as heart attack and stroke. If s premature to conclude that beta-carotene protects the heart but the study offers a tantalizing lead for further testing.
In another promising intervention study, at Tufts University, healthy elderly individuals given vitamin E supplements showed significant improvements in immune function, which typically declines with age.
How much is enough?
Even at this early stage, the evidence raises important questions about how much of those nutrients we need and the best way to get them. Traditionally, vitamins have been recommended in amounts sufficient to prevent deficiency diseases such as scurvy and rickets.
Current work on antioxidants suggests to some researchers that doses higher than the RDAs (Recommended Dietary Allowances) may be best for disease prevention. Most clinicians advise that we get those extra nutrients from our diets, because most studies have examined antioxidants in foods rather than supplements. "We know that vegetables high in beta-carotene are protective, but we don't know if the benefit is from the beta-carotene or some other component," explains Dr. Judith Hallfrish, research leader of the carbohydrate nutrition lab at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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Loading up on fruits and vegetables is certainly good advice. Yellow and green leafy vegetables, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, cantaloupe, spinach, and broccoli, are rich in beta-carotene; green leafy ones are also high in vitamin E. Good sources of vitamin C include citrus fruits and juices, strawberries, broccoli, brussels sprouts, and sweet red peppers.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a joint effort of the Department of Agriculture and Health and Human Services, recommends at least three daily servings of vegetables and two of fruit By one estimate, those intakes can provide as much as two to four times the U.S. RDAs for vitamins E and C, plus five or she milligrams of beta-carotene. However, some researchers believe even those levels are too low to afford optimal protection from disease.
Moreover, for most Americans, obtaining those nutrients from food alone would entail a profound dietary change. In one large national food-consumption survey, only 9 percent of participants met the fruit and vegetable guidelines cited above. Other surveys indicate a substantial gap between the typical daily intake of antioxidants and the levels Dr. Blumberg estimates may be optimal for disease prevention, based on the scientific literature. The average intake of beta-carotene is approximately two milligrams, well below the 25-mg level that he believes may be protective and that other researchers are using in clinical trials. The average intake of vitamin C, about 100 mg, is also well below the 500 mg Blumberg says may be optimal.
Its virtually impossible to get what appears to be an optimal dose of vitamin Ebetween 100 I.U. and 400 I.U. dailyby diet alone. In some population studies, notes Dr. Blumberg, individuals with the lowest risk of disease had blood levels of vitamin E high enough to suggest they were taking supplements.
It may be true you can get the RDAs if you improve your diet, says Dr. William Pryor, a biochemist at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, and a prominent free-radical researcher. "But if you believe pharmacologic levels of vitamins can protect against disease, you're talking about supplements."
What to do?
A growing number of researchers now believe that, in addition to loading your diet with fruits and vegetables, taking antioxidant pills may be a reasonable move. Even the relatively high doses used by these scientists appear to be safe; the levels of vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene they consider optimal have not been associated with adverse effects. (In contrast, higher doses of vitamin Cmore than 1000 milligrams a daymay cause diarrhea and other problems. And high doses of some other vitamins, notably vitamin A and vitamin D, have been shown to cause harm.)
As for price, an RDA-level multivitamin and mineral supplement, plus additional doses of vitamins E and C and beta-carotene, totals about a quarter a day.
Nevertheless, CUs medical consultants are not yet ready to recommend supplements for general population. No one has yet proven the theory that antioxidants slow aging and fight disease by protecting the body from free radicals, although evidence is accumulating. Very few studies so far have examined the effects of supplement intake directly, and prospective clinical trials are still essential.
In addition, there's the nagging fact that the vitamin industry remains completely unregulated: No Government safeguard guarantees that the doses in pills match what's promised on the label. Researchers have found many vitamin supplements contain lower doses than the label claims.
1. What evidence in favour of vitamins do scientists prove?
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2. Why are antioxidants considered to be protective?
3. How does the colour of fruit and vegetables influence the vitamins they contain?
4. Has it been proved that antioxidants slow aging?
5. What have researchers found about vitamin supplements?
III. ANNOTATION
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RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS
Rhythmic gymnastics is the performance of systematic physical exercise with the aid of such hand apparatuses as ropes, hoops, balls, clubs, and ribbons. It is closely related to women's artistic gymnastics and, like synchronized swimming, is allied with dance. The sport dates from the 18th century; and, although some gymnasts participated at the Olympic Games from 1948 to 1956 in individual and group exercises, it was not until the 1984 Olympiad that individual competition became an official competitive event. The 1996 Olympics was the first to include group competition. World championships have been held biannually, in a succession of host cities, since 1963.
An individual routine is performed by one gymnast with one apparatus, whereas a group routine is performed by five gymnasts with either five pairs of clubs or with two hoops and three ribbons for 2 to 3 minutes. There are no compulsory elements at the elite and international levels in rhythmic gymnastics, although at least two superior moves (three at the Olympics) and six elements of difficulty are expected to be executed in any one exercise.
IV. ORAL TOPICS
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PHYSICAL FITNESS
Physical fitness is a combination of qualities that enable a person to perform well in vigorous physical activities. These qualities include agility, endurance, flexibility, and strength. Physical fitness and good health are not the same, though each influences the other. Healthy people may be physically unfit because they do not exercise regularly. Physically fit people perform their usual tasks easily without tiring and still have energy for other interests.
Better physical performance is only one benefit of physical fitness. Regular vigorous exercise also increases the efficiency and capacity of the heart and lungs and helps people to maintain their proper weight Individuals who are physically fit tend to be slimmer than those who are unfit. They have greater resistance to disease and recover faster if they do become ill. Physically fit people may be happier and more alert and relaxed. They also may be able to resist the effects of ageing better than those who are physically unfit.
Principles of physical fitness
Physical fitness is a personal responsibility. Few individuals other than athletes and military personnel are actually required to participate in organized fitness programs. Most people are physically unfit simply because they do not get enough exercise. Many do not take the time to exercise, and others try to stay fit with only light, infrequent activity.
A person's physical fitness is determined by such factors as age, heredity, and behavior. Although people cannot control their age or heredity, their behavior can help them to become physically fit and stay that way. Individuals vary greatly in their capacity for physical fitness, but almost anyone can improve by exercising regularly.
The years between adolescence and middle age are the peak period for physical fitness. However, people of all ages can stay fit with good health habits and regular exercise. Any person more than 35 years old, and anyone with a health problem, should consult a physician before beginning a fitness program.
Health habits that aid physical fitness include getting enough sleep, eating properly, receiving regular medical and dental care, and maintaining personal cleanliness. Health can be harmed by such practices as overeating and eating the wrong kinds of foods; smoking and drug abuse, including excessive use of alcohol. Harmful health habits can undo the results of regular exercise.
A person's level of physical fitness depends largely on how frequently and intensely he or she exercises. Most health experts agree that people should exercise at least three times a week to maintain desirable fitness. Improvement occurs faster with more frequent workouts.
