7．Running on Empty
For almost a century，scientists have assumed，tiredness-or exhaustion-in athletes originates in the muscles（肌肉）．Precise explanations have varied，but all have been based on the"Limitations Theory"．In other words，muscles tire because they hit a physical limit； they either run out of fuel or oxygen or they drown in harmful by-products （副产品）．
In the past few years，however，Timothy Noakes from the University of Cape Town． South Africa，has examined this standard theory．Tiredness，he argues，is caused not by signals springing from overtaxed muscles，but is an emotional response which begins in the brain．The fundamental nature of his new theory is that the brain paces the muscles to keep them well back from the edge of exhaustion．When the brain decides it's time to quit，it creates unbearable muscle tiredness．This"Central Governor"theory remains controversial，but it does-explain many puzzling aspects of athletic performance．
A recent discovery that Noakes calls the"lactic acid paradox"made him start researching this area seriously．Lactic acid is a by-product of exercise，and the increase of it is often mentioned as a cause of tiredness．But when research subjects exercise in certain conditions created artificially，they become tired even though lactic acid levels remain low．
Nor has the oxygen content of their blood fallen too low for them to keep going．Obviously，something else was making them tire before they hit either of these physiological limits． Noakes conducted an experiment with seven cyclists．It has long been known that during exercise，the body never uses 100% of the available muscle fibres （纤维）．The amount used varies； but in some tasks such as this cycling test the body calls on about 30%．His team found that as tiredness set in，the electrical activity in cyclist's legs declined-even when they were making a great effort to cycle as fast as they could．
To Noakes，this was strong evidence that the old theory was wrong．"The cyclists may have felt completely exhausted，"he says，"but their bodies actually had considerable reserves that they could theoretically tap by using a greater amount of the resting fibres．"
This，he believes； is the proof that the brain is regulating the pace of the workout to hold the well back from the point of extreme tiredness．
67，Which of the following is supported by the"Limitations Theory"？B
A．Tiredness is caused by signals from brain．
B．Athletes feel tired when they use up all their energy．
C．The body uses 100% of the muscle fibres in exercise．
D．Athletes become tired though lactic acid levels remain low．
68．Noakes has found out that．C
A．muscle fibres control athletes'movements
B．lactic acid levels remain high in cycling test
C．mental processes control the symptoms of tiredness
D．different exercises use different amount of muscle fibres
69．It is likely that both theories accept that．A
A．lactic acid is produced in muscles during exercise
B．the oxygen content in blood may rise after sports
C．tiredness is a harmful by-product of exercise
D．the energy in human bodies can be
70．What is Paragraph 3mainly about？C
A．The description of a new test．
B．The explanation of the theory．
C．The puzzling evidence of a study．
D．The whole process of the research．
分析 本文主要讨论的是运动员的疲惫或力竭的根源是什么．
解答 BCAC
67 B 细节理解题．根据文章第一段第三句In other words，muscles tire because they hit a physical limit：they either run out of fuel or oxygen or they drown in harmful by-products（副产品），可知运动员在用完精力后会缺氧或者感觉疲惫．故选B．
68 C 细节理解题．根据文章第二段得知Noakes认为是大脑中心的活动控制着人体劳累的各种表现，得知C为正确答案．
69 A 细节理解题．根据文中第三段可知，两种理论都认为lactic acid 为运动过程中产生的副产品．故选A．
70 C 主旨大意题．文章第三段主要讲在研究Limitations Theory时发现的不足之处． 故选C．
点评 做阅读理解时要快速的浏览全文，把握文章主旨大意，带着问题回到原文，寻找细节或概括相应的答案，最后要理清作者写作思路．
